Earth Day: Five Things You Need to Know
Learn who founded Earth Day and why we celebrate it April 22.
Monday marks the 44th annual Earth Day, a celebration that began in 1970 as a protest against pollution. Here are five facts about why we go "green" every April 22. 1. We have late U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) to thank for the official Earth Day celebration. But many credit John McConnell, an activist who proposed the day at a National UNESCO Conference in 1969, with founding Earth Day. While McConnell’s earlier Earth Day Proclamation received support from top United Nations officials, Nelson's work to have national teach-ins on April 22, 1970, spurred the national movement that became known as Earth Day. Both men commonly are referred to as Earth Day’s founder. 2. Nelson’s push for Earth Day stemmed from years of frustration that …
