Happy Earth Day!!  But what is Earth Day really?  The first Earth Day goes back to 1970 and starts with the organization of campus teach-ins to raise awareness about air and water pollution. The day of choice was April 22^nd which fell in between spring break and final exams in order to achieve maximum student participation. The effort expanded nationally across a number of organizations and the day was officially deemed Earth Day. At the time, 20 million Americans were inspired to demonstrate against the deterioration of the environment and all across the nation, rallies and protests were organized. By the end of 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) was created from which environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act were written and passed by Congress. In 1990, Earth Day became a global phenomenon which further increased the focus to address environmental issues such as enhancing the efforts towards recycling.

As the years went by, Earth Day continued to provide a stage for many environmental campaigns and further bolstered the environmental movement all over the world. Today, Earth Day has evolved into a day of action that engages more than a billion people every year to improve the health of our planet. With the growing urgency for a clean environment made apparent by the growing adverse effects of climate change, Earth Day has become more important than ever. For more on Earth Day and what you can do to help build a healthier planet for generations to come, Earthday.org is a great resource to keep engaged within the environmental community and provides volunteer and donation opportunities in support of a more sustainable and green future.

Link to the website:     https://www.earthday.org

Image from Pixabay.com

Ashley Romero is the Laboratory Manager at GEI Consultants, Inc. and has a background in ecotoxicology.