how a teach-in became earth day

Did you know that Earth Day is recognized all over the world but started in the United States? 

At the October 1969 UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, an American peace activist named John McConnell, proposed a global holiday to celebrate Earth’s beauty and promote peace. He suggested March 21st 1970, the first day of Spring, as the date. An Earth Day Proclamation was signed by 36 world leaders. 

A month later, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin proposed a nationwide teach-in on environmental issues. Like many Americans, he had been outraged by a huge man-made disaster that made national headlines earlier that year..

In January 1969, a Union Oil platform six miles off the coast of California blew out during drilling, spilling 3 million gallons of oil over 35 miles of ocean near the town of Santa Barbara. The oil spill killed thousands of birds, dolphins, seals and sea lions and galvanized activists to take action towards environmental regulation and education. At the time, there was no EPA, no Clean Water Act and very little regulations protecting the environment. Senator Nelson visited the site of the spill and was spurred to action. He was inspired by the teach-ins to protest the Vietnam War during that time.

Nelson hired a young activist from Harvard named Denis Hayes to coordinate the teach-ins on college campuses. A new date was chosen so that students would be back on campus after Spring break What was initially billed as a teach-in became the first Earth Day on April 22nd 1970. Two thousand colleges and universities and 10,000 grade schools around the country participated.  It is estimated that more than 20 million people came out to march, learn, pick up trash and protest. The goal, according to Senator Nelson was “to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy and finally force this issue onto the national political agenda.” 

In 2020, on the 50th anniversary of the event, over 100 million people worldwide observed Earth Day. Today it is the largest secular observance in the world.  In honor of Earth Day this year, when the theme is “Invest in Our Planet” let’s do what we can to honor our planet and invest in its future.