Why is Earth Day Important?

Every year on April 22nd, people around the world join together to celebrate the Earth. 

Earth Day, which began in 1970, is the annual celebration of the birth of the modern environmental movement. Over the years, Earth Day has centered around many important issues, from combating climate change denial to encouraging renewable energy. It provides a new opportunity to meditate on the intersectionality of the environmental movement, as well as reflect on the importance of the relationship between humans and the environment – a relationship that is integral to achieving world peace. 

Since its beginnings, Earth Day has evolved to reflect the changing social and political frames of the time, with the constant acknowledgment that mitigating ecological destruction, climate change, and social injustices will create a more peaceful world. 

Earth Day started when the impacts of 150 years of industrial development could no longer be ignored. What was once seen as a byproduct of progress and growth was later recognized in the 1960s as harmful environmental degradation. Air and water pollution, leaded gas, depleted soils, the use of pesticides, and the loss of plants and animals were no mere consequences of industrial development - they had severe implications on the health of humans and the planet. 

In 1962, Rachel Carson published her critically acclaimed book, Silent Spring, which divulged the harmful use of pesticides and their impacts on human and ecological wellbeing. Silent Spring became a global sensation, selling 500,000 copies in 24 countries. Its success also meant that environmental problems could no longer be ignored. 

Shortly thereafter, the modern environmental movement took off. The Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969 solidified the pressing need to organize around environmental issues. Inspired by the energy and momentum of the student anti-war movement of the 1960s, leading conservationist and Wisconsin’s former Senator, Gaylord Nelson, with the help of Congressman Pete McCloskey and activist Denis Hayes, set out to form the first Earth Day, which would be a series of college campus teach-ins. 

Recognizing that support for the environmental cause was gaining momentum, Hayes expanded the event beyond college campuses. The first Earth Day in 1970 inspired 20 million Americans to celebrate the Earth and protest against environmental destruction. 

The successes continued. By the end of 1970, the United States Environmental Agency was formed. Congress passed the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act shortly thereafter. 1973 saw the establishment of the Endangered Species Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. All of these laws still play a great role in protecting both people and the environment today. 

By 1990, 200 million people in 141 countries were celebrating Earth Day. 

This year, Earth Day takes on a new set of issues. On the one hand is the global pandemic, which is the result of wildlife trade and human encroachment on wild spaces. On the other, a re-emergence of Civil Rights, with the Black Lives Matter Movement, is at the forefront of many social and political issues. Combined with the urgency of climate change, this year Earth Day represents a moment to find unity, to address these intersectional and related issues to save the planet, and create a more peaceful, sustainable, and healthy world. 

It is through this celebration of the Earth that humans are able to reconnect with one another, restore social, political and cultural conflicts through the remembrance of unity. World peace begins with the understanding of how all life on Earth is connected, and will be accomplished through this shared effort to restore ecosystems, save biodiversity, and accomplish environmental justice for all. 

Happy Earth Day!