Earth Day 2017

Earth Day is an international awareness or commemorative observance and is optional in the calendar.

Earth Day emerged from public concern about polluted air, unsafe water, oil spills and damage to wildlife in the United States during the 1960s. Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed a nationwide environmental teach-in, and Denis Hayes helped coordinate the first large-scale Earth Day on 22 April 1970. Students, local organizations and citizens held demonstrations and educational events. Their participation helped make environmental protection a lasting public-policy issue.

The movement grew beyond the United States into international campaigns about biodiversity, waste, climate change and protection of land and water. In 2009 the United Nations formally designated 22 April as International Mother Earth Day, a related global observance. These milestones have different institutional histories and should not be collapsed into a single founding event or described as an ancient religious festival.

Schools, neighborhoods and organizations now arrange cleanups, habitat restoration, public discussions and waste reduction. The benefit lies in continuing projects and accountable policies, not merely planting a tree for one photograph. Local ecosystems, water availability and care for the people affected by pollution must guide actions. The calendar date is a fixed 22 April, while each year's campaigns and official themes should be checked separately.

Earth Day is intended to build public awareness and encourage attention to its associated global issue.

Community environmental education, cleanups, ecological restoration and measurable long-term commitments.

22 April worldwide; first US Earth Day in 1970, UN International Mother Earth Day designated in 2009.