2023 is the 53rd anniversary of Earth Day and according to ‘The Earth Day Network’ this annual event is now recognised, marked, and celebrated by an estimated one billion people across the world, in some 190 countries.
It’s worth taking stock of the history of the event – arguably more relevant to the future of our planet than ever before, which began in 1969.
The original idea was proposed by an American senator and governor – Gaylord Nelson. An environmentalist of note, Senator Nelson spoke publicly about his concerns over the environment. Potentially galvanised by a huge oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, Nelson also spoke about how inspired he felt by the passion shown by young people who felt so strongly about issues of the time (The Vietnam War, Government spending) that revolution on the streets was considered a genuine threat by the government. Visiting University campuses across America in the early 1970’s, Nelson was determined to expand public awareness on his deep concerns around environmental pollution and his university sessions were led by Stanford graduate and climate activist, Denis Hayes. Working on a shared vision and using Senator Nelsons considerable influence – the first Earth Day took place in 1970.
Earth Day was first recognised on a global scale in 1990, with 200 million people across 141 countries participating. The impact of the event was so great that 1990 Earth Day is now recognised as the year that created a global surge in efforts to embed re-cycling as a common practice across industry, commerce, and society.
In 1992 Earth Day was credited as paving the way for the United Nations “Earth Summit” and in 1995 Senator Nelsons efforts were recognised by Bill Clinton who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Here at Jam Attic HQ we feel continually inspired by events such as Earth Day and the potential this type of recognition can have on all of us. To quote Emmanuel Macron, “There is no Planet B”.
