April 22 – World Earth Day
Earth Day (officially International Mother Earth Day) is a day celebrated in many countries on April 22nd.
Its promoter, US Senator Gaylord Nelson, established this day to create a common awareness of the problems of overpopulation, pollution production, biodiversity conservation, and other environmental concerns to protect the Earth.
It is a day to pay tribute to our planet and recognize Earth as our home and our mother, as expressed by different cultures throughout history, demonstrating the interdependence between its many ecosystems and the living beings that inhabit it.
History
In 1968, Morton Hilbert and the U.S. Public Health Service, organized the Human Ecology Symposium, a conference was held by the aforementioned for an environmental assembly or conference for students to listen to scientists talk about the effects of environmental deterioration on human health. This was the first precedent for Earth Day.
Over the next two years, Hilbert and his students worked to plan the first Earth Day. Other efforts arose like the Survival Project, one of the first environmental awareness educational events, which was carried out at Northwestern University on January 23, 1970. This was the first of several events held on university campuses throughout the United States. Likewise, Ralph Nader began to speak about the importance of ecology in 1970.
The first demonstration took place on April 22, 1970, promoted by Senator and environmental activist Gaylord Nelson, for the creation of an environmental agency. Two thousand universities, ten thousand schools (primary and secondary), and hundreds of communities participated in this call.
Social pressure had its achievements and the United States government created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a series of laws aimed at protecting the environment.
In 1972, the first international conference on the environment was held. The Earth Summit in Stockholm, whose goal was to raise awareness among world leaders about the magnitude of environmental problems.
