Earth Day

The american celebration of the environment began on April 22, 1970, with activities from coast to coast in dedication of a renewed concern for land, water, and air. Earth Day was initiated, in part, by the moon landings and in particular from emotions stirred by the first photograph of the earth from space. Earth Day was the inspiration of Senator Gaylord Nelson (D–WI) who spent the previous eight years deeply concerned about the state of the physical environment, wanting to take action to rectify the damage. In 1962, Senator Nelson convinced President John F. Kennedy to conduct a national conservation tour to bring the issues of a degrading environment into prominent national view. The president began the tour in September 1963, but his efforts did not bring the results Senator Nelson had hoped for. Nonetheless, President Kennedy's efforts did provide an important start to the program. In September 1969, Senator Nelson announced at a conference that a demonstration aimed at garnering public support for the environment would be held in all areas of the country the following spring. The resulting notoriety from this announcement was extraordinary.

Estimates of participation in Earth Day were set at 20 million, as communities, schools, and a variety of organizations took part in a countrywide outpouring of support for the environment. In New York City, Mayor John Lindsay closed Fifth Avenue from Central Park to 14th Street for two hours in order to provide the celebration a dedicated space. The resulting series of speeches, discussions, musical performances, and Vietnam-demonstration-style “teach-ins” to raise awareness of environmental concerns carried on until midnight. Earth Day was a huge success and it ushered in a new ea in America's stewardship toward its natural endowments that became known as environmentalism.

The era of environmentalism succeeded the conservation movement, which had its greatest prominence from 1850 through 1920. The conservation approach embodied the basic relationship between humans and the natural word, an association that had been articulated in various forms throughout history. However, by 1850, U.S. urbanization brought about a new appreciation for regions of wilderness, dedication to the wise use of natural resources, and the preservation of areas of natural grandeur. The conservation movement recognized and documented human impact on the natural world, suggesting that this influence not be destructive. There emerged a philosophical basis as well for the appreciation of nature. Writers began to [Page 498]discuss the interface between nature and the American identity in spiritual terms, and to identify a moral connection between the urban dweller and the land. Wilderness and areas of natural beauty were not only idealized, but were also seen as places to preserve for the use of all citizens.

Volunteers from the U.S. Air Force joined local citizens to clean up refuse on Earth Day 2001.

The conservation movement coincided with several large-scale socioeconomic changes that permanently transformed the geography of North America. The industrialization of the American economic system was at its high point of development 1850–1920. This era also marked the emergence of largescale agriculture and the decline in the small farm. A vast expansion in the surface transportation system occurred during this period, and the emergence and solidification of the urban system took shape. By 1920, North America entered into an era of economic expansion unprecedented in world history. The Soil Conservation Service was founded in 1935 during the New Deal Era under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1937, the Pittman-Robertson Act was enacted to fund fish and wildlife programs. The most ambitious and far reaching single project undertaken in this period was the Tennessee Valley Authority, aimed at taming the wild and unpredictable Tennessee River through the construction of a series of nine dams along its course and a series of electric generating stations. The conservation movement also created the national park system, the national forest system, and the Forest Service. Much of the activity in conservation followed President Theodore Roosevelt's view of conservation as a central focus of national policy.

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