Happy Earth Day Get LiT readers! Ok, maybe you’re not quite that excited since it's raining out, so why not stay in and enjoy a little bit about how Earth Day came to be from your friends at LiT.
Earth day was designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth and the environment. It started in; you guessed it, Seattle, in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin at a Senatorial meet up in Seattle. Over 20 million people participated that year, and now April 22 is celebrated by more the 500 million people and governments in 175 countries. You go Gaylord Nelson!
But why April 22 (this is my favorite part?) Nelson chooses the date as a way to maximize college student participation, but not too much that they may cause problems. He figured the week of April 19-25 was a great time for Earth Day because there were no exams, religious holidays or spring breaks. Plus he figured Wednesday would be best because it’s the middle of the week, meaning more students would be in class making less competition with other Earth day friendly events. Nelson was such a good planner. He also planned Earth Day in late April because he thought the weather is best then, (obviously his trip to Seattle was a nice one that year).
Whether a conscious choice or not, April 22 is not only Earth's special day but Lenin and Saint Francis of Assisi's birthdays, one out of two isn’t bad.
Now you know a little history about Earth Day go do some good “earth friendly things”: plant a tree, buy a used lamp from Goodwill instead of new, change your light bulbs to energy efficient and pick out your earth friendly LiT shade.
Happy Earth Day!!
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