Earth Day

Earth Day History

Earth Day seeks to highlight and promote efforts dedicated to the protection of the environment. As we enter the 21st century, we face many environmental crises including global warming, deforestation, endangered wildlife, shortages of potable water, and widespread pollution. These crises negatively affect our planet’s resources, and they pose serious risk to our long-term lifestyles and health.

In 1970, a US Senator named Gaylord Nelson was inspired to raise public awareness about environmental problems. He campaigned across the nation with the hopes of gathering public support. He hoped to have environmental protection included in the national political agenda. His efforts were rewarded later in July of 1970 when the United States Environmental Protection Agency was created. With it the came the passing of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Today, Earth Day is celebrated by billions of people around the world and is observed in over 190 countries. Worldwide, Earth Day celebrations utilize educational programs to inform people of ways that can help protect the environment and its natural resources. It is observed annually on April 22nd.

Top 10 Facts for Earth Day in 2026

• The official theme for the 2026 global observance is Our Power, Our Planet, a call to action specifically focused on the urgent necessity of tripling the world's clean energy capacity by the year 2030.
• This upcoming celebration marks the 56th anniversary of the movement, which has grown from a grassroots demonstration into the largest secular civic event in the world, now involving more than one billion people across 192 countries.
• The specific date for the event was originally selected by Gaylord Nelson to fall between spring break and final exams on college campuses, ensuring maximum participation from students who were already energized by the anti-war protests of the late 1960s.
• Before its official naming, the event was conceptualized as a national environmental teach-in, an educational format designed to mobilize public consciousness regarding the detrimental impacts of air and water pollution.
• The legacy of the first demonstration in 1970 is directly linked to the passage of landmark environmental legislation in the United States, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
• A major highlight for 2026 is the The 25% Revolution, an initiative explaining how a committed minority can change social norms and drive market transitions toward a green economy.
• The Paris Agreement, the most significant international climate accord in history, was notably opened for signature on Earth Day in 2016, cementing the date's importance in global diplomacy.
• Participants often perform a unique global tribute by singing the Earth Day Anthem, a song composed by Abhay Kumar that has been recorded in all official languages of the United Nations.
• Major mobilization efforts for the year include The Great Global Cleanup, a campaign that organizes millions of volunteers to remove waste from parks, beaches, and neighborhoods worldwide.
• The The Canopy Project remains a core focus of the organization, aiming to plant tens of millions of trees to combat deforestation and support ecosystem restoration in some of the most at-risk regions of the world.

In the News and Trending in the US for Earth Day

Top things to do in the US for Earth Day

• Try not to use your car for the entire day. Instead, use public transit, walk, or ride your bicycle.
• Change your traditional incandescent light bulbs to energy saving LED or CFL light bulbs.
• Organize a group of volunteers to help clean up and restore a green space. Some suggestions include planting trees and adding waste receptacles.
• Watch a documentary or movie that touches on an ecological issue. Our favorites are: An Inconvenient Truth (2006), the Burning Season (1993, 2008), Elemental (2012) and The Day after Tomorrow (2004).
• Read one of many books that relate to environmental issues such as, The World Without Us (Alan Weisman), Hell and High Water (Joseph Romm) and Natural Capitalism (Hawken, Lovins and Lovins)