The first International Earth Day was celebrated on the vernal equinox, 1970. It was March 21st that year. This year, it's MARCH 20, at 7:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time. Except that not everyone agrees. Of the several people who claim to be founders of Earth Day, two float to the surface as significant. One of them, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, set up a series of eco-events on April 22nd, 1970 and called them Earth Day. When people questioned the wisdom of establishing an Earth Day on Lenin's birthday (also on April 22nd), he replied “On any given day, a lot of both good and bad people were born...A person many consider the world’s first environmentalist, Saint Francis of Assissi, was born on April 22. So was Queen Isabella. More importantly, so was my Aunt Tillie.” Wisconsin's Earth Day took on a life of its own, and is celebrated by many every April 22nd.
The founder of the March-based Earth Day, International Earth Day, John McConnell, had a less frivolous sense of timing than someone's birthday.
"When I first conceived of Earth Day, a global holiday to celebrate the wonder of life on our planet, I thought long and hard about the day on which it should fall. It must be meaningful. One that might be accepted universally for all of humankind. When the Vernal Equinox dawned on me, I immediately knew it was right....this day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a Proclamation signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations where it is observed each year. Earth Day was firmly established for all time on a sound basis as an annual event to deepen reverence and care for life on our planet."
So here it goes, eco-fans: There are two earth days. One is the first day of Spring, the other is St Francis of Assissi's Birthday. Here's a wild idea: Let's celebrate both. And celebrate the earth on the other 363 days of the year.
The founder of the March-based Earth Day, International Earth Day, John McConnell, had a less frivolous sense of timing than someone's birthday.
"When I first conceived of Earth Day, a global holiday to celebrate the wonder of life on our planet, I thought long and hard about the day on which it should fall. It must be meaningful. One that might be accepted universally for all of humankind. When the Vernal Equinox dawned on me, I immediately knew it was right....this day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a Proclamation signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations where it is observed each year. Earth Day was firmly established for all time on a sound basis as an annual event to deepen reverence and care for life on our planet."
So here it goes, eco-fans: There are two earth days. One is the first day of Spring, the other is St Francis of Assissi's Birthday. Here's a wild idea: Let's celebrate both. And celebrate the earth on the other 363 days of the year.
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