In the spirit of Earth Day yesterday, here’s a look back at how it all started…
On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River on the southern shores of Lake Erie caught on fire as chemicals, oil and other industrial materials that had oozed into the river somehow ignited. Just a few months before, on January 28, 1969, an oil rig leaked millions of gallons of oil off the coast of Santa Barbara. That same year, reports surfaced that our national symbol, the bald eagle, was rapidly declining as a species due to the chemical DDT, while around the world, whales were being hunted nearly to extinction. These and other incidents caught the attention of the national media and galvanized public awareness of the many environmental insults being hurled at the nation and the planet.
In response to the public outcry, Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson, who served as the Governor of Wisconsin (1958-1962) and in the U.S. Senate (1963-1981), organized a nationwide “teach-in” about environmental issues to take place on April 22, 1970. More than 2,000 colleges and universities, 10,000 public schools, and 20 million citizens participated — nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population at that time. Read more on the NOAA site and also see how you can get involved with NOAA’s Debris Tracker App and Phytoplankton App.
