On April 22, 1990, some 200 million people in 140 countries joined in a common cause: to save the Earth. It was Earth Day 1990- an event that was a call for action to protect the fragile environment we live in. There were street festivals, concerts, fairs, marches, and rallies. In France, people linked hands in a human chain that stretched 500 miles (805 kilometers). In Italy, 5,000 people lay down on a roadway to protest car exhaust. In Nepal, people climbed Mount Everest, picking up trash as they went. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, people gathered at sunrise and again at sunset to hear the singing of children's choirs and the chanting of a Micmac Indian medicine man. (Grolier Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia)
The name and concept of Earth Day was pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. He proposed March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a Proclamation signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. A month later a separate Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. While this April 22 Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations. Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. (Wikipedia online Encyclopedia)
The name and concept of Earth Day was pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. He proposed March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a Proclamation signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. A month later a separate Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. While this April 22 Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations. Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. (Wikipedia online Encyclopedia)
