TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
Earth Day was conceived in 1969 by Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wisconsin, and his assistant Dennis Hayes, after a trip they took to Santa Barbara following the devastating oil spill off the Southern California coast. According to legend, the men were so outraged by what they saw that upon returning to Washington, D.C., Nelson introduced a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the Earth.
It's estimated that 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day in 1970. By the year 2000, formal events celebrating Earth Day were being observed in 184 countries, and more than 500 million people participated in those events.
For more information on Earth Day visit:
www2.epa.gov/earthday