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Original Art by Olivia Schmidt

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Earth Day 2020

50th Anniversary of the First Earth Day "Teach-In" on April 22, 1970

* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day_Memories_on_the_50th_Anniversary

Steve Schmidt, GreenPolicy360 Siterunner:

The following Earth Day page retraces footsteps of a Pro-peace, Anti-war movement that led to the first "Earth Day"

A US Senator (Gaylord Nelson), a US Congressmen (George E. Brown) step up in support of our student organizing and calls-to-action

The historic oil spill that hit the California coastline surrounding Santa Barbara-Ventura with devastation escalated environmental awareness in California and across the U.S.

Senator Nelson soon became a central figure in the environmental activism of California students. Here are a set of personal recollections from those days -- media archive pages featuring Senator Nelson. The peace work as college students that we were doing in 1969 served as his inspiration, the Senator said and wrote. The good Senator and his political work became key in creating what became known as Earth Day.

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A First Earth Day

We brought it -- youthful energy, events, 'Teach-ins', and an ongoing environmental movement

* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Earth_Day

* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Day

Senator Gaylord Nelson, often credited with having proposed the first "Earth Day", was listening to us. We and Congressional friends were talking to him, meetings were held, conversations conducted during his California visits in 1968-70, and in Washington DC beginning in 1968. We spoke to him about our organizing, pro-peace and our shifting to 'green', pro- environmental protection work. Students were in front, organizing in California and across the nation, as millions came out in 1969 and 1970 Vietnam Moratorium and peace rallies. A 'whole earth, pro-life' environmental movement sprung first-ever images delivered by NASA's Apollo program, and arising from a 1968 student-led campaign waged. Student activists moved powerfully. Political figures and forces responded ...

Your GreenPolicy360 Siterunner is remembering Congressional Representatives with names like Nelson, Brown (George E), McCloskey (Pete), Lowenstein (Allard), Riegle (Donald), McCarthy (Eugene), Morris (Wayne) became our allies...

Senator Nelson, an eco-voyager, watched, met with, and listened to us during those years and then told the world how much we influenced him. He spoke of the genesis of his Earth Day proposal, pointing at student activism against the war, environmental activism against the historic oil spill along the coast of California ...

"If we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse student energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force the issue onto the national political agenda," Senator Bill Nelson (D-WI) said after one of his 1969 trips to California.

The day after the October 1969 rallies/teach-ins/demonstrations/marches that brought millions out against the war in Vietnam, Senator Nelson made a special trip to Los Angeles to speak to us at the University of Southern California. He told us we can bring positive change and to keep on doing what we where doing.

"I am convinced that the same concern the youth of this nation took in changing this nation's priorities on the war in Vietnam and on civil rights can be shown for the problems of the environment. Successful teach-ins on all campuses on the same day will have a dramatic impact on the environmental conscience of the nation. They will be immensely effective as an educational effort in arousing public opinion..."

Senator Nelson's staff described the work as a "Mass Movement" back then. The Senator received "500 invitations" to speak on the first "Earth Day". He accepted ours and flew to LA to say 'thank you'.