When is Earth Day?

Earth Day is today, April 22, 2011!  The first installment of Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. United States Senator Gaylord Nelson was the man who founded this annual event that is gathering a larger following year after year. The organization coordinating Earth Day on a global basis is called the Earth Day Network. More than 175 countries around the countries celebrate Earth Day as of 2010.

Over 20 million people participated in the original edition of Earth Day in 1970, and the event is now observed on April 22 each year by more than 500 million people and several national governments in 175 countries.

Think you know Earth Day? Play the Earth Day Trivia Quiz to see just how much you know (or don’t know)!

Senator Nelson had conceived the idea for Earth Day following a trip he took to Santa Barbara right after the horrific oil spill off the coast in 1969. Quote Nelson: “I am convinced that all we need to do to bring an overwhelming insistence of the new generation that we stem the tide of environmental disaster is to present the facts clearly and dramatically. To marshal such an effort, I am proposing a national teach-in on the crisis of the environment to be held next spring on every university campus across the Nation. The crisis is so imminent, in my opinion, that every university should set aside 1 day in the school year-the same day across the Nation-for the teach-in.”