April 22, Earth Day, draws attention to environmental concerns and highlights the correlation between pollution, public health and the health of every living organism on the planet. The day also marks the anniversary of the modern era environmental movement starting in 1970. There was a lot going on in 1970, with the atmosphere swirling around the peak of the counterculture and anti-war protests. And which, for the most part, left out concerns of the environment, air, water, and the important relationship the environment has to the health of the earth and it’s inhabitants. But the activism in the air fueled the environmental movement.
Where It Began
Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, CA. National teach-ins on the environment were announced. Denis Hays was recruited from Harvard as a national coordinator. Hayes and a staff of 85 set out to promote events and chose April 22, as it fell between Spring Break and Final exams.
In 1990 Hayes was approached again to organize another big campaign. At this point, Earth Day events spread all over the world, empowering and mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries. (Source: earthday.org). By the year 2000, the power of the internet was harnessed to combine the spirit of the first earth day with the reach of the 1990 campaign to organize activists, and reinvigorate the movement across the globe, with a focused message based on “quick and decisive action on global warming and clean energy”. For more details on the history of earth day or to get involved please visit earthday.org.
Where We Are Now
Yes Solar Solutions celebrates Earth Day every day. And on this day, when we are all re-committing to taking care of our earth, we also take the time to reflect on the incredible contributions of the founders and organizers of the Earth Day movement. Clean energy, the environment, public health and environmental stewardship are at the core of our values. Our commitment to making solar accessible, quality installations and clean energy advocacy is what we do every day.
We are proud to help people achieve their clean energy goals. If you want to get involved with solar energy by installing your own system, give us a call at 919 459-4155 or submit the form below.
(Photo: Jay at a 2017 Earth Day event at NCSU).