Earth Day: How to celebrate Earth Day
Celebrate Earth Day with these sustainability tips.
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Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 each year, promoting environmental protection and awareness since 1970.
Now celebrating its 55th anniversary, this year’s Earth Day theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” calls for people worldwide to unite behind renewable energy and promote clean electricity by 2030, according to Sarah Davies, the communications director of EarthDay.org.
“The progress the world has already made in solar energy is unbelievable,” Davies told USA TODAY.
What are the origins of Earth Day?
The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 when 20 million people went to inaugural events at schools, universities and other public areas around the country, according to the Library of Congress’s website.
In 1969, Democratic U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin proposed a series of “teach-ins” at university campuses to raise awareness of environmental threats. He was joined by Congressman Pete McCloskey (R-CA) and activist Denis Hawyer, according to the World Economic Forum, but they wanted to create a national movement that extended beyond students and academia.
McCloskey, a pro-environment, anti-war California Republican who co-wrote the Endangered Species Act and co-founded Earth Day, worked to pass the Clean Air Act in 1970. The Environmental Protection Agency was created the same year after the public demanded cleaner water, air, and land as more disasters caused by climate change and pollution impacted the country.
When is Earth Day?
Earth Day falls on April 22 every year. This year, it falls on the Tuesday after Easter.
Although the day has been celebrated for more than half a century, it isn’t federally recognized, as USA TODAY previously reported.
Which states are leading the way in renewable energy?
“Texas and California, you know, the two most diametrically opposed states in America are the ones that are leading the charge in renewable energy,” said Davies. “And they’re doing it amazingly.”
Renewable energy will not only provide a cleaner way to power our daily lives; it will also create new jobs—over 10 million jobs globally by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum.
“All over America, it’s happening,” Davies said. “And in lots and lots of red states, these amazing projects are happening that are creating great jobs.”
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn,X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
