{"id":2225787,"date":"2024-04-20T05:18:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T09:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-nixon-a-college-student-and-a-wisconsin-senator-how-earth-day-came-to-be\/"},"modified":"2024-04-20T05:22:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T09:22:26","slug":"president-nixon-a-college-student-and-a-wisconsin-senator-how-earth-day-came-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-nixon-a-college-student-and-a-wisconsin-senator-how-earth-day-came-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"The origins of Earth Day: President Nixon, a university student, and a senator from Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpresident-nixon-a-college-student-and-a-wisconsin-senator-how-earth-day-came-to-be%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2225787&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>On\u200c April\u2062 22, 1971,\u2062 President Richard Nixon planted a tree at the White \u2062House to \u2064mark \u2063the one-year\u200d anniversary of Earth Day. Nixon, known\u200d for his green policies, signed \u200b14 environmental laws during his presidency. \u2063Earth Day&#8217;s inception involved \u200ca college student, a senator, \u200dand the first \u200dcelebration engaged 20 million people, creating a pivotal moment in environmental activism. On April 22, 1971, President Richard Nixon planted \u200ba\u2062 tree at the White House in honor \u2064of the one-year anniversary of\u2063 Earth Day. \u2062Nixon&#8217;s environmental \u200binitiatives\u2062 led to the signing of\u200c 14 important\u200b laws during his\u200d time in\u200d office. The involvement of a college student and a senator in\u200b the inception of Earth Day attracted 20 million participants during its first \u200bcelebration, signifying \u2063a significant \u2064milestone in\u2064 environmental \u2063activism.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>On April 22, 1971, former President <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/richard-nixon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Richard Nixon<\/a> planted a tree at the <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a>, commemorating the one-year anniversary of <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/earth-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Earth Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nixon was one of America\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nixonlibrary.gov\/news\/earth-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>greenest<\/a>\u201d presidents, signing 14 pieces of environmental legislation into law while he was in office. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-tweets-out-support-for-two-athletes-who-came-out-this-week\/\" title=\"Biden Tweets Out Support For Two Athletes Who Came Out This Week\">signed laws<\/a> such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe tasks that need doing \u2026 call for fundamentally new philosophies of land, air, and water use, for stricter regulation, for expanded government action, for greater citizen involvement, and for new programs to ensure that government, industry, and individuals all are called on to do their share of the job and to pay their share of the cost,\u201d Nixon said.<\/p>\n<p>How did Earth Day get on Nixon\u2019s radar? With passion from a college student and an environmentally focused Wisconsin senator, Earth Day became a reality and continues to be celebrated each April 22, now 54 years later.<\/p>\n<p>It was Democratic Sen. Gaylord <a href=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Nelson<\/a>, who had <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/earth-day-gaylord-nelson-climate-pollution-explain-e854ac748cf0f0e6c757a50aee4e785a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>long been concerned<\/a> about the environment, who thought of the idea of Earth Day. Nelson visited a large offshore oil spill in Southern California in 1969, which gave him the idea of hosting \u201cteach-ins\u201d across college campuses. The teach-ins mirrored those that were being held across the United States in opposition to the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/04\/denis-hayes-one-of-earth-days-founders-50-years-ago-reflects\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Denis Hayes<\/a>, a 25-year-old enrolled at Harvard Kennedy School, dropped out to organize a nationwide rally, now known as Earth Day. He said his upbringing in Washington state near a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/populist-swing-state-voters-become-key-target-for-democrats-in-2022-midterms\/\" title=\"Populist Swing State Voters Become Key Target for Democrats in 2022 Midterms\">paper mill<\/a> is what got him originally thinking about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rick-santorum-its-time-to-invest-in-real-infrastructure\/\" title=\"Rick Santorum: It's Time to Invest in Real Infrastructure\">environmental concerns<\/a>. He was inspired by Nelson\u2019s teach-ins and wanted to organize one at Harvard. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, who had an intuitive, political belief that the time was right for environmental issues to start achieving a higher degree of political traction in the country,\u201d Hayes said in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>He said Nelson was interested in Hayes organizing on a national level, which prompted him to drop out of Harvard. He later finished his degree at Stanford University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI flew down to Washington, D.C., for a 15-minute courtesy interview with the senator,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cIt turned into a more than two-hour talk about how to try to get such a campaign organized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA couple of days later, I had a call from his chief of staff asking whether I would drop out and come down to organize the United States,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cWithin a week of my conversation with the senator, I was packing up and leaving for Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nelson and Hayes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/minute\/Gaylord_Nelson_Promotes_the_First_Earth_Day.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>identified<\/a> the week of April 19 to 25 as an ideal time for college schedules, with the possibility of warm, spring weather. They determined that Wednesdays were the days most students were on campus, thus Wednesday, April 22, 1970 became the first Earth Day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI congratulate you, who, by your presence here today, demonstrate your concern and commitment to an issue that is more than just a matter of survival,\u201d Nelson <a href=\"https:\/\/doorcountypulse.com\/sen-gaylord-nelsons-earth-day-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> in a speech in Denver on the first Earth Day. \u201cHow we survive is the critical question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarth Day is dramatic evidence of a broad new national concern that cuts across generations and ideologies,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cIt may be symbolic of a new communication between young and old about our values and priorities. Take advantage of this broad new agreement. Don\u2019t drop out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first Earth Day in 1970 was also unique in that it encompassed a rare political alignment from people of various beliefs. Prior to that, Hayes said there was very little activism surrounding the environment. The timing was just right \u2014 it is estimated that 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day, making it the largest organized event in U.S. history.<\/p>\n<p>A year later, Nixon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presidency.ucsb.edu\/documents\/proclamation-4042-earth-week-1971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>declared<\/a> the time as Earth Week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFew concerns facing America and the world today are more compelling than the quality of our physical environment,\u201d Nixon said. \u201cAll that we do, all that we hope to achieve for ourselves, all that we hope to create for our children will go for nothing if the world itself is made unfit to live in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have made a beginning in this, but we have only begun,\u201d Nixon continued. \u201cNow, there must be a conscious, sustained effort by every American and, we might hope, by every citizen of the world if our posterity are not to look back in sorrow and wonder why, when God had created the Earth and seen that it was good, man did not agree and leave it that way. Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the period of April 18 through April 24, 1971, as Earth Week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earth Day became a <a href=\"https:\/\/education.nationalgeographic.org\/resource\/earth-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>global holiday<\/a> 20 years later. Hayes said he was proud of what Earth Day has become, looking back on the misfortunes of his Washington paper mill town.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat paper mill that stunk beyond belief, that sent out those acids that ate through the roofs of houses and pitted the roofs of automobiles whenever it rained,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cToday, something like that would be literally inconceivable in any place in the United States. What was normal in 1969 became unthinkable in the early 1970s, and it has retained that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ultimate test of man\u2019s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former President Richard Nixon celebrated Earth Day by planting a tree at the White House on April 22, 1971. Known for his environmental initiatives, Nixon signed 14 significant pieces of green legislation during his presidency, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Air Act<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2225788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP718843495103329-1024x427.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2225787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP718843495103329-1024x427.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2225787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2225788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2225787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2225787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2225787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}