On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River on
the southern shores of Lake Erie caught
fire as oil, chemicals, and other materials, which had oozed into the lake, somehow
ignited. The fire captured national attention and made the people of the United
States aware of the many insults that had been heaped upon the environment of our
nation and of our planet. It also helped lay the foundation of NOAA's major coastal
resource management responsibilites and usher in the environmental protection or
“green” side of NOAA.
As a result of the Cuyahoga River fire
and other horrendous environmental
insults–the decline of the bald eagle from the pesticide DDT, whales hunted to near
extinction, and the Santa Barbara oil spill–Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson
(1916-2005) began planning in September 1969 for an environmental teach-in
known as Earth Day. On November 30, 1969, Gladwin Hill of the New York Times
reported:
"Rising
concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's
campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student
discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of
environmental problems...is being planned for next spring...when a nationwide
environmental 'teach- in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson
is planned....”
Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970.
It was spectacularly successful, achieving
grassroots concern for environmental problems facing the nation. More than 2,000
colleges and universities, over 10,000 high schools and grade schools, and 20
million citizens participated, nearly ten percent of the U.S. population at that time.
American Heritage (October 1993) magazine referred to this first Earth Day as
“one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy….”
