In honor of Earth Day, this week we will have a series of posts about the holiday and why it's so important. Today, we start with how Earth Day came to be. 

Earth Day is a national day to show support for environmental protection. Earth Day was founded by former U.S. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. After witnessing the devastating damages from a 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, Nelson felt that if he could create a National day to focus on environmental efforts, Americans would become more conscious of environmental issues. In turn, he felt citizens would put more pressure on the government to add environmental protection to the political agenda.

Nelson put together a task-force to organize, and on April 22, 1970, nearly 20 million Americans took part in demonstrating their support for a sustainable environment, by rallying in streets, parks, and auditoriums.

Now, Earth Day is celebrated globally in 141 countries, helping raise awareness to environmental issues. Each year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22.  

Want to get involved? Visit http://www.earthday.org/ for more information on how to get involved in your local community to celebrate Earth Day and support environmental efforts in your community.

Don’t have time to get involved? Don’t worry, there are plenty of things you can do in your own home to reduce your impact on the environment. Stay tuned for our Earth Day Series as we give practical advice on what you can do every day to celebrate Earth Day.