Earth Day 2025 is April 22! This year’s theme is “Our Power, Our Planet,” emphasizing a call to triple global renewable energy generation by 2030 through solar, wind, hydroelectric, tidal and geothermal power. But let’s take a step back to see where the #environmental movement has been in its 55-year history.
While it may be difficult to believe in today’s political environment, the idea behind Earth Day is credited to Sen. Gaylord Nelson (R-Wis.). He enlisted the help of campus activist Denis Hayes to bring grass-roots energy and involvement to #conservation. They choose April 22 — a weekday between spring break and final exams — to maximize student participation.
When they named the new event Earth Day, it attracted widespread media attention. More than 20 million Americans — 10% of the total U.S. population at the time — participated in the first Earth Day in 1970 to demonstrate against the environmental impacts of industrial development and #pollution. The modern environmental movement was born.
The initial Earth Days led quickly to the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The growing movement inspired similar legislation worldwide, and the United Nations chose Earth Day 2016 to sign the Paris Climate Agreement.
Now the world’s largest annual civic event, Earth Day has championed #climate literacy and education throughout the world. EarthDay.org initiatives have helped plant hundreds of millions of trees, spread #sustainable agricultural practices to small farms, and reduced plastic pollution in waterways.
This Earth Day and every day, you can find ways in which you and your family can #reduce, #reuse and #recycle to lower your personal impact on the #environment. One way is to #donate the things you don’t need to ClothingDonations.org to keep more high-quality, used #stuff out of landfills.
And to join in protecting the planet, participate in an Earth Day 2025 event near you!