Public awareness and concern
for
living organisms,
the environment and public health
took a giant step forward
after Rachel Carson's book
"Silent Spring" was published in
1962.
After the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill,
Gaylord Nelson,
a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin,
decided to try to channel
the
energy of the anti-war protest movement
into concern
for the environment.
He then announced his idea for
"a national teach-in on the environment" to the media. As a result, on April 22, 1970,
20 million Americans demonstrated across the nation
for a healthy environment and Earth Day was born. |