Grown from the grassroots

Annual celebration of planet was inspired by 1969 oil spill in California

This article was written by Mark Colley and was published in the Toronto Star on April 23, 2024.

Allison Best shows a worm to Jr. Forest Explorers for Earth Day at Boake’s Grove at Downsview Park. Various other Earth Day events are planned in Toronto throughout the week.

Monday was Earth Day.

An annual celebration of the planet and call to action to save it, Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 every year since 1970.

Here are five interesting things about the day now celebrated around the world.

Who came up with Earth Day?

Earth Day is largely credited to Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin.

An environmentalist, Nelson became increasingly alarmed about humanity’s impact on the planet in January 1969 following the Santa Barbara oil spill. The spill — which would eventually lead to 100,000 barrels of oil being released, the largest spill in U.S. waters at that time — covered the beaches of Santa Barbara, Calif., and killed an estimated 3,500 sea birds, according to Forbes.

Nelson toured the beaches months later, according to the U.S. Senate Historical Office. Inspired by anti-Vietnam War teach-ins taking place on college campuses, Nelson set out to organize a similar grassroots movement for Earth Day.

Why is Earth Day held on April 22?

Nelson and Denis Hayes, a law student who served as national co-ordinator of the first Earth Day, chose April 22. That week lined up well with college schedules, had the potential for good weather and — as a Wednesday that year — meant more students would be on campus than any other day of the week, according to the Senate Historical Office.

The first Earth Day was celebrated by 20 million Americans — nearly 10 per cent of the country’s population — across 2,000 college campuses and 10,000 primary and secondary schools.

How is Earth Day celebrated in Toronto?

Cleanups have been organized across the city. On Sunday, registered charity Don’t Mess with the Don said over 400 people attended its events and removed nearly 10,000 pounds of trash and invasive plants.

Various events are planned for later this week.

What’s the focus of Earth Day this year?

EarthDay.org’s theme for this year was “Planet vs. Plastics.”

According to the organization, more plastic has been produced in the last decade than in the entirety of the 20th century. It is calling for a 60 per cent reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040.

“Plastics extend beyond an imminent environmental issue; they present a grave threat to human health as alarming as climate change,” EarthDay.org said.

Microplastics, which have been found in our air and water, have been discovered deep inside the lungs of living people and researchers now believe there is a possibility they can travel across the intestinal barrier to reach vital organs like the brain.

What is Canada doing about plastics?

A new Toronto bylaw is making businesses ask customers if they’d like single-use items before providing them.

The federal government has already banned companies from importing or selling many single-use plastic items in Canada — including checkout bags, cutlery, stir sticks and straws.

While a federal court struck down the assumption underlying the ban last year, it remains in effect while the government appeals the ruling.

Author: Ray Nakano

Ray is a retired, third generation Japanese Canadian born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. He resides in Toronto where he worked for the Ontario Government for 28 years. Ray was ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh in 2011 and practises in the Plum Village tradition, supporting sanghas in their mindfulness practice. Ray is very concerned about our climate crisis. He has been actively involved with the ClimateFast group (https://climatefast.ca) for the past 5 years. He works to bring awareness of our climate crisis to others and motivate them to take action. He has created the myclimatechange.home.blog website, for tracking climate-related news articles, reports, and organizations. He has created mobilizecanada.ca to focus on what you can do to address the climate crisis. He is always looking for opportunities to reach out to communities, politicians, and governments to communicate about our climate crisis and what we need to do. He says: “Our world is in dire straits. We have to bend the curve on our heat-trapping pollutants in the next few years if we hope to avoid the most serious impacts of human-caused global warming. Doing nothing is not an option. We must do everything we can to create a livable future for our children, our grandchildren, and all future generations.”