{"id":535788,"date":"2010-04-20T18:26:03","date_gmt":"2010-04-20T22:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/green.yahoo.com\/blog\/guest_bloggers\/33\/earth-day-turns-40-an-animated-tribute.html"},"modified":"2010-04-20T18:26:03","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T22:26:03","slug":"earth-day-turns-40-an-animated-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/535788","title":{"rendered":"Earth Day turns 40: An animated tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"earth\u00a0<\/div>\n
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2010 marks the 40th celebration of Earth Day<\/a>, a
\nholiday that helped spark America’s modern environmental movement when
\nit was founded on April 22, 1970, by then-Senator Gaylord Nelson of
\nWisconsin. <\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Did you know that there are actually two Earth Days<\/a>? The “first” Earth Day was founded on March 21, 1970, by John McConnell, a newspaper publisher. Even though this is the date that was embraced by the United Nations, Americans celebrate Earth Day on April 22 each year.\u00a0 <\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
It’s also interesting to note that the color green<\/a>, which symbolizes the environmental movement, isn’t all that “green,” as in “eco-friendly.” Synthetic green dyes, paints, and pigments are made with a noxious
\ncocktail of toxins and pollutants, making green an ironic symbol for the
\n environmental movement. <\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
In honor of this year’s historic anniversary, Mother Nature Network is taking a
\n quick look back at the last four decades of planetary appreciation.<\/div>\n
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The video below is a fun way to get the whole 40-year history in under 5 minutes. Or read the transcript below to see what happened each year. <\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n

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\n<\/embed><\/p>\n
\u00a0 <\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1970:<\/strong> 20 million people celebrate the first
\nEarth Day on April 22. A few months later, the U.S. Environmental
\nProtection Agency (EPA) opens its doors for the first time.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1971:<\/strong> Amtrak is founded, even though gas costs
\njust 33 cents a gallon.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1972:<\/strong> The EPA bans DDT, which was thinning bald
\neagles’ eggshells.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1973:<\/strong> A Mideast oil embargo sparks a U.S. gas
\ncrisis.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1974:<\/strong> Congress passes the Safe Drinking Water Act,
\n shamelessly pandering to the water-drinkers lobby.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1975:<\/strong> Congress sets emissions and efficiency rules
\n for cars, leading to the introduction of catalytic converters.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1976:<\/strong> The EPA starts phasing out PCBs, which can
\ncause cancer and other health problems.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1977:<\/strong> The U.S. adds the first plants to its
\nendangered species list \u2014 despite their disturbing lack of cuteness.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1978:<\/strong> Congress bans CFCs in aerosol sprays after
\nscientists realize CFCs can deplete the Earth’s ozone layer.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1979:<\/strong> A partial meltdown at Pennsylvania’s
\nThree Mile Island nuclear plant ruins an otherwise good day.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1980:<\/strong> Congress creates the Superfund program to
\nclean up toxic waste sites. Those expecting “super fun” sites are
\nquickly disappointed.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1981:<\/strong> Acid rain intensifies over the Northeastern
\nUnited States and Canada.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1982:<\/strong> Dioxin contamination forces the U.S.
\ngovernment to buy homes in Times Beach, Missouri \u2014 not the
\nlast time it would have to buy up toxic assets.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1983:<\/strong> A long failure to clean up the Chesapeake
\nBay begins.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1984:<\/strong> 8.6 million acres of protected wilderness
\nare established in 21 states. Somewhere in the distance, a coyote howls.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1985:<\/strong> Scientists discover a giant hole in Earth’s
\nozone layer. During the next year’s NBA All-Star Game, Spud Webb dunks
\nthrough it.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1986:<\/strong> Congress declares the public has a right to
\nknow when toxic chemicals are released into the air, land, or water. The
\npublic breathes a sigh of relief \u2014 and a little sulfur dioxide.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1987:<\/strong> Medical waste washes ashore in New York and New Jersey,
\nforcing beaches to close. Efforts to rebrand the area don’t work out.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1988:<\/strong> Congress bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge
\n and industrial waste, ending a cherished American tradition.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1989:<\/strong> The Exxon Valdez spills 11 million gallons
\nof crude oil into Alaska’s
\n Prince William Sound, one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S.
\nhistory.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1990:<\/strong> The EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory tells the
\npublic which pollutants are being released into their communities.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1991:<\/strong> The U.S. government begins using products
\nmade from recycled content.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1992:<\/strong> The U.S. Energy Department and the EPA
\nlaunch the Energy Star program to label energy-efficient products.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1993:<\/strong> A cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee
\nsickens 400,000 people and kills more than 100, raising awareness of
\nmicrobes in water supplies.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1994:<\/strong> The first genetically modified tomatoes hit
\nthe U.S. market.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1995:<\/strong> Wolves are reintroduced into Yellowstone and
\n central Idaho. The
\n initial awkwardness quickly fades.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1996:<\/strong> Public drinking-water suppliers are required
\n to inform customers about chemicals and microbes in their water.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1997:<\/strong> The U.S. joins other countries in Kyoto,
\nJapan, to negotiate a global climate-change treaty it winds up
\nrejecting.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1998:<\/strong> Earth has its warmest year since record-keeping began in 1880.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
1999:<\/strong> The EPA announces new rules to improve air
\nquality in national parks and wilderness areas. Somewhere in the
\ndistance, a coyote coughs.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2000:<\/strong> High temperatures and low rainfall spark the
\n worst U.S. wildfire season in 50 years.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2001:<\/strong> The U.S. formally rejects the Kyoto treaty.
\nThe treaty suffers brief self-esteem issues before hooking up with
\nEurope on the rebound.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2002:<\/strong> The U.S. suffers its second-worst wildfire
\nseason in 50 years.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2003:<\/strong> The EPA retrofits 40,000 school buses
\nnationwide to cut back their tailpipe emissions.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2004:<\/strong> The EPA requires cleaner fuels and engines
\nfor farm and construction equipment.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2005:<\/strong> The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season produces a
\n record number of tropical cyclones, including Hurricane Katrina, which
\ndevastates the Gulf Coast.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2006:<\/strong>\u00a0An Inconvenient Truth<\/em>\u00a0is released,
\nwinning Al Gore an Oscar, a Nobel Prize, and a lifetime of being
\ncriticized every time it snows.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2007:<\/strong> The bald eagle is removed from the
\nendangered species list.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2008:<\/strong> The EPA releases a list of “eco-fugitives.”
\nCaptain Planet comes out of retirement.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2009:<\/strong> The EPA issues a proposed finding that
\ngreenhouse gases may endanger public health or welfare. Congress issues a
\n proposed finding that the EPA is a jerk.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
2010:<\/strong> People around the world celebrate the 40th
\nEarth Day, once again dedicating a full day to the planet’s health. The
\nEarth is touched, even though it creates days in the first place by
\nrotating, which means “Earth Day” is a regift. But it’s the thought that
\n counts.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n

Russell McLendon is an associate editor at the Mother Nature Network<\/a><\/em>, where a
\n version of this post<\/a> originally appeared.<\/em><\/p>\n

More from Mother Nature Network<\/strong><\/p>\n