File:USC Daily Trojan Sen Nelson speech day after first Earth Day .jpg

• https://www.earthday.org/history/

Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the first Earth Day Teach-in after a visit to California, crediting the Vietnam Moratorium for inspiring him to believe in the potential of a nationwide student-led environmental movement.

The foundation of the "Decade of the Environment" came about as a result of students proposing, planning and organizing Moratorium marches, speeches, teach-ins, and then in the Spring of 1970 Earth Day became a history-making day.

USC students were among students out in front in this history-making era. A 16 mm USC film school documentary by Robert Carroll follows students who organized the Moratorium, beginning with the committee's DC founding in the summer of '69...

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The First "Earth Day"

Coast to Coast

Remembering April 22, 1970

Green beginnings of an environmental movement

SJS / GreenPolicy360 Siterunner

At USC we had worked to inspire a special Senator, Senator Gaylord Nelson, to plan a environmental protection day. We spoke of carrying a positive message for the future, a green message. "Teach-ins" created by students were growing a nationwide peace movement and envisioning a new environmental movement. Senator Nelson accepted our invitation and stepped up as we continued mobilizing to set up what became the first "Earth Day".

Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Founder of Earth Day

• http://nelsonearthday.net/nelson

The First Earth Day Teach-In

On April 22nd, 1970, Earth Day dawned as a day to inspire, a teaching moment about protecting and preserving Planet Earth. We planned the first celebration as an annual event. Year in, year out since, Earth Days have followed and grown to be a global event. An environmental era was being created and shaped with a vision of what could be.

The Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach-In Unexpectedly Helped to Plant the Seeds of Earth Day and the First Green Generation

Let's revisit 1969 and 1970 as student activism became a peace and environmental movement across the college campuses of the U.S. As a co-founder of the Vietnam Moratorium Committee and coordinator of anti-war activities on college campuses in California, I found myself overwhelmed working as a student activist to organize at my own campus of the USC and throughout California and eventually traveling internationally to speak in London, Paris and the International Peace Conference in Stockholm.

USC in the 1960s became a center of activism. Our day-to-day organizing took us from opposition to nuclear weapons, war and international conflict to environmental security and political reform. USC was our 'home base' and after helping to establish the peace group, Vietnam Moratorium Committee, in DC, we made the SC Religious Center the center of Moratorium events beginning on October 15, 1969, into November, December and through our April 1970 plan. Student "teach-ins" were popular tools for outreach and we began organizing to build awareness and support for the first generation of environmental laws. We saw our peace movement and a new cultural, environmental movement join together.

Our Teach-in model, with Senator Gaylord Nelson's proposal, was a first wave of what became continued teach-ins and educational efforts that acted to make our environmental priorities become reality.

With Congressman George Brown's encouragement and Senator Nelson's active support, students launched environmental teach-ins across the country every year. April 22nd became our "Earth Day".

We didn't call the first national Teach-in an "Earth Day" at first, but that's what it was -- momentous and magic. Earth Day launched!

At USC it was appropriate to hear Senator Nelson speak to us to celebrate the first Earth Teach-in. Across the U.S. and in the nations of the world a planetary celebration, a growing activist movement, signaled an Earth Day flag being raised.

Senator Gaylord Nelson at USC spoke out: "I am convinced that the same concerns the youth of this nation took in changing this nation's priorities on the war in Vietnam and on civil rights can be shown for the problems of the environment."

"Successful teach-ins on all campuses on the same day will have a dramatic impact on the environmental conscience of the nation. They will be immensely effective as an educational effort in arousing public opinion concerning necessary steps to protect our environment and establish quality on a par with quality as a goal of American life."

Nelson... argued that the youth of this nation offer the hope of taking leadership away from the present "indifferent, venal men who are concerned with progress and profit for the sake of progress and profit alone and who consider the environment the problem of the birdwatchers and butterfly chasers."

The reporters at the campus Daily Trojan did not provide background on how Senator Nelson was influenced by USC students in the origination of the peace 'teach-ins' and founding of the Moratorium organization that the Senator was referring to in changing 'this nation's priorities'. In fact, the invitation we gave to Senator Nelson to speak at USC was a summing up our previous talks and ideas shared. He was speaking of our work and his travel across the nation on Earth Day came after previous discussions about originating environmental teach-ins and an Earth Day.

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Ripples of an 'Earth Day Flag'

Waving the Earth Day Flag

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day

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Senator Gaylord Nelson:

"I am convinced that the same concern the youth of this nation took in changing this nation's priorities on the war in Vietnam and on civil rights can be shown for the problems of the environment... Successful teach-ins on all campuses on the same day will have a dramatic impact on the environmental conscience of the nation. They will be immensely effective as an educational effort in arousing public opinion concerning necessary steps to protect our environment and establish quality on a par with quantity as a goal of American life."

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A tip of the Green Hat to Denis Hayes, who in 1970 was asked by Senator Nelson to be the first Earth Day coordinator. Dennis continued organizing Earth Days and by 1990 events were being held in 141 nations.

How does the first Earth Day Teach-in coordinator Denis Hayes describe the positive impacts of the first Earth Day --

• https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-50-years-on-qa-with-denis-hayes-coordinator-of-the-first-earth-day/

One month after the 1970 election, the Clean Air Act of 1970 passed the Senate unanimously and the House with just one dissenting vote.

In short order, Congress also passed the:

• Clean Water Act

• Occupational Health and Safety Act

• Marine Mammal Protection Act

• Endangered Species Act

• Safe Drinking Water Act

• Set Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards for cars

• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• Toxic Substances Control Act

• National Forest Management Act

In the 10 years following Earth Day, bold new laws changed the direction of the United States economy more profoundly than any other period in history, except perhaps the New Deal.

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Earth Day's First Teach-in: Inspiring and Launching an Environmental Era

Energizing a New Generation of Forward-looking Protections

A tip of the Green Hat to George E. Brown, an environmental leader in the U.S. Congress who helped us organize throughout the U.S. before, on and after the first Earth Day in 1970.

• http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr

A political voice who came from East Los Angeles, Congressman Brown for three decades led an agenda of first-generation environment legislation. After Earth Day George was at the forefront of a profound and visionary agenda, including being instrumental in the formation of the EPA, passage of the Clean Air/Water acts, and drafting and pushing through the passage of the historic, first National Climate Policy and Program Act.

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January 1969

A Vision of the Home Planet as Never Before Seen

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Apollo_8,_Life_Jan10,1969.png

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/PlanetCitizen

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Citizens

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The Big Picture, Delivered by Apollo Missions and Original Mission Statement of NASA

“To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.”

California out in front in a Green future

Nearby USC in Pasadena, JPL/NASA with many USC, UCLA and Caltech taught engineers, for decades were a key component in continued California-based earth science research from space and environmental leadership on Earth ...

NASA/JPL Earth science missions to measure & monitor our planet's environment, touching the lives of every person around the world.

"Picture Earth Day Everyday at NASA"

Earth Right Now

Earth Science Vital Signs

• http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

• www.climate.nasa.gov

• climate.jpl.nasa.gov

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A Young Vision of Our Future

April 22, 1970

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