Anne Glydel C.

Dalagan

Prof. Maricris Martin

English 10

January 15, 2014

Picking a topic was one of the hardest parts of doing this paper. Theres so many topic to
choose to, but somehow, I chose the first Earth Day as my topic. I gave my essay a title of The
Birth of Green Revolution because I want to my essay to focus on how really Earth Day
started. Before starting the paper, I first read some articles so I knew what really happened
during that day. I also watched some videos in Youtube. The first paragraph was about what
happened during the day. The second and third paragraph explains all the things behind the
creation of Earth Day while the last paragraph is the conclusion. The thing that I disliked to my
essay is the description in the first paragraph. I was thinking if what I did is still a REPORT or
maybe its already a DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY. If somebody read my essay, I wish that they will
still consider it as a good report.

Anne Glydel C. Dalagan

Prof. Maricris Martin

English 10

January 15, 2014

The Birth of Green Revolution

Earth Day was a product of peoples struggle to fight for a cleaner environment ever since
the evolution of industrial revolution. Industrial revolution began on England during 1900s and
this was the time where coal came into large-scale use (Water and Air Pollution). Industrial
innovations were widely introduced especially in developed countries during this era.
Automobiles, factories from numerous companies and power plants alleviated problems of
transportation and electricity (Water and Air Pollution). However, these technological
improvements became a huge problem regarding the dreadful gases they emit. Moreover,
massive oil spills produced by factories as well as peoples garbage polluted clean bodies of
water. People were starting to experience the consequence of prosperity pollution. Rachel
Carson, a well-known nature author and a former marine biologist of U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, published a book The Silent Spring in 1962 which revealed the appalling hazards made
by DDT pesticides and other chemical substances (The Story of Silent Spring). This book
received a huge response from the readers and ignited environmental awareness of human
society. These prompted the US government to start making action on these issues.
Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin, came up an idea of organizing an
environmental protest after witnessing the massive oil spill in Sta. Barbara, California in 1969.
This huge grassroots protest was inspired by Vietnams antiwar movement called teach-ins
which was spread through different universities and colleges (Nelson). He assigned Denis Hayes
to organize the teach-in. He was anticipating that this would catch attention from the general
public and would bring awareness and environmental concerns to the students to force

environmental issue onto the political agenda (Nelson). People immediately responded to the
plan of the senator. College students across the US began discussing environmental problems
they were facing and the plans they are going to execute. Environmental organizations joined
forces together and made some preparations and plans for the awaited day.
The anticipated day, April 22, 1970 had finally arrived. People across United States
gathered together in promoting awareness regarding environmental destruction due to continuous
pollution. Youth activists played a big role in promoting awareness. College students in Michigan
as well as in New York showed their environmental concerns through cleaning up towns and
transforming them into parks. In Los Angeles, students created an ecology fair that
demonstrating exhibits of poisonous emissions from automobiles, useful recycling of waste
products and population control. Activists demonstrated their protests against environmental
destruction through performing a mask rally in Chicago, where people were equipped with gas
masks. Tree planting was carried out by some environmentalists as well as tackled lectures about
electricity conservation. Environmental organizations and scientists collaborated with the
government to discuss reformations that should be implemented. More than 20 million
environmentalists joined and participated to the first environmental protest the Earth Day
(Roach).
The first Earth Day was an enormous success. It produced an impact in peoples awareness
in the surroundings and also in promoting healthy and sustainable environment. Environmental
agencies were established and many significant laws like Clean Air Act of 1970 and Clean Water
Act were passed ensuring the safety and quality of air and water (Water and Air Pollution).
According to United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the general trend of
emission of common air pollutants like sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide

has been reducing significantly in the US since 1980. People became more conscious and aware
of caring for the environment. As Adam Rome said to an excerpt of his book, The Genius of
Earth Day published in Macmillan Publisher website:
Earth Day convinced many Americans that pollution, sprawl, nuclear fallout,
pesticide use, wilderness preservation, waste disposal, and population growth were
not separate issues: All were facets of a far-reaching environmental crisis.... many
liberal Democrats, scientists, middle-class women, young critics of American
institutions, and conservationists became more concerned about environmental
issues. (Rome)
Earth Day (or Earth Week and Earth Hour for some places) is now celebrated yearly on April 22
not only in the United States but more than 180 nations worldwide (Roach).

WORKS CITED
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earthweek1970. Earth Day 1970 Part 2: Gaylord Nelson's Speech (CBS News with Walter Cronkite).
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<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3RCPAtmpv8>
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