Anne Glydel C.

Dalagan English 10

Prof. Maricris Martin 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 English 10 The Birth of Green Revolution

Prof. Maricris Martin January 15, 2014

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 Air Quality Trends. EPA.gov. EPA, 3 September 2013. Web. 4 January 2014. <http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/aqtrends.html#emission> Earth Day: The History of A Movement. Earth Day.org. Earth Day Network, n.d. Web. 4 January 2014. <http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement> earthweek1970. Earth Day 1970 Part 2: Gaylord Nelson's Speech (CBS News with Walter Cronkite). Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 11 April 2010. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3RCPAtmpv8> earthweek1970. Earth Day 1970 Part 4: Albion, Michigan (CBS News with Walter Cronkite). Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 11 April 2010. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6mGdgwywCw> earthweek1970. Earth Day 1970 Part 6: Boston, NYC, Chicago, LA (CBS News with Walter Cronkite). Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 11 April 2010. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPzq2rckxHo> earthweek1970. Earth Day 1970 Part 10: Earth Week 1of3 Philadelphia (CBS News with Walter Cronkite). Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 11 April 2010. Web. 10 January 2014. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6grUk-IcLM> earthweek1970. Earth Day 1970 Part 10: Earth Week 2of3 Philadelphia (CBS News with Walter Cronkite). Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 11 April 2010. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ojtnw5lwaQ> earthweek1970. Earth Day 1970 Part 10: Earth Week 3of3 Philadelphia (CBS News with Walter Cronkite). Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 11 April 2010. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyDY9Yvnb1c>

Nelson, Gaylord. How the First Earth Day Came About. Envirolink. Envirolink. n.d. Web. 9 January 2014. <http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html> Roach, John. Earth Day Facts: When It Is, How It Began, What to Do. National Geopgraphic. National Geographic News, 6 April 2010. Web. 4 January 2014. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/51825531.html> Rome, Adam. The Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach-In Unexpectedly Made the First Green Generation. Macmillan. Macmillan Publishers, n.d. Web. 4 January 2014. <http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage_New.aspx?isbn=9780809040506> The Story of Silent Spring. NDRC.org. Natural Resources Defense Council, 5 December 2013. Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp> Water and Air Pollution. History.com. History, n.d., Web. 10 January 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/water-and-air-pollution>