Garden Articles - Earth Day Facts

Shouldn't every day be Earth Day? Absolutely! But you probably didn’t know that there are actually two Earth Days!

The first Earth Day, also known as the Vernal Equinox, is celebrated on the first day of Spring, and was founded by John McConnell. The exact day and time is slightly different every year, but it always falls on March 20 or 21.

After a massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969, California Senator Gaylord Nelson was determined to force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Through his power and influence, Senator Nelson was able to organize a nationwide event on April 22, 1970 in which 20 million Americans showed their support for protecting the environment.

Another Envi-RING-mental Fact…

The United Nations Peace Bell, located in New York City, rings at the moment of the spring equinox each year. The Peace Bell was a gift from Japan in 1954. It was cast from metal coins collected by people from 60 different countries. Bells also ring in many other places in the world, including Vilnius, Lithuania, Beijing, China, Paris, France and Kyoto, Japan.

Have you lost your marbles?

In 1969, John McConnell designed the Earth Flag after seeing NASA’s photo of Life Magazine’s The Blue Marble, a famous photograph of the Earth as seen from outer space. The flag was designed with a dark blue background with The Blue Marble in its center. The first 500 Earth flags produced were printed with errors. The colors of the Earth were reversed! One erroneously designed flag had the ocean was white and the clouds were blue. Other errors included flags using only two colors, one color was for clouds and the other color was for both ocean and land.

McConnell had The Earth Flag trademarked and copyrighted under World Equality, Inc. However, the image of the Earth on the flag is public domain; the copyright on the flag design was invalidated in 2001.

A global phenomenon

In 1990, Earth Day went global. It was celebrated by 200 million people in over 140 participating nations! Global awareness was sparked in 1989 by the death of 2,000 people from a pesticide plant leak in India and then the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion in the USSR that sent radiation across the earth's atmosphere. Now, more than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities every year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

Picnic For The Planet

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization. They work in all 50 states and more than 30 countries to conserve the land and water on our planet. This year the Nature Conservancy is planning the world's largest and most delicious Earth Day celebration... a Picnic For The Planet! They are hoping to make it into the Guinness World Records® for the most people picnicking in 24 hours. If you are inspired to participate in this international event, Garden.com can help you prepare! Our selection of picnic supplies and accessories will make your Earth Day celebration more enjoyable.