Let’s Talk About Earth Day
This Saturday, 22nd April, is international Earth Day. This isn’t just a celebration of our wondrous world, but a day dedicated to opening up important conversations and doing something active to help out the environment. So let’s talk about Earth Day, and importantly how we can help our incredible world today.
Let’s Talk About Earth Day
How Did Earth Day Begin?
Back a couple decades before the first Earth Day, Americans were consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. As industrial factories also produced large amounts of smoke and sludge, both with little to no fear of the consequences.
But what really spun the wheels into motion is back in 1962, when a little book titled Silent Spring by Rachel Carson was published. It truly changed how we thought about our environment, showcasing the widespread environmental damage we were making and how, if continued unmonitored, we would find ourselves in a “silent spring”. Meaning, no birds, no insects, no vegetation, no trees….nothing.
The book sold more than 500,000 copies world wide, as it was the first to raise public awareness and concern for the environment and its links between pollution and public health, a notion never thought of before.
When Was The First Earth Day?
On April 22nd in 1970, marked the first ever Earth Day, championed by Senator Gaylord Nelson, Congressmen Pete McCloskey, and Denis Hayes. To bring wider public awareness to our damaged environment and as a call to action for everyone to play a part in conserving the one world we have.
The first Earth Day inspired 20 million in the United States (that’s 10% of the total population,) to take to the streets, the parks and auditoriums, to demonstrate against the last 150 years of industries wreaking havoc on the environment.
Earth Day Goes Global
As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders approached Denis Hayes to once again organise another major campaign for the planet. This time, Earth Day went global, with 200 million people in 141 countries, lifting environmental issues onto the world stage.
What Can We Do On Earth Day?
Let’s help clean our planet, whether it be a beach clean up, to cleaning up your local street, planting trees, recycling, second hand shopping or even upcycling.
Our Cornish candles are made to be used for more than just a candle pot. Any used pot can be cleaned out, and be used as food storage, a plant propagator or even a coffee cup! Let Earth Day inspire you to find new life to otherwise disused items around your home.
Remember, helping our planet doesn’t have to be just an annual thing. Local Cornish charities such as “Surfer Against Sewage” and Sea Shepherds continually help keep our beaches and oceans clean, so why not volunteer today?
