So what's up with Earth Day?

Tomorrow, April 22nd 2009, is Earth Day! Now that green is the new black, you may be wondering why we even bother setting aside one day a year to really focus on saving the planet. The first Earth Day took place in 1970, when the green movement was nonexistent. Senator Gaylord Nelson has been scheming ways to bring more attention to the environment since the early 1960’s and spoke to audiences around the country about environmental issues and found out that the people were concerned, but their government didn’t seem to be.

Learning from anti-Vietnam war protests, he figured a huge grassroots protest over the state of the environment was in order. In 1969, John McConnell, a peace activist was the first to propose an Earth Day to celebrate the Earth’s life and to alert people about the need to preserve it. Senator Nelson organized the first Earth Day for the spring of 1970 and it was met with massive success. 20 million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities got in on the act – like the best grassroots movements, it started with the people and “it organized itself,” Nelson said. It fell on April 22nd, because it was right after President Nixon signed the National Environmental Protect Act into law, which created the EPA.

Earth Day continues to be celebrated each year, and even if you go green every day, don’t let Earth Day pass you by this year without going just a little bit greener. Here are some easy ways to celebrate Earth Day:

• Don't just green your house, Green the White House!
• Join the debate -- Global Warming: Alarmism or Fact?
• 11 ways to get greener on Earth Day
• 11 ways to save energy and water on Earth Day
• 11 movies to watch on Earth Day
• 11 books to read on Earth Day
• 11 eco-fabulous celebs