The first Earth Day in 1970 was quite a historical phenomenon.
Across the country, millions of people attended tens of thousands of community events, school and college teach-ins, all focused on putting the environment on the political map. More than a million people streamed into Central Park to attend their first ever eco-fair. And imagine this: Congress took the day off so that senators and representatives could get back to their home states and participate in that historical day’s events. American Heritage magazine called it “one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy.”