Earth Day is a global celebration of environmental issues and is largely celebrated annually on April 22. Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, is credited with the founding of Earth Day after witnessing the destruction of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, which to date is the 3rd largest oil spill in the United States.
The name and concept for Earth Day was pioneered by John McConnell, a peace activist whose interest in the Earth began at the age of 24 while working in a plastic factory. After realizing that the manufacture of plastic polluted the Earth, McConnell’s concern for ecology grew.
During World War II he conducted church services aboard Merchant Marine vessels and after the war he was an educational-missionary in Honduras. He called for the peaceful cooperation in the exploration of Space, urging a joint venture among American Astronauts and Russian Cosmonauts. He organized a successful “Meals for Millions” program to feed Hong Kong refugees in San Francisco. McConnell spent his life caring about the Earth, religion, science and Peace.
John McConnell coined the term Earth Day in 1968 and proposed its celebration on the spring equinox, which marks the precise moment when the center of the Sun can be observed directly above the Earth’s equator; also marking the beginning of spring. The first Earth Day announcement was issued by San Francisco Mayor, Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970, with celebrations held in various cities.
United Nations Secretary-General U Thant supported McConnell’s visual and said the United Nations would celebrate Earth Day annually on the vernal equinox, establishing March 20th as the international Earth Day. This event is still marked by the ringing the Japanese Peace Bell, which was donated by Japan to the United Nations; ringing a peace bell in Vienna, Berlin and elsewhere.
While the name and concept are similar, the goals of each pioneer were different. Nelson’s Earth Day is focused on environmental issues; McConnell is certainly concerned with ecology, but his “Earth Day” is about people. Earth Day is a time for people to work together for peace, justice and the care of the Earth.
“What brings people together is their local holidays,” said John McConnell. “Every country has holidays. What we needed was a holiday for the whole planet.”
John McConnell passed away on October 20, 2013 at the age of 97.
John McConnell passed away on October 20, 2013 at the age of 97.
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| Nova Scotia flag with the unofficial Earth Day Flag created by John McConnell |
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