Earth Day was first held in the United States in 1970. They called for a healthier and more sustainable environment. Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson saw the damage from oil and took recent anti-war protests as a model for action.

His idea for a day of demonstrations to draw attention to the environment soon came to fruition. On April 22, Earth Day, more than 20 million people took to the streets in tens of thousands of places across the United States! The protests led to almost immediate changes in legislation: by the end of the year, clean air and water laws were passed, as well as laws to protect endangered species.

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