HOW EARTH DAY BEGAN
On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River on the southern shores of Lake Erie caught on fire as chemicals, oil, and other industrial materials that had oozed into the river somehow ignited. Just a few months before, on January 28, 1969, an oil rig leaked millions of gallons of oil off the coast of Santa Barbara. That same year, reports surfaced that our national symbol, the bald eagle, was rapidly declining as a species due to the chemical DDT, while around the world, whales were being hunted nearly to extinction. These and other incidents caught the attention of the national media and galvanized public awareness of the many environmental insults being hurled at the nation and the planet.
In response to the public outcry, Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson, who served as the Governor of Wisconsin (1958-1962) and in the U.S. Senate (1963-1981), organized a nationwide “teach-in” about environmental issues to take place on April 22, 1970. More than 2,000 colleges and universities, 10,000 public schools, and 20 million citizens participated—nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population at that time.
This outpouring of grassroots environmental activism marked the first Earth Day recognition of the importance of caring for the environment and accepting stewardship responsibility for the nation’s resources. It also helped establish a political climate conducive to forming both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on October 3, 1970.
We like to say that “Every day is Earth Day at NOAA.” But ever since April 22, 1970, people the world over take time to recognize the importance of protecting the Earth’s natural resources—be they oceanic, atmospheric, terrestrial, or biological—for future generations.
Earth Day 2025
Earth Day 2025’s theme is “Our power, our planet,” an idea centered on taking action through education, advocacy and community support. And climate experts say action is urgently needed. The United Nations Environment Program said in 2024 that countries aren’t doing enough to lower emissions and are on course to completely miss the targets set in the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
International efforts to curb the growing problem of plastic pollution failed to reach an agreement after two years of discussion. And more than 1 in 3 tree species are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
While those in the highest seats of power are struggling to enact real change, there are online networks carving out their own sustainable solutions. They have grown organically for years, championing nature and wildlife and strengthening community bonds along the way.
At a time when communities can feel fractured and optimism hard to come by, here’s a look at online groups taking a pragmatic approach to changing the world for the better.
Sticking together
Stick Nation is a community of nature lovers showing off sticks they found and inventing ways to rank them. It was formed by Boone Hogg and Logan Jugler, two friends who sort through thousands of submitted videos from all over the world and post them to their social media accounts. To celebrate Earth Month, they’re trying to mobilize their community of millions to raise money for nature-helping nonprofits.
The giving economy
Alarmed by all the plastic waste washing up on the shores of Washington state’s Bainbridge Island, Liesl Clark and her friend Rebecca Rockefeller wanted to show their kids they could make a difference. They discovered the plastics came from all types of products: pens, water bottles, car bumpers, even the signs in convenience stores that list prices. The question was, what could be done to ease plastic pollution?
“Of the three R’s, there’s ‘reduce, reuse, recycle.’ OK, how about ‘refuse?’ So, refusing to actually buy those products new and seeing if we had enough in our materials economy to create a circular economy,” said Clark.
They created a small, private Facebook community of neighbors who could share the items they no longer needed. From that group in 2013 sprouted a global movement of the Buy Nothing Project, with millions of members in roughly 128,000 groups worldwide and a bespoke app.
People give away clothes, coffee pots, furniture and children’s toys. The app allows them to borrow things even when they’re visiting other cities on vacation, like swim floaties for their kids. Clark says the positive feedback loop helps build community.
“What happens is, just that kind of dopamine, that feels good experience spurs others to participate. If you have had a good experience from giving something away or acquiring something, then you’ll post again and you’ll post again,” Clark said.
There’s just this one planet of ours, and it’s on all of us to safeguard a future with a livable climate, healthy communities and thriving nature—during Earth Month, on Earth Day and every day. Let’s put our heads, hands and hearts together and take action to preserve and protect the natural world for generations to come.
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Sources:
Photo: Microsoft Stock Photo
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/earth-day.html
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/21/nx-s1-5361352/earth-day-month-stick-nation-buynothing