10 interesting facts on Earth Day
On April 22 each year, celebrations are held in more than 192 countries around the world for World Earth Day. This main goal is to show support for the protection of the environment.
1) The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970.
2) Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day while he was working as a United States senator in 1969.
3) Denis Hayes took Earth Day global in 1990 and it is now celebrated by more than one billion people worldwide.
4) On Earth Day 2009, Disney released a documentary film called Earth that followed the migration paths of four animal families.
5) Every year on April 22, men, women, and children collect garbage, plant trees, clean up coral reefs, show movies, sign petitions, and plan for a better future for our planet.
6) Earth Day was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day.
7) Some schools and communities celebrate Earth Day for a whole week to expand the time frame that people focus on the earth and how they can preserve it.
8) On Earth Day 2012, more than 100 000 people rode bikes in China to reduce CO2 emissions and save fuel.
9) In an Earth Day celebration in 2011, 28 million trees were planted in Afghanistan by the Earth Day Network.
10) Earth Day 2015 includes a clean-up of the Great Wall of China, beach litter removal in Lebanon and an attempt to protect 25,000 acres of rain forest in Indonesia.
Sources: Softschools.com, Dosomething.org, Time.com
