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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING APRIL 22, 2024, AS EARTH DAY
WHEREAS, the very first celebration of Earth Day took place in 1970; and
WHEREAS, Senator Gaylord Nelson, the junior senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment in the United States. In January 1969, he and many others witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California; and
WHEREAS, Senator Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, and Pete McCloskey, a conservative-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and
WHEREAS, they recruited Denis Hayes, a young activist, to organize the campus teach-ins and they chose April 22, a weekday falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, to maximize the greatest student participation; and
WHEREAS, they changed the name to Earth Day, which immediately sparked national media attention, and caught on across the country; and
WHEREAS, it inspired 20 million Americans at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States to take to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts; and
WHEREAS, by the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first-of-their-kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act; and
WHEREAS, two years later Congress passed the Clean Water Act, a year after that, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act and soon after the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and
WHEREAS, these laws have protected millions of men, women, and children from disease and death and have protected hundreds of species from extinction; and
WHEREAS, today Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national, and local policy changes; and
WHEREAS, by taking part in activities like picking up litter, turning the lights off, limiting water usage, and planting trees, we’re making our world a happier, healthier place to live.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners recognizes Monday, April 22, 2024, as Earth Day and uses this opportunity to spread the message and participate in activities to make the world a better place.
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