EARTH DAY is the name given to two different annual observances that are

intended to raise awareness about a wide range of environmental issues and

problems, and to inspire people to take personal action to address them.
Our planet is in crisis due to global warming, overpopulation, and other critical
environmental issues. Every person on Earth shares the responsibility to do as much
as they can to preserve the planet’s finite natural resources today and for future
generations.

Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on the 22nd April,  on which events
are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. In the
United States, Earth Day is celebrated by most people on April 22, but there is
another celebration that predates that one by approximately a month and is
celebrated internationally. Earth day has been taking place every year since 1970, not
only at the USA, but also at many European countries.

The first Earth Day celebration took place on March 21, 1970, the vernal equinox that
year. It was the brainchild of John McConnell, a newspaper publisher and influential
community activist, who proposed the idea of a global holiday called Earth Day at a
UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969.
McConnell suggested an annual observance to remind the people of Earth of their
shared responsibility as environmental stewards. He chose that day because it’s a
day of renewal.  McConnell believed that Earth Day should be a time of equilibrium
when people could put aside their differences and recognize their common need to
preserve Earth’s resources.

In America, on April 22, 1970, the Environmental Teach-In held a nationwide

day of environmental education and activism that it called Earth Day. The event was
inspired and organized by environmental activist and senator: Gaylord Nelson, who
wanted to show other U.S. politicians that there was widespread public support for a
political agenda centered on environmental issues. The event was wildly successful,
sparking Earth Day celebrations at thousands of colleges, universities, schools and
communities all across the United States.
Following the Earth Day celebration inspired by Nelson, which demonstrated
widespread grassroots support for environmental legislation, Congress passed many
important environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe
Drinking Water Act, as well as laws to protect wilderness areas. The Environmental
Protection Agency was created within three years after Earth Day 1970.

In 1995, Nelson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill
Clinton for his role in founding Earth Day, raising awareness of environmental issues,
and promoting environmental action.

No matter when you celebrate Earth Day, its message about

the personal responsibility we all share to “think globally
and act locally” as environmental stewards of planet Earth has
never been more timely or important.
READING COMPREHENSION

1. Answer the questions in your own words but taking into account
the information previously provided.

a) How can we explain what Earth’s day is?................................

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b) Who was Gaylord Nelson and what did he do? ........................
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c) What is the target of Earth’s day? .........................................
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d) Why is Earth Day that important? .........................................
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e) What was the idea of John McConnell? ...................................
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f) Why was the 21st/22nd of April the day in which Earth’s day
had to take place? ..............................................................
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2. Try to guess the meaning of some words that are underlined.

Explain it with a definition or either a synonym.
a) raise awareness
b) take personal action
c) preserve
d) brainchild
e) environmental stewards
f) widespread
g) wilderness
h) promoting

3. REPHRASING. Look at
the underlined sentences.
Then, try to rewrite them
in your own words.