Weekly Weather Event -Week of April 18
April 22, 2022On 1970 April 22, 1970, the very first Earth Day was celebrated across the United States. Former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson is credited with formulating the idea for a nationwide demonstration for the environmental movement across the nation. However, instead of being a centralized movement, Nelson and his staff chose to encourage grassroots movements and local participation in environmental causes. Nelson is a UW-Madison alum, and the Gaylord Nelson on campus was renamed after him in 2002. An estimated 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day, and the holiday is now held and celebrated worldwide.