Before Al Gore, there was Senator Gaylord Nelson, from Wisconsin, who created the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Nelson announced his idea for Earth Day and 20 million Americans rallied to protect the environment. Earth Day created a domino effect and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts. In 1990, Earth Day went global, and 200 million people in 141 countries came out to support it, leading to the first UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
Senator Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom a few years later for his role as founder, and the Earth Day legacy of wellness–recycling, healthy living, and sustainability–has touched us all, ever since, from what we eat to what we put on our skin.
Works of Art
Made from GMO-free soy wax, lead-free cotton wicks, and 100 percent essential oil fragrances, these unique candles are hand colored with the same gorgeous mineral pigments—ochers, siennas, micas, iron oxides—that inspired Monet, Renoir, van Gogh. rareEarth candles, $4-$90;