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Why on Earth do we celebrate Earth Day?

Earth Day is honored every year on April 22, thanks to a 1970 Wisconsin Senator with a passion for the planet.

WASHINGTON — Every year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate our great planet. It all started back in 1970 thanks to Gaylord Nelson,  a senator from Wisconsin, who organized a national demonstration to raise awareness about environmental issues. By the end of that year, the Environmental Protection Agency was born and the event led to support for legislation like the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act.

So for the past 50 plus years, people from all across the planet have been coming together on Earth Day to honor the achievements of the environmental movement and raise aware of the need to protect our natural resources for future generations. According to National Geographic, the core issues Earth Day recognizes include:

  • Advocacy
  • Climate Change
  • Conservation and Biology
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Food and Agriculture 
  • Green Economy
  • Green Schools
  • Recycling and Waste Reduction
  • Sustainable Development

From picking up litter to planting trees and removing invasive species, there are a ton of events going on across the DMV over the next several days that you can join in on to celebrate and project our planet.

And we would love to see you at the Sully Historic site in Chantilly on Saturday for Fairfax counties largest Earth Day celebration! The entire weather team will be out there with our mobile green screen so you can try your hand at being a meteorologist. There are also a ton of family friendly games, live music, earth-friendly vendors and giveaways.

You can find a list of when each of our team members will be at the event, below. 

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Credit: WUSA9
Credit: WUSA9 Weather

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