“But on April 22, 1970, after years of mounting concern and hard work, the first-ever Earth Day took place, and a new commitment to action took hold. Thanks in no small part to campaigns begun that day, our air, water and land are in far better shape now than 45 years ago — even as our population and economy have steadily grown.”
– John Kerry, April 21, 2015
- Amount of oil in gallons per hour spilled for the first 11 days of the Union Oil off the Santa Barbara coast in January 1969: ~9,000
- Amount of oil in gallons that had spread over 35 miles by the time Union Oil stopped the spill: 3 million
- Where that Union Oil spill ranked in 1969 on list of the worst oil spills in U.S. history: 1
- Where that Union Oil spill ranked 50 years later on list of the worst oil spills in U.S. history: 3
- Number of years after Gaylord Nelson (U.S. Senator from Wisconsin) witnessed that Santa Barbara oil spill that he helped launch the first Earth Day: 1
- Number of birds that died from the oil spill, according to the official count: 3,700
- Number of birds that died from the oil spill, according to scientists: 9,000
- Amount of straw in tons that the oil company used to try and mop up the spill: 3, 000
- Year Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published: 1962
- Number of copies of Silent Spring sold in its first year, making it an instant bestseller: ~600,000
- Number of citizens in millions who participated in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970: 20
- Percentage of the U.S. population that participated in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970: 10
- Number of months following the 1970 election that the Clean Air Act was passed unanimously in the Senate with just one dissenting vote in Congress: 1
Sources: 1-8: Smithsonian Magazine; 9,10: NOAA; 11: The Seattle Times
