- Annually, April 22 is a day set aside to honor the Earth. But every day is Earth Day, and some of the things that will happen 365 times in a year are listed below
- In 1969, Nelson, considered one of the leaders of the modern environmental movement, developed the idea for Earth Day after being inspired by the anti-Vietnam War "teach-ins" that were taking place on college campuses around the United States
- According to Nelson, he envisioned a large-scale, grassroots environmental demonstration "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda."
- Nelson announced the Earth Day concept at a conference in Seattle in the fall of 1969 and invited the entire nation to get involved
- A highlight of the United Nations' Earth Day celebration in New York City is the ringing of the Peace Bell, a gift from Japan, at the exact moment of the vernal equinox
- Earth Day Networks estimates that 500 million people from 4,500 organizations in 180 countries will participate in Earth Day events during the month of April
- Earth Day is big with schools. On many school calendars, it is the third most activity-inspiring holiday, after Christmas and Halloween
- Companies have even gotten into Earth Day. Last year, office supply store Staples introduced office paper made entirely without new trees
- As part of the celebration, some communities make Earth Day a "Car-Free Day"
- Earth will travel 1.6 million miles in its annual journey around the Sun, the 4.6-billionth such round-trip. It will rotate about its axis exactly once
