The Truth About Earth Day

When the first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, the founders - U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) and activist Denis Hayes - said its purpose was to draw public attention to what was at the time “the deteriorating environment in the United States,” according to Nelson.

To be fair, in making that assessment of America’s environmental situation 55 years ago, Nelson and Hayes weren’t wrong. Compared to today, the air and water were frankly filthy.

Cars at the time still ran on leaded gasoline and spewed massive amounts of particulate matter into the air each time they were driven.