Auburn recognizes, celebrates Earth Day
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This Friday, Auburn University will celebrate Earth Day and recognize the importance of treating the world and the environment with respect.
Earth Day is the largest non-religious day of recognition, and it becomes an increasingly important day to celebrate as everyone from world leaders to everyday citizens search to identify ways to maintain a healthy environment and planet. Auburn will celebrate Earth Day with several entertaining and educational events. The year’s Earth Day Extravaganza will be hosted at the Student Center Greenspace, where students will celebrate the planet and promote sustainable living. Anyone interested can find more about the event here.
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, the culmination of public outrage over the Santa Barbara spill, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland catching fire and burning—as it had several times over decades—and numerous other noticeable and growing assaults on the environment and public health. Twenty million Americans demonstrated the largest public demonstration in American history until the George Floyd anti-racism demonstrations in 2020.
By the end of 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, had been created, and several first-of-their-kind environmental laws were passed in the early 1970s. As former Sen. Gaylord Nelson stated, “Our goal is not just an environment of clear air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures.”
Today, more than a billion people and 193 countries celebrate Earth Day.
To view a full calendar of the many more events for Earth Day, visit the Office of Sustainability’s Events Calendar. To learn more about Auburn’s events and initiatives from this past year, along with information on Auburn’s commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive campus community and other notes of cultural recognition, please visit the Office of Inclusion and Diversity’s website, Instagram page and Auburn’s DEI landing page, or by signing up for the OID newsletter.