Today we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in held on April 22, 1970. The idea to create Earth Day came to Senator Nelson in the summer of 1969. He had tried for seven years to draw the attention of lawmakers to his environmental agenda. Although politicians were not very responsive, everyday Americans started to share Nelson's concerns. By the summer of 1969, people had increasing fears about smog, pesticides, and water pollution Additionally, a huge oil spill in Santa Barbara and a river so polluted it actually burned, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, made national headlines.

At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Senator Nelson had the idea to organize a similar grassroots protest over what was happening to the environment. He invited any concerned citizens to get involved, and over 20 million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities participated in that first Earth Day. Many important actions were taken by Congress in the wake of the 1970 Earth Day, including passage of the Clean Air Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Earth Day is now observed by more than a billion people in 174 countries.

In honor of Earth Day, here is a list of links to our past blog articles that will help you "go green" and be kinder to our environment.

Instrumentation as a Path to Profit & Going Green

Extend the Battery Life for Your Laptop, Phone and Other Gadgets

How to Stop Junk Mail to Your Business

Three Ways to Green Up Your Office on the Cheap

Going Green: eCycling Advantages for Your Business

Going Green: Cost Cutting Tips

Cutting Costs: Reducing Energy Consumption

An important concept in protecting our environment is sustainability. Within the distribution industry, automation can be a big part of achieving sustainability to increase efficiencies or implement new functions. The International Society of Automation (ISA) has an interesting article on this subject here.