- Earth Day is an annual event celebrated globally on April 22nd to promote environmental protection and awareness.
- The 2025 theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” focuses on promoting renewable energy and clean electricity by 2030.
- First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson, Congressman Pete McCloskey, and activist Denis Hayes.
Earth Day is an annual celebration to promote environmental protection and awareness.
This year’s Earth Day theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” calls for people worldwide to unite behind renewable energy and promote clean electricity by 2030. The celebration is recognized worldwide, including in the United States, the European Union, Australia, India, Mexico and dozens of other countries.
Here is when Earth Day takes place and how it started.
When is Earth Day 2025?
Every year, Earth Day takes place on April 22, which is a Tuesday in 2025. It is not a federally recognized holiday.
What is Earth Day?
Earth Day is an annual celebration that brings people together with the common goal of protecting the planet from environmental threats. Millions of people join during the celebrations to raise awareness for the Earth’s depreciating health.
When did Earth Day first begin?
The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, making this year’s festivities the 55th annual festival. For the first Earth Day, 20 million people went to inaugural events at schools, universities and other public areas around the country to protest for cleaner water, air and land.
In 1969, Democratic U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin proposed a series of “teach-ins” at university campuses to raise awareness of environmental issues. He was joined by Congressman Pete McCloskey (R-CA) and activist Denis Hayes, as reported by the World Economic Forum. Their objective was to establish a national movement beyond the confines of student participation and academic forums.
Congressman McCloskey, a California Republican known for his pro-environment and anti-war stance, co-authored the Endangered Species Act and played a pivotal role in establishing Earth Day. He was also instrumental in the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. Additionally, the same year saw the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, a response to public demands for cleaner water, air, and land, heightened by increasing climate-related disasters and pollution across the nation.
Cuts against the EPA
In February, the Trump Administration announced it would begin cutting jobs at the Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s project to remove excess spending.
A month later, the EPA announced it would roll back several regulations put in place by Joe Biden during his presidency. The 31 Biden-era regulations will be undone to boost industries ranging from agriculture to electric utilities, oil and petrochemicals and automobiles to align with Trump’s vows to slash red tape.
