In 1969, an oil platform off the coast of California blew out, releasing as much as 4 million gallons of crude and creating a vast slick that covered beaches and killed wildlife for miles. Appalled by his view of the disaster from a plane, U.S. Sen. and former Wisconsin Gov. Gaylord Nelson began pushing for a nationwide teach-in to raise public awareness of the human-made threats to our environment.
The seed was planted for Earth Day.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Here, another Wisconsin-born figure enters the story. Denis Hayes, born in Wisconsin Rapids, was the son of a paper mill worker. The family later moved to Washington, where Hayes witnessed the paper industry’s detrimental effects on the Columbia River. Fast-forward to 1969, when Hayes was a student at Harvard’s Kennedy School of public policy. He read about Nelson’s teach-in idea.
“With the arrogance of youth, I flew to Washington, D.C., arranged a 15-minute interview with Gaylord to get the charter to organize [a teach-in at] Cambridge,” recalls Hayes, speaking to Milwaukee Magazine from his home in Santa Barbara. Two days later, a staff member asked if Hayes would drop out of school to organize the entire country. He booked a flight to D.C.
But capturing students’ attention during a time of zealous anti-war and civil rights protests proved difficult. Hayes found the answer in a different demographic. Discovering that most of the senator’s mail was coming from concerned, college-educated housewives, they pivoted away from the teach-in terminology and renamed their initiative “Earth Day.”
On April 21, 1970, the eve of the first Earth Day, Nelson spoke in Milwaukee: “I don’t think there’s any other issue, viewed in its broadest sense, which is as critical to mankind,” he said. Nelson made “at least a week of [Earth Day], bouncing around the country giving speeches,” says Hayes, who remembers him as sweet, soft-spoken and humble in person. “I was absolutely flabbergasted the first time I saw him get up on a platform. … It was this Clark Kent kind of thing. He became very fiery and impassioned and articulate.”
Hayes believes the movement’s turning point was when New York Mayor John Lindsay, a progressive Republican, jumped on it. A million people jammed Fifth Avenue. People noticed.
Hayes, who turns 82 this year, remains an active champion of the environment. In 1990, his Earth Day Network took the celebration to 141 nations. And today it has been recognized in every country in the world, making it truly Earth Day.
Where to Celebrate
Rock the Green
April 25
The low-impact, live-music festival at the Harley-Davidson Museum relies on pedal-power, serves local food and educates attendees about sustainable living.
Earth Fest at UW-Madison
April 17-23
An award-winning weeklong event that attracts thousands
for talks, presentations and hands-on learning for all ages.
Wisconsin State Parks
April 18, 22, 25
Events range from scavenger hunts in Horicon Marsh to invasive plant removal in Havenwoods State Forest.
