Pitch In on Earth Day!

Cleaning Up the Roadside in Onset, 05/1973 (photo by Ernst Halberstadt)

Every April 22nd, people around the world celebrate Earth Day, a coordinated event to bring awareness and show appreciation for the earth’s natural beauty and resources.  Earth Day had a really big kickoff in US during the early 1970s as a way to teach others about issues that threatened our environment.  It is no coincidence that the National Archives has a collection of photos from the 1970s that are all focused on the environment.

Cleaning Up After Lunch in Battery Park, in Lower Manhattan, 05/1973 (photo by Wil Blanche)

The Documerica collection contains over 15,000 photos from across the country; they provide a glimpse into the environmental scene of the times.  In the spirit of Earth Day, take a look at these clean up photos from the collection, and head outside in your community and lend a hand to Mother Earth.  While you’re out there, don’t forget to capture what our earth looks like today, over forty years after the first Earth Day was celebrated.  Upload your photos to the EPA’s State of the Environment Flickr group to participate in the Environment in a Day project.

Workman on Way to Clean Up a Polluted Creek, 05/1972 (photo by LeRoy Woodson)

Keep an eye out for more Documerica photos and related news coming this week.  Happy Earth Day!

Clean-Up Along Bank of Chattahoochee River, 05/1972 (photo by Chuck Rogers)

 

One thought on “Pitch In on Earth Day!

  1. This is just fantastic!
    My kids from 4th and 5th in Elementary are doing many activities, and it’s amazing how aware they are, and how much they want to do to bring awarness to their fellow friends in school.
    We are having a blast celebrating. Happy Earth Day!!!!

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