Earth Day and the environmental movement are inextricably linked today. If you went back to 1970, however, this wasn't the case. Back on April 22, 1970, Earth Day celebrations were confined to the United States. There was some talk within Pollution Probe of bringing the event to Canada. Since the timing interfered with exams at the University of Toronto, however, it was feared students would not participate. Consequently, a Canadian equivalent -- Survival Day -- was set for October 1970. (Zena Cherry, "FOE focusses on pollution problems", Globe and Mail, April 16, 1970, W2.)
A lot of Pollution Probe's ideas have caught on. Celebrating Survival Day, rather than Earth Day, was not one of them.
A lot of Pollution Probe's ideas have caught on. Celebrating Survival Day, rather than Earth Day, was not one of them.
