Power to the people! The first Earth Day demonstrates how powerful our First Amendment Rights are within the Constitution. We have the right to peacefully assemble at marches and rallies. We have the right to speak our minds and share our concerns. We have the right to a free press, where newspapers and other media outlets are not controlled by the government. Last year, CBS Sunday Morning assembled footage from the day that shows aspects of the day.

To find out more about your Constitutional rights, you can watch BrainPops about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (the first ten Amendments to the Constitution).

Senator Gaylord Nelson, of Wisconsin, served in the United States Senate from 1963-1981. Before that, he was the 35th Governor of Wisconsin, and led his state from 1959-1963. After organizing the first Earth Day and serving in the Senate for eleven more years, Senator Nelson remained an active advocate for the environment. In 1995, President Bill Clinton presented Nelson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his environmental advocacy. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a school named after him, The Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. You can find the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and the Gaylord Nelson State Park in Wisconsin. Nelson died at the age of 89 in 2005.

The work of Earth Day continues every day! You can find out ways to reduce your waste and help the environment by visiting the Earth Day website.