What most people consider as Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970.  Senator Nelson from Wisconsin witnessed  the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Moved to action,  he called for the teach-in, or Earth Day, to be held on April 22. Over 20 million people participated that year, and Earth Day is now observed on April 22 each year by more than 500 million people and several national governments in over 175 countries.  In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day. 

Now the world wide celebrations are coordinated by The Earth Day Network. The theme for the 2012 Celebration is “Mobilize the Earth”  For all Pagans who consider the Earth as sacred Earth Day should be an important event.  With this in mind here is a list of some of the major Earth Day events in the Bay Area: