Earth Day may not seem like an important holiday to many people. But actually, it plays a big part in the world. This year, Earth Day is on Wednesday, April 22. It’s also the 50th anniversary of this holiday. We celebrate this holiday every year to remind us to be grateful for what we have. It also reminds us to protect Earth and keep it clean. Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson. When he was in Santa Barbara, California, he witnessed an oil spill. This event inspired him to found the holiday. But before that, people started to notice air pollution and how it was affecting human health. Eventually, Rachel Carson wrote a book called Silent Spring. This book helped bring attention to the issue before Earth Day was a holiday. On the first Earth Day in 1970, around ten percent of Americans paraded on streets throughout the country. They focused on solving environmental issues and improving education. In 1990, Earth Day became a national holiday. Nowadays, many people have stopped caring about protecting Earth. Although some people do their part, many people don’t. Also, sometimes we harm Earth without realizing we’re doing it. Some people throw things out instead of recycling. Also, people are littering and climate change is becoming a big problem. We need to do our part now more than ever. This holiday brings attention to important issues, and although it may not seem like a middle-schooler can’t make a big difference, you can. So, if you see a piece of trash on the ground, pick it up and throw it out. It makes a bigger difference than you realize.