On Monday, April 22, 2024, Earth Day celebrations will take place around the world. Is it enough to celebrate our glorious planet one day each year, or should we honor and protect her every day?

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 as an early manifestation of a budding environmental movement founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. Nelson, an early environmentalist, envisioned the first Earth Day as a nationwide “teach-in” to educate Americans about the environmental dangers of the time, which included air and water pollution from factories, highways, and commercial shipping; toxic dump sites; and wildlife extinction.

Twenty million Americans across the nation participated in the first Earth Day rallies, garnering support from both major political parties. By the end of 1970, Congress had passed the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Endangered Species Acts, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had been created.

The celebration of Earth...