by Gar Smith / The-Edge –

http://www.earthisland.org/project/newsPage2.cfm?newsID=560&pageID=177&subSiteID=44

EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way; using the vernal equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making night and day of equal length in all parts of the Earth…. EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. But the selection of the March equinox makes planetary observance of a shared event possible.
— Margaret Mead
1977 Earth Day Statement

The First Earth Day occurred not in April, but in March 1970, at the moment of the Vernal Equinox. The event was conceived by visionary John McConnell as a means to encourage “unity in the care of Earth” by honoring the Earth on a day that was “scientific, poetic, historic and singular.”

Plans for the first Earth Day were announced in San Francisco at the November 1969 UNESCO Conference on the Environment. The City of San Francisco and other northern California cities became the first to issue Earth Day proclamations and celebrated the first Earth Day on March 21, 1970.

In 1971, UN Secretary General U Thant rang the United Nations Peace Bell on March 21, signaling the start of an annual celebration of Earth Day. Each year since, the United Nations Peace Bell has been rung at the very moment spring begins — an unprecedented Global Moment when people worldwide grab bells and literally “ring the planet” with sounds of jubilation to renew their commitment to protect and care for the planet.

This year, •the first warm breath of spring will sweep across the Hawai’i Islands at 8:49 p.m. on March 19. At that exact moment, bells will be rung simultaneously in cities, towns and villages on every continent.

The Peace Bell at the United Nations in New York will sound on Saturday, March 20 at 1:49 a.m. EST while the Peace Bell at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, will ring out at 7:49 a.m. The first minute of spring falls in San Francisco on March 19 and will be welcomed with the pealing of church bells and cable car bells at 10:49 p.m.

The Magic and Majesty of Earth’s Solar Equinox

At the moment of the Equinox the Sun will set at the South Pole and rise at the North Pole. On the Equator at noon, there will be no shadow.
This common event for humanity will occur at:

• 8:49 p.m. – Honolulu, Hawaii – March 19
• 9:49 p.m. – Anchorage, Alaska – March 19
* 10:49 p.m. – Los Angeles, California – March 19
• 11:49 p.m. – Mexico City, Mexico – March 19
• 12:49 a.m. – Chicago, Illinois – March 20
• 1:49 a.m. – New York City, NY – March 20
• 3:49 a.m. – Sao Paulo, Brazil – March 20
• 6:49 a.m. – London, England – March 20
• 7:49 a.m. – Vienna, Austria – March 20
• 7:49 a.m. – Rome, Italy – March 20
• 7:49 a.m. – Lagos, Nigeria – March 20
• 8:49 a.m. – Istanbul, Turkey – March 20
• 8:49 a.m. – Johannesburg, South Africa – March 20
• 9:49 a.m. – Moscow, Russia – March 20
• 9:49 a.m. – Nairobi, Kenya – March 20
• 11:19 a.m. – Bombay, India – March 20
• 1:49 p.m. – Jakarta, Indonesia – March 20
• 2:49 p.m. – Beijing, China – March 20
• 2:49 p.m. – Shanghai, China – March 20
• 2:49 p.m. – Hong Kong – March 20
• 2:49 p.m. – Manila, Philippines – March 20
• 3:49 p.m. – Tokyo, Japan – March 20
• 4:49 p.m. – Sydney, Australia – March 20

For More Information about International Earth Day, see the Earth Day edition of
The-Edge