The organizers of Earth Day 2026 chose to name their flagship event after power rather than the planet — a deliberate inversion of the movement's founding tradition that reveals how much the strategic calculus has shifted since Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson launched the first observance in April 1970.
On April 22, 2026, tens of millions of people in more than 140 countries are participating in cleanups, teach-ins, and civic demonstrations under the theme 'Our Power, Our Planet,' selected by EARTHDAY.ORG, the nonprofit that has coordinated the event since 1990. The theme is a direct response to a policy environment organizers describe as the most hostile to environmental protection since the movement's founding: the Trump administration rolled back more than 400 environmental rules and regulations in 2025, according to a review by Harvard Law School's Environmental and Energy Law Program published in January 2026.
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