Today marks the 40th Anniversary since the start of Earth Day. An idea originally mooted by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin in 1969. What started as a teach-in day eventually grew in size and stature into a week-long celebration culminating on Earth Day itself on April 22nd. According to the Campaign Organisers Earth Day 2010 will be celebrated by more than a billion people in 190 countries and is the largest secular civic event in the world. It represents an opportunity to raise awareness on the environmental problems plaguing the planet. This year the theme is a creating a sustainable clean energy economy and the organizers have called for advancements in climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. They’ve also set up the Earth Day Network the aim of which is to bring together individuals, corporations and governments to join hands and make commitments to sustainability. Over the years there have been many large-scale attempts made by the organizers to unite people across various divides on the issues concerning the environment. One such example was during Earth Day 20 in 1990 when a team of mountaineers hailing from the United States the then Soviet Union and China scaled Everest and at the same time brought down over 2 tons of trash that had been left on the mountain by previous expeditions. This year’s proceedings will be centered around a massive rally that will be held in Washington DC with celebrity advocates like Avatar director James Cameron and Reverend Jesse Jackson expected to address the crowd. Earth Day will also be observed in Ithaca and the finger-lakes region with numerous clean-ups and tree planting activities coordinated. TCAT bus services has called out for motorists to ‘dump the pump’ and ride a bus instead for Earth Day. The Center for Sustainability here in Ithaca had its celebrations at the Southside Community Center, centered around a dialogue session with concerned Ithacans. Up at Cornell an environment themed fair was planned on Ho Plaza with many student organizations focused on sustainability taking part with the intention of raising awareness within the Student Body.