The history of Earth Day | 1970 to now [Video]

SAN DIEGO — Taking care of our planet continues to be more important now than ever.

With Earth Day coming up this Monday, CBS 8 wanted to take a look back at the history, now spanning more than 50 years.

From the mountains, desert and coast, planet Earth is a wonder and since 1970, there’s been great interest in taking better care of our home.

This environmental movement was started by a Junior Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, who was inspired by a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara. 

Also after we started pumping out plastic in the 1950’s – we learned about the environmental and health affects coming from a spike in the use of those chemicals. So the Senator recruited a young activist, Denis …