Environmental Action, previously known as Environmental Teach-In, was launched on April 21, 1970, the day before the first Earth Day. It was made up of young activists influenced both by America's pollution crisis and by the anti-war movement of the 1960s. In its founding statement, Environmental Action pledged to focus attention on poor people, African-Americans, anti-war groups, workers and the 1970 Congressional elections. The staff went from organizing Earth Day into lobbying for political change on Capitol Hill, advocating for meaningful new environmental laws and pressing for corporate reform through media efforts and demonstrations.
