by Sarah Todd

Created on: April 13, 2009

The water was so thick with oil the waves made no sound as they washed quietly up against the polluted beaches. In the terrible, unnatural silence thousands of birds lay dying on the sand, coated with oil so thick they were unable to fly or forage for food.

Fish died in their thousands, unable to breathe or swim in the thick black water. The otters and seals eating the fish were poisoned as they ingested the oil, which spread thickly over their fur. This reduced their ability to maintain their body temperature, and many died from hypothermia.

This environmental disaster occurred on January 28, 1969. Three million gallons of crude oil was released into the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of Southern California. A "blowout" below a platform six miles from the coastline in the Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field caused between 80,000 and 100,000 barrels of oil to be spilled onto the ocean floor.

It took ten days to repair the cracks responsible for the blowout, during which time the world's attention was focused upon the damage caused to the environment. A thick black sludge covered 130 miles of Santa Barbara's sandy beaches, and an oily black sheen spread menacingly hundreds of square miles out over the ocean.

The United States senator for Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, visited Santa Barbara shortly after the oil spill. A passionate environmentalist, in 1963 the Senator had travelled with John F Kennedy on the President's five day "Conservation Tour", covering nine states in mid-Western America.

Senator Nelson was so appalled by the Santa Barbara disaster he drafted and oversaw the passing of the bill designating 22 April "Earth Day". When finalizing the date for Earth Day Senator Nelson chose a day during the week of April 19 to April 25, to ensure it would not conflict with the religious festivals of Easter and Passover. These dates did not fall during student exams or spring breaks. The weather was also a factor; because the week was late enough in the spring season there was a good chance the weather would be favourable. There would be less competition with other events and activities in the middle of the week, so he chose Wednesday, April 22.

The first Earth Day was commemorated in 1970, one year after the Santa Barbara oil disaster. More than 20 million people attended environmental teach-ins, co-ordinated by Harvard University graduate Denis Hayes. Selected by Senator Nelson, Hayes said he wanted Earth Day to "bypass the traditional political process". Garrett

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