The founding of Earth Day in the U.S. in 1970 was, according to many, the beginning of the environmental movement – a recognition of environmental issues and problems and the need for actions taken to address them.

Since that first Earth Day, a slew of environmental regulations and laws have been enacted, such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act and Toxic Substances Control Act. Recycling has become a standard habit in many American homes. Water conservation in ways both large and small -- from statewide policies to low flow toilets - is a hot topic.

The Earth Day Network says this year’s event “could be the most exciting year in environmental history.”

• Among the goals identified by the Network:
• The balancing of economic growth with sustainability
• The passage of a binding, global climate change treaty.

Among the Earth Day events:

There’ll be an Earth Day Twitter chat with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy at 3:30 pm ET today.

You can share your thoughts on how you help protect the environment at: http://blog.epa.gov/epaconnect/2015/04/EarthDayEveryDay

Watch Earth Day videos at: http://www2.epa.gov/earthday/earth-day-videos

Click here http://www.earthday.org/greencities/events/ to find an earth day event near you.