Sun Day (May 3, 1978) was designated by United States President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, specifically devoted to advocacy for

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

, following a joint resolution by Congress, becoming . It was modeled on the highly successful

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

of April 22, 1970. It was the idea of

Denis Hayes Denis Allen Hayes (born August 29, 1944) is an environmental advocate and an advocate for solar power. He rose to prominence in 1970 as the coordinator for the first Earth Day. Hayes founded the Earth Day Network and expanded it to more tha ...

, who also coordinated Earth Day in 1970. The date became an international event in 1994.

Commemorations

While President Carter flew to Denver to visit a solar power research institute, others gathered in

Cadillac Mountain Cadillac Mountain is located on Mount Desert Island, within Acadia National Park, in the U.S. state of Maine. With an elevation of , its summit is the highest point in Hancock County and the highest within of the Atlantic shoreline of the North ...

in Maine where the sun's rays allegedly first touch the United States (although not at that time of the year). A crowd gathered at UN Plaza in New York City to listen to speeches by people such as

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

, who reminded them that the sun "can't be embargoed by any foreign nation". At the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a List of national memorials of the United States, U.S. national memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln, the List of presidents of the United States, 16th president of the United States, located on the western end of the Nati ...

in Washington, DC, environmental activist

Barry Commoner Barry Commoner (May 28, 1917 – September 30, 2012) was an American cell biology, cellular biologist, college professor, and politician. He was a leading ecologist and among the founders of the modern environmental movement. He was the directo ...

opined to a group of 500 people that solar power was an issue as pivotal as slavery and that "if Mr. Carter and Energy Secretary

Schlesinger Schlesinger is a German surname (in part also Jewish) meaning "Silesian" from the older regional term ''Schlesinger''; someone from ''Schlesing'' (Silesia); in modern Standard German (or Hochdeutsch) a ''Schlesier'' is someone from '' Schlesien'' a ...

won't talk about solar energy, it's time that we did," and that solar power was the "one solution to the economic problems of the United States." Other events on the National Mall included a Marathon, speeches by Senators

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

and

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

, and a concert with

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

. In DC, the event was so popular that it resulted in a single day ridership record for Metrorail of 197,201, breaking the record set a month earlier; the record only lasted for 5 weeks, when it was broken by the Washington Bullets NBA Championship victory parade. Events were planned in twenty-two countries around the world.

References

{{Reflist History of environmentalism May observances International observances Environmental awareness days