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In 1920, exactly 50 years before the first Earth Day in 1970, Unity magazine devoted each monthly issue to one of the Twelve Powers of Man, a foundational teaching of Unity co-founders Myrtle and Charles Fillmore.  Although the book The Twelve Powers of Man was not published until 1930, the concept of The Twelve Powers had been evolving in the Fillmore’s minds for many years. 
"Zeal is the mighty force that incites the winds, the tides, and the storms; it urges the planet on its course and spurs the ant to greater exertion. It is the urge behind all things. To be without zeal is to be without the zest for living. Zeal and enthusiasm incite glorious achievement in every aim and ideal which the mind conceives. "
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Charles Fillmore
Earth Day is the embodiment of the power of Zeal in service to environmental wellness.  The short history of Earth Day is that Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin and Republican Representative Peter McCloskey from California contacted activist Denis Hayes to coordinate a nationwide teach-in about the environment. 
They were dismayed by the effects of an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California in 1969 and worried about the impacts of industrialization on the environment.  Hayes proved to be an effective organizer.  Within a few years of the inaugural Earth Day in 1970, sweeping environmental legislation was enacted in the United States including, but not limited to: the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
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Earth Day resonated with the public and spread around the country beyond educational settings. In 1990, Earth Day “went international,” and now is the largest secular observance in the world with over 1 billion people engaged in some manner of Earth Day observance or activity. Truly, the faculty of zeal has propelled the environmental movement forward.
Still, much work remains to be done.  The reality of climate change (the result of many factors including industrialization, fossil fuels, and rapid population growth) is undeniable to all, except those who willfully choose not to accept the reality of the facts that confront humanity every day.  So what’s to be done now?
"Zeal is the impulse to go forward; the urge behind all things.  Without zeal, stagnation, inertia, and death would prevail throughout the universe.  The man without zeal is like an engine without steam or an electric dynamo without a current.  Energy is zeal in motion, and energy is the forerunner of every effect."
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Charles Fillmore - The Twelve Powers of Man