The
O sign is the Theta sign. Theta is the eighth letter of the
Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter
Teth. In the system of
Greek numerals it has a value of 9. According to
Porphyry of Tyros, the
Egyptians used an X within a circle as a
symbol of the soul; having a value of nine, it was used as a symbol for
Ennead.
Johannes Lydus says that the
Egyptians used a similar symbol for
Kosmos in the form of theta, with a fiery circle representing the world, and a snake spanning the middle representing
Agathos Daimon (literally: good spirit).
Ron Cobb created an Ecology Symbol, which was later adopted as the Earth Day symbol. It was published on November 7, 1969, in the
Los Angeles Free Press and then it was placed in the
public domain. The symbol was a combination of the letters "E" and "O" taken from the words "Environment" and "Organism", respectively.
The
theta symbol has been used throughout history as a warning.
Look magazine incorporated the symbol into a flag in their April 21, 1970 issue.
According to Senator Nelson, the moniker "Earth Day" was "an obvious and logical name" suggested by "a number of people" in the fall of 1969, including, he writes, both "a friend of mine who had been in the field of public relations" and "a New York advertising executive,"
Julian Koenig. Koenig was on Nelson's organizing committee in 1969. April 22 1969 became the first "Earth Day" and rhymed with "birthday," Other names circulated like "National Environment Teach-In", but press coverage of the event was "practically unanimous" in its use of "Earth Day," so the name stuck. On November 30, 1969, in a long, front-page
New York Times article,
Gladwin Hill wrote:
"Rising concern about the "environmental crisis" is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the
war in Vietnam... a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned....