Edward Furia

Edward W. Furia, Project Director of the 1970 Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia.

Edward W. Furia was Project Director of the Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia during the first Earth Day in 1970.

Earth Week The Committee was made up of 33 students, professionals, leaders of grass roots organizations and businessmen who were concerned about the environment. Their common goal was to raise public awareness of environmental issues and their possible solutions.

In 1990, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, Furia assembled The Earth Day 20 Foundation, a group for which Senator Gaylord Nelson (the original founder of Earth Day) was honorary chairman. The first call was with members of the historic Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb (it was the first time in history that mountaineers from the United States, Soviet Union and China had roped together to climb a mountain), who called from their base camp on Mount Everest to pledge their support for world peace and attention to environmental issues. Months earlier, Furia visited The White House to witness Bush's signing ceremony for the 20th Earth Day Proclamation, declaring Earth Day a national holiday for the first time. a company that has developed a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle called “The Extreme Hybrid” that has been test-driven by journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC World News, CBS Evening News, CNN, and Salon.