Reported by Sergey Kadinsky, Alana Rigal, Ben Fractenberg                                                                              Collage by Ben Fractenberg

Earth Day 2009. New York’s historic Grand Central Terminal hosted a massive Earth Day Festival, taking up three city blocks and the Vanderbilt Gallery inside. 108 organizations participated in this year’s event. An unseasonably high temperature also ensured a strong turnout on the two-day fair’s April 24 opening.

Little stands crowded next to each other, with colorful and hands-on displays which offered tips and new ways on how to save energy, green household products, and some tables that were just for fun.

There were a variety of creative green enterprises represented, including products manufactured from cardboard, sails, and even elephant dung.

Many of these green projects are publicly-funded, and promoted innovative technologies like hybrid buses, the expansion of bike lanes; and tax credits for solar panels on green rooftops. The event was free and open to all.

Earth Day was first observed in 1970, as a grassroots campaign spearheaded by Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson.