Gaylord Nelson was a relatively unknown American senator when an oil spill off the coast of California polluted vast swathes of the Pacific Ocean, killing thousands of sea creatures and coating beaches with black slime.
It was 1969 and the scale of the disaster gave Nelson an idea. A year later, he led the first Earth Day, when 20million Americans took to the streets to protest against environmental damage to their country.
Last Thursday, Earth Day celebrated its 51st anniversary, as more than a billion people around the world participated in climate and environment-related events.
Wind of change: Foresight Group is poised to benefit from action on climate change fuelled by Earth Day last week