Edward Furia
Encyclopedia
Edward W. Furia was Project Director of the Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia during the first Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...

 in 1970. 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. The group expanded in 1970 to include students from other colleges in the area, as well as from other business, community, and church groups which, together, organized numerous educational activities, scientific symposia and major press events in and around Philadelphia.

Following Earth Week, Edward Furia served as regional administrator of the Middle Atlantic Region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, during which he brought about the first Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...

 case, against Getty Oil Company, which survived a supreme court test in 1972.

In 1990, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, Furia assembled The Earth Day 20 Foundation, a group for which Senator Gaylord Nelson
Gaylord Nelson
Gaylord Anton Nelson was an American politician from Wisconsin who served as a United States Senator and governor. A Democrat, he was the principal founder of Earth Day.-Public service and leadership:...

 (the original founder of Earth Day) was honorary chairman. Furia highlighted the Earth Day 20 activities on April 22 in George, Washington
George, Washington
George is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 528 at the 2000 census. Its name is a play on the name of George Washington.The city is known for being near the Gorge Amphitheatre, sometimes being called, "The Gorge at George"....

 with two live satellite phone calls. 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 had roped together to climb a mountain), who called from their base camp on Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

 to pledge their support for world peace and attention to environmental issues. The second call was with President George H.W. Bush, who spoke directly to Furia and the assembled crowd about his support the Earth Day. 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.

Since 1990, Furia has been CEO of AFS Trinity
AFS Trinity
AFS Trinity Power Corporation is an American corporation headquartered in Medina, WA with an engineering center in Livermore, CA that develops technology for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The company has developed PHEV technology that actively combines batteries with ultracapacitors...

(previously American Flywheel Systems), 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.
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