Another Earth Day, another ritual, another suggested environmental movie Amazon thinks I will enjoy, another tree planted, or roadside cleaned of litter, and another picnic with games and activities . Every year since 1970, we have set aside April 22 as the day to mark the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. This year marks 51 years of messaging. But we all know this year is different, at this writing, we are still in the grips of a pandemic that has taken the lives of 3.01 million people worldwide, so gatherings will be small, or in many cases canceled altogether. Maybe it is a good thing. I don’t need another Earth Day tee shirt, or commemorative cloth shopping bag, with a nifty water bottle side pocket. Over the years I have watched Earth Day become another day of consumption. All good intentioned, but we all know where good intentions lead, in this case, landfills...
I say this because as I contemplate Earth Day 2021 it brings me to a sad truth, we are still the only species on our beautiful planet whose bioproductivity is negative. As a species we humans don’t give anything back. That is a harsh reality on this warm sunny day, Earth Day, a day of tree planting and outdoor activities geared to heighten our awareness of the plight of Mother Earth seems to fall short.
When we hear reports delivered by media outlets, by government agencies, and economic leaders the order of importance is usually economic peril, government and social ills, and the last on the list is climate change. I think they have it backwards, dead Earth, dead Everything... Every year, we are warned of ice shelves breaking off Antarctica, sea levels rising, severe weather, killer storms, fisheries depleted, desertification happening, years of drought, millions of acres destroyed by forest fires, population displacement, and environmental refugees. Everyone rings their hands...Yet in a list of importance’s Earth is usually last, not first.
Of course individually people and environmental organizations along with faith based groups around the globe are taking these warnings seriously, yet mainstream America and many other peoples around the globe remain largely oblivious to environmental concerns and how a polluted environment threatens our very existence.
Unfortunately, as a species, even with 51 years of warnings we tend do the opposite when it comes to Earth versus our individual wants and needs, I still see styrofoam cups and plates being sold.... obviously someone somewhere is still buying them. We take more than we should, and I include myself in this observation. Worse, we don’t give back.
The trees are producing air for everything ,including us, to breathe. The fish are cleaning the rivers. The worms are turning the soil and bees are pollinating the flowers. Every species gives back except for us! I look at my family, at the children and try to let that sink in.
I know that in a perfectly rational world, people who encounter evidence that challenges their beliefs would evaluate this evidence, and then adjust their beliefs/actions accordingly. However, in reality this is seldom the case. Climate change is real and it is now! That is the reality.
Today on this Earth Day 2021, I am still hopeful because to be hopeful is to be human...I hope this Earth Day will not just become history....I will look at my own actions, and try to do better. I have received my 2 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, I am still here, still alive. Let’s be full of gratitude for all our home planet has gifted us with! Let us all make each day count. All the children we say we love are counting on all of us!