Earth Day Reflection

On this Earth Day I think back to the earliest Earth days in the early 1970s.  We were so innocent then—innocent and ignorant.  I recall the Earth Day celebrations on the quad of my college campus—lots of music, tie-dyed shirts, and sun.  Recycling was just beginning.  My roommates and I collected aluminum cans.  It was a simple thing to do and it was one of the few things we could actually recycle.  This was the beginning of my recycling habit.

All these years later we know so much more about the threats to our environment.  I am not one of those people who approach environmental issues with an almost religious fervor.  I do appreciate those people who work to keep the rest of us aware.  However, I have never stopped recycling.  I don’t talk about it; I just do it.  It is so easy for us now.  So much of what we use can be recycled.  All we have to do is toss it into a special large container and it is picked up for us every other week.  We throw very little into the trash.  Why would we when recycling is so easy?  We are amazed at our neighbors who have overflowing trash cans.

Global warming is real; all climatologists agree on this.  It’s not a scientific uncertainty.  Look at the rate of the melting of the world’s glaciers.  Temperatures are rising worldwide and we are seeing more extreme storms causing massive damage.  Our oceans are rising.  Why the controversy?  It is greed pure and simple.  Corporations, which don’t tend to have a conscience, are all about making money.  They do not want to see environmental laws which interfere with their profits.  They hire lobbyists who buy politicians.  We must elect representatives who will vote to protect our environment.

As an individual, there are small things I can do.  Our public transportation system is rather limited here, but I do try to limit my driving by doing my errands on one or two days a week and in such a way that I’m not driving back and forth across town.  We mostly drive cars that get good gas mileage.  Yesterday, on a designated “green” Sunday, members of my church were encouraged to bike, walk or carpool to church.  A large number of people took up this challenge.  My husband and I made an 8-mile round trip bike ride that day.  We had a bit of an uphill climb to get there, but I’m thinking that we could do this other Sundays during nice weather.

What else can we do?  My husband, who does most of our grocery shopping, is very good about taking reusable bags with him when he goes to the grocery store.  We no longer buy bottled water, but drink from reusable plastic or metal bottles.  We rarely use pesticides on our property—I have found that these pests usually have natural predators that will take care of the problem for us if given a chance.  We don’t buy every new thing that comes along but make good use of what we have.   We use our belongings until they wear out.

Protection of the earth means caring for every living thing on it.  Species are going extinct at an alarming rate.  We need to work on preservation.  However, part of this process must involve the people who live in the affected area.  Hungry people are not going to care if a particular species of animal is dying off.  In some African countries, programs have been set up to provide eco-tours for foreign tourists.  This is a win-win situation because it provides income for local people and gives them an incentive for protecting their local animal species.

I think of those amazing photos of our planet taken by astronauts.  It is beautiful to behold.  Earth Day cannot just be celebrated just one day a year.  Earth Day should be every day.