I’ve struggled to write a post today about Earth Day. As someone that covers the issues about sustainability full-time now, I have to confess being both underwhelmed and overwhelmed by Earth Day. Sure, it’s great to take a moment to think about our planet, and what we can each do, but given the desperate need for action, why not a whole month?
Earth Month could be similar to African History Month. That full-month focus centered on Martin Luther King Day is weaved into school curriculum, in television programming and news coverage on national outlets. This example puts the needed weight on both the chilling history of slavery, the contributions that blacks have made in society, and ongoing issues of race and discrimination in America.
The Earth deserves a similar prolonged focus that could put the needed weight on past Earth atrocities, the desperate need for action to combat climate change, and the amazing resilience of our planet to sustain us despite everything we’ve done. There have been some successes that we need to acknowledge, there are many leaders that have had an impact on how we treat our planet, and we need to band together and rally for prolonged improvements. A message that crosses news and entertainment media for a month could really make an impact.
When thinking of global crisis, I like to think along the lines of thought leaders like Lester Brown who continue to remind us that it’s not really an Earth crisis, it’s a humanity crisis. The Earth has been around for a great deal of time, and our planet will survive in some shape or form long after we’re gone. With that thinking in mind, it’s amazing that we only devote a day out of the year to the important task of the stewardship of our planet. If we don’t support our Earth, it won’t continue to support us.
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I can support this wholeheartedly. We need greater attention on this issue. I do understand about being a bit half-hearted about it this year too. But then again, if we really care about a sustainable future for the whole world, we need more than just a day or month focused on these issues; we need to devise a whole new economy and way of living on this planet.
Hang in there!