Every Day is Earth Day

“There is no planet B” is a common phrase said relative to climate change and environmental protection. If this is true, why then do we only hear this phrase around the same time as Earth Day? Why do masses of social media users “fashionably" upload posts about saving the environment only on Earth Day? While some awareness is better than none, how might we change the culture of the way the world appreciates the gifts of Mother Earth and how might we keep the spirit of Earth Day on a year round basis? The same question might be asked about Christmas and other religious holidays. The short answer is that people are preoccupied with their respective health and quality of life and most do not have the capacity to focus on the macro - the health of our planet.

50 years ago today marked the first annual celebration of Earth Day. The idea of celebrating and rethinking how we interact with our environment prompted President Bill Clinton to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, the person who first coined the term and lobbied to dedicate a day to focus on the health of planet Earth. Senator Nelson founded a movement to combat the actions of large companies' industrial factories discarding large quantities of waste into the water; air pollution, water pollution and oil spills were just three examples of the environmental impacts that led up to the year 1970. The movement captured the hearts and minds of both people and governments which led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate new laws and regulations that would be enacted by the Congress of The United States.

Today, April 22nd, marks the annual observance of Earth Day and billions of people, in many countries around the world - in schools, in corporations, and in governments - spread awareness of pressing environmental issues. Looking back on the year 1970, we note that the same problems persist in modern-day society relative to social and environmental justice. The difference today, in 2021, is that technology has advanced our ability to communicate in seconds on a global scale and, as the youth of Generation Z, we possess the gift of social media as a means to further Senator Nelson's most important movement. There is no excuse and no option to pass this problem to the next generation. We have the means, the time, and the science to dictate a course of action. I question whether or not we have the heart and the strength to disrupt the status quo.

So, today (and every day), please think about the small sacrifices you can make to benefit our environment. You don’t have to ask why anymore because the science is irrefutable. Instead, ask yourself who you can reach to join the movement, what ideas you might have to save our planet, where you might be able to make a difference, and when you can begin because, after all, "the earth is what we all have in common". (Wendell Berry).