It's no secret that Earth Day is one of the very few holidays that I actually like, in no small part because Corporate America hasn't really figured out a way to commercialize it to no end (don't worry, I'm assured that they're working on it). For one day, we are asked to look at the world around us, see the very real environmental problems, and do something about it. But of course, one day isn't enough, not by a long shot.
If we are to make a difference, we must begin to fundamentally change the way we view ourselves and our relationship to the Earth. For too long have we considered ourselves separate from nature, outside and above it, given dominion to do as we wish. Many are now beginning to realize that this cannot be so, that as humans we are inextricably linked to nature and what we do to it will eventually affect us. The days of easy energy and endless productivity of goods, all done while raping the environment, are coming to an end because they must, because the easy energy is running out and our indifference is killing off species at an astounding rate.
So we have to adapt. We have to change. We must begin to reform the way we do agriculture, the way we think about consumption. As a species, we must confront the world that we have helped to create, for the challenge now is to undo much of what we have done for the past two hundred years. It is our choice, but should we fail in this task, we too will suffer. Even as patches of garbage the size of Texas float in the Pacific, even as coral reefs are bleached because of more acidic oceans, even now I cannot think that we are too late. There is still time, but it has to start now, and it must start with each and every one of us. For this is an issue that cuts across petty boundaries of tribe, religion, nation, for the Earth is what we all have in common.
If we are to make a difference, we must begin to fundamentally change the way we view ourselves and our relationship to the Earth. For too long have we considered ourselves separate from nature, outside and above it, given dominion to do as we wish. Many are now beginning to realize that this cannot be so, that as humans we are inextricably linked to nature and what we do to it will eventually affect us. The days of easy energy and endless productivity of goods, all done while raping the environment, are coming to an end because they must, because the easy energy is running out and our indifference is killing off species at an astounding rate.
So we have to adapt. We have to change. We must begin to reform the way we do agriculture, the way we think about consumption. As a species, we must confront the world that we have helped to create, for the challenge now is to undo much of what we have done for the past two hundred years. It is our choice, but should we fail in this task, we too will suffer. Even as patches of garbage the size of Texas float in the Pacific, even as coral reefs are bleached because of more acidic oceans, even now I cannot think that we are too late. There is still time, but it has to start now, and it must start with each and every one of us. For this is an issue that cuts across petty boundaries of tribe, religion, nation, for the Earth is what we all have in common.
Comments
Post a Comment