The Celebration of Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. This holiday was recognized on April 22, 1970 to celebrate the Earth that we humans often take for granted. This year, according to the Earth Day Network, “Earth Day is celebrated by almost 1 billion people at concerts, rallies and neighborhood cleanups in 174 countries”. During the “Hippie” era, when there was much turmoil over the Vietnam War and discontent over national affairs, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin introduced this grassroots demonstration to bring awareness to the world population that Earth should be appreciated. This holiday has provided a clear path for us, humans, to take in protecting our way of life as well as Mother Earths. It has provided a precedent of caring for the environment that inspired such simple acts as recycling.

During the 90′s and turn of the century, the holiday began impacting our way of life by making recycling a law, as well as advising governmental policies such as the regulation of vehicle emissions, agricultural processes (i.e. insecticides and pesticides), and a more hands on approach to the loss of wilderness throughout the world. Growing up I was never a huge fan of the environment, most likely due to my lack of wisdom, but as I am getting older, I realize that it is important to protect the planet that has bore everything, including us. With the oil crisis worsening in our present day, many people often talk about alternative methods for energy, such as wind and solar power, or even nuclear. Unfortunately, smog and pollution are still major contributors to global warming; and one day of showing that appreciation is just not enough. Sure, companies can give out their recycled paper bags, but people are still going to use plastic bags. Sure, the efficiency of hybrid cars or even compact cars can be advocated, but people are still going to buy their giant SUVs. Sure, appreciating the wilderness is nice in theory, but when it comes down to it, Wal-Mart or Target will always buy land to develop because they know that if they build it people will come. You get the point, as much as we, humans tout environmental protection, we are still egocentric and will continue to do what is best for us.

It is great to celebrate the “Wild”, as Teddy Roosevelt really showed us under his presidency, but one day is not enough for the world to fix all the environmental problems. It is not enough to celebrate Earth on one day, we should strive to celebrate Earth every day. Remember, our environment is what makes our world unique in the Universe and we should do everything in our power to protect her.