What Does Earth Day Mean To You?

“In nature, nothing exists alone.” -Rachel Carson, 1962

Earth Day

Earth Day was created 49 years ago and marks the birth of the modern environmental movement. Yes, there are cultures who were devoted to the conservation of the natural world long before that. But it was a Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin who helped to gain bipartisan support in 1970 that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This also included the formation of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts.

Earth Day is now the largest secular day celebrated around the world with over 192 countries joining together. From protesting to planting trees, to political advocacy, people stand together in hopes of raising awareness and instigating change for the good of the planet.

Silent Spring

Rachel Carson wrote her watershed book, Silent Spring, in 1962 about the link between human activity and pollution with public health and the environment. I remember reading in college and the awareness it created for me at that time. How our planet was slowly being poisoned and there may not be a way of reversing it scared me, as most people who read it.

I think about it now, especially in terms of our food system. Monocultures or commodity crops like grains, sugar and soybeans along with genetically modified seeds are diminishing the diversity of the food available to us. They are also depleting the soils and landscapes which in turn affect the animals and other life that call them home.

Connection

And I feel our connection with the natural world every time I am out outdoors. My footprints, my waste, my very presence. I do not live in a vacuum nor am I independent of the environment. I am intertwined and liable.

“The Earth is what we all have in common.” -Wendell Berry

I imagine that everyone who is concerned about the future of our planet has their own take that speaks to them. That is why so many people are able to get behind the idea of Earth Day. Whether you want to reduce the use of plastics, save endangered animals or protect our water sources, there is a long list of causes to champion, unfortunately.

Advocacy

It is important to mention here that concern for the environment should extend beyond just what you personally experience or you find in your own backyard. Marginalized communities bear heavier consequences from pollution and destruction of our planet. Those in the majority in a society are more likely to be concerned for problems that directly affect them and push them out into outlying areas. We have a responsibility to speak up for all.

So today, Earth Day, what is most important to you? What are some of the lessons you are passing on to others in the name of conserving the one big rock we all live on?