Not long ago I stumbled upon a great blog: 1,000 Awesome Things. It’s a blog that chronicles those every day things that are truly awesome. Things like snow days, dancing when you’re home alone, and broccoflower. I’d like to propose something that I find awesome: Earth Day.
Earth Day started as a way to inspire awareness for the issues affecting the planet and strengthen our connection to the Earth. On September 29, 1969 there was a front-page story in the New York Times that, in conjunction with the efforts of a handful of forward-thinking U.S. senators and college students, helped start the environmental movement:
“Rising concern about the “environmental crisis” is sweeping the nation’s campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam…a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental ‘teach-in’…coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned….
The following spring, the first Earth Day was observed by nearly 20-million people across the U.S. Since then, Earth Day has steadily grown and it was expected that today, at least 1.5-billion people participated in global events designed to inspire us to take greener action. 1.5-billion people! Awesome? I’d say so.
This blog is about observations from my lower carbon emission relationship with Mr. Green and, without question, the most remarkable thing I’ve observed is the number of people out there who truly care about the planet – not just on Earth Day, but every day.
These are ordinary folks and not the stereotypical granola crunching extremist hippies I used to equate with greener living. These are people you bump into on the subway who have packed their lunch in reusable containers or the girls in yoga class who are practicing on mats made from recycled material by companies who will plant a tree in recognition of your purchase or chefs committed to sourcing their menus locally or even companies committed to printing their materials on 100 per cent post consumer paper.
The level of awareness out there about the challenges facing our planet and our future on it is astonishingly high – truly awesome, but, as a global community, we can do more to make sure our Earth remains a safe, flourishing place.
So today, if you haven’t yet considered how you might be able to show you care for the Earth, consider making a change. Start small. Walk to the store. Wash your clothes on the cold cycle. Dine by candlelight. Buy local food and make dinner using seasonal ingredients. We’re learning that small individual actions do make a difference.
What have you done lately for the planet?
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