So,
another Earth Day (April 22nd) has seen the sun rise and set,
already. This is that wonderful day when millions of people turn their time,
energy and attention to celebrating this beautiful, amazing and miracle-filled
sphere that we are so very lucky to call home. We celebrate the breath-taking,
sprawling mountain chains and the fathomless, mysterious oceans. We feel
gratitude for the glittering lakes, the emerald green trees, and all the big
and little creatures who live among them. And we take time to appreciate the
rain, snow, sun and wind that work every day to keep this world alive and
breathing.
There
were celebrations all over the world. In Kuwait, they cleaned beaches. In
Rwanda, a national conference was planned on the topic of green cities. Albanian
people circulated a petition requesting more green space in their urban center.
And the Bahamians initiated their own recycling program. Even the United
Nations focused their discussions around renewable resources and sustainable
development, and NASA offered a series of activities. It’s so wonderful to
imagine all these people all over the world gathering to figure out ways that
we can all be kinder to Mother Nature than we have been.
There
are all kinds of other ways that each of us can celebrate Earth Day on our own
or with friends and family, and doesn’t even matter that Earth Day has passed.
We can celebrate it any old time we please. In point of fact, why don’t we
start now and try to have 365 consecutive Earth Days in a row?
Here
are a few ideas:
·
Pick up some garbage in your communities. Some
communities even have organized neighborhood clean-up programs you can join.
·
Do some reading about the beautiful, natural
world around you and it’s variety of amazing wild inhabitants.
·
Turn off your T.V. or computer and go for a walk
outside and appreciate the big, wide world.
·
Prepare a special dinner comprised only of
locally grown and organic foods.
·
Give up one of your usual cleansing products or
detergents for an Earth-friendly version.
Now, let me tell you about how I
celebrated Earth Day. I celebrated it by making a very startling discovery.
I was buzzing around online trying
to learn more about Earth Day and its observances and all that, just to see
what was going on, when I came across an online carbon footprint calculator.
There are lots of them online. You just answer a few questions about your
habits and preferences, then they calculate how big a carbon footprint you’re
leaving on the earth through your day-to-day activities. Well, I recycle. I
take the bus a lot, turn out lights when I’m done in a room, use incandescent
light bulbs, and all sorts of other stuff. I figured I probably wouldn’t do too
badly.
I figured wrong.
The test told me that if everyone
lived as I do, we would need 3.5 planet Earths! Well, that’s just a bit
problematic, because we only have the one earth to work with! I realize these
tests are probably not particularly scientific in their nature, but they are,
at least, a starting point to figuring out where you stand. And my results are
unmistakeable.
Clearly I need to do better. Way
better.
So, I celebrated Earth Day by
vowing to reduce my carbon footprint throughout the rest of 2014. Let’s see how
well I do.
Meanwhile, as shocked and chagrined
as I was at my score, there was something else even more distressing. The
results of the test show that as much as I need improvement, I’m still at or
below the average rating for my country. That means that most people around me
are still leaving an even bigger carbon footprint than I am!
Take a moment to celebrate the rugged beauty that is Mother Nature
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