Today is Earth Day and the theme for this year’s Earth Day is Invest in Our Planet. Earth Day was established in 1970 by Wisconsin Democrat Gaylord Nelson who was inspired by the Vietnam “teach-ins” and it became the largest grassroots environmental movement and large-scale fight for environmental causes. Earth Day led to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, the establishment of the EPA, and more.
Yes, today focuses on the earth that we walk, bike, and drive on every day. It is what we fly over, around, and send rockets and shuttles from. It is what we put things into and remove things from. And, so far, the earth has been generous to humans and its plants and animal friends. Despite the complexities of planet earth, it has given us a great deal. It provides us with soil and minerals, air to breathe, water, and rain and snow from its atmosphere.
But, as we think about it, if earth was a house plant, we are not sure that it would have survived. Why? See, the problem is when we humans take without giving back, plants and planets cannot survive. No meaningful relationship can survive when you just take from it.
It is interesting to think about the earth in that way. Earth is what we live on and how we treat it does make a difference. It is as much our home as the one we live, cook, clean, and entertain in. So, we ask on this Earth Day, can we do the same for our planet?
Yes, the earth is a planet and the word planet originates from the Greek verb, planet, which means to wander. Earth is a large body that wanders and is the third planet from the sun. These are the facts. But earth is not indispensable. We know that some humans are planning to leave earth when things get too hot, too dry, or too crowded but most of us are planning to stick around.
So, this Earth Day, do something for our little planet so it can keep giving back. It doesn’t have to be a big thing or on a large scale. The earth appreciates anything you do for it from picking up that piece of trash to planting something special that will grow for years. That is all Mother Earth asks – that we give back a little something.
“The Earth is what we all have in common.” – Wendell Berry, writer, poet, environmental activist, and a nice guy
