It’s hard to be grateful in times of crisis. And make no mistake, we are in the midst of an environmental crisis. We have been for a long time, and denying the existence of something real won’t make it go away.
Earth Day is supposed to be a celebration in support of environmental protection. So let’s celebrate. But then we need to go back to doing the difficult work of actually protecting the environment.
The only way to alleviate the impact of climate change is with culture change. And culture is hard to change. It starts small and grows. It’s happening right now, all around us, but it’s slow. How can we speed it up? When it seems like we take one step forward then two steps back (I found last week’s Alberta election results particularly disheartening), how do we keep moving forward?
But today I will celebrate and express my gratitude for the earth, our home, without which humanity cannot exist. It is a privilege to breathe this air, to grow this food, to drink this water. It’s amazing that the earth provides everything we need to survive. Because the planet doesn’t need people. We need it. And if we don’t figure out how to clean up our mess, we are going to lose our privileges.
0 Comments