Making Every Day Earth Day
On its 39th anniversary, Earth Day still feels vital to me, but I know that some of you out there think that its time has passed. Everyday should be Earth Day, you say. Choosing just one, single day to say you care about the planet we call home -- what good is that?
The first Earth Day came at the end of a decade in which social activism drove this nation's political agenda. Moved by a desire to create that better world, we got together to fight for change the only way a large group of like-minded people could: we laced up our shoes and walked side-by-side. When you have to get together in person, well, you obviously need a specific day to meet up. And that day turned out to be Wednesday, April 29, 1970.
Some of us who fought for this country's first environmental protections make the mistake of assuming that because young people today are less likely to be found marching down the National Mall as the shopping mall, that they must not care as deeply as we did when we were young. But apathy has not replaced idealism. Idealism just looks a little different these days.
This generation uses new tools to express itself and influence political decisions. They connect with one another in more ways than we could have imagined back in 1970: blogs, email petitions, YouTube videos, Twitter and Facebook. They're finding new ways to express their political views, and they do it every second of every day.
Lately, I've come around to their way of thinking. I'm still standing up for environmental protections for the places I hold dear, but like so many of today's new activists, I've hung up my marching boots and taken to the blogosphere: You'll find me expressing my views at the Huffington Post, NRDC's Greenlight, and the Sundance Channel.
So what good is Earth Day? It's a day that reminds us to take a stand every day and fight for the places we hold dear. So today, pause for a moment and take full advantage of the unprecedented array of tools we have for connecting with others and expressing our views. Speak up on Facebook, or Twitter, or go one step further and join me at NRDC's Greenlight. In today's world, you're a reporter too. Stand up for the people, creatures, and lands that inspire you to protect the environment. Reach out and tell the world about what's happening in the places you hold dear. Make your voices heard.
Earth Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
'Green jobs' at heart of Obama's Earth Day push on energy
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Mr Redford,
I do not mean to belittle your suggestion, but what do you think of making every day "everything" day?
There are after all, so many immediate crises facing the wold we live in - poverty, war, hunger, social strife for example - that many would argue deserve more attention than the vaguely abstract idea of "protecting the earth".
We cannot possibly expect to solve all the problems of the world in our lifetimes. All we can do is prioritise, and then do our best.
Hey Bob, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is my FAVORITE movie of all time. I saw it the first of about 30 times now, when I was 9 years old. You and Paul stold my heart.
Since then, I'm impressed with what you are accomplishing and what Paul has accomplished for the environment. NRDC is the best charity because they actually get things done and make progress.
I am so thrilled to think that you may be reading my comments one day when you are perusing HP.
That, dear sir, is what is so great about this age....we are all on a level playing field with one degree of separation. Anyways, Bob, keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing you more on HP!
Love Always,
CherokeeGirl
Go Robert! I love the number of Green conscious celebrities that are on here. Huffingtonpost rocks! My question to everyone out there is what are you going to do in honor of our planet? Change all your bulbs to CFL/LED! Become more aware of and do more recycling! Set "Green" goals for yourself! Reduce waste such as paper towel, paper product and plastic product consumption! Watch Planet Green! If we all do our part we'll get there. Challenge yourself to do something truly green. This is Earth Week. Let's make it count! Thanks for letting me rant!
Greenguy
http://www.smartgreenhelp.com
I can't stand littering. I've driven across the U.S. from California to the East Coast, and every state - every county has litter everywhere - on every freeway, highway and street. I wish people cared more about keeping the country clean.
As a senior who grew up in the post WW2 years with parents who grew up in the Depression, we were always GREEN! We were careful with the resources we used; mindful of not wasting water, heat etc. Maybe it was more an economical reason but certainly laid the foundation, only now for environmental reasoning as well.
We have an opportunity now to educate, invest and empower many to conserve. m
a friend of mine says, "we are all doomed". she is right. we all die.
the quality of life in 2009 ought puzzle most.
we are taught from earliest consciousness to consume. we have and we continue with no end in sight.
there is a growing awareness that all is not well. how that will play out does not for the most part look pleasant unless people come to terms with their own limitations.
I feel fortunate to have a piece of green near me donated by Rockefeller & Co. to NJ (Palisade Interstate Parkway). I call it my backyard and feel very prosperous as I see suburban dwellers manicuring and planting their flowers that my yard is self maintained by some thoughtful folks willing to pick up some man made clutter every now and then. Most visitors never even hit the trials, they are urban altheletes dressed in Lance Armstrong gear trying to break their personal best on long, winding roads.
Haven't had the opportunity to travel to many places, but certainly grateful that I have access to a little piece of God's treasure. And grateful for powerpoint as I've received some beautiful photos of environmental masterpieces that just take your breathe away!
I like prayer and pray in daily doses that God enlighten each of us and exponentially expand the simple awareness of just how powerful we are in permitting our little pieces of earth to be rich and pregnant with evolutionary possibilities.
To those who say in their comments that blogs and so forth won't save us ... well, of course not, not in themselves. But one of the critical differences between the 1960s/1970s and now is that the world is communicating far more effectively. At the individual level, nation is speaking unto nation in a way that seemed unimaginabe back then. Oh, so many of us wanted to play our part in the early days, but actually we were living quietly at home with our folks, far removed from any centre of influence.
If there's one place to which the influence needs to be extended, it's China. The precedent of the Great Wall doesn't serve China well. Attempts to regulate or block Internet communication don't serve China's longer-term interests.
All march together, are we legion? Do your research on that biblical term. Ignore idividuals to for ce everyone to do as you say. You need to seperate the 'green' reli gion from state. This is the side saying seperate chur ch and state? Preach some more, it let's us know your ma ster.
Dear Mr. Redford,
The plain fact of the matter is there are about 4 billion people too many on this planet. Unless we control our population and reduce our consumption of resources down to that level voluntarily, the Earth will shortly do it for us.
Given the choice between doing something meaningful and not doing anything, most people will continue to do meaningless things like turning off their lights for a day and recycling aluminum cans while having 3-4 children and driving them around in an SUV to get their Big Macs and shop at the mall for more cheap consumer goods manufactured in China and shipped to the US.
As long as that's the paradigm, better build your bunker and stockpile food. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones to ride out the shitstorm.
thank you. this is the heart of the problem and no one seems to want to discuss it in any meaningful way.
BBC has a population crisis debate on today (Sunday) - check it out!
I also agree that population growth is the fundamental problem. BUT - population growth is at its worst in sub-Saharan Africa (ie Chad doubling its population in app. 13 years), where the economy is still primarily agriculture-based. So, while I agree that it is a population growth is a major problem, N. Americans per capita still consume more fossil fuels (and stuff - that creates heaps of garbage) than anyone else. So, hayness, as skeptical as you are about how meaningless turning off the lights and recycling aluminum cans may be, if we all did it, it would make a difference. And then for the population problem, contribute to a charity offering education to girls in 3rd world countries - it appears to be the N. 1 factor in slowing population growth.
The earth wants all of us to be dead. Only through struggle and ingenuity have we discovered how to survive. It's not our "mother".
the earth wants to provide abundance, but the good old boy mentality and the polution of the mechanical age has caused her to become slightly ill, she is shifting more and letting off more steam, but have you noticed the volcano eruptions haven't hurt anyone yet? She's being as gentle as she can. She doesn't want to, but will cleanse herself. At that point, we are all fleas on a dogs back.
Every Day is Earth Day unless you live on another planet! Sorry, but twitter and facebook will not save the planet, neither will more environmental organizations. What will save the planet is if each of us makes a personal commitment to lowering our consumption of natural resources. Sorry again, but shopping green will not save the planet, shopping less will save the planet.
The good news is that it pays to be green, you can save the planet and your financial future, by living a green lifestyle. Try the Green Calculator and see how reducing your consumption benefits the planet and your finances. http://www.iplanretirement.com/retiregreen.html
amen!
http://www.livinggreenmag.com/
I posted a comment about this on another story, but the point of my comment connects with this argument much better.
I have no idea if this is a novel idea, but on a particular blog, I found a post that questioned why we have a day that celebrates Christopher Columbus, a man who many consider a genocidal murderer. Yet we only designate one day for Mother Earth.
It is mind boggling to me that this is the case.
Again, I have no idea if this is a novel idea (it's probably not), but I think it is something that we all need to think about.
Here is a link:
http://progressnotcongress.org/blog/?p=421
Marked as favorite until you get more bio information written up and a picture please, then I'm sure you'll get one fan...
Let's replace Columbus day with Geneva Convention Day or Human Rights day so every year we can reflect on why we don't torture, because that's what separates us from those that do.
AND IT'S AGAINST THE LAW!
Can someone tell me why we are still picking a day here and an hour there to turn off lights or do whatever it takes to help try and reverse the mess we are creating for ourselves? I had a real earth day yesterday, but today I see all the lights turned of on buildings as a symbolic gesture turned right back on again today. What's the point? Why is the mad mess happening all over the planet being treated like it is a commercial or a photo op? The human race is in trouble, REAL TROUBLE, BIG TROUBLE, and unless we can pat ourselves on the back, we have started doing very little on a mass scale to at all hope to reverse or calm the storm we are about to unleash on ourselves.
Turning the "lights on" is the idea of living in a highly advanced society such as ours.
All the power that people need to run their lives could be inexpensively, abundantly and safely provided by the type of power that was advocated by the Sierra Club - NUCLEAR POWER.
Hanford Nuclear Reservation needs someone just like you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg_zw38G7Ms
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