Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle, 1855

April 22nd is Earth Day.

For those of you who aren't sure what that means, here is some information.  April 22, 1970 was for many the birth of a movement.  It was on that day that 20 million Americans took to the streets to demonstrate and protest our treatment of the environment.  It wasn't just a bunch of "stinky hippies", the movement is actually credited to Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.

"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard."
~ Gaylord Nelson, former governor of Wisconsin.

While I by no means would consider myself an environmental activist, I do try to lessen my impact upon this our Mother Earth.  I take reusable cloth bags to the grocery store....when I remember.  I turn off the facet when I brush my teeth.  We have switched out many of our old incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).  We have consciously chosen to purchase our electricity from sources that utilize renewable resources such as wind and solar.


Nothing big, I know.  But it all adds up.  Drip by drop we try to refill what we have taken.  

  

"I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours."
~ Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 

By shopping locally, I reduce the amount of fossil fuel needed to power my car which, besides being beneficial to my wallet, also reduces the carbon emissions and reduces the pollution in the air. This has the benefit of not only making the air we breath cleaner, but of helping to take the ambient temperature of the atmosphere down so water doesn't evaporate so quickly, making clouds that trap the heat like a blanket.  Which means I don't have to run my air conditioner quite as often.  That's the theory at least.

Many of my, shall we call them more right leaning friends, think this is an exercise in futility.  The amount of energy I don't use or pollution I prevent is so minimal as to be non-existent.  They say that "Global Warming" is a myth.  They point to the major winter storms and say, "Global warming?  Then why is it so cold?"  They say that the earth just does this, goes through cycles of weather extremes and to say it is man made is arrogant and egotistical.  

For 200 years we've been conquering Nature.  Now we're beating it to death.  ~Tom McMillan, quoted in Francesca Lyman, The Greenhouse Trap, 1990

  

To them I say, "Well yeah, it is a cycle the earth goes through.  But man is pedaling the bike faster than Mother Nature would."

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.  ~Cree Indian Proverb 

The arrogance really lies in thinking that what I do only effects me.  That if I choose to pour my old oil into the river, as long as I do so it floats away from me I'm fine.  There is no problem in taking the largest piece of the pie, or all of the pie.  Someone else can wash the dish and make another if they want some...this one is mine!  If I get cold, I'll just pull more of the blanket to my side of the bed and everyone else can shiver.  

I urge you to take some time this Earth Day to think about the environment.  Take a deep breath, walk barefoot in the grass, listen to the birds, bite into an apple, watch children playing in the park.  Now think of life with out these things.  What can you do to make this world a better place...one that everyone and everything can live in?  It doesn't have to be big.  Little things add up.  If everyone did just a little, the empact could be amazing.  

Every day is Earth Day.
~ Anonymous

 Be good to your Mother!

I own none of the images or quotes used.  I use them for entertainment and education purposes only.