I’m grateful that we have been officially celebrating “Earth Day” for over 50 years. Bringing awareness to global environmental issues, changing local and national policies, and celebrating our Mother Earth. In that spirit…..HAPPY EARTH DAY!
But today, I feel it’s just as important to offer compassion, grieve, and apologize. As a child growing up in Northern Jersey, I clearly remember the sights and smells of the “swamps of Jersey”. Driving in the back of my parent’s 69 Buick, I remember driving down Route 7 in Arlington headed to Jersey City, and having to roll up the windows as we approached the swamps. The smell would make you gag. Trash floated in the sky like kites from the mountains of garbage. The trash was pushed by huge bulldozers and it would roll right into the swamps. I remember the deep sadness this brought me. I remember being worried for the fish. My heart broke when I asked my parents about the fish in the swamp and they said, “There are no fish in there, they are dead.” How can we let this happen? How come we are destroying our planet? What can I do to stop it? These were my questions as a 7-year-old boy and they still race through my head today.
Air pollution, water pollution, soil and land pollution, climate change, global warming, deforestation and logging, increased carbon footprint, genetic mortification, effects on marine life, overpopulation, national resource depletion and the list goes on and on. This list has become my new Route 7.
It’s a daunting feeling to think about how to motivate the world to make drastic changes to their lives for the greater good. To choose to live life with a deep respect for the land and waters and to love every form of life. I believe that is the goal?
I have found that for me the best way I can help create change is by helping the change makers. Today I celebrate three Earth Mommas who are committed to making that change through their hard work and inspiration.
And this environmental hero!
I hope that we can all celebrate Earth Day, everyday. That we can all commit to a personal effort of change that will save our Mother and benefit our children.