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April 22, 2005
Earth Day, 2005
By:
Today is Earth Day, 2005. This Earth Day is bittersweet, however, as yesterday the House kicked the planet in the groin before its special day. It passed an energy bill that gives away billions of dollars to energy companies and OKs ANWR drilling.
I wish there was more I could say about this, but I think the whole idea speaks for itself. Earth Day means nothing to our so-called "leaders," and it's only a big joke. The passing of this bill the day before Earth Day can't be anything more than an obvious slap in the face; the irony is too good for it to not have been intentional.
I just ask that all of you think about our current situation today. We're nearing peak oil production, we're lowering standards on polluting businesses rather than raising them, the air is getting worse, glaciers are melting. All in all, we need to start acting and acting now.
There are plenty of places to find out how you can help. Start by checking out the Earth Day Website. You can measure your ecological footprint, learn what's in your water, and find out about events in your area.
Here's my ecological footprint:
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 18
IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.
WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.1 PLANETS.
Obviously, I have some work to do. Just don't forget what we're trying to protect:
Posted by George at April 22, 2005 1:48 PM Category: Environment
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Comments
Maybe the paradigm of environmentalism needs to undergo a fundamental change. What has been viewed at wholesome, fun, positive, rewarding perhaps needs to be regarded as dirty, dangerous, difficult, confrontational,self-sacraficing work with no immediate reward. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal here - I'm no better than the next person for the most part when it comes to protecting/defending that which must sustain us. Obviously the little compost pile in the backyard along with the wee garden is not getting it done, nor are the little tree planting ceremonies and T-shirts and driving to some meeting to sign a petition and writing the annual letter to a Congressmen and bundling up a bit of newspaper for recycling.
Posted by: goesh at April 22, 2005 4:58 PM
For anyone that might be interested, there is an Earth Day broadcast put on by a Native American organization. It is a radio show available online. All times listed are eastern time; that is a three hour difference. 1pm there would be 10am here. Airos.org.
It is produced by Native American Calling.
It appears all is archived, so if you miss it, there is a way to hear it again.
Posted by: Shawna at April 22, 2005 6:12 PM