The Environmental Citizen

America has been commercializing its holidays for years.  Holidays in America are frequently not celebrated for the purposes for which they were created.    They have been co-opted by advertisers that are trying to sell things. Think of all the sales associated with Valentines Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day,  Labor Day, Halloween, and Christmas.

Earth Day was created in 1970 by US Senator Gaylord Nelson as a day dedicated to environmental education and celebrating humans relationship to the Earth.  The founders of Earth Day and the early voices in the environmental movement predicted a future of extinctions, deforestation, water pollution and the eventual jeopardy of the human race.   That prediction has proven prophetic as the population of the Earth is set to surpass 7 billion. ( It as 3.2 billion at the time Earth Day was created).

This week businesses are racing to establish their environmental credentials and pedigrees.   They should be doing that and there is no real reason to question their motives are not genuine.

The issue lies with the nature of corporations and that of human beings.   Most corporations exist to grow and make money for the people who own them.   Most people seek the path of least resistance to get what they want.  These two tendencies conspire to corrupt the best intentions of people and organizations.  Without being responsible for this reality we simply will not do what is needed to make the transition to a sustainable future.

We will be bought off by the notion that we can buy our way out of the crisis we are facing.   We MUST make changes and in fact sacrifices to get ourselves out of this mess.

We cannot stop when we feel better for having recycled or took the train to work.  YES we can and should celebrate each accomplishment on the way to sustainability.  Every effort matters but don’t let yourself be bought off.    As you make changes, you want to share about them with the people you know.  Deliberately inspire people to change their ways.   Bend over and pick up litter and let people know why you are doing it.   Make it hard to miss when you pick something out of the garbage and put in the recycling bin.

This is about all of us and it requuires all of us.