Earth Day is Every Day, And For Adults, Too, Most of All

Earth Day is Every Day, And For Adults,Too, Most of All

On Earth Day, as the world celebrates the miracle of Mother Earth and all that she provides, I also often hear the phrase“Earth Day is every day.” And I agree. While I appreciate and understand the need for a special day to heighten awareness around the earth’s biosystems that are currently on life support, because the state of the world IS so dire, our consciousness around environmental issues must remain at code red every day. 

While this may sound exhausting and perhaps impossible, I also want to up the ante. And my next point comes from the many 11th Hour panels and discussions that I have been fortunate enough to attend.  The discussions are always rewarding and it is so heartening to engage with people on the issues directly.  However, in almost every Q+A, there is someone in the audience who raises their hand somewhat solemnly and says something like: “Yes, I agree that the ecosystems are in trouble and this crisis is real, but, have you considered really targeting children? I mean, it’s really difficult for adults to change, and, really, the future belongs to children, so this message is really for them.  They can change, we can’t.”  And, usually, many in the audience nod in agreement, and there is a sensation that flows through the room that if I could put words to it, it would be something like “Whew, we are off the hook!!”

Hmmm…I pause and then reply: “Well, if we wait for our kids to get old enough to act on the information I give to them today, it WILL BE TOO LATE!” 

Really. It will be too late. 

Consider that almost every data point on the ice melt in the Arctic and Antarctic has been too conservative – it’s melting faster than predicted.  Consider that there are crises that the public at large still has not been hit with yet, like endocrine disruption and acidification of the oceans, both of which (and there are more) could need as much attention as climate change. (Google Theo Colborn for endocrine disruption and NOAA for ocean acidification as I don’t want to digress on those here).

So when that “Adults can’t change, but kids can” comment comes along, I have to suppress a growing anger at our, adults’, collective lack of responsibility for our lives and the lives of our children. (Much less the lives of the thousands of life forms that are going extinct every year due to our actions.) How dare we be comfortable with passing along a trashed planet because we couldn’t cure ourselves of our addiction to stuff fast enough?  And I count myself among those who are having a tough time changing. Even with all the things that I know, I still do not live a fully green lifestyle. Far from it.  So I acknowledge that this addiction to our way of life, even in the face of human extinction and massive die-off of life on our planet, for some reason is not hitting home to the degree that will cause all of us, adults, to make radical, personal change. 

So what is it going to take?  Well, I think that the first step is for all of us to stop counting on our kids and start counting on ourselves. And the second thing is that we must work together, in community, locally as well as further afield if you can. Yes, of course, educate our kids, but, please don’t count yourself out. YOU ARE IT. And yes there still is time – like a Hollywood ending, the odds are stacked against us, but we really do have the technology and the ideas “on the shelf” that can reduce the human footprint on planet earth by 90%.  So what we do today to make substantial change does matter, and it will give our kids the future we would want to live in ourselves, and if we don’t act, a dark future awaits us all, and yes, in our lifetimes. 

Leila is Director, Writer and Producer of The 11th Hour and President of Tree Media Group. http://www.treemedia.com