Earth Day's Possibilities

How did you celebrate Earth Day yesterday? You might not have even known it was yesterday, because Earth Day fell in the middle of a significant religious week for Christians and Jews. While it was unfortunate that Earth Day's attention was superseded by Good Friday, maybe the two observances sharing the same day was actually a form of divine intervention.

Christians around the world observe Good Friday, because the day commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. It is a day meant to spend in reflection, contemplating Jesus sacrificing his life for the humanity's salvation. Isn't that what Earth Day represents as well? A day every year to reflect on how the Earth is suffering and dying due to human interference and complacency?

Earth Day should be a day in which we show gratitude for all that the Earth has provided us and contemplate ways in our own life we can show appreciation for its gift by protecting and saving the environment from additional damage. The possiblilities of what we can each do are endless, such as:

• expand your recycling program in your home and workplace,
• check with your electricity utility company about participating renewable energy and energy efficiency programs,
• visit and care for our National Parks and other green areas in your community,
• use public transportation, or even car sharing programs, whenever possible, to reduce carbon emissions from personal vehicles,
• buy sustainable food by doing your grocery shopping at local farms and neighborhood farmers' markets,
• stop buying bottled water and invest in reusable aluminum water bottles and fill it with filtered water from your refrigerator or sink, and
• read about more ways to adapt your behavior into a more environmentally friendly one.

Like Good Friday is an annual reminder for Christians of their savior's sacrifice for them, Earth Day is an annual reminder for citizens of Earth of the fragility of our environment and how every day we must take steps in our lives to reduce our damage and help heal the planet. Like today's photo of a bright yellow tulip, our possibilities for protecting and healing the environment are endless. While extensive damage has been done, we still have time to change pollution's course and save our environment.

Hopefully in the future, Earth Day will evolve into a celebration of what humanity has done to fix our ecosystems, instead of just an annual reminder of the symbolic crucifixion of Earth's land, water and air by our neglect, greed and ignorance. Start today to do more, so nature will continue to be so photogenic and fruitful.