This Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. As campus and environmental organizations around the country plan commemorative celebrations, ambivalent onlookers unite with a widely held opinion: Earth Day is a feel-good celebration for liberal, dreadlocked-hair, barefoot, environmentalist hippies who have nothing better to do than “celebrate the Earth.”
Moreover, the day itself is pointless because no one cares about Earth Day-related issues the other 364 days of the year.
While these views are understandable, they are also misguided.
My goal is to convince those of you who are not concerned with climate change, or simply neutral with respect to environmentalism, that Earth Day is nevertheless a relevant opportunity to exercise your celebratory muscles, if only ever so slightly.
You don’t have to be an ardent environmentalist to appreciate the day’s significance.
Frankly, those of you patiently awaiting the demise of the ever-present “eco” prefix may still recognize Earth Day’s significance.
Let’s start simply. Where do you go to get away, to relax? Many of us retreat to a shoreline or a secluded forest to escape the everyday stresses of modern industrial life. In short, nature provides us often-sought respite. Despite it being an entirely anthropocentric reason, it does call for at least some appreciation for nature.
But perhaps the above is not an adequate reason to acknowledge Earth Day. If so, maybe try contemplating the astounding complexity of a single leaf cell.
In response to the most subtle of environmental variations, plants take energy from the sun, convert it to food and emit oxygen, all while playing other integral roles in their local ecological systems.
We are members of those ecosystems — we are but a single aspect of a complex of interconnected organisms. That is pretty cool.
Still nothing?
If not, consider one’s urge to seek authenticity in a world dominated by artifacts. Nature, wilderness, the Earth in general, is as genuine as genuine gets. There is no deception, no deceit, no sales pitch. Truth mediates the relationship between you and the natural world. If you look deep enough, I promise you, you will find yourself submerged in a world you never would have imagined existed. It is truly grounding. If you can discover it, I hope you will be moved upon realization that you exist in such an amazing place.
At this point, if you remain unconvinced, then I’ll offer one last non-political, non-hippie reason why even the least interested in the environment can find something to appreciate about Earth Day.
Be happy on Thursday because you are alive on planet Earth, a place unique, as far as we know, in one very important characteristic. It’s so simple and yet it sets us, and our home, apart from everything else.
Earth allows life to flourish.
And that is something we can all celebrate.
Becky would like to know what Earth Day means to you. Reach her at rrubens1@asu.edu
