Observing Earth Day 2022 ⋆ Over the Rainbow TX

There's No Time Like Now

When I first started this post yesterday, I found myself climbing up onto the same Soapbox I’ve occupied for too many Earth Days now. Since my years spent Homesteading in the turbulent days of the late 1970s and through the mid 1980s, I’ve been repeating the same message. As have a great number of others. However, while these many voices over the decades have increased awareness and garnered recruits to the cause of this planet, it’s still not enough.

Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22nd, 1970. In the intervening fifty-two years considerable strides have been made towards conservation and legislation, etc. Sadly, the opposite has also been true. There has been a continuing degradation of both environment and the protections put in place to preserve it. Unless a much greater effort is put forward in the very near future it will most certainly be a case of too little, too late. The plight of this planet is very well documented at this point. Still, there continues to be an all too pervasive attitude of worry about it later, or a feeling that we as individuals can do very little.

Not true. In fact, despite some of the amazing work being done by numerous conservation and ecological organizations, the true solution to this crisis must lie at the threshold of each Individual being. It is only through enough of us taking initiative at a very personal and committed level that significant change can or will occur.

For too long, scientists, technologists and governments have been very aware of the troubles faced by our environmental damage— by pollution, deforestation, overpopulation and the general abuse and misuse of natural resources. A great many people have also Known for a good long time now, what sort of measures are required to turn back this mad rush toward extinction. However, comparatively little has been or is being done. While I firmly believe in supporting the Conservation efforts of the numerous great organizations out there, I just as strongly advocate that preserving this planet begins at with each of us, where we live.

What We Can Do...

Firstly, realize that this planet does not need us (humans), but we do need Her to survive. Without Humans, the Earth would Heal and Restore balance in relatively short order. Once you turn your mindset around, from that of Fixing the Earth to that of Serving or acting as Stewards, everything changes. We need to live our days realizing that what needs Fixed Most is Us. Transformation is required, and that is on Humanity. There is no-one or no-thing to pass the buck to.

If you look at the big picture it becomes an overwhelming and insolvable puzzle. So take baby steps. One thing at a time. What can we as individuals do?

So much more than most people think!

Quit being slaves to the old models of the Marketplace. When you purchase, buy it because you love it and want to Live with it for a long time to come. Single use plastic, as so many already know, is tipping our planet towards disaster. The future, if there is to be one, belongs to consumables that can be composted, recycled, reused or repurposed. Disposable Anything that is not compostable or biodegradable should be eliminated from our vocabulary and consciousness. Slow Fashion needs to become the norm. Wear clothes for as long as they are serviceable, or resell or donate. Learn to do basic mending and repairs like our grandmothers did (or find someone to do it for you), and repurpose fabrics and materials that are no longer wearable goods. We need to rethink our dependency on cheap, mass-produced consumer goods and start spending our money wisely, with an eye toward the long term.

Grow something. Plants are oxygen producers and the filtering system for our planet. Trees provide shade for cooling, they break up and nourish the soil, and help regulate moisture exchange between the earth and air. To plant a garden is to express Hope for the future. And I firmly believe that future will revolve around regenerative agricultural practices. Permaculture is becoming so popular because it works. It is Earth Healing on a scale that most people can wrap their minds around.

I think it is time to throw out our chemicals and industrial agricultural models and start approaching both food production and reforestation of the planet from a new direction.

While I could go on and on (It is my soapbox after all), I will end this little missive by wishing all of you a Happy, Regenerative and thoughtful Earth Day.