I came across this article (among a few: here, and here.) that talks about how Earth Day is a crock and is doing more damage than good. The author, Ben Jervey, an environmentalist, made some really good points.
“Earth Day, with its ‘save the planet’ rhetoric and high-handed prescription of pithy, low-impact lifestyle solutions, has come to represent the worst of the environmental movement—its marginalization and materialization.” Jervey explains.
Let’s start with the rhetoric. It’s not Mother Earth that needs saving. No matter what we do to it, the planet is going to be just fine. Given time, the global ecosystem will adapt, evolve, and recover. Our species might not be so fortunate. As Romm writes, “Ultimately, stopping climate change is not about preserving the earth or creation but about preserving ourselves…The focus needs to stay on the health and well-being of billions of humans because, ultimately, humans are the ones who will experience the most prolonged suffering.” Make that message clear, and we’ve got a fighting chance.
It’s not Earth that needs saving. It’s us.
Granted, this shallow, misguided rhetoric extends beyond Earth Day, but the event certainly shouts the message loudest. It has also, I’m afraid, devolved into a PR-driven whirlwind of materialism. Check out the new Saturn hybrid! (Ignore the fact that it gets worse gas mileage than a plain old Honda Civic.) Be amazed by the new line of natural cleaners. (Brought to you by the same company that still won’t pay fines for dumping toxic chemicals into local rivers.) Just try to escape your town’s Earth Day happening without a eco-tote, freshly branded by some grocery store or department store or television station. (Hang it next to the three other branded eco-totes already in your closet from Earth Days past.)
Don’t get me wrong—I appreciate that companies are coming around, and all of these things—hybrids, eco-friendly cleaners, reusable bags—are, on their own, good developments. But Earth Day has become little more than a time to celebrate these “solutions”—organic t-shirts! “Ten Ways to Green Your Life” lists! biodegradable forks!—that fall embarrassingly short of what we truly need to deal with the massive ecological crises before us.
Jervey also goes into saying that a day is not enough. We have month long celebrations like Black History Month, and New York City’s Bike Month. But we only have ONE day for our earth?! He proposes that we should have a month for this crucial topic as well – to allow more attention to crucial issues within the umbrella that is Earth Day, “time enough for the deeper, more nuanced discussions that they demand,” such as Rainforest Days, Atmosphere Week, Glacier Day, Soil Week, and so on.
To read the full article, click here.
I completely disagree and think this is a crock. Earth Day is about educating people and reminding them to make environmentally friendly decisions everyday. I do agree that it could be more than a day, but I don’t agree that it is doing more damage than good. I spent all day yesterday educating people about water efficiency. I was surprised at how many people didn’t realize how small changes can make a large impact. At the end of the day I felt like just by educating, I had also made a difference.
Booo on them! Why do there always have to be haters?
I put up a Green Survey if you want to test your knowledge! I learned a lot! http://proudtobecheap.blogspot.com/2009/04/olive-green-or-flourescent-green-take.html
Answers are posted on my main page!
I don’t think that they are really “haters” of Earth Day. I think the essence of what the author was trying to say was that it falls substantially short. We have an entire month for black awareness, and a month dedicated to bikes – frankly we have a day or a week for just about anything… But we only have one day for the earth? Something we CAN’T live without? Something that is vitally attached to our survival? I think the author is calling attention to the unbalance of the situation and where the masses (and you know what they say about them…) put their priorities.
For us in the educational fields, we look at Earth Day in a totally different way than the mass market does. For us, it is about education and not about the PR and “looking good.” As Kristen commented, she spent the day actually educating the public rather than filling there hands with wasteful crap like branded water bottles and totes and t-shirts, etc. They walked away from her with more knowledge, enlightened, rather than with products that were hastily made to promote a company that will inevitably end up in the back of the closet or purged in the trash.
I think that was the message the author was trying to express.
I think Ben Jervey made some very valid points. I totally agree with him that we need to be looking at ourselves as people first. If we better ourselves, then everything else will fall into place naturally. I personally think it is really sad that we need to be reminded by a designated day to remember to love our planet. Earth Day is a great concept, but I agree that it needs to be extended.
I agree with Tamara!!! Why do people always have to be so negative and find a fault in almost everything. Think positively people. Earth Day is a step in the right direction.