Happy Earth Day! Each April 22nd, we celebrate Earth Day as a way to increase awareness of the environment. Through this platform for environmental awareness, we encourage people to prevent and solve problems in our natural world, to increase sustainability initiatives, and to protect ecosystems. That’s a big job for one day out of the year, so Earth Day expanded into Earth Week, which expanded into Earth Month. The Earth Month Network even coined a slogan: “Every Month is Earth Month.”
The fact is, true sustainability does requires sustained attention. Our job is to pay attention to habitats and resources routinely, as a daily practice. If we keep our eyes trained on the environment, watching for ways to guard our bionetworks, there’s a greater chance we will strengthen the entire planet.
This macro truth mirrors a micro truth. The earth is both fragile and strong. We, as human beings, are both fragile and strong. The earth needs to be protected, as do we. The earth has strength and potential, just like us.
Earth Month can help us be mindfully resilient about the health of our planet and ourselves. Yes, the environment is at risk. And, true, it is beleaguered in many ways. But we also have resources and ingenuity to help us solve problems. The same truth exists in our own lives: we might break down, fail, feel intensely human. But we have an ability to problem-solve and find creative answers, to dig deep to find our strength.
The Earth Month Network outlines The 10 R’s of Sustainability. These 10 R’s can be applied globally and personally. In short, the Earth Month Network espouses the following principals: Respect, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Renew, Recycle, Responsibility, Rethink, Replant, and Restore.
We all have the ability to improve our shortcomings, to find ways to succeed in the aftermath of failure. We can look within ourselves and to each other. We can preserve the health of our planet and ourselves.
Join in the crusade and help save our planet. If you’re looking for ways to celebrate Earth Month, here are some great ideas:
http://www.earth-month.org/our-projects/
http://www.earth-month.org/news-events/
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/celebrate-earth-month
http://www.fredonia.edu/gogreen/earthweek/whatcanido.asp
Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.
