If you search for images of the first Earth Day, in 1970, you will find photos of enormous crowds equaling almost ten percent of the US population, gathered to express their support for the planet and their belief in protecting it. The photos are amazing to look at, but what’s more amazing, is that these protests made a tangible impact by way of the creation of a string of environmental protection laws.
Thirty-four Earth Days later, the progress, in comparison to the problem, seems a pittance. Climate change is here but we’re all still burning carbon like it’s nobody’s business. While conscientious people clear debris from our beaches, massive clumps of garbage, mostly plastic, float around our oceans and get bigger by the day.
So for me, Earth Day feels more like a relic than anything.
Strangely, living on an island full of earth-loving folk has not inspired much hope in me either. While I do meet people who are doing things make a difference, the clearest “environmental” message I hear is that presence of people is inherently problematic.
But here I am, happy to exist among the seven million others on the planet, and three thousand others on Bowen Island. I want to feel good about the fact, to find hope in it.
So in acknowledgement of Earth Day, in both its historic and present forms, I’ve asked various Bowen Islanders for their thoughts on the occasion, and how we… all of us here sucking in oxygen and blowing out C02, can contribute to the health of our planet instead of its demise.
