Earth Day and the Importance of What It Symbolizes
Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2007
by Iris Taub
I find it very sad that we need to set aside a day to celebrate Earth Day.
I am a product of the 60's and most of us learned to respect our planet and especially Mother Nature and all the wonderful gifts she has to offer.
We were called Flower Children and Hippies and many of us were accused of being unrealistic and dreamers, not motived and definitely anti-establishment. Well, where did conforming to the establishment get us? If you tell me that progress involves destroying rain forests, and other natural habitats for the sake of a new shopping mall, housing or any other developers dreams, than I guess you can say that I am still a Flower Child at heart and proud of it!
I have made it a point to teach my three year old Granddaughter to respect nature and to recycle and she loves to walk along a path with me at one of the few remaining nature preserves opened to the public. She is facinated with nature and asks questions about the animals who live there, and one preserve that we resently visited had a wonderful nature center that offered classes for toddlers and school aged children . There were puzzles and games related to the environment and books as well. It would be a very sad thing if the expression "Stop and Smell the Roses" was simply an expression and people just didn't care or found the time to unwind and enjoy the natural wonders all around us. To still be able to breathe fresh air and be able to drink fresh water might only be a memory if we don't stop and think about our responsibility to preserve our planet and respect her.
I think Earth Day is a start but a far cry from fixing a potential disastrous situation. How long are we going to hide our heads in the sand and not take a good look at how the weather is changing, how nature is fighting back with severe storms, and other so called, natural disasters. Our planet is warning us and trying to get our attention. Obviously we have not learned to co-exist with our planet and our children and grandchildren and future generations have the right to enjoy the simple pleasures of nature without going to a museum or read a history book on how the world used to be.
So...take a stand and make every day Earth Day and educate yourself and your loved ones on how to preserve our precious planet. It is not too late!
Iris S. Taub
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)You know Iris I began writing my article on earth day, however I came to search warp’s home page and clicked onto your featured name. I found your article, you kind of summed it all up and took the words right out of my mouth. I was checking my “Reality T.V.” article last night and found your comment you left over a year ago. Yes we baby boomers knew what it was like back during Nixon’s reign of power. It wasn’t only the Vietnam war that caused all the turmoil in this country. But don’t you believe Nixon had a wild card up his sleeve he wasn’t showing? He was responsible for starting the E.P.A. (I believe it was him) “correct me if I’m wrong.” the way I see it today the war in Iraq is the only thing stopping us from going forward. Do you understand what we are fighting about over there? Hey Hitler had to be stopped, but what kind of people are we fighting over there? Alquida, the Muslim world, or what? There is a motive behind all men’s actions. Are they simply all mad? Hey I want to know what they want, it may be us that are in the wrong, I don’t know, how do we get honest answers? I kind of got off tract here, but although I don’t have children of my own, doesn’t stop me from loving those around me and wanting to see them live in a better world. "I did really like your article"
Dave, I wish I had an answer for you about why we are still in Iraq, and why our priorities are all screwed up. I have a dear friend who's son was shipped back a second time. I said in the very beginning that this smells like and feels like Vietnam all over again, but of course with different players added to the mix. More lives lost on both ends, families torn apart. Not to get off track or anything but I have mentioned several times to my friends and family that the prisons are full to capacity with real killers in them, why send young men and woman to fight when you have those eager to kill and since I think they owe us something for the crimes they commit why not get them to fight the wars. I know that it is not realistic to think this way but it would sure be a great way to empty prisons and get our troops home to their families where they belong. You have to remember that someone who has a financial interest in either oil production, or industry is not going to willingly agree to use their finances to support alternative means of energy conservation unless they can benefit from it and another sad reality is that large cooperations back any political candidate running for office so now, their hands are tied and they are obligated to those who got them in office in the first place. So....that is why it is up to us, to try and do our part to preserve our planet, by setting an example and teaching our little ones before they can be influenced by power and money.
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