Earth Day 2020

Daffodils and Snow-Earth Day 2020

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970. You can be forgiven if you were not aware. It is hard to read about anything other than daily infection rates, death tolls, and when we are going to reopen the economy. But today, we are facing an environmental crisis just as significant as what was occurring fifty years ago. Rivers may not be catching fire and most people know that the outside of their car window is not a dumpster. However, the effects of a changing climate are becoming more apparent every year. We grieved for the people of the Bahamas following the destruction of hurricane Dorian last August and we watched in shock as the wildfires of Australia destroyed millions of acres, thousands of homes and billions of wild animals earlier this year. Yes natural disasters will happen, including pandemics, however climate change will only exacerbate these problems, accelerating their frequency and intensity. Now, more than ever we need to demand change as millions of people did in 1970. During our current global health crisis, businesses and industries have been shut down as people have been ordered or encouraged to stay in their homes. And the economic consequences have been devastating, with record high unemployment and unprecedented demand on local food banks. However, on a global scale we are also realizing significant reductions in fossil fuel emissions as a result of temporarily closed factories, cancelled air travel and more people taking to the street on bike or foot instead of cars.

When we discuss reopening the economy, we should not return to life as it was. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to change the course of history. Yes, people need to get back to work, but we should do it in a way that results in a new greener future with clean energy and environmental protections in place so that people can be proud to celebrate the centennial of Earth Day fifty years from now.