Why don't I remember any of these events when I was a kid since it's been kicking around for 45 years? I never had an Earth Day party in 3rd grade. I can't recall an Earth Day rally in Central Park during the seventies. When I was 12, I have no memory of Eric Estrada lecturing to me on our black and white about being environmentally responsible. Only thing I remember is that Indian guy standing with his horse by the freeway crying. Oh yeah.... and Woodsy..... you remember.... "Give a Hoot Don't Pollute". May seem a little campy now with all our "intelligent" mascots but Woodsy was an owl, at least. You know.... something representing an actual living creature. Today our newest mascot on the going green front lines is Dunk. Dunk is a recycling can with two holes in his "head" that talks and walks around in public service videos telling kids to use him whenever they see him. (Reminds me of a couple of my ex-girlfriends). Most of the nicer online reviews of this new mascot have referred to Dunk as "creepy" and "oddly muscular". An get this... guess what government agency this character was created by. The EPA, you say? Well, that would make sense and we are talking about our government, so...... no. Without keeping you in too much suspense, I will tell you it was none other than the NSA. Yep, the National Security Administration. I didn't realize that litter was a matter of national security..... did you? Well, maybe.... with all that classified paper shredding going on..... it could make a little sense.......I guess.
Another thing I can't shake out of my brain's compost bin is when I first stared seeing Earth Day on a calendar. Seems to me it hasn't been as long as 45 years. Even on those calendars they used to give you at Hallmark or your local five and dime that had all those obscure holidays on them like Sweetest Day, National Sibling Day, Grandparents Day, and Secretary's..... Oh, I'm sorry..... National Administrative Assistant Day. They also came in handy if you ever forgot just when Vinny Ridge Day was or that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October. Even on those calendars I don't remember seeing Earth Day in the April section and I would have remembered it if I did. Even if I was just looking to find out exactly what day the Easter Bunny was coming. I would have seen it while I was counting down the days. I remember Flag Day just fine and that's in June when there are no holidays that mean anything to a kid.
Even though there are a lot more ways to spread the word about Earth Day these days, I don't think that's the principle reason that it has gained so much more popularity today than it did 45 years ago. While we may be more environmentally aware than we were back then, we also have acquired quite a taste for the status quo. Keeping up with the eco-friendly Jones' with their hybrid car and their solar paneled home while dancing to new age music with a melody in decadence. The day and ideal is not as important as us wanting people to notice that we are celebrating and promoting the day and ideal. The same principle that explains "Christmas Catholics" applies to the "One Day Environmentally Responsible" as well. Making an effort one day out of the year to save face for the other 364 will not do the planet any good. The whole thought behind Earth Day, outside of a teaching tool for children, escapes me anyway. A day set aside to "remember" to be aware of the environments needs? I had no idea that they weren't being met. Great.... just what we need..... our planet acting like an emotionally handicapped spouse. Well what does it need? Besides us not destroying it. Apparently, the planet needed a day that it could call it's very own. Who thought this was a good idea anyway? OK.... lets take a day where we'll have a whole bunch of celebrations, parades and concerts, print up a whole bunch of paper posters and flyers to promote them so everyone can get in their cars and drive to them, buy food from venders in paper and aluminum packaging, water and soft drinks in bottles and cans, then we won't provide enough trash and recycling receptacles at every event, (they won't use them anyway) then we'll burn fossil fuel to run the generators for the electricity we'll need, set up a bunch of portable toilets with chemical catch basins, have herds of people and their pets trample hundreds of acres of open space while throwing disposable diapers behind bushes, have our president and other leaders fly around the country and the world to spread the word of what we Americans are doing to save the planet and when it's all over people can climb back into their carbon monoxide transportation boxes and clog all the interstates trying to get home. Great idea!! Lets call it......hmmmm.......Earth Day! Makes sense, huh? It's enough to make me want to plant my carbon footprints all over Al Gore's back. And just like Al the gesture of the ceremony serves no purpose and besides it's making Arbor Day feel bad.
Another thing that doesn't make sense to me is that most of the biggest supporters of Earth Day are companies that historically have done or are still responsible for the most of the environmental damage. Oil companies, textile manufacturers and chemical companies continually jumping on the energy star band wagon sponsoring these events. Somehow I don't think the organizers in 1970 had these guys in mind being such a big part of their anti-toxic big business idea. With their feel good ads informing us how much they are doing to reduce their emissions or waste. Telling us that they are one of the top recyclers in there class of business. Showing us how much they are trying to rape the land a little less with new technologies that pull out fossil fuels, natural gas and other resources. Hypocrisy, you say? Maybe so. Damage control is more like it. Endorsing an environmentally based ideal within their marketing makes us feel a little less guilty about doing business with them. We are our own worst enemies. The fact is, that these companies do less damage individually than we as a species do as a whole. Despite laws instituted to make us recycle there are still plenty of people that don't. For every one person picking up litter or disposing of it properly there are 20 throwing it out of their car window on their way to work (or the Earth Day rally). For every one vehicle in the car pool lane there are 100 with only one driver heading to the same complex or mall.
Taking a day to recognize the ecosystems importance looks good on recycled paper and makes us feel better about the damage we are doing but does little to no good at addressing the actual problem. Instead of giving a green thumbs down and pointing our save the rain forest fingers at the companies we keep in business by purchasing their products, we have to accept just as much, if not more of the blame for our ecological decline. Until we as a society demand alternative fuels, clean energy, mandatory recycling and other forms of "green" technologies while reducing our own individual waste at the same time "Earth Day" will simply remain as no more than another "polluted" day on the calendar no matter how trendy it becomes. Strictly an Observation. If you'll excuse me, the recycling center closes in 30 minutes.
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