If you read my posts routinely, you’ll know that I often sprinkle my love of music into the writing. This morning the song “Planet Earth” by Duran Duran was on my mind. At one point in the song, Simon Le Bon laments about there being no sign of life and asks if we can hear his concerns. Planet Earth was the group’s first single. The website duranduran.com says this about the song, “The lyrical landscape alludes to new beginnings, and trying to be heard.” As a climate scientist, I resonate with “trying to be heard” as we continue change our only available ride on this celestial highway. We celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd, but it is not about the planet at all. It is about us.
By my nature, I am very optimistic and not a “doom-gloom” type of person. At times, however, I have grown somewhat cynical about the culture, fanfare and optics of the climate movement. At times, it all feels superficial and a product of these social media or influencer times. It is a mostly an unfair assessment, and I am probably a part of that very culture at times. I will circle back to my big concern later in this post.
According to the official Earth Day website, “The first Earth Day in 1970 mobilized millions of Americans from all walks of life to birth the modern environmental movement. Since then, Earth Day has evolved into the largest civic event on Earth, activating billions across 192 countries to safeguard our planet and fight for a brighter future.” This year the theme of EARTHDAY.ORG is “Planet vs. Plastics.” The goal, according to their website is, “A 60% reduction in the production of ALL plastics by 2040.” Plastics join an infamous list of planet-harming agents or activities like CFCs, anthropogenic-sourced greenhouse emissions, deforestation, and various pollutants. My daughter was selected for a summer internship focused on marine debris outreach in coastal Georgia. Sadly, I am sure she will be talking a lot about plastics.
Earth Day and its inherent goals are great. Its organizers clearly understand that climate change, plastics, bad air quality, ozone hole depletion, and poor water quality affect our well-being. We are all at risk. Communities of color, the elderly, young children, and people living below the poverty line will suffer disproportionately. Even if you do not fall into one of those categories, the cascading effects of our fingerprint on the planet finds its way, adversely, into our economy, public health, infrastructure, national security, water supply, and more. The “so what?” is very real for each of us even if you do not perceive it. For example, drought in another part of the country or world can impact your grocery bill. Writing in New Scientist last month, Michael Lepage notes, “Rising temperatures are predicted to drive up food inflation by between 0.9 and 3.2 percent a year by 2035, as crop yields suffer from extreme heat.”
So why the cynicism Dr. Shepherd as Earth Day approaches? The attention and engagement associated with Earth Day is good because it brings awareness to the issues and potential solutions. However, it needs to be everyday rather than a social media opportunity in April. For many that is the case, but this is an “all hands on deck” crisis. The solutions will need to be transformative and policy-driven. However, there are incremental things that we all can do now: Educate, compost, garden, reduce our carbon footprint, and be climate-attentive citizens in the policy and economic space. My hope for Earth Day 2024 is that it becomes a catalyst for your own Earth Month, Earth Year, Earth Decade and Earth Lifetime.
Like Duran Duran said in the song, “This is planet Earth.” It is also the only one available to humanity right now.
