Earth Day

Invest in our planet - Earth Day 2023

The Teenager Today  April 2023 pp. 16-17

From the known history of humankind on this planet, what could be observed is that our relationship with the planet earth had been one of dependence, extraction and exploitation.  A few decades ago, it was a standard usage in development discourses and in geography lessons to speak about the 'exploitation of natural resources'.  Now a days, that term is very rarely used in terms of utilising the resources of the planet. Earth day 2023 comes with a call to 'invest in our planet' setting aside the paradigm of extraction and exploitation. 

Earth Day brings to us a fiery tradition of environment concerns with its origin in the United States of America.  1969 January saw the blowout of an oil well of Union Oil, resulting in a spill off the coast of Santa Barbara,  California, that spread beyond 800 square miles and killed more than 10000 seabirds, dolphins, seals and sealions. It triggered of initiatives like Get Oil Out and on its first anniversary, an Environmental Rights Day with a Declaration of Environmental Rights drafted by Rod Nash, pioneering environment scholar and educator. This declaration which came out before the concept of sustainability gained acceptance starts with a 'mea culpa", accepting human crime linked to the planet, and stresses the need for an 'ecological consciousness' comprising (i) acceptance of humans as member of a community of living beings that share the environment, (ii) ethics to concern relationship with all living beings and environment, (iii) individual's responsibility towards environment, (iv) the right to private or corporate ownership to be so limited as to preserve the integrity of the environment, (v) the tremendous human power to impact the fragile earth, (vi) the need to redefine progress from the angle of long term quality, rather than immediate quantity. 

The UNESCO conference of Sanfrancisco in 1969 decided to dedicate an annual day to honour earth and promote peace. The initial proposal of March 21 of vernal equinox, was soon shifted to April 22nd. 

Earth Day  - A Saga of Inspired Minds and Courageous Hearts 

I read the earth-day narrative with tears in my eyes and goosebumps. An amazing story of insight, passion, courage, conviction, action, camaraderie and bonhomie.  Surprisingly, it begins with a politician - an ardent conservationist Senator of Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson saw the potential for a formidable initiative in the Environmental Rights gathering of January 28. Nelson's initiatives carried by New York times piqued a young peace activist graduate student of Harvard, Denis Hayes, who dropped out of Harvard, and became the man friday for this.  Nelson's idea of teach-ins in the universities didn't receive great response, and as the initiative turned clueless for direction, a volunteer stepped into the campaign office. Julien Koenig, a quiet person, but a giant of ad field. To Hayes' request for a solution came the big idea of a day, with options Ecology Day, Environment Day, Earth Day and E-Day, and Earth Day was chosen. And he suggested April 22nd which happened to be his birth day, which he felt rhymed well with Earth Day and he came out with a full-fledged ad design on that. 

From the initial focus of action from anti-war college student peace-activists, who could not be drawn in large numbers on account of their involvement against war in Vietnam, the team identified the target of educated home makers and K-12 teachers.  The famous cartoon creator Walt Kelly came up with an anti-pollution poster with Pogo proclaiming, 'we have met the enemy and he is us'! The campaign was a hit with over 10000 schools getting involved and over 20 million Americans taking part in peaceful demonstrations for environmental reform. 

I see the thrilling link - a visionary political leader - an ardent student - an ad-professional - inspired school educators - educated homemakers - an awakened artist - and fiery volunteers from all sectors.

Over the 50 years, Earth Day underwent several changes, trying to be maximally inclusive, while making efforts to deliberately exclude established polluters who were willing to be coopted. It is celebrated in more than 190 countries the world over. The celebrations are typical - ranging from tree planting to anti-pollution and anti-free ways campaigns.  It is decidedly non-political in the sense of not aligning with any political party and not involving in electoral politics, but it did make a political campaign to defeat 12 congressmen who were identified as the Dirty Dozen (having the worst record on an environmental scale) and succeeded in defeating seven of them. 

An 'Earthen' Spirituality

Coming to celebrating this day, what can we do as individuals and planetarians towards the cause of earth? 

The first step is to realise that earth-cause is our own.  It calls for an enlightened awareness and a critical consciousness. Some of the Indian traditions beautifully make a claim to this: earth is my mother, and I am earth's son (mataa bhumi: putro ayam pruthviyaa:).  Bhumi Suktam (Earth Hymn), the 12th hymn of the ancient Atharva Veda, is a poetic salutation of earth as the Mother.  This is easily translated into a spiritual quest of regard and care for all beings as the children of that one mother. 

A  practical step is not to be a polluter - by recognizing how we disregard (pollute) our mother - by way of solid and liquid waste, by wanton use of energy. Every bit of paper littered, every avoidable plastic carry bag, every light bulb or plug switch unnecessarily kept on, is adding to her disfigurement. 

It is the month of April and summer peaking in the Eastern-Southern part of the world. As the nations compete in the race of development, we become more and more urbanised, creating Urban Heat Islands (UHI).  High city temperatures are not just a health hazard, but a cause of premature death of thousands, points out a new study published by The Lancet medical journal.  Increased tree cover of urban centres can reduce mean temperature by 0.4C and can prevent such deaths by 30%.  So, that is again a call for the commonest of actions to be an earth child - to become gods, plant a tree! add to the green cover! There is a call for BiodiverCities by 2030, by reducing 'nature loss' of the city.  A local community activity would be to identify and list the biodiversity of the locality, and annually renew it on Earth Day!

Salutations to Mother Earth!

Salutations to mother earth! The truth (satyam), the cosmic law (rtam), the spiritual passion manifested in mighty initiations (ugram diksha), penances and self dedications to the search of the ultimate (brahmayajna); these have sustained the mother earth for ages; May she, who is to us a consort of the past and the future, expand our inner life in this world towards the cosmic life  (Bhumi Suktam 1).