It’s all about balance

We all mark certain events in our lives with anniversaries by which, throughout time, our kind have kept their sorrows and their joys, their victories, their revelations and their obligations alive, for re-celebration and re-dedication of another year.

Well, what about an anniversary set on the one day of the year that is perfectly balanced, using the vernal equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making night and day of equal length in all parts of the Earth.

Now, that can mark only a very special anniversary. One that has significant meaning, a point in the annual calendar that attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. But, one that sustains life and reminds us of our responsibility of conservation as stewarts of our surroundings. Yes, it is a day that for the past thirty years, we have called Earth Day and it took place all across the country last Sunday.

Great achievements have come to pass in the 1900’s. The advances in science and technology have revealed to us that the Earth needs special attention. We have begun to realize the immense changes on the Earth in our lifetime. Due to advances in transportation, we can travel quickly to all parts of the Earth. Due to the success of information and medicine we face the possibility of an overpopulated Earth. All of these things are of great concern to all of us. It is time we began to think in terms of a unified Earth.

For many, Earth Day provides the opportunity for a one-day fling with nature. It is a day when, no matter how well intentioned, citizens espouse and promote supposedly earth friendly solutions to problems – even some that don’t exist.

Unfortunately, many of us use Earth Day to accuse others of destroying the environment and fail to recognize our own contributions to this problem.

Perhaps the idealism of youth from that very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 sparked an interest for a life-long commitment to explore new ways to understand the Earth and the dynamics of the processes that keep our environment vibrant.

And perhaps, maybe it will take more than a few years to change the way we live our daily lives to be more embracing of an ethic to protect and conserve.