Against Earth Day

EKSwitaj — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:43:27 +0000

In theory, having a day set aside to focus on environmental issues isn’t a bad thing. I think I would have enjoyed its 1970 form. It often seems, however, that celebrating Earth Day is a bit like giving your assistant a bouquet on Secretary’s Day in lieu of a living wage and health insurance. Indeed, when you Google ”Earth Day sale” or “Earth day products”, it starts to look like deducting the cost of the flowers from your assistant’s paycheck. How much water did it take to make that T-shirt? Are you going to recycle that card when you’re finished displaying it on your refrigerator (which, incidentally, is set a bit colder than necessary and contains way too much meat)?

Where the analogy breaks down, however, is that as much as we talk about saving the Earth, environmentalism is really about saving ourselves. It’s about maintaining a habitable environment. Of course, as the work of the Goldman Environmental Prize winners highlights, it is the poor who suffer the worst consequences of environmental degradation first, which makes it even more difficult to convince the wealthy, who are responsible for most of the harmful consumption, to change their habits.

“In America today, there are almost as many people making their living as bloggers as there are…” (rafer.tumblr.com)
Six Easy Ways to Go Green (geeksugar.com)
What Organic Produce Is Worth the Price? (fitsugar.com)
enjoy earth day, then forget about it (bripblap.com)
It’s Earth Day, So Make Sure To Try Out Some Green Vanity Apps (techcrunch.com)
Microsoft, Google and Others Go All Earthy On Earth Day (mashable.com)

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