Maybe it’s because I’m immersed in it on a daily basis. Or, maybe it’s just because we can’t escape it. But whatever the reason, I think this year will be the greenest Earth Day ever. Every magazine, website, commercial, television channel and radio station is devoting some amount of space or time to this important topic of going green.
Already this morning, my pastor sent me an email about an upcoming conference: Faith and the Environment, my snail mail included a magazine with the headline “Go Green Today!” Even the green band I wear around my wrist serves as a constant reminder of my daily commitment to live green. In fact, with so much coming at us from every form of media, I wonder if we’re approaching the saturation point at which people start tuning out the message of ‘going green’ as we become burned out on even the utterance of the word.
Although I feel this is certainly the year to shout it from the rooftops, I fear by this same time next year, we’ll see and hear a lot less about it. Will that be because it has become less important? Certainly not! In fact, we have years of lost ground to make up and no matter how much we say or do; it will take years of sustained efforts and awareness to begin to turn the tide.
So when do we focus more on doing what we say to do, rather than simply saying what we need to do? Years ago would have been a good place to start. And for some, that has been the case. For others, the adoption of a greener lifestyle is a transition, started at some point more recently while catching a ride on the big green wave. Yet there are many that still don’t see that we are facing a global crisis that requires we all make some changes in how we think and live in order to heal our planet.
By this time next year, my hope is that there’s a little less talk and a lot more action. The stage is set, the word is out and now it’s time for each of us to act in a way that makes every day, Earth Day!
JL