Thoughts On Our World
– By Lisa Rutherford –
We just passed the 2022 Earth Day celebration, and calling it a celebration is a stretch. People have divided into camps. First there’s the camp of those who are doing as much as they can to protect this planet—its air, water, plants and animals—in spite of that creating some—or a lot—of inconvenience for themselves. They may or may not have children. Those who have children, myself included, have even more reason to work to protect this Earth and inconvenience ourselves given that we want our children to have a world in which to live that is as safe as possible. There are many who do far more than I do.
Those who do not have children seem to have a higher level of love for humanity and the planet in general since they seem to be willing to inconvenience themselves for those with whom they have little if any connection. They appear focused on the greater good by doing something that although inconvenient makes them feel good about themselves and the legacy they hope to leave for others to enjoy. Or, perhaps their efforts are linked to their politics and the groups with which they identify, so they feel they must live up to those standards.
Then there are those who seem to think any effort won’t matter anyway. In a way, it’s beginning to look like that may be the case given that we have been warned about climate change for about fifty years and only now is it frequently written and talked about. Rather than starting fifty years ago to mend our ways, we now face dire consequences. In spite of that, we must work to have clean water and air and remain hopeful that efforts to control emissions and resulting increasing temperatures will actually achieve something positive for all of us part—particularly for those already dealing with savage fires, storms, and rising sea levels.
Then there are those who seemingly don’t care at all about this planet or its inhabitants or perhaps even about their own loved ones in the long run. Their stance seems to be more about immediate gratification: bigger homes, bigger vehicles, more travel, more goods, more energy use in general. Those are the folks who probably run the water down the sink without any consideration for conserving it or where their future water might come from. They are the ones who rather than take off more clothes in the summer would rather turn down the AC, or in the winter turn up the heat rather than put on a sweater, socks, or use a blanket. They’re probably also the ones who insist on having grass no matter how much water it uses or will leave lights on in a room they’re not occupying. They probably are also the ones who must have the latest, greatest technology even though their old ones probably work just fine.
It was mentioned to me by a friend that making changes in one’s life for the benefit of our only home in this vast universe is like being in weight watchers, where everyone inspires others who want to lose weight. I hope it’s true that those working to save this planet will influence some others. Making such changes in your life is more like believing in God. For many, perhaps most, there is no “real” proof that there is a God, and yet many have faith that there is without really knowing if living their lives to support that belief will achieve their heavenly goals. Living our lives in ways that protect this planet may not reveal the rewards of that effort to us either, but we must have faith that it will.
This Earth has provided us with much and asked little from us. Can’t we do our best to try and protect it even though at times it seems beyond our control. Who knows what the ultimate outcome of our efforts might be? Have faith. I’m trying and I’m old!
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