Healing our relationship with the natural world must be viewed as a foundational priority if we have any chance of solving all the other problems we face as a species.
Literally nothing else matters if we run out of clean air to breathe or clean water to drink, and these are real possibilities.
On this Earth Day 2020, as much of humanity finds familiar ways being disrupted and the pause button pressed on many conveniences and luxuries we’ve taken for granted, this seems like a good time to examine and be intentional about how we want to move forward.
It would be a mistake and a lost opportunity if we insist on blindly returning to business-as-usual just because we can.
We are in a perfect place to examine what we’re doing as a species and what the consequences are likely to be if we don’t change some of our ways.
I believe most people are altruistic and want to be part of the solution, but probably don’t know how harmful some of our habits are to Mother Earth.
You probably don’t think twice about some of the behaviors that are considered normal and encouraged by our society. And if just a few people engaged in the behaviors, we might be able to get away with it.
But with 331 million Americans and 7.8 billion people on Earth (and growing exponentially), the numbers just don’t add up for us to continue consuming at the same levels.
Please consider the following, written from Mother Earth’s perspective and ask yourself what changes you can make to benefit her. These might seem like small things, but there are no small things anymore. Together we can make daily choices that will lead to a livable planet for all beings. Business-as-usual won’t get us there.
Tough Love from Mother Earth
- Single Use Keurig Cups
Dear Humans,
I know you like to try the newest gadget, but what was wrong with the old way of making coffee? Was it really so hard? Isn’t it enough that you can have coffee anytime of day or night, from beans grown on the other side of the planet? If you put all the K-cups that have ever been used end to end, they would wrap around the earth 10 times.
The single-use plastics are a temporary convenience for you, and will end up in a landfill, or the ocean, and will be there for at least 1000 years. Microparticles of plastic may never totally decompose. I hear they are trying to invent new pods which are recyclable, but that’s not a great option either. It still takes resources and fossil fuels to make the cups and the reality is that many will not be recycled, even after you put them in your bin.
Please stop with the single-use coffee pods. You can put coffee beans from a bulk container into a paper bag at your friendly neighborhood grocery store and reuse this bag next time you go in. I promise you, the coffee will be just as good if not better, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you are being kinder to me.
Love, Mother Earth
2. Single-Use Plastic Bags
Dear Humans,
Don’t you think you’ve gone a bit overboard with the single use plastic bags? Your bananas, avacados, apples, fruit of any kind, ears of corn etc. do not need to go into a plastic bag. You’re either going to peel or wash what you’re buying anyway. Stick your celery, loose carrots, tomatoes, heads of lettuce, all of it into your cart, and then put it all into your reusable bag at the check-out.
For the small loose things like mushrooms, bring a paper bag from home. Plastic bags start out as fossil fuels. Americans alone use 12 BILLION of them a year. Almost none of them are recycled. They never break down completely. Microplastics from that plastic bag you took for your take-out and used for 10 minutes will still be in the environment over 1000 years later. No matter what you are buying, I promise you, you do not NEED a single-use plastic bag. Please plan accordingly and stop taking them. Love, Mother Earth
3. Cruise Ships:
Dear Humans, I know it’s fun for you to go on a cruise, but it’s no fun for me or for the oceans and the aquatic creatures. Your carbon footprint is big enough as it is, but it triples while you’re on a cruise ship! In addition to the hefty pollution of the ship exhaust, many cruise ships discharge trash, sewage and fuel directly into the ocean.
Most cruise ships run on heavy fuel oil, or bunker fuel, which is filthy and creates sulfur oxides, contributors to acid rain.
The paint on cruise ships is toxic and leaches into the ocean, the noise is harmful to marine life and sometimes marine mammals even get hit by cruise ships. Can’t you have fun in a way that is less harmful to me? Love, Mother Earth (and your oceans)
4. Food Waste
Dear Humans,
When you put any food or yard waste into your trash, it decomposes anaerobically in the landfill, producing methane which is a potent greenhouse gas, 28X more potent than CO2. In the US, 95% of food waste is thrown into the landfill. Potent greenhouse gasses like methane are accelerating climate change and you are running out of time to draw down carbon emissions. For you and for all species, I ask you to please start composting!
When you compost, the food degrades aerobically as it was meant to. This process is gentler on the earth, and instead of being harmful actually becomes helpful to the soil. You can compost in your yard if you have one. Many communities now have composting services you can hire. It’s a relatively small thing for you but it can have a BIG impact on slowing the human-induced climate changes we are seeing. Composting is a responsible act you can take today which will benefit all of us in the long run. Thank you. Love, Mother Earth
5. Fast Fashion
Dear Humans,
You are fortunate and privileged if you have clean, comfortable clothes to wear every day. Please be grateful for what you have and stop buying so many clothes! More than 60% of your clothes are not natural. They’re made from synthetic material, derived from fossil fuels and they don’t decay in landfills. Microfibers from your clothing are being found in the deepest parts of the oceans and in ice in the highest glaciers. Much of your clothing is produced by cheap (?slave) labor.
The fashion industry produces 10% of global CO2 emissions every year, and uses around 1.5 trillion litres of water annually. Producing clothing often involves lots of toxic chemicals which pollute air and water. Buy less, buy used, learn to repair your clothes. Learn to regard clothing as functional rather than as entertainment. Just because you can buy it doesn’t mean you should. Say ‘no’ to all those ads and new trends encouraging you to buy a new wardrobe every season. This is a privilege your planet can no longer afford. Love, Mother Earth
6. Lawns
Dear Humans,
What is with the lawns? Have you ever stopped to think about it? It’s a concept leftover from colonialism which is having devastating consequences. You have created a system which requires loads of poisons/chemicals, lots of work which typically involves machinery, noise, fossil fuels, carbon emissions, you’re using a ton of water, reducing biodiversity and displacing native species, contributing to fertilizer-contaminated groundwater, and you’re not even growing food! If your lawn clippings are going to the landfill, you’re generating potent greenhouse gasses as they decompose anaerobically.
Most American lawns are made from grasses that aren’t even native to this continent. They’re essentially invasive species. Please rethink your attachment to lawns. If you’re not ready to give up your lawn entirely, let one area grow wild, or at least switch to native grasses and plants which won’t require as much water. Consider planting a butterfly garden for the monarchs. Plant some food for you, or for the local wildlife. We’re running out of clean water and much of the planet is in a drought. Please think about whether or not the typical lawn is the best use of scarce resources. Love, Mother Earth
7. Eating
Dear Humans,
I’m just going to tell it to you straight: factory farms/CAFOs are a crime against nature; an inexcusable atrocity. By supporting this industry you’re killing yourselves, you’re killing me, you’re causing unprecedented and unfathomable suffering and terror for the animals, you’re destroying the waters and the air, you’re creating a moral wound and an ecological debt which will take lifetimes for your species to repay. Your decision to put animal flesh on your plate is the leading driver of the approximately 150-200 non-human species going extinct every single day.
The problem has been so massive for so long, the necessary antidote right now is for you to embrace a plant-based diet so the natural world can start to heal from the trauma. If this seems radical to you, please start educating yourself. There are many reputable resources available to you such as the well-researched documentary Cowspiracy. What you choose to eat has a large and direct impact on me, the air, the water and all the other earthlings. You have choices. Please choose compassionately. Please start to move towards a plant based diet. We are running out of time. Thank you. Love, Mother Earth
