One Earth, One Chance
On this day, the world unites—people across nations joining hands for Nature and Earth. Because when each of us touches the Earth beneath our feet, we’re connected to one another, reminding us that we all participate as one. Even though it all started in 1970 as an initiative by the public, today, Earth Day represents a growing global signal that our planet, which generations before considered eternal, is now in great danger. Climate change is the main factor leading to changes in nature, displaced communities, and a weakening of modern society.
We should not expect climate change to come about immediately. What we find as we look deeper is that there are many branches of human behavior, economy, and beliefs that help lead to this destruction. It smooths out a path that few like: the corrupted reasoning behind cruel capitalism.
For a long time, companies chose profits over the planet. Fossil fuel corporations and their heavily financed supporters acted to prevent climate change awareness, stopped action on climate change for years, and did this only to make higher profits for their shareholders. Exploitation is what drives fast fashion, fast food, and hyper–consumption, bringing about deforestation, pollution, and more carbon, all at once. Collateral damage in the constant drive for economic growth included everything affected by nature.
Carl Sagan, an astronomer, predicted the dangers of this attitude. His writing, poetic at the same time, explained Earth as a small, delicate dot surrounded by darkness. Looking back from that long-ago era, Sagan made us wonder if it would have been better for them if they hadn’t interfered. He concluded that nothing better reveals the foolishness of human over-estimation than this image of our earth from outer space. His error was to regard environmental problems as not only scientific, but moral ones, because it reflected our ignorance about Earth’s finiteness and relationships.
With Earth Day taking place now, this day should prompt us to look at our role in caring for the planet. One day of tree planting or a light shutdown isn’t truly effective. It must be the case that the problem affects the system as a whole. It is shifting towards electricity produced with renewables, leaving fossil fuel behind; a new way to describe success, rather than focus on GDP, along with companies taking charge of their impact on the environment. Most importantly, it means we need to think about the values that see destroying nature as a way to make life easier and live well. Like today’s young activists often do, call attention to what Sagan said decades ago: we call Earth home, not just a resource. On this Earth Day, there are deadly wildfires, sea levels keep rising, and we realize it’s time to treat nature as our superior instead of the other way around.
Fighting climate change is not only about saving lives. We are fighting for justice, humility, and wisdom. May the loudness of that voice outweigh the authority of science this Earth Day. May we do what we can and not only because of fear, but because this world is all we will ever experience.
Written by Amna.k
Edited by Rupam Shukla
