- CALVIN DANIELS
Perhaps that is why Earth Day came and went last Friday with rather little fanfare, especially so locally, where it was a rather subdued affair at best.
That is rather unfortunate when one pauses for just a second to ponder that this ball of mud and increasingly polluted water is all we have, and if we as a species happen to destroy it, we as a species disappear too.
For those completely unfamiliar, Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection, first held on April 22, 1970.
Of course, how threatened our planet is in terms of damage to the environment is the stuff which keeps social media firing these days. Some see it as a grand hoax perpetrated by ‘the media’ for some unknowable reason, on the other end of the debate, those who see the end of the world already etched into our collective future. In the middle, somewhere, is the actual situation we face as a plant.
There are some rather obvious issues we are facing. The question is, are we doing enough – or anything at all – to address those issues? For example, the world population continues to grow, with little to suggest that upwards trend will slow. When is the tipping point where there are too many people for current resources – in particular food, and how to we slow the trend? For farmers, this is a rather crucial question as they will be looked to grow the food.
And likely with fewer acres as growing populations mean urban spread, turning farmland into asphalt roads, housing developments and big-box stores.
A growing population also creates ever-larger mounds of garbage, which in itself is a massive environmental issue. A solution has been to look at the vast oceans as little more than a garbage dump, hoping mountains of non-biodegradable waste are somehow not a problem underwater.
Of course, if that garbage happens to ultimately kill off tuna, lobster and other seafood sources, where do we replace the food lost? The answer would be back on farmers already facing issues.
How will farmers operate as the society has growing concerns with farm chemicals and fertilizer? How do farmers balance being viable and dealing with carbon release issues in their operations? If we don’t control our emissions, what effects will that have on climate and, again, the ability to produce food?
With all the issues, perhaps Earth Day needs more focus moving forward as an annual day to focus efforts for change.
Comment on this article at lmtimes.ca/calvin
Disclaimer: opinions expressed are those of the writer.
