Caring for the Earth … ( 04 / 22 / 2012 )
Caring for the Earth … ( 04 / 22 / 2012 )
“ We ’ re so self-important . Everybody ’ s going to save something now -- save the trees , save the bees , save the whales , save those snails . And the greatest arrogance of all : save the planet . Save the planet ?! We don ’ t even know how to take care of ourselves … The planet has been through a lot worse than us -- been through earthquakes , volcanoes , plate-tectonics , solar flares , magnetic storms … hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors , worldwide floods , tidal waves , erosion , cosmic rays , recurring ice ages … And we think a few plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference ?!?
The planet isn ’ t going anywhere … WE are ! We ’ re going away … We ’ re going away , and we won ’ t leave much of a trace , either -- well , maybe a little Styrofoam … The planet ’ ll be here and we ’ ll be long gone ; just another failed mutation ; just another closed-end biological mistake -- an evolutionary cul-de-sac . The planet ’ ll shake us off like a bad case of fleas .
The planet will be here for a long , long , LONG time after we ’ re gone , and it will heal itself , it will cleanse itself , ’ cause that ’ s what it does . It ’ s a self-correcting system . The air and the water will recover -- the Earth will be renewed . And if it ’ s true that plastic is not degradable , well , the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm : the Earth plus plastic .” ~ George Carlin
OK , I ’ ll admit that this quote is a little negative and somewhat edgy ( to be Kind , I even edited out Carlin ’ s more ‘ in your face ’ phrases therein ), and yet it does make an important point : namely , that The Universe is doing just fine — that we are indeed far too “ small ” to really do any permanent damage to our planet ’ s “ bigger picture ”.
Aaaaaaaaand yet , George seemed to miss another point — one that is possible much much much more important . And that point is this : WHAT WE DO HERE TRULY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE ! You see , Earth Day is about so much more than just taking care of the planet — It ’ s just as much about remembering to Care for each other . After all , if we can remember to actively do the latter , the former will naturally follow … So get involved this Earth Day , my Friends . Heck , make the principles of Earth Day an entire Earth Year — Heck , make them an entire Earth Life !
“ When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person , you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him . In the depth of winter , I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer .” ~ Albert Camus
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