Today is Earth Day, but it’s one of the most confused and misguided celebratory days of the year. The UN refers to this day as the “International Mother Earth Day,” but what is it we’re supposed to celebrate?
Like a lot of people, I think of Earth Day as Earth’s Birthday. I know it’s “Earth Day,” not “Earth’s Birthday,” but it’s the only day once a year, every year that we are all supposed to celebrate Earth – just like a birthday.
Imagine, then, a surprise birthday – a room filled with millions of people suppressing giggles of excitement as Earth walks in innocently and, SURPRISE! Happy Birthday, Earth! After Earth calms down from the shock of having so many people show up for her birthday, she'd immediately be suspicious: where’s the cake? Where are all the presents?
As Earth takes her seat to enjoy the festivities in her honor, what happens is a huge number of environmental events around the world: a cleanup drive in the Philippines; tree planting along the Paraíba do Sul river in Brazil; the planting of an olive tree accompanied by demonstrations on recycling and composting at a school in Grakas, Greece; an event involving “teachers and community groups with awesome environmental and sustainability education” sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Council in Australia; a PandaRun in Singapore where 20 people dressed as pandas will tour the city; and in India a “Clean & Green” event will “collect the women from the slums of Raipur District and motivate them to keep their slums clean.”
