I have always loved Earth day. When I was younger, I was so excited there was a whole day we could celebrate the Earth, to take special care of it, spend time outside and generally soaking up the joy of every tree, flower, animal, and ray of sun. I would make art, write essays, and create signs to teach people how to reduce, reuse, and recycle. I would hug a tree or five. There was nothing more magical than our planet to me and it was imperative we do the right things to help the Earth stay healthy.

Fast forward to now and that optimistic, energetic little me has been jaded by years of oil spills, forest fires, the loss of indigenous land rights, and the rise in emissions. What can any one individual do? The corporations and industries wreaking havoc across the human and natural world certainly aren’t doing their part. While I diligently separate my recyclables, avoid fast fashion, and eat less meat I wonder how dire it needs to get for people to change their behavior. I’m afraid by then, it will be too late.

xo,adrienne

earth day

captain planet used to be my hero

i really thought I could take pollution

down to zero

 

now i sit and wonder

what it will be like when the last tree is gone

 

when the oceans are turned to dead seas

and the land has gone silent and gray

 

what will it take for people to understand

for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction?

we are hastening our demise

 

the Earth will survive,

perhaps in a different form

but it will purge us from its face

 

like cutting out the infection

to save its own life

– it’s us who won’t make it

alongside everything we destroy

on the way