A Reminder


The First Earth Day!

It seems like a thousand years ago, viewed from today’s perspective, but all those years ago we attended the First Earth Day. And it’s fulcrum at the time was Central Park.



It was a beautiful day. My daughter was about two years old and we decided to make a day of it.



We brought sandwiches and iced tea and a blanket and sat out there in the sun and listened and watched as bands and speakers rallied around the day when we would remember the Earth and care for it.



It was long before I became deeply involved in GAIA theory and the work of geologists who informed my decision that it was our obligation as a people to become the custodians of the earth.



At some point, however, you must conduct an inventory, and the numbers are not all that encouraging.



In the most conservative of estimates, the local professors here show me print outs of data reflecting the trends in global phenomena that impact warming of the planet and production of CO2.



By all measures, and these are the most conservative, if I were to live past 2050, there’s a very good chance that my property would be submerged under several feet of water.



But I would be doing better than most.



Therefore, the bottom line is that if we don’t do more, we are going to have to live in a very different world than we can currently imagine.



We are seeing these changes, some subtle some not so, as they impact our way of life at this point in time: massive flooding; extensive drought. And the scientists who are willing to speculate suggest that we could be headed for another mini-Ice Age.



We won’t all become extinct like the dinosaurs I’m happy to say, but we may not like what we find.



Consequently, the actions that make the most sense are to ratchet up our efforts to do the right thing and cut back on CO2 emissions that heat the air and water up and precipitate rapid change in the environment.



This is not rocket science but it’s surprising how many at the top levels of businesss and government do not care to seriously entertain the sacrifices this may engender.



Nonetheless, we have no choice and there is no turning back.



It is a far cry from those early days of the First Earth Day.



We hope that now the “movers and shakers” will have finally learned their lesson and that they will help the rest of us fulfill our obligations to the land and the water.



Let us not forget what Earth Day means not only to us but all those who will come afterwards.



And let us move forward with dispatch to show the Earth

We really care!





Les Aaron