Kevin Cook: Earth Day not merely a holiday, meant for all
It’s almost Earth Day again.’
For those of you who are not aware of this monumental and important celebration, it is the annual festival where if a groundhog sees its shadow, we will have an additional six weeks of pointless Senate subcommittee hearings on Major League Baseball.
Oh wait, actually, that’s Groundhog Day.’
Earth Day is a totally different made-up holiday with a long and proud history of raising awareness regarding many vital and important ecological issues.’
At least it would be, if anybody besides hippies with carbon footprints that could not be seen with an electron microscope actually paid attention to it.’
Of course, we cannot be insensitive about something as important as our planet, which according to leading scientists is the only one we have.’
The primary crisis facing our planet is global warming, which is caused by chlorofluorocarbons, microscopic creatures that feed on ozone and primarily inhabit the engines of private jets flown internationally by celebrities trying to raise awareness of global warming.
The point is global warming affects all of us, except those of us in Houston where, inexplicably, we have not had a day-high temperature above 100 degrees since last November.’
So we’re all in this together and everyone must do his or her part.’
Me, I’m going to e-mail my congressman and tell him to get to work on the environment as soon as he’s done with baseball.
Kevin Cook is an English junior and may be reached at [email protected].
Alana MousaviDin: Take part in global effort with your community
The year 1969 brought about more than free love and Patchouli wearing music lovers; it was the year that the idea for Earth Day was born in the mind of former Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.’
His proposal was for a grassroots demonstration about the environmental concerns – overpopulation and an movement toward ‘zero population growth.’ Nelson felt controlling the population was vital in addressing environmental concerns and proposed the first day of celebration of the Earth for spring, 1970.
The ‘zero population growth’ idea never came to fruition, but fortunately, the kids of today are more aware of the need to protect and preserve their environment than any generation before.
It is truly one of the few events celebrated that unite humans from all walks of life. Usually, activities such as recycling methods, demonstrations, parades and the like join communities in the global effort to protect the world we live in. Earth Day involves activists, community developers and environmental agencies from all over the globe, all working to make our world a cleaner, better place for future generations to come.
At UH, we do our part every day by recycling, not littering.’
The effort is everywhere, year-round, but we should all take the opportunity to commemorate the global efforts made for a cleaner earth. Find an event in your community and do your part- the worst that could happen is that you’ll have a good time.
Alana MousaviDin is a communication senior and may be reached at [email protected].
Matthew Keever: Reclaim Earth Day, celebrate for its purpose
Earth Day is designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.’
It is held annually on April 22 and has been a tradition since 1970. Sen. Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and since then, the program is celebrated by more than 17,000 organizations in 174 countries each year.
Some environmentalists are critical of Earth Day, particularly those in the Bright Green Environmentalist camp. The camp claims Earth Day has become a symbol of the marginalization of environmental sustainability, outliving its usefulness.
People are being told to buy organic cotton T-shirts, keep their tires inflated, recycle their beer bottles – and hemp hoodies are now stylish.’
But in reality, the impact of small actions is insignificant. Those who really care about the future of the planet should reclaim Earth Day from those who are more concerned with how trendy the newest vegan shoes are. Though the clothes sold at Whole Foods do happen to be pretty stylish.
If Earth Day degenerates into handing out more stylish silverware and accessories, our planet’s future might still be in question.
UH architecture professor Charles Tapley said he added solar energy panels to his home in the Montrose area in an effort to save some money as well as help the environment. But some homeowners’ associations do not allow it.
So sure, celebrate Earth Day. But for the right reasons, please.
Matthew Keever is a communication junior and maybe reached at [email protected].
