Every year, I stand at the edge of a dock and stare out into the blissful waters of Lake George as they mingle with the Adirondack mountains that stand guard around them; protecting the wildlife within and offering refuge, serenity, and life to the humans without. And it is there, at the edge of the dock, that I feel most at home. And it is there, at the edge of the dock, that I realized the very truth of that statement – for the earth is not only my home, but it is every human’s home. The mother of us all; the one who offers us a place to stay, food to eat, and company to keep.
But we, as a society, we’ve turned our back on her. We’ve turned our back on the mountains that protect us, the waters that satisfy us, the trees that breathe for us, the fields that provide for us, the sun that warms us, and the night sky that guides us. We’ve outgrown nature. We’ve traded in our telescopes for apps and our nightly brisk walks for an hour in a gym, while her creatures are hunted to the brink of endangerment and extinction.
But there is a “we” who wishes these things were not so, an offshoot of mainstream society who is choosing to join hands and minds to praise our mother earth and elevate her to her former beauty, or at least repair the damage that she faces daily. When her forests are being cut down, her waters soaked in oil that she purposely placed elsewhere, and her reefs bleached beyond the influence of a soon-to-be-empty tourist industry, we watch with feelings of dread and sadness as the paternal rulers of the world continuously encourage and plan her destruction.
"How bad can I be? I'm just stimulating the economy"
Mr. President, you can deny the reality of climate change. You can deny the earth her proper due, and you can claim that you’re just stimulating the economy (despite the jobs that would abound if you redirected your search for jobs from oil and coal to alternative and renewable energy sources). I respect the desire to bring jobs back to America, and to build up the economy and the country, but American patriotism is nothing if you cannot recognize and respect the earth as our home as well. The United States of America, like any other country, was born from the earth and claimed by mankind, and to the earth it will forever belong, no matter what kind of ownership you think you can declare upon it.
You cannot stop the floodwaters from rising, you cannot stop the earth from shaking, and you cannot stop the people’s voice from sounding – not in this country.
We are not helpless. We have science on our side, and even if you don’t believe the research of the academics of the world, you can feel it for yourself. The radical temperature changes are evident as soon as you walk outside the door in the middle of January in a t-shirt and sunglasses because it’s 50 degrees outside – in New York. But not only that, we have passion on our side – the passion to make a difference, despite the odds. And we have love; love that far surpasses the greedy love that drives our predecessors and rulers.
We recognize this earth for what it is now and always has been – our provider, our refuge, and our home – and we are not about to start taking it for granted just because you are.
I would offer one last piece of advice, from the words of a man who understood far too well what the mighty hand is capable of doing to this earth when not stopped by conscience, and what the rest of the world can do to help:
“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” -The Lorax
