🌎 🌲 Earth Day Week: Some Nuggets Of Wisdom & Provocative Quotes From Native Americans 🌲 🌎

Photo courtesy of DonkeyHotey Flickr Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/6143809369

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The old button from the Environmental Club days which I just happened to find on Earth Day! It is a little beat up (particularly the ends of the ribbon), but no worse for the wear, I think. And it is one of the few items that I have left from those days, so it carries a lot of great memories for me! Nothing Changes Until You Do!

Here is a picture of a very similar logo, with the same message, that was on the t-shirt that I purchased from the BCC Environmental Club and, if memory serves me correctly, may even have helped to make. There were a few projects like that which club members, myself included, were regularly involved with. It has been so long, however, that I no longer recall specifically if I actually helped to make these or not, although I do believe so, since I remember seeing the process of the t-shirts being dyed. In any case, I loved this t-shirt, and have kept it ever since, even if I do not regularly wear it. Since it was part of my experience with the BCC Environmental Club days, as well as more generally having an environmental theme, it seemed appropriate to share it here. 

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."

~Mahatma Gandhi

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

  

~John F. Kennedy  

"The earth does not belong to man. Man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites one family. Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself."

- Native American Philosophy (sometimes attributed to Chief Seattle)

When I began college at Bergen Community College in the spring of 1993, everything felt new. While high school had been a time of conformity, where I never seemed to fit in and, thus, was kind of cast out and always on the outside, college was a place with new and far more interesting young people (although they were almost all older than me, and thus seemed worldly to me in a way that felt inaccessible to someone so simple as me). One girl in particular, who I had a massive crush on (but was too much of a coward to tell her that much) embodied all of that. Everything just seemed so promising. There was an energy and freedom that I was not accustomed to, and it was all exciting!

One of the first things that I did was join the Environmental Club, where I met many like-minded people. For the first time, really, it felt like there actually was a youth movement of sorts. People here were willing to try new things, to dress very differently than what had been deemed acceptable at the high school.

It felt like a time of new possibilities. The nation had a new president in Bill Clinton, and he was the first Democrat in the White House in a dozen years! There was an exciting new music scene that was not just emerging, but taking over. Nirvana was on top, although Pearl Jam was clearly on the rise, as were other Seattle bands. There were other great musicians, with a different image and sound, such as the 4 Non-Blonds, the Spin Doctors and Blind Melon. There were great albums emerging in the early nineties from a whole bunch of different bands. Yes, it was a great time to be a young man, full of energy, and I had a lot of hope that a better world was indeed possible.

Of course, I was young and naive. The world was not going to get better because a few young people at one particular college were relative environmental activists, or because a new, activist music scene was emerging in the public light, or because a Democrat had finally been elected president. The world did not shift on it's axis. Many of the young people that I saw elsewhere remained largely unmoved by the surprising activism that I witnessed at Bergen. They may have liked the Seattle scene, but only for the music, and likely because it was popular at the time. The anti-corporate, anti-commercial approach was lost on them.

In short, I wanted to convince myself that all of the exciting things that seemed to be happening at Bergen represented a new norm for youth, a sign of the changing world. It did not take long for reality to set in. Within a few years, the Seattle scene itself was copied, and alternative music became a parody of itself, with numerous copy cat bands just in it for the money. And President Bill Clinton did not look anywhere near as idealistic as he had seemed as a candidate, or as he has seemed since leaving office. In fact, some people referred to him as "Republican light".

The world went on as normal. Most of those exciting young people were gone within a year. Suddenly, I was no longer the youngest guy in the Environmental Club, and no longer a newcomer, either. I was elected Secretary for the fall semester, then Vice-President for the following spring, on my way to becoming President for the 1994-95 academic year. I had wanted to be among the leaders when I first joined, but it proved anti-climatic. There was so much that it seemed I needed to learn to catch up, if you will, with those others, who had seemed impressive and knowledgeable in ways that I could never be. Once it was just me, it was anti-climatic. As I mentioned in a blog entry a few days ago, I was just scared to fail, and basically retired from the Environmental Club after the big Earth Day celebrations.

There are some things, however, the stuck with me. That girl that I mentioned a little earlier? Well, she got involved with the Walden Pond Project. She was quite taken by Don Henley, and he was involved in an effort to save Walden Woods, where Henry David Thoreau spent two years, and wrote the brilliant book, "Walden", which he is most famous for. Many consider him the father of the environmental movement, and I began to gain a strong appreciation of him at that time, mostly through her. Since then, i myself have had some opportunities to visit Walden Woods, and have taken my son there once, even. I intend to do so again, once he is old enough to perhaps appreciate the significance of the place, and the history involved.

Another thing that stuck was a deeper appreciation for Native Americans. My parents, to their credit, had always tried to teach us of a different history than the one in school books or on television. To that end, they had taken us to some pow wows, and other things pertaining to Native American culture. That certainly would not score me popularity points in my high school filled with kids from either a redneck or yuppie upbringing, but it made me feel like I could relate to the young activists at Bergen. There was one quote in particular that was on some bumper sticker or other in the Environmental Club office at some point which resonated with me. It was from Chief Seattle, and although I tried to put it up on top of this post, it did not specifically suggest that he was the one behind this saying. But it was essentially this: “Earth does not belong to man; man belongs to earth.”

It was an impressive and thought-provoking quote. Certainly, it sounded good, and I believed in it, although in retrospect, I probably did not understand it all that well.

Years later, however, I think I understand it a bit better. Of course, that also comes after I took my own, independent interest in native culture, which was sparked again when another girl (this time, it was a girlfriend) introduced me to a writer who I now count as among my very favorites - Daniel Quinn. After reading him, I took a renewed interest in Native American culture and writing, and read one book that blew my mind away - Touch the Earth.

I began to read more and more Native American stuff, and by now, I had a more adult (some might say more mature) grasp of reality. Since those early days in 1993, there had been some personal growth, and of course, the world had changed. There was the 9/11 attacks, and there had been the Iraq war, and the obsession with oil. Bush even admitted that the country was addicted to oil. There were huge natural disasters, from the tsunami in Asia in 2004, to Katrina in 2005, to Japan in 2011, to Sandy (which I personally was in New Jersey for) in 2012. We still see extremes, with a record drought in California, and seemingly annual record flooding by the Mississippi. Even President Bush admitted that global warming appeared to be real, something that too many other Republicans have conveniently forgotten. Also, let us not forget the not so natural disasters, including some huge oil spills, particularly the one in the Gulf of Mexico, which just reached the five year anniversary. Also, the Fukushima disaster, where officials admitted that they could not contain the radiation, and even though it receded into the background and is no longer in the news, there is still nonetheless radioactive waste leaking unchecked into the Pacific. Also, there was a near economic collapse globally in 2008, and the same practices are back in place, almost assuring that there will be another economic disaster.

To sum up, the world seems to be getting worse, not better. That old idealism and hope for a better world has yielded to a grimmer worldview, one where it seems that our situation is hopeless and always getting worse.

Whether that is true or not, many of the dire prognostications and warnings by Native Americans of the excesses of our global culture seem to have largely come true. We should have known. We should have taken them seriously, instead of regarding them as savages and treating them like children.

Now, however, we can learn. There is a more balanced way of looking at our history, our culture. One in which we can actually admit to making mistakes (gasp!) and, even more shockingly, where we learn enough from them not to repeat them (double GASP!!).

I grew up, grew older. I am not the same dumb kid I was back then. If I could go back in time, I would do some things differently. But one thing that I am glad that I did do was hold on to some of that old idealism. Enough, at least, to get more acclimated with Thoreau and Native Americans, who warned us so long ago of what we were facing if we did not change our ways. I have spoken to and heard from many people who truly are idealistic activists, and now, I know that they are out there, and growing in numbers. Not all of my idealism and hope for the future is gone, even though much of it was buried under an avalanche of reality checks.

Ultimately, there is a better way of doing things, and we cannot afford to lose sight of that. So long as we are here, there is hope. I just enjoyed a beautiful weekend, soaking in the sun of a lovely spring, breathing the fresh air. Enjoying that time with my girlfriend and my son.

For his sake, and for the sake of all children, and our children's children, we had best not lose hope that a better way, a brighter future, is still possible.

In order to remind us of that, we should remember the lessons from the past, and accept that mistakes were made. Let us at least begin to undo some of the damage of the past, and learn more about Native Americans in particular. Let us grant them the respect that they were denied in their own day, and let us read their words and understand their lessons and warnings about our all-consuming culture.They understood something back then that we still do not understand presently, as the news headlines suggest each and every day.

What better time than now, on the eve of Earth Day?

Here is one place to start, by clicking on the links below:

10 Pieces Of Wisdom and Quotes From Native American Elders January 8, 2015 by Alanna Ketler.

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/01/08/10-pieces-of-wisdom-quotes-from-native-american-elders/

10 Quotes From a Sioux Indian Chief That Will Make You Question Everything About Our Society

http://themindunleashed.org/2015/01/10-quotes-sioux-indian-chief-will-make-question-everything-society.html



Top 15 Chief Seattle Quotes NORTH AMERICA, TOP 10 | APRIL 17, 2011 BY SEATTLE DREDGE:

http://seattlestravels.com/chief-seattle-quotes/

🌎 🌲 Thoreau on Hard Work 🌲 🌎

Image courtesy of Art Gallery ErgsArt by ErgSap's Folickr page - vallotton_portrait_henry_david_thoreau_1896: Art Gallery ErgsArt: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ergsart/22191977360/in/photolist-zP2FHj-ePxbNv-ePvjVe-eNuALc-eNqz59-ePzz79-ePFbPU-ePJZSE-gGF3fC-ePpGva-916skD-7BKKWS-ePug6H-p2j4kH-ePpL62-ePqNLe-fv4d12-7G3mow-ePGA1s-ePcBMQ-ePCXAE-ePs136-eNeaXn-oK5RJf-ehQDHX-eNYvci-eNr9C5-ePvAfF-eaB71G-dmyhUd-ePAiuG-ePdtSu-ePBg99-5g9QqC-nPMhXu-ePo3g6-8kSBcZ-61sVh7-4Qz4Gg-eNr8iw-eNYeWa-eNhEnV-ePrmcz-bpPxXp-ePuBXZ-ePuNPT-ePvDXz-ej3DpJ-ePBsry-eiWUxR

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Image courtesy of Jeremy T. Hetzel's Flickr page - Walden Pond: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jthetzel/4779852529/in/photolist-8hnZCv-dqniix-g1aktM-8KXYkk-7CnGTM-g1b1XV-96ZP43-ePoGEK-eE8yXG-52u92x-7aBseo-7qD4p3-ePt8eX-ePaF9J-8rrEAj-ePqsXz-eP2Z2F-fr5yhJ-ePGkvf-ePDRZQ-ePuDVn-ePoPwc-eNZRdi-eNAgDf-eNeKm4-ePE3GJ-zP2FHj-ePxbNv-ePvjVe-eNuALc-eNqz59-ePzz79-ePFbPU-ePJZSE-gGF3fC-ePpGva-916skD-7BKKWS-ePug6H-p2j4kH-ePpL62-ePqNLe-fv4d12-7G3mow-ePGA1s-ePcBMQ-ePCXAE-ePs136-eNeaXn-oK5RJf

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Image courtesy of Ryan Lowery's Flickr page - Qreat Thoreau Quote: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanlowery/458323348/in/photolist-Gv2yG-pwp9Ko-qN1sbB-i7Ynjp-w5ikS-yhfU9-e5FTMX-w5i7H-xd3pn-e5QmYU-8y2Dhr-6nQtWj-qm2rFT-w5h1p-2CUmG-8hnZCv-w5h7F-qxNByH-bBJk48-qm2rJZ-w5gbj-w5hhR-w5hNH-c3rZbL-2CUmE-qCnHBQ-o4f5FM-6uXAfy-9c6Vni-epSLsK-pFrTwd-qm2rc6-bBJkei-2FW9g-eBY5Yn-8TUVF-eqNZsy-apqQp3-gw9Ew-2CUmN-davkmu-qCnHyU-3kamJ-3kakN-ftvegm-w5iDe-4Pzsp-qxDYFw-gSjENQ-eqP1qG

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"The world is but a canvass to our imagination."

~ Henry David Thoreau

Today, many are beginning to challenge the conventional notion of the merits of hard work and no play. Studies show that a lack of play and free time can stunt the healthy growth of a child, which really should not be a surprise. After all, childhood is the time of maximum imagination and wonder, and play is a way of fostering that. Getting in the way of that with some overly grown up notions of the merits of hard work and an overly serious approach to life is, in fact, detrimental to their creativity and mental health.

Now, we even have people questioning this overly serious approach to life for adults, as well.

Indeed, from my stand point, I understand the need for work. But we should work to live, rather than live to work.

Unfortunately, too many people lose sight of that.

Yet, we had someone who has become hugely influential since warn us of the perils of taking life, and particularly work, too seriously.

Indeed, among many other topics that he tackled and helped our American society, and indeed the world, gain valuable perspective in is that of working too hard, and focusing on leisure time, by way of comparison.

Thoreau on Hard Work, the Myth of Productivity, and the True Measure of Meaningful Labor by Maria Popova

http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/02/10/thoreau-hard-work-efficiency/

Mindlessness & Arrogance Maybe Should Get It's Own Country Without a Civil War

Yesterday, I mentioned how the mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, was grilled during a television interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and how a strong majority of Americans are opposed to seeing the country opened up too soon, for fear of sparking a second wave of the coronavirus.  

Of course, in recent weeks, we have seen news stories from various parts of the country – albeit mostly, but not exclusively, red states with a lot of Trump supporters – where protesters have gathered to try and express their displeasure at the Covid-19 lockdown, and demanding that businesses be reopened. Some of them complained that they wanted the right to go back to barbers and hairdressers and nail salons, among other things. Many of these people implied that they were being oppressed, and they are sick and tired of it.  

There is one thing that a Facebook friend posted in regards to this which resonated with me. He posted a now already fairly infamous picture of a bunch of protesters who resembled zombies, frankly, gathered at a window and looking angry, like a mindless mob. The post stated that they were not being oppressed, but merely inconvenienced, and that they should really learn the difference.  

Just in case you have not seen the picture yet, here it is:

Yes, that seems very true to me. They, like people all around this country, and like people all around the world, are being inconvenienced by the Covid-19 shutdown. Indeed, there is a huge difference between that, and being actively oppressed. Jews were oppressed by the Nazi regime in Germany during World War II, forced to lose their rights and to live in crowded ghettos, and then taken against their will to camps, either to work as forced labor, or to be killed, or sometimes even both, in time. Or in the old Soviet Union, when anyone labeled as an “enemy of the state” (a term that Trump himself, as well as his mindless supporters, apparently likes using) was sent off to the Gulags in the frigid realms of Siberia. Or Chinese under Mao, or later, Cambodians who were forced to work the fields under the Khmer Rouge regime. In both of those countries, it is estimated that millions died, and almost everyone lost their rights, and just tried to focus on literal survival. That is oppression, and it is not a game, not something to be taken lightly, or to be trifled with.  

Personally, I am tired of these whiny brats who claim that hey are being oppressed or persecuted. Tired of these privileged idiots who seem indeed to take being inconvenienced, or to have their traditional right to themselves oppress others curbed, who then loudly whine and moan about how unfairly they are being treated. Whether it’s the so-called “War on Christmas” or claims that any attempt at making our “for profit” healthcare system more affordable and accessible to everyone, or now, that the coronavirus lockdown is inconveniencing people, this overblown reaction is ridiculous and even laughable. Truth be told, these people are basically morons who take themselves for heroes, simply because they cry and complain like the whiny melting snowflakes that they prove themselves to be time and time again.  

Am I alone in that assessment?  

Hardly, as a recent poll shows that only 10 percent of Americans actually support these protesters and their claims to being oppressed, and demanding that the country be reopened for business even before their own beloved leaders apparently feels would be responsible.  

Once again, I feel forced to ask this simple but apparently unanswerable question: what the hell has happened to this country? Where exactly did we go wrong?  

Personally, I have some theories. But this false sense of entitlement and apparent belief of ownership of the entire country by these whining crybabies is not only counterproductive, and probably now actively dangerous because they are ignoring all of the advice of medical experts, but it also is making the United States the laughing stock around the world.  

It has gotten pathetic. Sometimes, I think that maybe Barry Goldwater was right, and that part of this country should break off. Either let northeastern states, as well as West Coast states, and perhaps some others, like Illinois and Colorado and Hawaii, break free, perhaps form their own country. Or allow a second Confederate States, expanded to much of the Midwestern states and other interior states, to join, since they seem to want that so damn badly.

That might sound extreme, and indeed, it is. But I am beginning to suspect that this whole thing is not going to end without some serious bloodshed. Apparently, a third of Americans now expect a second civil war. And it they want Donald Trump and that kind of bullcrap that badly, maybe it is time to let them have it, and see how well that works for them. But let's not let them take literally the rest of the country down with them. Let the rest of us live in a more civilized nation, even if that means two different nations. Screw it already!

🌎 🌲 Earth Day Week: Some Obscure History Regarding Climate Change & Environmentalism 🌲 🌎

Photo courtesy of DonkeyHotey Flickr Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/6143809369

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The old button from the Environmental Club days which I just happened to find on Earth Day! It is a little beat up (particularly the ends of the ribbon), but no worse for the wear, I think. And it is one of the few items that I have left from those days, so it carries a lot of great memories for me! Nothing Changes Until You Do!

Here is a picture of a very similar logo, with the same message, that was on the t-shirt that I purchased from the BCC Environmental Club and, if memory serves me correctly, may even have helped to make. There were a few projects like that which club members, myself included, were regularly involved with. It has been so long, however, that I no longer recall specifically if I actually helped to make these or not, although I do believe so, since I remember seeing the process of the t-shirts being dyed. In any case, I loved this t-shirt, and have kept it ever since, even if I do not regularly wear it. Since it was part of my experience with the BCC Environmental Club days, as well as more generally having an environmental theme, it seemed appropriate to share it here. 

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."

~Mahatma Gandhi

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

  

~John F. Kennedy  

Yes, it is Earth Day, and I already wrote an article on the history of Earth Day on the Guardian Liberty Voice.

If you have not yet seen it, please take a look at my article, which was published in April of 2015, about the history of Earth Day, which you can find on the Guardian Liberty Voice. Please click on the link below:

Earth Day Has a Fascinating History by Charles Bordeau on April 18, 2015:

http://guardianlv.com/2015/04/earth-day-has-a-fascinating-history/

However, environmentalism did not begin with Senator Nelson, although I think that his Earth Day creation was something that this global society of ours needed desperately, and has been largely a positive step towards restoring some kind of a balance.

In truth, the history of environmentalism, if we define it as a conscious effort to have a sustainable relationship with Mother Earth, far predates our modern Earth Day and the numerous environmentalist movements, or Senator Nelson, or James Hansen recognizing the trend of global warming, or Rachel Carson, or even Henry David Thoreau, however good and noble the works and words of these people might be.

It goes back to Native Americans, who tried to warn our modern society of the dangers of not taking our responsibilities towards Earth seriously. We did not listen to them, and now we are paying the price for our arrogance and foolish presumptions of the time.

Yet, it is interesting to note, also, that some apparently even forecast global warming itself. There is one man, with one speech in particular, who suggested as much, and this was something that I was not aware of until just recently.

This was a fascinating thing, although a bit depressing on some levels, and not least of all because of the use of such terms as "savages" in the speech.

Still, to have apparently forecast global warming well over a century before it became an accepted scientific theory?

Pretty fascinating stuff!

Take a look, and click on the link below for more information on it:

"Man cannot at his pleasure command the rain and the sunshine, the wind and frost and snow, yet it is certain that climate itself has in many instances been gradually changed and ameliorated or deteriorated by human action. The draining of swamps and the clearing of forests perceptibly effect the evaporation from the earth, and of course the mean quantity of moisture suspended in the air. The same causes modify the electrical condition of the atmosphere and the power of the surface to reflect, absorb and radiate the rays of the sun, and consequently influence the distribution of light and heat, and the force and direction of the winds. Within narrow limits too, domestic fires and artificial structures create and diffuse increased warmth, to an extent that may effect vegetation. The mean temperature of London is a degree or two higher than that of the surrounding country, and Pallas believed, that the climate of even so thinly a peopled country as Russia was sensibly modified by similar causes."

~George Perkins Marsh, 1847

The 1847 lecture that predicted human-induced climate change  by Leo Hickman  Monday 20 June 2011

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/jun/20/george-perkins-marsh-climate-speech





A 50th anniversary few remember: LBJ's warning on carbon dioxide By Marianne Lavelle The Daily Climate, February 2, 2015:

http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2015/02/president-johnson-carbon-climate-warni

Anderson Cooper Interviews Mayor Who Wants To Reopen Last Vegas Casinos & Hotels Back For Business

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who is an Independent, was interviewed by Anderson Cooper of CNN recently. Mayor Goodman wants to open her city up for business  Cooper tried to get to the bottom of concerns shared by most Americans regarding the seemingly distinct possibility that we seem to be rushing to re-open this country too soon.  

Goodman repeatedly seemed to acknowledge that Cooper is a capable reporter, and seemed to imply – also repeatedly – that he was trying to make her appear foolish, or say something that she might regret.  

It was a strange video to watch, with Goodman continually skirting the bottom-line issue of whether or not it would be wise to insist on reopening businesses in her city, when there appeared to be a lack of oversight regarding safety measures. She kept reiterating that it was not her responsibility to assure that each casino did their part to assure that social distancing measures continued to be observed.  

Goodman also seemed to question whether it was social distancing efforts that had kept the numbers of infected and dead in the city relatively low, at least compared to many other cities and states in the country. She suggested that it seems unfair that the 2.3 million residents of her city should be forced to stay at home, often without pay, while only 150 residents of the city had died from Covid-19. She stated that her city could be a model for the rest of the country in terms of re-opening, and rejected Cooper’s assertions that this was tantamount to making the people of her city the equivalent of an open experiment.  

Throughout the interview, Cooper betrayed his clear frustration and even confusion at times, as Goodman seemed to attempt to evade direct answers and/or responsibility regarding the possibility of reopening.  

I must say that there are general doubts on my end regarding Cooper’s fairness, as he always seemed to me one of those people who particularly seemed to be displeased with the possibility of Bernie Sanders emerging as the Democratic nominee. He seemed to insist on painting him as a fringe candidate throughout the 2016 campaign, despite poll numbers and huge rally turnouts that showed quite the opposite was true. He is a mainstream reporter all the way, and thus, I often viewed him as more a part of the problem regarding the big media, rather than the solution, or a so-called “responsible” journalist.  

That said, I felt that he did his job reasonably well regarding this matter, effectively grilling the mayor of a major American city who wants to reopen her city for business without any serious efforts at overseeing the safety of those who would both patronize and work in those businesses. He seemed to expose her weaknesses and refusal to take responsibility, and took her to task for her position.  

It should be remembered that a wide majority of Americans are opposed to reopening the country back for business too soon. And it is specifically because of this kind of irresponsibility on the part of Goodman and other elected officials that these concerns feel very real. After all, we certainly do not want to see a second wave of the coronavirus, and opening cities and businesses up again too soon would almost guarantee that there would indeed be another wave, and that the crisis would actually get a second life.

Anderson Cooper presses Las Vegas mayor over wish to reopen  

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (I) says that she wants to reopen the city's casinos, restaurants and entertainment venues for business so people can get back to work. CNN's Anderson Cooper asks her if that's safe given the data about the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Source: CNN

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/04/22/las-vegas-mayor-carolyn-goodman-reopen-coronavirus-entire-interview-anderson-cooper-sot-nr-vpx.cnn

Coronavirus Update for April 22nd

As of right now, there are over 2 ½ million confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide. Over 690,000 people have recovered, although there have been over 170,000 deaths.  

Most of the cases, and deaths, are in Europe. Spain has over 200,000 cases alone, the most of any European nation. Italy has over 183,000 confirmed cases, and they have suffered the most deaths from confirmed Covid-19 cases of any European nation, with almost 25,000. Spain is next, with well over 21,000 dead. France has the third most of any European nation, with over 158,000 infected, and over 20,000 dead. Germany, the largest nation in terms of population strictly within the European continent, has over 148,000 cases, yet has suffered just over 5,000 deaths. Finally, the United Kingdom has just over 129,000 confirmed cases, but well over 17,000 deaths.  

The only other nation with over 100,000 confirmed cases is the United States, which has far and away more confirmed cases, and deaths, from Covid-19 than any other nation presently. T date, the United States has over 818,000 confirmed infected, and over 45,000 deaths. There are more than four times the number of infected as the next highest nation, Spain, and there have been nearly twice the amount of deaths of the next highest country, Italy.

🌎 🌲 Earth Day 2020 - The 50th Anniversary 🌲 🌎

The old button from the Environmental Club days which I just happened to find on Earth Day! It is a little beat up (particularly the ends of the ribbon), but no worse for the wear, I think. And it is one of the few items that I have left from those days, so it carries a lot of great memories for me! Nothing Changes Until You Do!

Here is a picture of a very similar logo, with the same message, that was on the t-shirt that I purchased from the BCC Environmental Club and, if memory serves me correctly, may even have helped to make. There were a few projects like that which club members, myself included, were regularly involved with. It has been so long, however, that I no longer recall specifically if I actually helped to make these or not, although I do believe so, since I remember seeing the process of the t-shirts being dyed. In any case, I loved this t-shirt, and have kept it ever since, even if I do not regularly wear it. Since it was part of my experience with the BCC Environmental Club days, as well as more generally having an environmental theme, it seemed appropriate to share it here. 

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."

~Mahatma Gandhi

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

  

~John F. Kennedy  


“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

~ Chief Si’ahl (Seattle) 

“Now polluters are looked upon as ordinary Joes just doing their jobs. In the future, they will be looked upon as swine”

~ Kurt Vonnegut

Well, today is Earth Day.

Earth Day, 2020.         

Another holiday of 2020 that just does not feel the same, eh?   

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Yes, half a century, although instead of big celebrations, and planned massive protests, we have a quiet day that hardly feels much different than any other during this coronavirus crisis. Normally, I would make a point of taking my son out on a hike on this day, and of having some small talk, at least, about the importance of being aware of our Earth, and our belonging to the wider community of life. But since I am in relative isolation because of this pandemic, and thus have not seen my son now in going on three weeks (the longest single stretch that I have not seen him since he was born), it just feels different.

Still, I went out for a walk, and reflected on the first Earth Day that I can actively remember. That would be in 1990, and it was a hot one. It fell on a weekend, and my family had gone to see a soccer game, of all things. The New Jersey Eagles, who hosted Orlando. Both teams are now defunct, as is that soccer league. We were in Jersey City, and it was very sunny, so I wound up with a sunburn. Yet, I remember that it felt fun, looking at the Manhattan skyline, enjoying the outdoors, and hearing radio commentators talk about Earth Day, which was still new to me. By contrast, this morning was just above freezing - barely - and while it has been sunny all day, it is also windy and cool. Actually, kind of nice weather for Earth Day.     

Yes, we already had the strangest, quietest St. Patrick’s Day that anyone can remember, and then we had a similarly, almost eerily quiet Easter weekend. Now, we have Earth Day, which often has all sorts of events, concerts and other such things, surrounding it. Hell, I once even organized such an event in my capacity as the President of the Environmental Club for Bergen Community College, which proved extremely stressful, frankly.           

This year, of course, everything is different. Some have suggested that this current crisis, with the pandemic, may be Mother Nature's way of giving us human beings one last warning. Change your ways, she might be saying, or I will change them for you. And that is no idle threat. Indeed, I have mentioned the idea that we seem to be almost preparing for some kind of apocalypse as a society. Many, if not most, of the scenarios, include either huge natural disasters, or indeed, man-made disasters, which seems to be our own collectively expressed acknowledgement that we know that what we are doing on this planet, and the manner in which we are conducting ourselves as a modern society, lacks wisdom and, frankly, sustainability.

Perhaps now, these apocalyptic visions will begin to feel more real. After all, we have at least actually seen and tasted just a little of what the world might feel like after something truly huge has happened. We still are seeing and experiencing it almost every day, when streets and highways normally choked with traffic now stand virtually empty. We see usually bustling city streets now empty, famous landmarks that attract visitors virtually around the calendar now regularly empty and devoid of people. There is little air travel, and cruise ships are at dock, with some questioning how well these will survive the current crisis.

Yet, here is one silver lining, and to me, it is not a minor one: the air is cleaner than it has been in many decades. In Los Angeles, a city known for smog from pollution, the air has not been so clean in many decades. Indeed, many people have never seen or felt the air as clean as it is now. The same is true in India, particularly in the cities, where the pollution and smog had gotten so bad, that it was literally dangerous to people's health. Now, the skies have cleared, and the real sky color can actually be seen. There are rivers which are notoriously polluted in India, which are now allegedly clean enough to drink again.

Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something? Maybe the idea that there is some not so hidden message in all of this really is not so ridiculous, after all.

Also, there is irony in the fact that despite the cleaner air, there are more people wearing face masks - including yours truly - than ever before. We can visibly see the pollution in some places, particularly in cities in countries like China and India, as well as here in the United States, particularly in the western half or so, yet we rush out and get masks to protect ourselves against an invisible enemy. That seems to say something about the human mind, does it not?

This is one of my favorite holidays, even though this also happens to be one of the youngest and, thus, one with some of the least amount of recognition and traditions, at least for now. Hopefully, someday, people might actually take it more seriously, and at least begin to appreciate what this Mother Earth of ours offers us.

Nothing short of life itself.

Yet, for now, this sentiment is more often met with mockery, at least in contemporary American culture. It is often viewed with serious skepticism and, frankly, often times mockery.

It should not be. It was originally designed to make us aware of the damage that we are doing to our world through our notions of progress. Pumping junk into air and the seas and the land, so that we can enjoy more luxuries than ever before. That is what passes for progress these days. 

There was a time when we used to actually believe that we were building a better world, something worth sacrificing for. It seems these days that we all know that we should approach any sense of people trying to build for a better world with caution. There have been so many failed ideas, not to mention outright scams and frauds, to say nothing of the disasters that have come of these. The kind of world that we have created has proven to be disastrous on many levels. Indeed, there is nothing noble about it, no great sentiments towards humanity in general. Just selfishness.

Recently, I saw a quote which, I feel, goes a long way towards explaining just what the crisis we are facing is. You see, when I was growing up, and growing more aware of the issues that made me an environmentalist, it felt more or less simple, perhaps largely due to naiveté. Back then, we felt that there should be goals, to try and reduce pollution. Cut carbon emissions, try and track and systematically reduce gases that contribute to global warming, or climate change. Indeed, though, while progress is made here and there, it feels like we trend towards regression, in a classic case of taking one step forward, and two steps back. The current president pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, as modest as those changes were, because he felt that his country had gotten a raw deal. For now, it remains the only country that has rejected the accord on the grounds of skepticism regarding the science. Clearly, if Trump cared enough to even try and understand the science, or if he got past his own ego and greed to recognize the danger, he might - might - give some pause for thought about the ramifications of his actions. After all, no country has traditionally contributed more harmful greenhouse gases and pollution than the good ol' U. S. of A., right?

Yet, perhaps in part because of Trump's outlandishness and indifference to world opinion - his decision to pull the country out of the Paris Accord was universally condemned and remains strongly unpopular - other world leaders have begun to flirt with similar moves. That includes in particular Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who has had similar expressions of doubt regarding climate change and environmentalism. Indeed if there is one area of the world most synonymous with the climate change crisis traditionally, it would be in Brazil, particularly in the north, in the Amazon rainforest, which is continually threatened. Indeed, much of it has already been destroyed, laid waste to make room for farms that will produce cheap beef. And Bolsonaro has actively attempted to hasten the destruction of the rainforest, which often are described as the "lungs of the world," almost literally.

The old saying about how the more things change, the more they stay the same comes to mind. We keep repeating the same mistakes, which brings to mind another saying, about how a mistake made repetitively can no longer be viewed as a mistake, but rather, a choice. And as the ancient knight from that old Indiana Jones movie might have stated, we have collectively chosen poorly. We only recently began to experience the painful death throes from our choice.

Which brings me again to that quote mentioned earlier, which put in perspective just what we are up against. I mentioned naiveté earlier, because indeed, we environmentalists seemed to collectively believe that once the facts become clear, once people begin to have all of the scientific data and are made aware of the issues, that an understanding will dawn, and that collectively, humanity will do what it needs to do to save itself. But the science is out there, has been out there now for some time. We have even seen consistently rising global temperatures, and more severe storms and natural disasters in greater number and greater severity then ever before. Yet, many remain willfully ignorant, while others, particularly the powerful who serve to personally benefit from continuing what we are doing as a society, actively inject pseudo-scientific doubts to try and muddy the waters and cast doubt on scientific consensus, even when there actually is no real scientific debate. Given all of that, it should be easy to understand why this quote moved me as both piercing and particularly alarming. It is from American scientific lawyer and expert on climate change, James Gustave Speth:

I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change.  
I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address these problems, but I was wrong.  
The top environmental problems are selifshness, greed and apathy, and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.  
And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”  

-  James Gustave Speth

That truly does feel like it sums up the current environmental crisis that we now face, in a world where facts just simply do not seem to matter to far too many people, who allow themselves the conceit of believing only what they want to believe. Which perhaps explains why the aforementioned naiveté on the part of environmentalists proved so ineffectual. Evil appears to be very real, and there is just no converting people who do not mean well. That is especially true when so many of those people, like the man in the Oval Office presently, control so much of what is conveyed and oft-repeated in the major news media.

Am I actually calling the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, evil?

Yes, actually. I am. But that is another discussion. And while he is clearly a part of the problem, this is bigger than him. Far bigger.

Indeed, that is why so many people who approach seeming well-meaning, or even noble ideas, and are trying to embrace them and correct past mistakes are viewed with such extreme skepticism. Almost everyone seems to need to develop a sense of skepticism or, at best, measured optimism, when it comes to bigger ideas these days. 

Clearly, many people need to work a little better at that. After all, look at who is currently in the Oval Office here in the United States. The highest office in the land, and probably the most powerful office in the world, is currently occupied by a known con artist, someone who believes in drilling for oil and fracking and clearing more forests to produce more beef, so that he and millions of others in a rapidly growing population can chow down on cheap meat products, regardless of how much damage experts have revealed it does to this planet.

What does he care? He will be long gone by the time that the full impact of climate change will be felt and, even if he is somehow still around, he has his billions to ensure some measure of protection and tranquility in his life. This man is the most selfish, narcissistic individual imaginable, a megalomaniac to such a degree, that he often seems like a walking, talking, breathing parody. I still have trouble not viewing him as some kind of a joke, albeit an extremely cruel one, perhaps one that our stupid society is playing on Mother Earth. 

Mother Earth deserves so much better.

Slowly but surely, these seems to be an awakening. Some people even describe this as "Woke." Increasingly, this is how to refer to people who are at least aware that there is a world out there, and that we need to be aware of others, and not merely concerned with the pursuit of our own selfish desires. There are higher purposes than simply to fixate on our own greed, and the rise of the face of greed to the White House cannot forever keep this growing conscientiousness, if you will, from rising.

Native Americans understood the urgency of having a balance with the Earth. They were mocked then, and basically killed off and/or forced to join the very society that they knew to be sick. Yet, some of their wisdom has survived, and many of us - although clearly not all of us by a long-shot - are beginning to gain awareness that they understood something, that they possessed a certain wisdom that our crass and obsessive consumer culture failed to see, much less appreciate.

Obviously, that level of skepticism towards Native American wisdom continues today. 

Still, we have to continue to fight for it. Because Mother Earth deserves better than the way that we treat her. I heard somewhere recently that people - by which, I think, they meant people in western, advanced countries - only seem willing to go along with things when they clearly will get something out of it. That may indeed be true, even if it is also sad.

Yet, so be it. If that is what we have become, then it is better to accept this reality, and then try to work within it's framework, then to ignore it or pretend it is otherwise. We really cannot afford to only believe in what we want to believe in. Look at how much trouble this has gotten is into in the first place.

So, let us try and keep Earth Day as at least one sacred day, when people accept that the Earth is indeed life itself. Without the planet as we know it, there is no life. If we continue on as we are going, simply put, the strains will be too much, and life as we know it on this planet will be choked off, because our modern lifestyles are, simply put, not sustainable for any great length of time. 

The threat is real. But for now, at least, so is hope. Hope that we can indeed collectively wake up on time to preserve at least the best part of what Mother Earth has blessedly provided us with: life itself. Earth Day always falls in the spring, right as the last vestiges of winter here in the northern hemisphere begin to fade, and a literal season of new life is ushered forth. 

We have to begin somewhere, even if it is just one day. Let it be this day, and let what traditions have been established continue, but let new traditions begin, both for Earth Day, and more generally and completely, so that we begin to make more of a difference.

And let this be a blessed Earth Day to any and all who read this.

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