Getting through, going on... new directions?

“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” - Elizabeth Edwards

We talk a lot about watersheds on this website, but now we are at a different type of a watershed  - a watershed point in time.  As Covid-19 burns through our communities, we will come out different; stronger, more experienced, and hopefully wiser.  How will we take what we learn here and turn it to making our world better, safer and cleaner?

How do we celebrate Earth Day in the teeth of a global pandemic?

Isn’t it ironic that we are greeting the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with a global pandemic?  Fifty years ago there were dire predictions years of impending global collapse but when we get out to today it’s a virus that’s actually changing the world and how we live. 

So much has been done in the 50 years since the first Earth Day, and we’ve made progress in many areas of environmental protection.  The Smithsonian’s April issue “trumpets new reasons to be positive” about the environment, citing the comeback of mountain gorilla populations, the increasing use of renewable energy and ongoing science that looks to make human’s impacts on the earth more sustainable.  National Geographic magazine’s April Edition offers two views – turn the magazine one way and you get “fifty years of progress” but when you flip it over you get “fifty years of damage”.  Two sides of one coin, is the implication; a matter of perspective.  But it’s not that simple. Changes to the earth alter our daily lives.  Our ever-growing human   population density drives damage to the Earth, and makes us vulnerable to disease transmission with tragic results.
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We can agree that progress in environmental protection has been made in many areas.  But the fact remains that there’s still a long way to go.  As human populations increase, as people move into wilderness areas and extractive industries continue to alter the earth to meet the increasing needs of people, our impacts increase and are felt even more strongly.  As we recover from this pandemic, we will face a changed world.  The direction we take in the future will determine the fate of our planet like at no other time.  How can we work to ensure that the future is sustainable?   

LWV UMRR Co_President Steve Ploesser sees hope in today's tribulations.    Not only are we developing a deeper understanding of the value of being with family, friends, co workers and strangers, but we are learning new ways to connect that may make us 'greener' with greater acceptance of remote working and an understanding of what we give up by spending hours in our cars. And the shut downs have graphically shown what the impact of reducing driving can do to improve air quality.  Let us hope that we will have learned these lessons and will work together to make the world cleaner and safer for everyone.  ​

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              Reductions in air pollution in two major cities - San Fransciso and Beijing, due to stay-at-home orders.