It's Earth Day...

It is Earth Day and the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1970. This is a time to be thankful for whatever natural environment we have left, and to do more than plant a few trees in remembrance of what we've lost.

I have clear memories of the first Earth Day. I was a senior at Hastings College in Nebraska, and a very small number my friends and I gathered along a small drainage ditch in a field. It was the most close-to-natural spot we could find. We said a few words as we stood together, the gist of which was that the Earth and its natural world should no longer be neglected, but should instead be preserved. It was clear to us that man was making a mess of things and that from that Earth Day forward, we (mankind) would do a better job of preserving things.

I can look at these intervening 50 years with disappointment.

A friend had told me that while everyone was concerned about saving the earth, the earth would take care of itself, and that the people should worry that if we don't take care of the earth and all life upon it, it would be the people that suffer. Welcome to 2020. Is this a year to learn from our past and gain a clearer view of what's to come? Can we learn at long last to live in greater harmony with the Earth and its wonders?

Let's hope.

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