Shine OnCommentary: Is Earth Day still relevant?
It is a difficult time to be both an environmentalist and an optimist.
Two years ago this week, the BP Oil Spill disaster began. The gushing underwater wellhead unleashed a staggering 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico before it was finally capped almost three months later. The spill devastated the fragile ecosystems and economies of the gulf, and its harmful repercussions are still being felt. Fish from the gulf (and there are fewer of them being caught now than in recent recorded data) suffer from tumours, lesions and other abnormalities that can be tied to the toxicity of their feeding and breeding grounds.
The drum marches on. BP continues to drill for oil. Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in December. And the woman making Canadian headlines is Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith who insists that when it comes to climate change, the "science isn't settled."
Related: Earth Day 2012: Wash those reusable grocery bags, or risk food poisoning
In the face of such events, it's hard to not feel hopeless. With all of the horrors that we have collectively inflicted upon our planet in the past few years alone and the relative complacency with which these events are being met, both government and corporate, can Earth Day still be considered relevant?
Earth Day originated in the United States in 1970 as a "national day for the environment." It was founded by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was inspired to take action after a massive oil spill in California in 1969. That "national day" has since grown to international proportions. The official Earth Day website states that one billion people from 192 countries will be participating this year.
But aside from the usual media buzz on April 22nd and countless companies co-opting the Earth Day message for good PR and to peddle new products , how many people -- aside from elementary school students, for whom earth-friendly activities and events on Earth Day are common place -- are actually taking action on that day? How many people are taking action year-round? When the clocks tick to April 23rd, do people still care about our responsibility towards the planet? Or is the sad truth that "going green" on Earth Day has just become another gimmick -- a way for us to relieve our collective guilt and pretend that we're actually making a difference for one day?
Related: Earth Day 2012: Environmentally destructive foods to avoid
We may have the best of intentions, but when it comes to our environmental obligations, Canada isn't doing so hot.
The results of this year's Earth Hour in the city of Toronto was underwhelming. The paltry 6.8% reduction made it practically a non-event, compared to the 15.1 per cent reduction Torontonians managed in 2009.
Far more alarmingly, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 24 per cent between 1990 and 2008.
How can Canadians feel soothed by our recycling habits while still being rabid consumers of clothing and electronics? How can we consider ourselves environmentally responsible if we turn out the lights whenever we leave a room and install water-efficient showerheads in our bathrooms, but we're still commuting about an hour every day, with 82 per cent of our commuting happening by car? How can we feel okay about going about our lives exactly as they are without thinking about the long-term implications?
These are questions we all need to ask of ourselves, and not just on Earth Day. We need to assess our own actions or inactions towards the planet, every day, as individuals. We must hold ourselves accountable to the future of this planet 365 days of the year.
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