Earth Day Vacation

 

My observations of Earth Day 2007 were fairly typical. I burned fossil fuels which emitted greenhouse gases and other pollutants as I drove back and forth from church. I burned a bit more later that afternoon when I drove over to the beach to officiate a wedding. It was a beautiful affair overlooking the vast ocean. The sky was a spectacular blue with hardly a cloud in site. The birds were soaring over the beach and we were safely ensconced in a room sixteen stories above the earth air-conditioned to approximately 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

My husband was out of town and I was bone tired. So I tossed some frozen pre-packaged meals into the microwave and radiated my dinner. The children were a bit stir crazy so I sent  them outside on our back patio which covers roughly 90% of the yard. They ended up going swimming in water contained by concrete and cleaned with manmade chemicals. There was not a great deal of communing with nature going on. I freely confess to spending my Earth day vacation like most Americans—oblivious to the needs of our earthly home while tending to my own. I have to extend my confession to include both Earth days.

The United Nations celebrates Earth day on the vernal equinox in March while, for the past 37 years a global initiative has honored the earth on April 22. I admit I find the notion a wee bit odd to think that our only home requires a day not unlike Mother’s Day or Secretary’s Day. I have been wondering when the cards are going to start hitting the Hallmark shelves. How would that be for irony?

In my defense, I did celebrate Tu B’Shevat this year. This translates as the fifteenth of Shevat and is a minor Jewish festival. It is essentially the Jewish Arbor Day but is historically the New Year for Trees for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. “There are few customs or observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day. Some people plant trees on this day. A lot of Jewish children go around collecting money for trees for Israel at this time of year. That's about all there is to it.” [1]

My family hosted two Israeli exchange students for a week in February when Tu B’Shevat occurred in 2007. I was very excited to have a festival fall during their visit. I researched the holiday, bought two hibiscus bushes to plant in each of their names and found a recipe for a special Tu B’Shevat salad for lunch. The boys were touched, but utterly baffled. It seems they celebrate Tu B’Shevat much like my family celebrates Earth Day. On the other hand, I did just get an email from them asking for a picture of their respective bushes. So much for my adventure into Jewish environmental holidays, though I must say it is far easier to plant trees in Florida in early February than it is in late April.

In Genesis 1:28, we are instructed to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” [2] Given the original context of the pastoral and agricultural society that generated this creation myth, I highly doubt they had the degree of subjugation in mind we witness today. Instead, I believe this verse is one of the most misunderstood and sadly continues to be used to justify actions that supposedly benefit man at earth’s expense. Humanity was given the responsibility of stewardship and has sorely neglected that responsibility.

Turning to another ancient Mediterranean culture, in Hesiod’s Theogony, which posits a geocentric universe, Gaia, the earth is pictured as the first natural entity to exist. She gives birth to the sky, sea and mountains. She then mates with the sky and produces twelve children that include important natural elements such as the sun and the moon.[3] I find mythologies that anthropomorphize the natural world to be quite fascinating and I wonder if such a worldview results in a greater respect for nature than the biblical view. But then again, considering how humans treat one another despite a common humanity I suppose expectations of identifying with nature when it is anthropomorphized is a tad unrealistic.

How many of us are concerned with the threat posed by global warming? How many of us feel powerless to do much about it? This is essentially a doomsday scenario brought on by our own actions. The tension between wanting to do what is best for the only home we have and existing in an industrial society is almost too much to bear. How many of you have seen the documentary An Inconvenient Truth? I’ve heard many reactions to the film ranging from anger to despair, but the most frequent emotion I am presented with is guilt. The state of our environment has become a serious pastoral care issue. Instead of being approached for help with family crises, grief counseling or premarital guidance I am more likely to find myself in a position of care for someone grieving over the state of the earth. I find it rather remarkable, but not necessarily surprising.

In fact, none of the responses to global warming particularly surprise me. For those who accept it as indisputable fact, responses range from positive activism, ignoring the crisis in psychological self-defense to utter despondency. For those who do not accept the theory, responses range from eyeball rolling to negative activism. When I was searching for information on global warming I naturally found myself at a site called GlobalWarming.org. This site is not exactly what I had in mind however. It is a project by the Cooler Heads Coalition. Listen to who they say they are.

·        The Cooler Heads Coalition was formed on May 6, 1997 under the auspices of the National Consumer Coalition out of concern that the American people were not being informed about the economic impact of proposals to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nor was the American public being provided with balanced information about the science of global warming. Myron Ebell, director of global warming and international environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, is the Cooler Heads group leader.

·        "Cooler Heads" focuses on the consumer impact of global warming policies that would drastically restrict energy use and raise costs for consumers.

·        Members of the coalition point out that the science of global warming is uncertain, but the negative impacts of global warming policies on consumers are all too real. Coalition members also follow the progress of the international Global Climate Change Treaty negotiations.[4]

This sounds pretty benign doesn’t it? Cooler Heads and the National Consumer Coalition. Except the National Consumer Coalition is a group of industry friendly organizations that oppose government regulation and support "free market" solutions to consumer issues. I just love all of these touchy feely words designed to cover up the truth. Industry friendly, opposition to government regulation and free market solutions in this context translates into consumer beware and planet be damned. It means lack of oversight or ethical constraints in the pursuit of profit margins. If you are at all familiar with the name Grover Norquist I needn’t say anything else about it other than mention that he is involved.

Let’s look again at why the Cooler Heads Coalition was formed, “out of concern that the American people were not being informed about the economic impact of proposals to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Of course there is a huge economic impact considering the global economy is tied to oil. If we switch to renewable clean sources of energy I’m going to guess that Exxon isn’t going to appreciate the resultant drop in their stock prices. This group so worships the almighty dollar they fail to grasp that many of us are perfectly willing to adjust our way of life and pay more for a healthier planet.

There is a waiting list for the Toyota Prius and the negative personal monetary trade off for owning a hybrid car is well known. My husband and I are seriously looking into the solar energy solution offered by a company called Citizenrē. This is a company that is trying to provide a solution that environmentally conscious households can easily afford up front. But if it ultimately results in a larger portion of my family’s budget than remaining on the grid, the positive environmental impact will be worth it.

This is one way I grapple with the tension of participating in an industrial society with the knowledge my actions are adversely impacting the health of my home. I do what I can when I can do it. I write letters to the editor and to my elected representatives. I vote. I share my knowledge and my opinions with others.

Quite frankly, the two trees I planted on Tu B’Shevat and the thirteen shrubs yesterday afternoon are merely tokens and meager ones at that. Planting a tree or hugging one on Earth day can make one feel better and more insignificant at the same time. I’m reminded of the story of the little boy on the beach. The tide had stranded thousands of starfish that would die if they weren’t returned to the sea. The little boy felt sorry for the starfish and began picking them up and tossing them into the waves. A woman comes along and asks him why he is bothering. Even if he stayed there all day he would hardly make a dent in the number of starfish on the beach. She said, “you can’t possibly make a difference.” He paused for a moment holding one of the starfish aloft, then he resumed tossing it into the sea and said, “maybe not, but I made a difference to that one.”

Fortunately, An Inconvenient Truth leaves us with a similar optimistic note. All hope is not lost. There are positive changes we can made as individuals and as local, national and international groups.

Raven Grimassi says, “Here in the beginning of the twenty-first century we can clearly see the effect our progress as a civilization has had upon Nature and the earth. The atmosphere is polluted with the smoke of our factories and the exhaust of our machines. The most fertile lands lie now beneath asphalt parking lots surrounding shopping malls. Our rivers, lakes, streams and oceans are contaminated with chemicals and waste materials.” [5]

A gloomy view to be sure, but this statement is from the preface of a book she wrote about springtime rituals, lore and celebration. Perhaps we need to take a closer look at our rituals and our prevailing myths. Industrialization and materialism have rendered most of our springtime traditions inconsequential, even quaint. Jack-in-the-Green, a personification of life, fertility and growth has been relegated to a corporate symbol on commercial packaging. A few decades ago Mother Nature was used to sell margarine. Flowers and other greenery have lost their status as sacred plants with corresponding physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual attributes and have instead become commodities to be bought and sold.

Our Unitarian Universalist tradition draws from many sources. This is one area of pastoral concern in which I think we can derive great benefit and sustenance from the neo-pagans in our midst. As potentially silly as it sounds, I deliberately chose hawthorne to plant in my yard yesterday because hawthorn is associated with May Day and in ancient times sprigs of hawthorn and hawthorne flowers were collected on May Day and taken home to banish evil. In ancient Greece , wedding couples wore crowns made of hawthorne and a Roman goddess who presided over marriage and childbirth was associated with the plant in ancient Italy.[6] Do I really believe the two little bushes in my yard are going to ward off evil? No. But there is something comforting about symbolic association and there is real power in a symbol’s presence. Every time I water these bushes, trim these bushes or weed around these bushes I am compelled to contemplate the nature of evil in our world. What must be warded off and how can I be an instrument of healing rather than harm?

Larry Kent Graham says that “to care for persons is to create new worlds; to care for the world is to build a new personhood. The destiny of persons and the character of the world are entertwined.”[7] Is it any wonder so many traditions personify nature? Perhaps this ancient way of looking at the world has a value that can counter and ultimately transcend the contemporary primacy of economic interests.

Peace be with you.

Copyright © 2007

Ann Fuller, May 2007