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Is Earth Day a waste of time? Editorial Rhett Butler, mongabay.com April 22, 2006 So today is Earth Day. You may look at Earth Day as another useless "holiday" that appears on your calendar, yet does not warrant an actual vacation day, where people parade around about trees or not driving, CEOs stand up to talk about their environmental stewardship as a PR strategy and Hallmark, ironically, sells more cards. Another gimmick day full of false promises and empty pledges to make real environmentally-motivated change, while everything remains regretfully the same.
For me, it was not an Earth Day that got me started thinking about the world around me. What got me involved with running an environment-oriented web site was a personal experience in the rainforest of Borneo. - - - Lingering beside a small stream in the Malaysian rainforest of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, I watch the water move swiftly over worn, round stones. The pace of the flow quickens as the stream cascades over a short waterfall into a clear pool. Vibrantly colored butterflies in shades of yellow, orange, and green flirt with columns of light that penetrate the dense canopy. The raucous calls of hornbills challenge the melodic drone of cicadas. Though the forest is never silent or still, it brings a deep sense of calm.
Eight weeks after leaving the tract of Malaysian rainforest that had filled me with happiness, I learned the forest was gone, logged for wood chips to supply a paper-pulp plant. This place of wonder and beauty was lost forever. The orangutan, the hornbills, the butterflies, and even the leeches would now have to make do in their dramatically changed environment. Despite my few years in the forest, this was not the first time I had lost such a special place, nor would it be the last. These personal losses have long troubled me, but the loss of that small section of forest in Borneo created the urgency to act upon a thought that had been nagging me. While environmental losses and degradation of the rainforests have yet to reach the point of collapse, the continuing disappearance of wildlands and the loss of their species are disheartening. I feel sorrow for those who have not yet had the privilege of experiencing the magnificence of these places, and I try to picture how—should biodiversity losses continue to mount—I will explain to my grandchildren why these places that I enjoyed in my youth no longer exist. These experiences led me to embark on my web site project, mongabay.com, which has since grown to encompass subjects beyond rainforest conservation. The lesson of Mongabay is that we may not have to accept this future. A lot can still be done. Using our intelligence and ingenuity, the human species can preserve biodiversity and unique places for future generations, without compromising the quality of life for present populations. This Earth Day take a minute to picture a place where you have had a memorable experience and then try to imagine the regret you would have it if were gone. Editor's note: This Earth Day article originally ran a year ago, but lacking in time to prepare something else I thought it appropriate to run it again. Think of it as recyling. This piece draws from the preface of mongabay.com News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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