Another year, another Earth Day.
But this year, I want to focus on what ‘Earth Day’ actually means and why it should matter – even if you don’t live surrounded by nature.
When considering our planet, one thing that’s important to remember is this:
There is always a ‘ripple effect’ – when something changes, the consequences can spread to many other areas of the world. So when the earth’s climate begins to warm, that can have all sorts of other effects.
I don’t know if you watch baseball – I used to play when I was young. One thing that’s been happening with baseball recently is that players are, on average, hitting more home runs now than ever. This is because warm air is less dense, allowing the baseballs to travel further with less resistance than they might have on a cold day. And that change increases a player’s chance of hitting a home run by up to 20%.
Yet these changes can be more serious than just their impact on baseball. Aside from hotter temperatures and an uptick in the number of storms, your sources of food are affected. Droughts, changing weather patterns and other climate-related crises have caused many crops to suffer, while also damaging the livelihoods of farmers and raising the cost of food for people like you and me.
Even animals are not safe; rising temperatures have endangered certain species of penguin and turtle as well as polar bears and even seals. The increase in carbon in the atmosphere also interferes with the feeding habits of koalas, as it lowers the nutritional value of eucalyptus leaves which can cause koalas to starve.
All of these changes, however, are not immediately apparent to us. I know that I, for one, am not directly affected by any of the above.
But that is exactly why days like Earth Day are so important. They shine light on the problems undermining our planet, so that we can address those issues before they get worse. They encourage us to act. They encourage us to make a change.
So go out.
Pick up litter.
Adopt eco-friendly practices.
Read through my website and share what you learn.
And with a little effort, we can make Earth Day every day.