EDITORIAL: Earth Day should be every day

The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
Updated ·2 min read
1

Apr. 17—Another Earth Day is sneaking up on us, and although the activities that take place April 22 will no doubt be worthy of notice and participation, we all should realize by now that it is not about observing just a day that makes a difference.

Making many meaningful changes on a long-term basis on multiple levels — from energy-efficient vehicle manufacturing to curbside organic composting becoming a reality for all households — are what we need to do to protect Earth.

Much of the movement toward trying to stop climate change has to be demanded by government to assure compliance. And we are seeing some progress in that direction, often because we are getting backed into a corner. Water is growing more scarce out West; oil price fluctuations become a burden for many consumers to gas up their cars and heat and cool their homes; severe weather is hitting coastal areas harder and more often.

Political wrangling over measures that help us combat scientifically proven climate change makes less sense as we get mired in more ecological havoc. It's not one party against another; it's humankind against time.

The saying "Think globally, act locally" should come into play every day. And locally, we are seeing earnest efforts to make conservation, recycling and cleaner energy use a priority. Organic and plastics recycling drop-offs are becoming more common. An electric car expo occurs regularly on the Minnesota State University campus as an educational event. A Styrofoam recycling effort will take place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Mankato Public Works Center.

And another upcoming initiative is aimed at Minnesota's 500 native bee species and other pollinators, including butterflies, moths, beetles and hummingbirds. No Mow May, which residents of Mankato and North Mankato can sign up for, are designed to help out pollinators by keeping the natural blooming vegetation available (which some will call weeds) during a key time.

Adopting a greener attitude takes some effort, but if all of us do our part, so much more can be accomplished in a shorter amount of time. After all, Earth Day, a time to show stewardship to our home, should be every day.