April 21, 2008...8:41 pm
A Real Earth Day
What was once attacked as fringe is now mainstream.
Tomorrow’s Earth Day, much like the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving, shouldn’t be a once-a-year moment. Acts, thoughts and beliefs that benefit the globe can be a daily part of life — just like giving thanks.
Yes, Whole Foods Market picked the right day to end the use of plastic bags. But there are websites like Freecycle that quietly connect people looking for used stuff of value. There are organizations like TechSoup that help non-profits access recycled technology products and software from the top manufacturers and suppliers. Salvation Army and Goodwill have been Earth Day boosters for decades (without hyping it), and helped those less fortunate.
Earth Day is more than a focus on environment. It’s a reminder to be real. It should require no spin, no speeches, no photo opps. For some reason, this website from the U.S. government doesn’t feel as timely and authentic as those from non-profits with minimal budgets and a fraction of the influence. What’s the message? Where’s the call to action?
I’m not knocking the government. But visual cues like websites show that people (with a plan and good organization) can tell a strong story all year long.
And that’s half the battle in slowly moving something once perceived as fringe to the mainstream, to acceptance by soccer moms, to a cool factor shared by skaters and surfers. To helping affect change for future generations.
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