The ironies of celebrating Earth
It is human nature to want to celebrate things. New Year for example has been celebrated as far back as 4000 years ago in ancient Babylon. We celebrate to tell ourselves that life is great! To remind ourselves of all we’ve done. To pat ourselves on the back and say, ‘Well done ol’ chap!”
Celebrations also mask truths. Very often we celebrate for the sake of formality rather than its actual reason or cause. Take for example a party at the office for someone’s promotion. We all go along with the songs, handshakes, and cake while the back chatter, murmurs, and mumbles continue about how this person slept their way to the top, cheated on a test, or stole someone else’s client to climb up onto this perch.
But, let the good times roll.
Valentine’s day is an example of a celebration that takes place, just ‘coz. In a previous piece I wrote that people were paying as much as S$14.50 for a rose, just ‘coz society had named 14th February a day to spend lots of money and show the world how in love you are. Christmas, Halloween, and well, New Year’s Eve are other days of ‘just ‘coz’ celebratory opulence.
With those ideas in mind, let’s think about today … Earth Day. A day created to celebrate the Earth. And how do we celebrate this dying earth that has succumbed to the harrowing effects of the industrial revolution, is suffocating under a blanket of smog, and is slowly disintegrating?
Well, we capitalize on it of course!
We Are Neutral recently posted (19 April 2024) on their Instagram account an idea that has been swimming around in my head for a long time, “What began as a grassroots movement to bring awareness to environmental issues, has now become a marketing tool for profit-driven entities. What we need is sustained + systemic action, but Earth Day activism can be short sighted + performative.”
Can I get an Amen?
My first irritation with celebrating Earth started in 2009 with WWF’s Earth Hour celebrations. The headline event that occurred at the Botanic Gardens and Esplanade Park was that the public were able to “experience the impressive ‘switch off’ moment in the CBD and Marina Bay areas.” Now, excuse my continued cynicism but how sustainable are we as an entire nation that switching off the lights when they’re not in use is ‘impressive?” From 5.30-8.30pm that day, public were treated to live DJs, performances, and concerts. From 8.30-9.30pm, the lights were turned off but concerts, bands, and DJs continued in the dark. Some of the biggest polluters in the world, Coca-Cola and Starbucks were also out in full force offering free beverages and if you forgot to bring your own dinner, well you could always buy an Old Chang Kee or Polar Café curry puff.
I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. Ironic much?
Well, that was 2009.
My point is – it is easy to get carried away with the celebration and lose sight of the purpose. We don’t have time for that anymore.
Earlier this month, we saw publications of a warning from the UN Climate Chief stating that humans have two years left to save the world. The sad thing about statements like these are that they are ignored being too urgent and too scary. Why cause panic?
Instead, on the same day, social media feeds were inundated with pictures portraying “World Pet Day”. Let’s celebrate something! Don’t be a stick in the mud!
The theme of Earth Day this year is “Planet vs. Plastic.” It will be very interesting to see the outcomes of the discussions around plastic that will happen in Ottawa later this month at INC-4. Plastic pollution is affecting everyone around the world. It’s raining plastic, we’re feeding unborn babies plastic, and people are dying every day from illnesses related to plastic. INC-4 cannot just be a celebration of people coming together in hopes of finding a solution. All the pomp has to stop. Changing the wording on documents and gradually phasing out this, that, and the other is not party-worthy.
On top of the global plastics crisis, the world is now witnessing the 4th global coral bleaching event, the second event recorded in the last decade. We have only just found out that coral reefs cover 348000km2 of the planet’s surface and now, we’re very close to losing them.
So, are Earth Week, Earth Day, and Earth Hour enough? Maybe they were in 2009 but certainly not now. Every day that we celebrate “just because” and ignore the harsh realities is a day we’re closer to losing Earth. From this year onwards, and for every year we’re alive after this, every day should be a real celebration. Every day should be Valentine’s Day. Every day should be lived as if it were your last.
Every day, hour, minute and second should be a time to celebrate Earth.
