Happy Earth Day

Earth Day is a recently created holiday that sprang from the tumult of the 1960s (just like Father's Day). An observance promoting environmental consciousness must be a tough sell (hard to commercialize compared to other holidays), so it's sort of amazing Earth Day has lasted this long. Unlike most other occurrences in our calendar, this day does not celebrate people, but the home planet where we reside.

I still consider myself an environmentalist. While I've moved away from the rah-rah childhood environmentalism that is now inculcated in every grade schooler in the U.S., I do believe there is value in keeping the Earth clean enough for future generations to enjoy. To steal an old proverb: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." Of course, I think that science and capitalism will eventually find solutions that will keep the Earth habitable.

Above is a picture of the Earth reflected in an astronaut's helmet. The sum total of human existence, every ounce of our knowledge and skill, not only got that astronaut up there but also wholly resides on that small blue sphere.