Recognizing climate change as we celebrate Earth Day

By David W. Smith

CONTRIBUTOR

“Save the Earth” is a popular refrain, especially as Earth Day approaches, but is that what we are really concerned about? The earth has been around for millions of years, and it wasn’t until less than 100 years ago that anyone started worrying about it. The earth had been doing just fine, keeping itself in balance.

The dawn of the industrial age began to change this balance. Energy was needed to build and operate the machinery on which this age relied. Fuel and raw materials were extracted from the earth to produce energy and components. Roads and bridges were expanded to facilitate moving the fuel, machinery and products.

Tremendous wealth was created by those doing the extracting and building, with greater wealth as the primary motivation. Most of the extracted fuel was burned to create this energy with little regard to what was being done to the environment. Factories were built along rivers to facilitate the movement of supplies and products. Industrial waste was flushed into the rivers. Initially, production was geared toward demand, but with advances in production capabilities, supply began to outpace demand. Advertisements began singing the praises of modern conveniences. As supply-side economics took over, products once thought to be luxuries became commonplace. Progress gave little thought to the environment.

Early environmentalists were primarily concerned with pollution of the air and water and the poisoning of both people and animals. The petro-chemical and mining industries began putting up their defenses. The first Earth Day participants were labeled “tree-huggers” and deemed irrelevant. The formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of clean air

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The increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, droughts and floods are all signs of Mother Nature’s displeasure with man’s lack of respect for the planet. These natural disasters have always been part of the earth’s evolution and are a problem only because of the death and destruction they wreak on mankind and its creations.

The greatest current challenge for the environmental community is to combat the cynicism of climate change deniers, along with well-funded lobbyists, reticent politicians, and a disinterested public, while advancing the goal of making the earth sustainable for 7 billion to 10 billion humans.

Climate change has always occurred as the earth balances itself, but the recent rate of change has been and continues to be accelerated by human activity. Visit Sun City’s Earth Day Celebration on April 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pavilion, to learn affordable ways you can invest in our planet to contribute to the earth’s sustainability.

David W. Smith is a member of Lowcountry Environmental Action.

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