Happy (Belated) Earthday!

Happy Earth Day everyone! I know I am a day late but I firmly believe EVERY day should be earth day or we are surely screwed. It is so nice to see all the environmental champions and activists posting their pictures, stories, knowledge and motivation on social media and each put their weight behind the effort that is surely monumental in importance to us all.

I had a really proud dad moment related to this topic last week when my little one climbed onto the stage in front of her whole school and did a TED Talk about humans and the environment. I found it funny that the subjects the others covered included Baseball, How to Tell Jokes, The Importance of Friendship and the like and mine came out swinging with this statement. I like me some Dr. Suess as well but really loved that this was the second slide in her presentation. Before going into the details, it invited everyone to consume the message of the speech in the context of caring and doing something about it. Solid.

I am getting ahead of myself. Here is the first slide which also is a powerful and simple statement. I don't harp too much about the environment and our need to reduce plastics too much because it seems the more I talk, the less they listen. But worrying about whether or not it is sinking in gets soothed a little when this is the subject she chose to research and present.

She covered the plastic island the size of Texas in the Atlantic, how plastic gets into the ocean, everyday things we do that create plastic waste, and pulled no punches by showing a turtle with a plastic straw painfully stuck up its nose. It was neat to see the participation of the kids and the occasional gasp or murmur of wonder.

Even I learned something that never occurred to me. The synthetic fabrics we wear shed microfibers in the wash that drain out and make it back to the wild and never break down. I started questioning my entire wardrobe right there and then!

The moments of pride will bring me joy in knowing I am doing something right and helping inspire a steward of this planet for sure. It will not distract me from continuing the fight to continually change the habits of my family in an ongoing effort to slow the negative effect we are having on the planet until we can actually be in a position to survive and reverse the damage. It is what I can control.

Perhaps the best part was the moment after the applause she paused on the stairs and proclaimed, "If even 1 of you works harder to protect our planet and reduce their plastic use, my time spent up here has been worth it." If I was half as smart as her at that age.......