Looking Inward and Reaching Outward on Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, an annual holiday that invites us to celebrate our wondrous planet. Earth Day 2020 is special in a number of ways; this year marks the 50th anniversary of coast-to-coast demonstrations that shaped a global movement against climate change. Uniquely, this year’s Earth Day celebrations also take place amidst Covid-19, the first global pandemic of its kind felt by those walking the Earth today. As the entire world takes a collective breath—to heal, recover, and take our next forward steps—it is vital that we dedicate a moment to consider the web of deep interconnections between humans and nature.

Grow where you are planted.
—Proverb

The world is at a standstill. Around the globe, we are witnessing the Earth recover from the nasty side effects of human activity. Venice’s canals are clearing up. The Himalayas, once blanketed by smog, can be seen from miles away. The Sierra Madre mountains can be seen from Manila, my birth city, a sight I have never laid eyes on. I did not know they were there. With cities on lockdown around the world, travel restrictions to “flatten the curve” (and rightfully so), business closures, and pleas #stayhome, many of us are experiencing a stillness we have never known. While we are all navigating these events in our own ways, there are common threads that connect us though we feel more disconnected than ever. One of these common threads is the desire to grow. It may manifest in being productive, slowing down and nourish ourselves, drawing blueprints for the future, or doing the things we didn’t make time to before. And for now, we must find the silver lining and make the most of it.

I have relied on the privilege of growing from exposure to new environments, cultures, and challenges; now I find myself drifting through unexplored territory. I have felt a whirlwind of thoughts, emotions, and responses since the pandemic struck. Grounded at home, I am learning to grow where I am planted. There’s no textbook method for this, no clearcut path. Instead, I am learning from mother nature herself. Each day of quarantine, I have watched my Ficus plant sprout a new leaf, a tendril reaching for the sun and unfurling ever so patiently. Nature is beautiful and full of lessons for us.

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civiliZation.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

The natural world has bewitched us since the dawn of humankind. Not only with its primordial beauty, but a sense of mystery. How did the mountains come to be? How does the moon drag the tides? How does starlight shine long after a gas giant dies? More pressingly, how does nature keep itself in check? What keeps the natural world in balance and why are we—supposedly the most advanced species—operating outside of those parameters? Indeed, we are the only species consumed by ‘progress’ and the only species consuming much more than we actually need.

Humans created all of the systems that ail our planet. We invented the assembly line, developed plastics, and extracted oils. We revolutionized the transportation, travel, and meat industries. We spread capitalism and consumerism. We have valued productivity, profit, and convenience over the sustainability of our planet its species. Now that the negative effects of those systems (a.k.a. Climate Change) are widely recognized, it falls on us to improve the systems we have created, in other words the infrastructure that civilization is built upon.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Change is happening all around us. In the decades following the first Earth Day in 1970, North America’s air is cleaner, its rivers no longer on fire. DDT and chlorofluorocarbons are dinosaurs. Oil spills are rarer. The bald eagle, California condor, and Florida manatee populations have recovered from near-extinction. Renewable energy is on the rise. But as the New York Times points out, these victories have come alongside major failures. There is much more to be done.

There are pathways forward and we can begin from the comfort of our homes.

Look inward. Reach outward.
— Me

Those of us staying home during this pandemic have been given the gift of time, as well as an opportunity to look inward with intent. There are many tough questions: How much do you know about the current state of affairs? How does your carbon footprint measure and are you leaving a positive handprint? Can you embark on a more sustainable path?

On this Earth Day, take a moment to reflect on your relationship with the natural world. What does it mean to you? What special corners of our stunning planet do you treasure most? What kind of world do you want to live in? I hope this sparks your curiosity and ignites a longer, larger journey.

Reach out to others. You may feel isolated but you are not alone facing issues like Covid-19 or climate change. Even firmly rooted plants can communicate with their neighbours, sending signals to one another beneath the soil. Likewise, reach outward for new perspectives. Embrace the wealth of information at your fingertips, and the knowledge of those who have come before us. Dig around, find an issue that sparks some passion, and dig a little deeper.

Though time is of the essence—experts advise that we cannot exceed 1.5 °C of warming and that we have little more than a decade to get it right, I don’t believe that overnight change is the answer. Instead, I believe we should focus on growing a little each day, just like the lovely ficus perched in my living room. Climate action needs to become harmoniously integrated with the way we live, small change by small change.

Knowledge is the food of the soul.
— Plato

I was deeply moved by last week’s super moon. I set out for a viewpoint without knowing when or where in the sky it would appear. I shot some photographs of the alpenglow hitting the Rocky Mountains and would have been pleased if that was all I saw. But moments before the alpenglow faded, a giant orb rose from behind Mount Fishers’s jagged spire. There are no words to describe my awe for nature’s magnificence.

Thanks to that super moon, I’ve been paying more attention to mother nature this week. Walking in the evening, I noticed one star outshining the rest and learned that the brightest planet in the April sky is Venus. When a butterfly visited our balcony, I looked it up and discovered it was a Mourning Cloak. Instead of migrating south for the winter, this species hides in a safe place and waits for the warmth of spring. And as I wait for spring to truly arrive, I am reading Bruce Kirkby’s Dolphin Tooth, studying the latest edition of Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, and expecting a mountaineering guidebook to arrive in the mail.

In the spirit of growing where you’re planted to celebrate Earth Day, here’s a collection of articles, films, books, texts, and works of art that have helped me grow. Pour yourself (another) cup of coffee, crack a window open or find a patch of sunlight, and delve into some new perspectives on our wondrous world.

Stay safe, be well, and may every day be Earth Day.