Finding the Spirit of Earth Week

There has been a lot of interest in the environment during this past week, in connection with the 

U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin founded Earth Day more than 40 years ago. The observance, which began as a focus on environmental awareness, gradually evolved to become celebrated globally as Earth Week. During this time, there are many events that teach and support a sustainable environment and promote appreciation of the natural world.  

It's ironic that this year’s celebration coincides with the first anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused incalculable environmental damage and costs of almost $4 billion. We are just beginning to understand the situation with the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan and to see how they may further impact the earth. With the poles' snow caps melting faster, it is clear that the earth is under stress.  

Earth Day Continues

Earth Day, which in some places has been extended to a month or more,  gives us the opportunity to become aware of how important nature and the environment are to each of us. The earth sustains us. Yet most of the time we take it for granted. Early man and most indigenous people have not. They have looked at the earth and its abundance with honor and reverence, generally taking from it only what was needed and seeing it just as themselves: a humble spirit.  

Vision Quest Connection

A powerful rite of passage since ancient times has been the vision quest, where the participants go out in nature for the chance to connect with the great spirit. This quest offered transformation, the passage into adulthood, or other life shifts. John Muir, the famed American naturalist,  would spend a tremendous amount of time in nature. For him as well, it was a type of vision quest, which he wrote about eloquently. His views helped change the country’s perceptions on the protecting the environment.  

He said, “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” Muir worked hard supporting the preservation of the wilderness. He was able to get many people involved in protecting the natural world because of his writings. He founded the Sierra Club.

Another irony about this year’s Earth Day is that for the first time a threatened animal has been removed from the endangered-species list. This is the gray wolf. This majestic animal once numbered more than 2 million; now there are less than 200,000.

Hidden in the recently signed budget bill was a provision that allows the Western states to have these beautiful animals hunted. Many farmers and ranchers feel they threaten their livestock, and there are already hunts set up.

I urge each of you to go out in nature and feel the energy of the trees, flowers and animals. If you allow yourself to connect to the physical world,  you can feel a pulse that connects all of us. Then if you are able, get involved in your community and do something to help our planet. Southern California will have events all month. Check your guides to find things to do for the entire family.