The Earth and its inhabitants have had a long history of contending with challenges but the last few years have shown if these challenges are addressed coherently hope can overcome fears.
The question is if this Earth Day will be yet another reminder of what needs to be done or if the day will turn out to be just another ceremonial observation.
The major industrial nations have a lot to do to check carbon emissions. In the U.S. President Joe Biden plans to issue an executive order toward conservation of the old-growth forests.
The order, according to an NPR report, requires the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to present a shared definition of mature and old-growth forests and gives them a year to take stock of their numbers in the United States. The data collection will help draft policies for the protection of the forests.
But forests are just one part of the enormous problems that threaten the planet.
According to the United Nations, the Earth is facing a ‘triple planetary crisis’: climate disruption, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
“This triple crisis is threatening the well-being and survival of millions of people around the world. The building blocks of happy, healthy lives – clean water, fresh air, a stable and predictable climate – are in disarray, putting the Sustainable Development Goals in jeopardy”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned.
The doomsday climate change scenarios predicting the extinction of endangered species, soil erosion, and unstoppable natural disasters are, nevertheless, accompanied by the hope that has emerged in the last decade or so.
It was 50 years ago, that the world came together in Stockholm for the pivotal UN Conference on the Human Environment, which kickstarted a global movement.
“Since then, we have seen what is possible when we act as one. We have shrunk the ozone hole. We have expanded protections for wildlife and ecosystems. We have ended the use of leaded fuel, preventing millions of premature deaths. And just last month, we launched a landmark global effort to prevent and end plastic pollution,” says Guterres.
He sums up the bottom line: “We have proven that together, we can tackle monumental challenges.”
Some of the ways to preserve the planet for future generations seek to convert coal mines into carbon sinks, restore ecosystem connectivity, transplant ‘survivor’ coral fragments, restore watersheds affected by the climate crisis in the Andes, and restore carbon-absorbing seagrass.
All these look great. But the biggest test lies in owning up to our troubles and inviting people to participate in efforts to protect and perverse the only planet we have to live and leave to future generations.
