This is going to be a bit more casual of a post in which I talk about why I hate Earth Day. If you’ve been around my channel or blog for a while, you’ll know I actually love Earth Day. I made a video about the history of Earth Day last year that I am still very proud of. But, after seeing all the “celebrations” last year around Earth Day, it made me despise the day a bit. Let’s talk about why.
No one actually does anything
This is a hard truth. What I mean is, yes, we all actually do care about the earth whether it’s everything we think about or only think about once a year. We have ancestral roots that are tied deeply to the earth but we have become so disconnected over the last few centuries. I can see that people care. People get upset over turtles with straws in their noses and oil spills and floods, but then what? They leave a care react on a sad Facebook video and then move on.
Then, come April 22 every year, I see countless posts from everyone of all backgrounds celebrating the Earth. I think this is great, in part, because the earth is getting the attention she needs...for 24 hours. That’s it. That’s all people advocate for her.
I see captions like “what a beautiful planet we live on” and “we need to protect the earth” and then the next day the same people are having a huge fast fashion haul, flying across the world, and other wasteful activities.
Now, I’m not here to put people on blast, I am an imperfect environmentalist and that’s okay, but I am consistently trying to be better and advocate for the Earth.
It just really bothers me that people advocate for the Earth 1/365 days and then live wastefully the rest of the days, contributing to her demise they just talked about solving. Earth Day is such a frustrating day for environmentalists, I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Stuff like this makes me hate Earth Day
Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing everyone in the world come together to celebrate the earth but for only one day a year? No! I know it’s cliche but every day needs to be Earth Day. That is how I view the world and I wish others did.
Now, I get it, Earth Day Every Day isn’t a motto for everyone, but maybe Earth Day Most Days? I don’t know, it’s so hard to convey my frustrations and I’m sure most of you feel the same. Like, yes, I am so glad that everyone can celebrate the earth but it bothers me so much to see these “celebrations” and then immediately everyone goes back to their wasteful ways!
It’s become a trendy thing
Another reason I hate it is because wasteful brands are taking advantage of Earth Day. Fast fashion brands will quickly drop an Earth Day line with cute graphic tees that people will buy unknowingly that these are so wasteful in order to “celebrate.” Brands like Coca-Cola might have green labels for the month of April to promote the Earth. But, these are some of the top contributors and this is huge greenwashing. They don’t really care, they just want to make a profit.
It has become a chance for companies like BP to talk about how they might have reduced their own carbon footprint or how companies like Unilever switched to 5% renewable energy. These are just examples, but you get the point. It’s almost a marketing scheme for the top 100 polluters to talk about how they made one small eco change throughout the year in order to get people to like them.
I hope you see past this BS.
Earth Day used to be a movement
You can learn more about the history of Earth Day in this video, but in short, it used to be rallies, fighting for environmental justice and more. It was meant to spark people’s love of the earth enough for them to fight for her every single day of the earth and just rally up for marches and rallies once a year.
Now it’s a marketing scheme. It’s a chance for wasteful companies to make amends with their customers and give away free junk. It’s a way for celebrities to fit the zero waste mold for a day and fit it with what’s trending. It’s not the same and it’s frustrating.
Let’s get back to the roots that they planted 51 years ago. Let’s fight for change all year long, not just on April 22nd. Let’s have rallies and marches again (maybe once the pandemic is over, will it ever end?). Let’s inspire others to fight every single day of the year and not just make a quick Instagram post one day a year.
I hope you found this inspirational. I’m sure many of you feel my frustrations. Let me know your thoughts down below.
Happy Earth Day, nonetheless. We have one planet and we need to fight for our literal lives every single day of the year. Let’s get to work. Remember that your small changes have a big impact in the long run.
Emma :)
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