Earth Day 2023 ⋆ Over the Rainbow TX

Earth Day/ Week/ Month/ Year

I started my first Blog in 2012 or so, and as far as I can remember, an Earth Day post has been written every year since that time. I was observing Earth Day long before that. In fact, pretty much since that first Earth Day in 1970. As a teenager on her way to becoming an activist of one sort or another for the remainder of her life, I realized how dire the outlook for this planet had become. Jump forward over five decades, and the same can be said.

I would like to note the many leaps forward we on Earth have made in the interim, but baby steps is more to the point. And for every one of those steps forward, there has as often been at least a half step back. While the advent of personal computers and the internet made us both the best and worst informed generation to date, it has done little to significantly change anything, ecologically speaking. Certainly, there is a great deal more Awareness of the plight of this planet, but no consensus on what it will take to remedy the situation, and still far too little action.

A Planet in Crisis

While the headline above may seem extreme, I do not believe this to be so. Not just Americans, but the Human Race on the whole, neither learn from nor attempt to escape from their history. And so it repeats. War, Famine, Ecological Disasters and Economics are all inextricably linked.

I was watching an older mini-series that included a segment on the Dust Bowl a few weeks ago, and was stricken by how close we are in this country (this same ecological nightmare has and is happening around the globe) to a similar catastrophe. This was one of the worst man-made disasters in history, and its stark lessons have not been learned. As the last of those who lived through those years of extreme hardship and scarcity, are passing away, it is virtually forgotten by most of our populations, except as a side note to the economic depression caused by the stock market crash in 1929.

Though this country clamors for more organic and sustainably raised foods, agriculture practices remain very largely as dependant on monoculture and chemical ferlilizer driven practices as ever. We have suffered drought regionally, and the water shortages caused by the increasing demand of a growing population, puts us in constant peril.

The Time to act is Now. As a culture, if we do not change radically, change will be forced on us in most unpalatable ways. There is much we can do, both as individuals, and as parts of organizations, towns, cities and countries.

It requires commitment though.

Resources

To this end, I am including some of the fine organizations devoted to regeneration, conservancy and education from last year’s post. There are many more.

Closer to Home

I preach every year, but am far from perfect. I still use products I know I shouldn’t, and don’t boycott things I should, but with each passing year, the gestures we make at home and in our business yeild compound interest.

We get better and do more. We recycle and utilize recycled and used goods, we plant flowers, trees and vegetables, and we become more aware of what we can do better.

I still struggle to find a balance in the business, but will continue to do so in the future. To Celebrate this Earth Day Month, we will be offering 20% Off on all of our Me Mother Earth products, and our vintage and pre-loved clothing as well. With each purchase of $25.00 or more, we will be giving a packet of sunflower seeds while they last. Let’s make Fort Davis Bloom.

As a reseller of Vintage goods and clothing, as well as nice quality gently used Pre-Loved fashion, I find that I am increasingly drawn to the idea of a Circular Economy. I will be exploring this concept further in an upcoming post.

I am going to borrow again from last years Earth Day Post…

Stop being a slave to the old models of the Marketplace. When you purchase, buy it because you love it or need it, and want to Live with it for a long time to come. Single use plastic, as so many already know, is tipping our planet towards disaster. The future, if there is to be one, belongs to consumables that can be composted, recycled, reused or repurposed. Disposable Anything that is not compostable or biodegradable should be eliminated from our vocabulary and consciousness.

Slow Fashion needs to become the norm. Wear clothes for as long as they are serviceable, or resell or donate. Learn to do basic mending and repairs like our grandmothers did (or find someone to do it for you), and repurpose fabrics and materials that are no longer wearable goods. We need to rethink our dependency upon cheap, mass-produced consumer goods and start spending our money wisely, with an eye toward the long term.

Grow something. Plants are oxygen producers and the filtering system (the Lungs) for our planet. Trees provide shade for cooling, they break up and nourish the soil, and help regulate moisture exchange between the earth and air. To plant a garden is to express Hope for the future. And I firmly believe that the future will revolve around regenerative agricultural practices. Permaculture is becoming so popular because it works. It is Earth Healing on a scale that most people can wrap their minds around.

I think it is time to throw out our chemicals and industrial agricultural models and start approaching both food production and reforestation of the planet from a new direction.

Let’s begin Celebrating the Earth, and Observing Earth Day every day. It is going to take every one of us to make the needed changes.