Our Planet Needs Us

‘Humanity: the most intelligent species on the planet, capable of anything. But is governed by its aggression and youth. A species fast in developing, but slow in maturing.

Once a species that cared about its home, its provider, let its ego dominate its decisions. A period of ignorance and neglect has had profound effects across the world. Effects which can be reversed, if nature is given the time to repair the damage.

Remember… We only have one home.’

- David Bayliss

Can you blame Mother Earth for being mad? We are a speck in this universe; on one little planet we call Earth, which we have managed to corrupt. It’s been said that we don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.

When technological advances in the 1930s provided the means to synthesize chemicals from petroleum and natural gas, the petrochemical industry ramped up production of diverse species of novel compounds without testing their safety. Rachel Carson decided to use her skills in both writing and biology to warn the public about the long-term disastrous effects of misusing pesticides, in her publication of Silent Spring.

Rachel Carson held a job at the US Bureau of fisheries and she was always submitting conservationists’ writings to newspapers and magazines. And in these articles, she stressed the importance of living with the environment like trying to satisfy both the fisherman and the fish. While she was associated with the Fish and Wildlife Service, Carson became aware of the misuse of pesticides. She was disturbed by the large amount of use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, and the chemical that concerned her the most was DDT. She was also aware of the controversy on the subject; she understood that the farmers saw the need to use pesticides to stimulate crop growth. As the petrochemical era grew and grew, warning signs emerged that some of these chemicals could pose hazards. Gradually, a body of data started accumulating that the synthetic chemicals which have permeated our workplace, our consumer products, our air, our water, produce cancer and also birth defects, and some other toxic effects. After years of conducted research, Carson published her famous book Silent Spring, where she urged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government to revolutionize the way people looked at the natural world. 

Carson made it clear that human beings just want one part of the environment and that everything we do, effects the environment greatly. Some things we do alter the environment so greatly that it is irreversible. She said: ‘the human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate a mastery not over nature but of ourselves.’ In Silent Spring, Carson describes the devastating affects that pesticides have on the environment. She stresses that once they are sprayed, the pesticides never go away, and pesticides that were with the intended purpose of killing unwanted plants will kill other plants and animals around it. The poison stored in the soil can effect later generations and organisms that attempt to live on that land. Also, the contaminants can travel to other parts of the world through groundwater and rain. Silent Spring revolutionized the way people viewed the natural world. People were more aware of the fact that their actions affect other organisms around them. Many people consider the humans to be the rulers of the Earth: we are constantly changing their environment to fit our needs. Carson showed that when you narrow it down to size, we are just one part of an ecosystem and when we damage one part of the ecosystem, we are really hurting ourselves in the process.

It wasn’t long after the publications that people started to take action in their own environments. After president Kennedy read the book and saw the response of the public, he called for a testing of the chemicals that were mentioned in the book. As a direct result of these studies DDT was banned and an environmental legislation was added. ‘If we do what is right, now in 1963, we must set aside substantial areas of our country, for the people who are going to live in it by the year 2000. For 180 million Americans now live, by the year 2000, there will be 350 million of them (JFK).’ It brought environmental issues to the attention of not just industries and government; it brought them to the public and put our democracy itself on the side of saving the Earth. Silent Spring is considered to be the jumpstart of the modern environmental movement. She made the public aware that we’re just one of a delicate ecosystem, that they we’re slowly destroying. Rachel Carson revolutionized agriculture and in turn she affected the safety of thousands and thousands of people.

The awareness has grown to reach millions of people. The world is using the equivalent of one and a half planets to support life on Earth. Earth Hour was born out of hope that this could change. WWF-Australia inspired its residents to show their support for climate change action. ‘In 2007 in Sydney, 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change in Australia. 

In 2008, Earth Hour became a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour. In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries switched-off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative. 2011 marked the first time that Earth Hour asked people to go beyond the hour. To think about what else we can do to make a difference, to take off some of the pressure we all place on our only planet’ ("History of Earth Hour." WWF.PANDA.ORG. WWF, 1 Jan. 2011. Web.). In its seventh year, Earth Hour broke all records of mass participation by mobilizing hundreds of millions of people to become everyday superheroes for the planet, Earth Hour was observed in over 162 countries and territories and over 7000 cities and towns. More than just a lights-off event, Earth Hour achieved remarkable environmental outcomes all across the world: Russia gathered 127,000 signatures to protect the forests, Argentina protected 3.4 million HA of sea, and Uganda planted 500,000 trees.  Earth Hour has grown from a one-city initiative in 2007 to the world’s largest campaign for the planet, using hundreds of million of people across 7000 cities and towns in 152 countries and territories. 

Earth Hour is worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet. Organized by Word Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour has become far more than just an annual event; it is a movement that culminates in an hour of inspiration across the world, held towards the end of March each year. Earth Hour is an initiative of WWF. In 2007, WWF initiated Earth hour a way of engaging a broad section in the environmental issues challenging citizens across the world. WWF embraced the idea of an open-sourced campaign that would allow communities to become part of a global movement to protect our planet. Earth Hour is a movement that has created massive impact around the world and it is letting everyone know that it’s time to conserve, protect, and celebrate the possibilities of a better future. France was unrecognizable with its iconic Eiffel Tower in the dark, but it is time to change and it is time to act. President Lyndon Johnson said: ‘Either we stop the poison in our air, or we become a nation in gas masks roping our way trough these dying cities and wilderness ghost towns that the people have evacuated.

                However, at one time, everywhere was surrounded with beauty and now there are over seven billion people living on Earth. As the population grows, we are taking more and more land to live and using more of the world’s natural resources. Many human activities also produce pollution, which is damaging the Earth’s environment. 70% of our Earth is the Ocean, and we have done so much that we can’t take back. We pollute streams and rivers with our litter and we cut down beautiful forests for our own selfish purposes. What about our air supply? They can’t last forever. Many people around the world don’t even get to drink clean water, and in most cases, die from it.

                Going green is easier than you think. There are little things you can do every day to help reduce greenhouse gases and make a less harmful impact on the environment. Taking care of the Earth is not just a responsibility -- it's a privilege. 

Together we can find the energy to turn the inspiration of one hour into the actions of every hour.