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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
And so it begins
Today is Earth Day. I am not a “subscriber” to global warming and I never have been. I don’t believe in the hype or the threat that many would have us believe. I believe that the earth’s climate is cyclical, as it always has been. For those that have been paying attention, you’ll notice the term “global warming” has been replaced with “climate change”. That is because the trend has been shifting from warming to cooling. In the 70’s the hype was global cooling and it looks like we’re heading back there. Don’t get me wrong, I love the earth. I think it’s a beautiful planet. And without what the earth has to offer, we would not enjoy the life and luxuries that we have. We also are big recyclers. But we have always recycled simply because it makes sense both practically and financially. But it is all done for our own reasons and based on our own values. And this works for us.
I’ve always known that when Kayla hit school, I would have to work against the grain to instill in her the values that are important to J and me. We have to work to counteract the things we know to be false or do not want her taking away from school. Things that in all honesty have no place in school. Well, some of this started last night.
Kayla came up to me last night and asked, “Mommy, is tomorrow Earth Day?”. She took me off guard to be honest. I had only heard in passing that it was earth day because it is not a day I really follow. Now I have no idea what exactly they told her at school about earth day. So I just sat down in the hallway with her and as simply as I could, I told her that the earth is a great planet and it has a lot of great things. Trees, grass, water, etc. I also told her that we use the trees to make paper and build houses and we drink the water. I told her we need to use what the earth has to live. Simple and to the point. She liked what I told her because she was the one that pointed out the earth has grass. :)
I’ve always known that when Kayla hit school, I would have to work against the grain to instill in her the values that are important to J and me. We have to work to counteract the things we know to be false or do not want her taking away from school. Things that in all honesty have no place in school. Well, some of this started last night.
Kayla came up to me last night and asked, “Mommy, is tomorrow Earth Day?”. She took me off guard to be honest. I had only heard in passing that it was earth day because it is not a day I really follow. Now I have no idea what exactly they told her at school about earth day. So I just sat down in the hallway with her and as simply as I could, I told her that the earth is a great planet and it has a lot of great things. Trees, grass, water, etc. I also told her that we use the trees to make paper and build houses and we drink the water. I told her we need to use what the earth has to live. Simple and to the point. She liked what I told her because she was the one that pointed out the earth has grass. :)
4 Comments:
We go through something very similar with our Catholic beliefs. The boys see things (mostly on TV since we send them to Catholic schools) that don't agree with what we believe and we have to sit them down and explain why we believe one thing while others believe another. I forgot it was Earth Day yesterday until I went to Google something and they had their Earth Day picture up.
The earth is a beautiful place! We can celebrate it every day of the year, in all seasons. We don't need the government to tell us to celebrate it.
Sue:
I told her that the earth is a great planet and it has a lot of great things. Trees, grass, water, etc. I also told her that we use the trees to make paper and build houses and we drink the water. I told her we need to use what the earth has to live. Simple and to the point.That was a very good answer...just right for an almost 5-year old.
I never “celebrate” Earth Day--not because I don’t love our world, but because I love life. The fundamental premise of Earth Day (which began in 1970 as part of the hippie-laden “Ecology” movement) is that everything has value…except human beings and their needs. Most people don’t think of it that way, but the Environmentalist leaders do.
I prefer to celebrate capitalism and industrialization, which, as you said, enables us to transform earth’s bounty to the benefit of human life.
Sue:
I told her that the earth is a great planet and it has a lot of great things. Trees, grass, water, etc. I also told her that we use the trees to make paper and build houses and we drink the water. I told her we need to use what the earth has to live. Simple and to the point.That was a very good answer for a 5-year old.
I never “celebrate” Earth Day--not because I don’t love our world, but because I love life. The fundamental premise of Earth Day (which began in 1970 as part of the hippie-laden “Ecology” movement) is that everything has value…except human beings and their needs. Most people don’t think of it that way, but the Environmentalist leaders do.
I prefer to celebrate capitalism and industrialization, which, as you said, enables us to transform earth’s bounty to the benefit of human life.
DAD
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