YORKTON - Monday, (April 22) was Earth Day.
Sadly, I suspect very few were aware, and fewer still gave the significance of the day much serious thought.
Now you might ask why Earth Day is included here in a column on agriculture, but I have always thought – at least for the more ‘grassroots’ farmer – there is a natural connection with the earth and agriculture.
In broader terms we all need to care about this planet we call home because, at least in terms of what in known today, this is the only world that is supporting life.
If we ruin our world, we doom our future.
And therein lies a significant problem for our species and our world.
There are far too many people who do a fine impersonation of an ostrich with its head buried in the sand when it comes to the damage our species is doing to this planet.
Ignoring the problems is not a solution, nor is constructive in the least in terms of coming up with solutions to problems we know exist.
And the issues are many.
Are, for example the world’s pollinator species – the bees – in trouble?
It certainly seems so, what do we do to ensure they remain healthy? Because without them doing their job we humans and other species as well are in dire trouble.
Then there is the concern for deforestation around the world.
Trees are largely the plants lungs for what they do in creating oxygen. Plants are able to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen through photosynthesis.
And, what do we do as climates change?
You might nay-say the impact of human activity – but that doesn’t mean climate is changing.
So how do we adapt?
That is a hugely important question for farmers who might not be able to grow the crops they do today, in 10-20 years because climate has changed.
Then there is the crazy situation of garbage, in particular plastics, and what it is doing to the planet as it is piled in mountains at landfills, stuffed down abandoned mine shafts, and dumped into the oceans like they are merely waste lagoons.
Since plastics take decades, if at all, to degrade, dumping from an ever growing world population makes no sense given its negative impact on the planet.
That’s why the official 2024 theme for Earth Day – first held in 1970 -- is ‘Planet vs. Plastics.’
The list of issues could go on, but in the end it comes down to our collective need as a species to recognize we need to do a better job of looking after the Earth because it is all we have if we want a future as a species.
