Earth Day 2010 – Earth Day Pros & Cons

Hey everyone… it’s officially April and of course that means Earth Day is almost upon us (April 22). Actually this year is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day – not the oldest holiday by any means, but it’s stuck with us a while. My feelings about Earth Day semi-mimic my feelings about Earth Hour, i.e. I’m not 100% on board. However there are some pros to this annual event.

Earth Day pros:

Earth Day has the ability to make believers out of non-believers. For those not on board with green living, Earth Day can possibly make a difference by bringing green issues more out in the open. In fact this may be the one time of year that earth-related issues are pulled fourth and pushed at people in a very significant way. If Earth Day educates and changes one life or one family for the long term, then it’s a good deal.

Earth Day has the ability to hit kids hard. Schools rally around Earth Day with glee; and while personally I feel earth issues should be part of every school’s curriculum year round, I appreciate the effort. Kids are very susceptible to green living issues, so giving them a massive hit in April can’t hurt.

There are usually many cool Earth Day events going on during the month and on April 22. April brings about plenty of eco-minded fun for you, your family and friends.

Now for some Earth Day cons:

I know it’s such a cliché but I do believe in that, “Make it Earth Day every day” saying. I really hate the whole let’s celebrate green ONE day out of the year deal. I believe we can do much better.

The Earth Day greenwashing makes me want to puke – unless your company, product, or little ol’ self are going to at least make a slight effort to walk the green living path year round, then don’t push Earth Day sales, Earth Day products and other Earth Day money making agendas on me. Ah greenwash bliss runs rampant in April. Gotta love it.

Directly related to the above is the commercialism of Earth Day. I like a good green product as well as the next person but each year I see people walking around with Earth Day products that make zero sense like shirts (not organic), posters (on non-recycled paper) and so on. You can make a bigger difference by purchasing a good set of reusable bags.

If you’d like to get on board:

I don’t actually shun Earth Day like I do Earth Hour. I do think Earth Day has many obnoxious qualities, but the good qualities help balance it out. If you want to celebrate Earth Day check out these resources…