Will We Do Something Nice for “Mother” Next Week, Too?

Happy Earth Day, I think. This is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day and a lot is being made of it. But will it stick? When you wake up on April 23 (or April 26 since the biggest E Day celebration may be on Sunday) will you feel a fresh, profound love for the planet? Will you feel gratitude and a new commitment to become a more sustainable earthling?

This Earth Day, I've been thinking of Mother's Day a lot. The more cynical (some would say realistic) among us brand Mother's Day and holidays like it (Valentine's Day, for example) as "Hallmark holidays" — an excuse to sell cards and other chotchkes. They might say Earth Day has fallen the same way. Christopher Muther covers that angle quite well in today's Boston Globe.

Muther makes a strong case that greenwashing ads defeat the purpose of Earth Day. Nonetheless, I am hoping all that advertising can serve us well by embedding in our minds an awareness of the value of sustainable choices. Then, it's our job in the media to expose which choices really are greener and which are greenwash (before our readers get as cynical as us!).

My concern is that we'll actually love our planet quite well today and then return to our sometimes benign sometimes quite damaging neglect for the rest of the year. I can often use a reminder and I fancy myself pretty eco-friendly.

Then again, this time of year can make it easy to pay attention to Mother Earth. In fact, Earth Day turns the analogy with Mom's Day on its head. It's Spring and the earth is giving us wonderful flowers. This week in my town, we've been treated to lilacs, daffodils, apple blossoms. It does create a festive atmosphere.

So why not celebrate Earth Day? Earth Day Network can help you find an engaging event near you. You can even contribute an "Act of Green" to their website. Earth Day NY is launching "be the E" an exciting campaign so we don't forget about "E Day" tomorrow. You can watch the video below.

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