If we do not abolish war on this earth,
then surely one day war will abolish us from the earth.

~ Harry S. Truman

It has been a while, since we’ve been in full production of The Green Divas podcast… actually, it’s been a year. wow. Last year’s Earth Day episode presented some great messages of hope from some of our favorite green divas and green dudes. Hope is always relevant, but so much has happened in these last 12 months — war ravaging Ukraine and the looming threat of world war has shifted our focus a wee bit. 

At the risk of expressing an unpopular opinion (on Earth Day no less), I will state again my belief that Mama earth doesn’t really need our help. She’ll reclaim the parts of this planet we spoil remarkably quickly, which is evidenced if you leave your gardens, walkways, yards or driveways unattended for even a few months. 

No, it seems to me that humans need help. We need to stop hurling idiotic memes at each other in an extremely sophomoric attempt to win hearts and minds in 10 clever words or less. We need to stop hurting each other to make the world “a better place.” 

If we were able to redirect our energy towards reconnecting to this planet in a positive and meaningful way, focusing on solutions to our common problems; we might find that healing our relationship with Mama earth would make Earth Day a truer celebration. 

Let’s face it, if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. This silly adage probably holds true for big Mama earth.

I’m hoping we can stop being an ugly plague on this earth and find a way to live in appreciation for what an awesome planetary home we all share. Just sayin’…

But, please don’t mistake my rant. I’m not entirely pessimistic. Read this post and listen to the podcast with one of my favorite climate optimists, Climate Mama, Harriet Shugarman.

I’m a tiny bit hopeful that we will be able to sort out this mess without killing each other to extinction. Maybe rather than looking to colonize some other planet that we can then quickly trash, we have to grow up and realize this gorgeous planet offers us all the resources we need to survive if we are intelligent, compassionate, and cooperate with each other and most of all stop acting like greedy spoiled children. I’m not sure about you, but my experience is that people who are afraid of not having food, water, clean air and shelter are cranky and prone to violence, especially when what little they have is threatened further.

In the midst of all the crazy negative news, I’m seeing some bright spots of positive things happening, of people getting creative, people finding new ways to work together, people waking up. 

So my wish for you this Earth Day is as always, first connect to this earth and understand your place here, whatever that may be. Hug a tree or at least find a nice plant to commune with, find a space in nature that thrills you and makes you tingle with mysterious joy, and spend some quiet time contemplating what you can do to be part of the goodness that is sprouting. What can you do to participate in the solution. Do one thing that helps make this a better planet and honors all that mama earth does for us. Maybe do two or three. Whatever. At the very least don’t be complicit in the destruction. Don’t keep quiet when you know the truth is not being told.

Here are a couple of our favorite GD Earth Day pieces from over the years that are still worth reading and sharing…

What are you giving Mama Earth this Earth Day?

Last year’s ideas for ways to give back to mama earth.

Earth Day with Ed Begley

Seems like we had a few Earth Days with Ed Begley, Jr.

Earth Day DIY Water Garden for Bees

A fun activity to do with the kids.

50 Free or Cheap ways to celebrate Earth Day Everyday

A fun and useful list of ways to celebrate Earth Day.

Get Active

There are so many ways to get active. So many organizations. Read a great post about midlife activism for some inspiration, and please read my post about ways to love mama earth without being annoying.

Please check out our YouTube channel to see our short, sometimes inspirational, funny and useful 1 GD Minute videos with inspiring messages, recipes and DIY tutorials. Here’s a recent one…

And if you want to learn more about the content of this video, please read the corresponding post!