The more educated our species becomes, the more we seem to distance ourselves from Mother Nature. We poke and prod her as we extract oil and gases from her bowels, and we grind away mountains in search of precious metals or coal or even rocks and boulders. We harvest her majestic timbers and desecrate vast acreages for crops and pastures. Pesticides taint the air that we breathe, the food that we eat and trickle into the ecosystem. Plastics pollute our waters and are belched back onto the no-longer pristine shoreline. Sand Mining destroys marine life and accelerates beach erosion.
Most of us are aware of the problems, but how many of us are speaking up or trying to find a way to make a positive difference? Living near the Pacific Ocean, I witness the destructive forces of the high tides, which seem to be gobbling more and more shoreline. I’ve witnessed illegal shrimp trawling and correctly predicted that dead sea turtles would soon wash ashore. I don’t blame Madre Tierra for trying to buck us off her back!
Take time out to stop and really look at our beautiful Earth. Savor the delicate beauty of a short-lived flower; admire the silhouette of a towering tree against the sky; inspect the precision of a brigade of ants or marvel at the aerial ballet of bird in flight.
The following images and quotes represent my love for this planet and my concern for its future as we approach Earth Day 2013. Z Continue reading