When you “crap all over Earth Day,” you can expect some angry barbs in return. Case in point is Lloyd Alter’s post over at TreeHugger.com about Grist’s “Screw Earth Day” campaign, which we found to be a fair and thoughtful rejoinder.
But we think Alter missed the point. Yeah, Grist is cynical about Earth Day — along with lots of other people who work for environmental organizations or cover the environment for a news organization. The “Screw Earth Day” campaign isn’t about crapping on April 22. It’s exactly the opposite: We’re hoping to drive a little more attention to Earth Day AND get across the more important point that taking steps to help the environment is a 365-days-a-year job.
The Earth Day message, frankly, isn’t getting through enough. It’s just part of the background noise in a culture organized around one “special day” after another (National Siblings Day was April 10, did you remember?).
Earth Day turns 39 next week. And like all middle-agers, it’s putting on a little weight around the middle and graying at the temples. It’s time for Earth Day to embrace its midlife crisis, throw caution to the wind, buy that sports car (a Tesla, of course) and start dating younger people, and throw in some plastic surgery too.
“Screw Earth Day” is Grist’s way of saying “This is no time to get wobbly,” and pretending to be green one day every year is just that — wobbly.
As our Earth Day tagline says, go green every day, because one day is for amateurs. And don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself along the way.
