I
rarely write editorial posts but with Earth Day approaching, I have a few things on my mind.
When Kermit the Frog said “It ain’t easy being green” I’m sure he had no idea how many times those words would someday be uttered—not by fellow frog puppets—but by regular people like me who care deeply about the environment.
I encounter virtual eyerolling and mockery of environmentalism on a regular basis all around the internet and even from people I consider my friends.
I have to say…it irks me.
Why? Because they, too, have children.
What is so mockable in caring about the legacy you will be leaving your kids? Is it not enough that certain childhood cancers have increased 40-62% over the past 40 years?
That’s not a coincidence. It goes hand in hand with another statistic:
Over 70,000 new chemicals have been brought into commercial production and released to the environment in the last 100 years. Less than 5% have been tested for human safety.
All babies are born with toxic chemicals and pollutants in their cord blood.
I could go on and on and on with statistics and research that would scare the holy hell out of some people. And still be met with scorn and eyerolling from others.
The point is, if you have children, you MUST think about the world you are leaving them.
Don’t you want your kids and their kids to have drinkable water? Breathable air? Oceans they can swim in? Fish they can actually eat? A life WITHOUT cancer, chemotherapy, radiation or untimely deaths?
There’s only one right answer to those questions.
Not caring about the future might be cool when you’re fifteen but it’s NOT cool when you’re a parent.
…
If you’re not a parent yet and you’re trying to conceive, please see this.