Saturday, April 22nd was the 36th Anniversary of Earth Day, although here in the Valley you wouldn’t have known it. I am a schoolteacher and we participated in a very worthwhile event, Porterville Celebrates Reading. I think it’s great that this event occurs and many fine people participate. We should be reading every day and of course it’s the key to success in school. The children generally had a great time and got free books and prizes. I just wish we could have chosen a different weekend to do this. There are other events which occurred about the same time, such as the Iris Festival, the Jackass Mail Run, California State Parks Day, the SCICON Wildflower Festival and Open House, National Arbor Day and the Springville Rodeo.

In the spring, Porterville is lovely. The grass is green, you can see the beautiful snow covered mountains, and if you are lucky, the wildflowers are in bloom and the sweet fragrance of orange blossoms is in the air. I believe that every day is Earth Day. We are all citizens of this planet and should be concerned for its well-being. I am not ashamed to be called an environmentalist or conservationist, even if it makes me a target in some quarters. We have an obligation and duty to honor and respect God’s Creation, the Earth. All life is sacred, be it the trees, animals, humans or whatever. We should all be good stewards working toward a healthy environment. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and of course, the land we live on are the necessities of life. Add spiritual values, our jobs, genetics, customs, ethics, ideas and beliefs and these are what make up who and what we are.

Some Native American peoples have a saying that we should think in terms of the seventh son, or seven generations into the future. Our planet is in trouble with global climate change, pollution, overpopulation, deforestation, misuse of resources and threatened nuclear and radioactive fallout. The ice caps are melting, sea levels will rise and we are facing the greatest wave of extinctions since the time of the dinosaurs. I am not sure if mankind will be around in seven more generations, but I sure hope it will. Any future generations will look back on our time and ask “What were they thinking? They knew about these problems, but they failed to address them, and now we will be the ones who must pay the consequences.”

Go out and enjoy this weekend and participate in many of the wonderful events. But please, remember to take time to celebrate the Earth and all of life. One day is not too much to ask.

 

 

John Roger Miller

Kindergarten Teacher, Geography Professor and Green Party candidate for Congress