During Earth Month, we pause to reflect on the bountiful generosity of the Earth and the multitude of ways it sustains and nurtures us. From the breath in our lungs to the food on our plates, the water that quenches our thirst, and the soil beneath our feet, Earth gives continuously, without asking for anything in return. We live because the Earth lives. We thrive because the Earth offers its mountains, prairies, forests, rivers and oceans to hold us in balance.
Thank you, Earth, for the air — each breath that fills us with life. Thank you for the trees that breathe out what we breathe in, for the rain that nourishes crops and fills aquifers from which we drink, for the sunlight that warms and feeds through its golden touch. You give endlessly, and we, too often, take endlessly.
But this commentary is not only to give thanks to the Earth. It is also to ask for forgiveness.
We humans have polluted your skies with smoke, your oceans with plastic, and your soil with harmful chemicals. We have carved into your forests, drained your wetlands, and filled your rivers with toxins. Our polluting cars, factories and power plants have pushed your systems toward collapse.
We have treated you not as a home to be cherished and cared for, but as a limitless warehouse, a bottomless landfill, an infinite resource that can be used selfishly and abused.
Forgive us, Earth, because we have forgotten that true relationships are reciprocal. For too long, we have acted as if your giving would never end. But every system has limits.
Everywhere we see signs that we are overstepping your limits: extreme hurricanes, droughts and heat waves, wildfires, coral bleaching, melting glaciers and sea ice, the extinction of species. The diversity of life forms is being diminished, making life on Earth less stable.
The more we pollute, the more unbalanced life becomes for animals and plants, and for ourselves. If we poison the air, we cannot breathe. If we poison the water, we cannot drink. If we poison the soil, we cannot eat. The consequences of our actions are returning to us.
We’re sorry that we’ve pursued profit at your expense. The fossil fuel industry dumps warming emissions into your atmosphere. Industrial agriculture damages your soil and pollutes your waters. Overconsumption creates enormous waste and pollution. Mineral extraction destroys your landscapes and poisons waterways. Overfishing collapses your ecosystems. Logging wipes out your ancient forests.
Sadly, we’ve focused on profit over you.
If we continue to allow the Earth to warm and the climate to change, the web of life as it exists today will perish.
Still, there is hope, but only if we take stronger action to restore the Earth. We must stop taking more than the Earth can give. We must protect the natural environment – and ourselves – by ending our addiction to fossil fuels and unsustainable practices. We must build a society rooted in respect and gratitude for the Earth.
Whatever we do, the Earth will endure. It has seen ice ages and firestorms and mass extinctions. The salient question is: Will people endure?
Today is Earth Day; this is Earth Month. Let us choose a new path. Let us adopt new policies that create the foundation for sustainability, prosperity and harmony. Let us show that we have learned from our mistakes. Let us give back while we still can.
Thank you, Earth. We apologize for taking so much more than we are giving back. We hope to be worthy of your bountiful gifts again.
Audrey Lin is an ‘Iolani School senior and a co-founder of the Climate Future Forum; Doug Hagan is a member of Carbon Cashback Hawaii; John Kawamoto is a member of the Plant-Based Task Force.
