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Natural Awakenings Naples and Fort Myers

Publisher's Letter -“We Are All Earthlings”

Leafing through this month’s special Green Living and Earth Day issue, I am struck anew by the significant term “Earthlings”. All life forms on the planet qualify—warm- or cold-blooded, vertebrate or invertebrate—we all play a role in this divinely orchestrated web of life.

Thinking about how we’re all in this together brought to mind the Muppets’ Sesame Street song, “We Are All Earthlings,” that I’ve loved singing along to with young friends and family over the years. Elmo and Little Bird are joined by a boy, lion, goat, frog and toucan for this poignant number.

We are all Earthlings, spinning around together on a planet of the Sun… some of us have feathers, some of us have fins, some of us are furry and some of us have skins… all of us can have a happy healthy place to be if we can float and swim and climb in Earthling harmony.

Children are innately inspired to want to do the right thing, and are frequently astounded by an animal’s plight or other unhealthy situation that adults have allowed to occur. The truth is that we all want to do the right thing, but due to a lack of awareness, unquestioned priorities or sheer busyness, fail to notice and object to what too many immoral corporations are doing that flies in the face of common decency. We need to get back on track and do our part… quickly!

I am inspired by the people you’ll meet in this month’s issue, including those organizing Earth Day events. Although we are just one species of those blessed to live on this magnificent planet, we are the only one able to make decisions that affect all our fellow Earthlings.

On April 22, more than a billion people in 192 countries will again take action and recommit to honoring Earth Day. It’s become the world’s largest annual forum for recognizing that our celestial home plant is our most precious resource of all, because its quality of life is critical to our survival.

On this special day, human Earthlings will gather to perform acts of environmental kindness. We will plant trees, clean up roadside litter and trash in parks and rivers, shore up eroded stream banks, put up bird and bat houses and plant gardens for birds and butterflies. We will sing songs expressing our caring concern for stewarding our land, water and atmosphere; home to millions of other plants and animals from single-celled algae to massive redwood trees; from tropical fruit bats to monstrous whales.

See our 43rd anniversary Earth Day events article on page 16 for ideas on how you and your family and friends can participate in the next “billion acts of green”. We hope to see you at some of these events; why not join me in my favorite drumming circle at the close of the Koreshan State Historic Site’s Earth Day festival? It’s an Earthling celebration!

To Earth Day every day,

 

 

 


Sharon Bruckman, Publisher