Guest Editorial for Aberdeen News, April 22nd,
Earth Day
Rev. Enno K. Limvere, President of Green Aberdeen
One thing that we are learning in this COVID 19 pandemic, is
that the human race is truly one. Doesn’t matter our nationality, language we
speak, where we live, how much money we make, or religion, anyone can be
infected by this virus. Another thing we are learning, that working together as
a community, a state, a nation, and a world, we can lessen the spread and
impact of the disease, and we can take action to care for each other: social
distancing, staying at home, donating to those who have lost their jobs and
small businesses, and learning new ways to support those on the front line.
When Earth Day started 50 years ago, the focus was on oil
spills, pollution from factories and power plants, and raw sewage being dumped
untreated into our rivers and lakes. Within 6 months, because of this and other
efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency, under President Nixon, was
created to solve these problems. There have been many success stories since
then because of the efforts of people speaking up and taking action, we live in
a healthier place (though we still have much to do).
Last year, the world came away with the realization that the
effects of global climate change was not something off into the future, but it
is happening now: 1 billion animals lost in the fires of Australia, our own
fires on the West Coast and in Canada, the hurricanes on the East Coast, and
the flooding on our Northern Plains. The predictions of the future seem
straight out of a dystopian novel or science fiction movie, however scientific
model after model, scientific study after study, has shown that the world is
going to be very different by the end of this century. Remember, despite the
skepticism of the Paris Climate Accords which our current President is pulling
us out of, only 2 countries in the whole world did not sign on: Syria, which is
in the midst of a civil war, and Nicaragua, because they didn’t think it went
far enough to make a difference. Every other nation and their leaders:
democracies, dictatorships, communist, and socialist countries, see this as the
reality of our future and happening now.
The good news is that
we still have time to deflect the worst of the predictions; if we act now. The
good news is that we in South Dakota, without really trying, have helped in this
fight. In 2008, 52% of our electricity was made from coal plants, that is now
down to only 21% with the majority of our electricity coming from renewable
energy sources like hydroelectric, 45%, and wind turbines, 24%.
As a community and state tied to the land; with farming and
ranching a big part of our economy, many hunters, fishermen, & campers, and
tourism in the West river area of Bad Lands, Black Hills, and Mount Rushmore;
it is truly in our best interest for our community, state, and nation to make
the investments now to continue to wean ourselves off of a petroleum-based
economy (gas and plastics) to a more sustainable and nature-friendly economy. It
isn’t going to be easy or cheap, but it is more beneficial and less costly than
doing nothing; allowing the bigger storms, flooding, fires, and droughts ravage
our planet.
50 years from now, let us hope that people will gather
around the world to celebrate, how today, we saw the need to change our
relationship with the Earth, we made good decisions on how to protect it and
ourselves, and we acted so that they, and all life, may continue to flourish.
Much like COVID 19, global climate change affects us all, we can’t avoid it,
believe it doesn’t affect us, or any longer defer taking action. Will you join
us, Green Aberdeen and billions of people across the planet, in working for a
better future for our community and the world?
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