La Verne’s community, like most others, devotes one day per year to the problems of the Earth —Earth Day. Of course, the creators of Earth Day would have undoubtedly liked to see more people think of the Earth everyday. It is important that the tradition nor be mocked in its observance.
Earth Day and its meaning were all but forgotten between 1973 to 1990. Little projects of saving the Earth began to spring up around the world in 1990 and schools and businesses began to honor Earth Day once a year on April 22. One day out of the year is better than none at all. Last Friday, ULV celebrated the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. There were, however, flaws in the University of La Verne’s observance of the day.
With many different booths set up between Miller Hall and Founders Hall, citizens of La Verne looked as if they were truly honoring Earth Day. While most were, several booths made major faux pas.
Walking through the area between Founders and Miller Hall last Friday, it looked more like Club Week than Earth Day with some Clubs promoting themselves. To our knowledge, there is no connection between selling nachos, as one club did, and solving the Earth’s problems.
The S.T.E.P. program had a booth showcasing the club with no real relevance to Earth Day, while the Associated Student Federation booth kept drinks on ice in styrofoam ice chests. Styrofoam is a major no-no to environmentalists and should not be present on Earth Day or any other day. This was not the only sighting of styrofoam. The free lunch supplied by the dining facility was served on styrofoam plates accompanied by plastic utensils.
Disrespecting the Earth by pounding nails into trees, the Iota Delta sorority hung a clothesline. Although the action may not have been intended, the sorority should have thought about what they were doing. Their intent, “The Clothesline Project” was worthy, but they should have thought about their method of hanging. It just goes to show that even on Earth Day it is easy to forget about our planet.
If major fast food corporations such as McDonald’s have contributed to the betterment of the planet by changing their food packaging, why can’t we? Factories have made changes in the operation of their plants to help cut down on air pollution and many people recycle cans, bottles and paper on a regular basis. Carpooling and riding public transportation help substantially lower the car exhaust in the air.
With the world population growing at the rate of 270,000 people per day, people need to change the way they treat the Earth. Researchers feel that if the public does not change its habits, the earth will be worse off than it was 20 years ago.
To make the idea of Earth Day work, we need to have an Earth Day everyday. And if we cannot do this, we should at least respect the Earth on the day set aside to honor it.
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.
