From the Desk of the CEO

April 22, 2013 – Earth Day

Earth Day has been celebrated since 1970. A recent poll noted that 39% of Americans now say it’s “very important” to restore the earth’s environment. I find that amazing. The news is filled with stories of climate change, toxic pollution of China, the oil spill in the Gulf, pipeline ruptures spewing black sticky oil into rivers and watersheds, fracking, the Keystone XL Pipeline controversy, and it goes on and on.

So why is restoring the earth’s environment not very important to 61% of Americans?

Carl Sagan said: "There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”

Why is care of our “pale blue dot” not very important to us anymore? Has it become part of our routine experience to recycle, plant a tree, buy an energy efficient light bulb, or see a wind farm as you drive through the countryside?

I think it’s great that recycling may just be “part of what we do” so we just don’t think much about it.

Planting a tree or paying extra for an energy efficient light bulb is more expensive so maybe we need more encouragement to take those actions to save the planet. But I still find myself slowing down in awe of a wind farm’s gracefulness. And, experiencing awe is free. All it requires is our attention.

Our planet, the only home we have ever known, deserves our attention. And people with disabilities can be a part of caring for our planet. When we work together on a common cause we build new relationships and stronger ties with members of our community. People with disabilities need to be connecting with their communities through valued activities. Becoming aware of what we can do as an environmental advocate is a start.

See the suggestions and check out the links from the article on our home page. By engaging and volunteering in our community all of us can learn “to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”