Folk singer Arlo Guthrie once said that if the world was a wonderful place where everyone had everything they needed and people everywhere were happy and content, you’d have to work awfully hard to make a difference in the world.  As it is, though, the world is so screwed up in so many ways that you don’t have to do very much at all to make a huge, positive difference!

It’s a backward way of being inspirational, I suppose, but it’s kinda true!

Earth Day is on the way this weekend and it is SO easy to feel hopeless about the climate crisis.  Every time a new climate report comes out it is another slice of bad news.  It is important to remember, however, that years ago people started making small changes that are paying off.  

For example, renewable energy technology is improving at an unheard of rate, electric car sales are rapidly rising, more cities are becoming carbon neutral, more businesses are recognizing the economic benefits of carbon reduction, and young people are mobilizing to enact new and better climate laws.  Even the war in Ukraine is causing western Europe to quickly pivot to renewable energy as a way of severing its dependence on Russia.

In short, there’s good news heading into this year’s Earth Day.  And it all started out small.  In fact, a lot of the progress is a result of Earth Day itself which was a fledgling movement in the late 1960s.  What started out as book discussions and coffee hour chats led to lobbying congress and the first Earth Day in April of 1970.  

It may be hard to believe, but before the 1970s, a factory could spew as much God-knows-what-kind-of-smoke into the air and dump who-knows-what-kind-of-sludge into any river and it was perfectly legal.  And the progress has continued to this day.

There will always be those who oppose protecting the environment, but the movement is always toward a better future.  That’s still the case in 2023 and you can join in!  Whether it be educating children, composting, a solar installation, or going electric with your next car purchase, there’s no shortage of ways to support the planet.  

As Arlo said, you don’t have to do much at all to make a huge, positive difference!

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic