Protect our future

April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, marking the advent of the modern environmental movement in 1970, was celebrated quietly on social media as we battled the coronavirus pandemic. As days rolled into months, the grim news of lonely deaths, frozen bodies parked in trailers, elderly parents in contaminated nursing homes and the overly burdened medical community struggling to remain afloat continued.

Amidst these somber moments, as if to heal, heartwarming videos of dolphins, snow-peaked Himalayan ranges, and clear city skylines circulated on social media; and scientists cautiously reported a decline in carbon dioxide emissions. But climate calamities continued as wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, avalanches, flash floods were reported globally.

The growing concerns of adverse health effects by our changing environment and other consequences such as lack of clean drinking water, food shortages due to crop viability, rise in infectious diseases, and temperature unsuitability causing migration does not seem a distant reality. We inherited a beautiful planet with clean air, sparkling rivers, dense forests, and multiple species of unendangered animals and birds. Now mountains of landfill, ubiquitous plastic microbeads, soil steeped with pesticides have accumulated at a massive scale.

With the vaccine surge, we are again hopeful for a new beginning and have tales for our grandchildren of how we survived the pandemic. But can we also regale them with stories about actions we took to protect and nurture their future? Our ancestors gifted us a bountiful planet, what will our legacy be?

Pragya Rai

Spokane