Redeeming Earth Day

by Gail Collins-Ranadive

  

Photo by Filip Urban on Unsplash

                            

I was in a foul mood as I headed for the local Earth Day celebration, and it wasn’t because of the cold, raw, overcast weather. That itself is a cause for celebration in this drought-thirsty desert. But the outer gloom did reflect my inner mood. What has long been a special day for a community-wide celebration on a green open space, with booths set up by non-profit environmental and conservation groups to teach the public about protecting our desert tortoise cousins, preserving our dwindling water supply, and much more, had slowly, surely, finally been fully hijacked by profit-driven vendors showcasing their greenwashed wares. Now, this year’s event was restricted, accessible only by paying an entrance fee that granted access to a climbing wall and beer garden.

The only freely open to everyone event was a farmers market hosted by children selling produce from their school gardens. And sure enough, right in front of the rest…