It is happy Gaia!

"This is the one day a year some will tell us how disrespectful we have been to this fine planet. However, you won't hear it from me."

This is it! The day pagans and greenies celebrate our Earth Mother. You might know her as Gaia. Some of us simple know her as "Mother Earth". Others call our home here the "Big Blue Marble". This is the one day a year some will tell us how disrespectful we have been to this fine planet. However, you won't hear it from me.

Hey, I am a good global citizen. I don't pollute (too much). I don't liter. I even recycle what I am supposed to recycle. Since we have bought our land, I have planted quite a few more trees than I have cut down. I do however, drive a V8 truck. I burn wood in the winter time. And I water my lawn. Finally, my biggest sin is in the summertime I eat beef cooked on a charcoal grill (gasp!).

Speaking of the trees I have planted, I am not the only one. Our country as a whole has done an admirable job. Forget all the fear mongering you might have heard from the Loony Left. That we are deforesting the country. It has been alleged (and is now a proven fact), that we have more trees in this country than 100 years ago. Now some of that is due to the fact that 100 years ago 70% of us lived on farms. We needed to cut down trees for farm land. Now 70% of us live urban. Of course the other factor is we practice proper forest management. We have become very good at it. Each year we plant more than we harvest - and we harvest a lot of wood. 

Now do we have a way to go on our stewardship? You betcha! Our need for fresh and potable water is starting to outstrip our aquifers ability to replenish. Some states are now thinking we should tap into the Great Lakes for more water supply. I say that is a bad idea. This past week, we had over 20 inches of rain in Houston alone. Most all of that went as runoff. If that water could have been captured in aqueducts or reservoirs, many of the southwest's water problems could have been helped tremendously. 

Only a fool would not agree that we are coming to the end of our fossil fuel days as our primary source of energy. I dare say fifty years from now, most of today's energy sources will only be known by what is read in history books. Oh, we will still need oil for manufacturing purposes, but there will be something better and more renewable that will be used. My betting is still on hydrogen fuel cells. And I think we are about five years away from having solar collectors which are non-invasive (meaning not too ugly) and very, very economical. Wind will never work well. Way, way too many problems.

So do I celebrate Earth Day? Absolutely! However, this almost perfect planet was created for us to dwell on. As much as we like to personify this wonderful orb, it is not a living thing. It is however, home to many, many living things. So if you want to celebrate the creation, I will join you today. Let us not however, forget who created the creation.