“We’re killing the planet” is common jargon these days. Translated, this means that we have to do something to save the environment from manmade pollution. There’s no doubt we are devastating the natural world. Even if you don’t believe climate change is real, it’s hard to dispute the Pacific garbage patch, a collection of plastic in the Pacific Ocean larger than Texas. For centuries we have been ravaging Earth’s natural resources and exchanging them for pollutants. These pollutants end up in our water, our livestock, our food, and, subsequently, our bodies, causing illness and disease.
Mother Earth surely cares about our destructive ways. She wants to be treated with more respect, but she’ll be around far longer than any of us. Though the sentiment of “we’re killing the planet” is true, it isn’t accurate. Mother Earth has survived many extinction events: comets, meteor showers, drastic weather changes, etc. She has survived and will survive again.
We are the ones who won’t survive. We are fragile organisms building a prison around ourselves with walls made of plastic and oil and styrofoam and shit. Mother Earth provides for us and loves us. She hopes we make better choices—not just buying paper straws.
But if we don’t? She will still be here, waiting for us to return to her and pay homage.