Mother Earth

CalTrans built a new, earthquake-resistant bridge over Burns Creek near Big Sur in 2000. To give the bridge a secure footing, they drove steel pilings over 100 feet into the creek bed. Big Sur being a pretty “organic” area, there were protests by many locals. As I drove past them one time, I heard a woman scream “They’re killing Mother Earth !! They’re driving big nails into her heart !!”

That night, I heard the voice of the good Mother in a dream and asked her about the pile drivers. “Do you think I even feel what you people do ?” She responded. “Do you really have the audacity to think I care ?” Looking at the scale of things, I saw her point. An 8,000 mile diameter sphere stuck by a 100ft pin is like a face being “stuck” by something that wouldn’t even penetrate the first layer of dead skin cells. For the well-exfoliated, it wouldn’t even penetrate the first skin cell wall.

It occurred to me that “Save the Earth” is really “Save the Humans”. Mother Earth will go right on spinning with or without us. She did just fine before us and will be fine even if we damage the environment so badly that we exterminate ourselves. Nothing wrong with wanting to keep the environment safe for humans. I’ve found this planet to be a glorious place, full of wonder and beauty – the best I’ve seen in the Galaxy.

But, let’s be clear – Earth Day is about us humans, not the planet.