It’s here—April 22—Earth Day. That means it’s time to reflect on what it all means—things like how we spin, spin, spin, every second of every day, in the middle of nowhere, and yet, just in the perfect spot so that we get sun, water and life. Day, after night, after day, Earth refreshes, erupts, cools and renews. And here we are, at a random distance. Too much sun and there’s no water (it would all dry up), too little and there’s no water (it would all stay frozen). Even we would freeze.
Instead, we have Earth—this amazing, wondrous place, teeming with life. We’ve catalogued about 1.2 million species—that’s only 14% by very rough, conservative efforts. We still discover new species, something like one every three days in just the Amazon alone. And yet, we will never know so many of these species before they become extinct, species with potential to change and save lives. We will lose them simply because we are not accountable enough for our actions. Our Earth is both our resource and our sink. It is this dichotomy I often ponder.
We still have cascading waterfalls, sun-drenched beaches, mountains on islands, and temperate rainforests among deserts—and creatures that adapt to all of this. But we have also converted about half of all land on Earth for human purposes, often decimating great species diversity. We’ve similarly polluted much of our fresh water on Earth, compounding quality and quantity issues around the globe. I ponder about what else will happen in the future.
On Earth Day, I’ll be thinking about my 2-year-old. I’ll be thinking about my second child’s imminent arrival, perhaps today, and thinking about the type of Earth I want my children, and grandchildren, to inherit.
I reflect about how there is so much more we can still learn from nature, and about what other beauty still goes unseen. I do this, and I feel anxious, like I want to act.
Fortunately for me, I get to act every day in my job at MillerCoors. It’s what I do, it’s all I want to do and I love doing it, because we are just as passionate about making great beer as we are about doing it with great responsibility. It’s not just a tagline, it is the line we walk every day here.
This year, MillerCoors green teams have planned activities at several campuses throughout the country. In Milwaukee, Wisc., trees are being planted in Caesar’s Park with River Revitalization and employees will help build a raised-bed garden with Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful. In Eden, N.C., employees will participate in environmental awareness training and recycle-sort exercises, and will also bring electronic waste to donate.
Not just on Earth Day, but every day it’s everyone’s obligation. Whether you’re an individual or a big company like us, we all have an obligation, a birth mandate, to steward the environment, to take care of what takes care of us, all of us.
So engage—check out what we’re doing, on this special day, and all the time: http://www.millercoors.com/Great-Beer-Great-Responsibility/Home.aspx
How are you celebrating Earth Day this year?