earth day 2011

well, it's Earth Day 2011. one of the events i choose to mark with this blog as part of its social causes component. i'm going to do things slightly differently than i have in the past (reference: Earth Day 2010, Earth Day 2009, Earth Day 2008, and Earth Day 2007), where i've concentrated on one particular environment & sports issue (primarily race day trash, which i should point out continues to be an issue we as athletes need to address), and instead deal with the larger theme of Earth Day.

i won't bore you with the details about the Earth Day background. i really just want everyone to note the day on their calendar (this year, it's Friday, April 22, and coincident with the Christian Good Friday and the Jewish Passover). i also want to provide useful links to direct anyone interested in learning about what Earth Day is, how it started, and what you can do if you choose to participate.

you can learn more about Earth Day from the following:

• Earth Day organization: http://www.earthday.org/
• Earth Day video channel: http://www.earthdaytv.net/
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day
  

i also found a couple of pretty good videos, one just a general public service announcement and another one aimed more at the athlete community:

Earth Day 2011: http://youtu.be/4Mxjbip6y04


Athletes for the Earth: http://youtu.be/TxvMh2DaGfk

the latter one, obviously, is about environmentally-conscious athletes. i figured everyone who follows this blog would find it relevant.

i'd encourage you to learn more, since one of the messages i'd like to give people who read this post is that athletes can have social consciences and can pursue causes related to them. we don't have to be single-minded obsessive athletes. we are human beings, and so we need to be mindful of developing our whole identity as humans. one of the purposes behind sports is exactly this--to develop a sound body, sound mind, and sound spirit; the total that makes up our whole experience as human beings. having an awareness and compassion for the world around us is part of this.

of course, this message probably applies for everyone in general. so to that end, i encourage everyone to take a little time to learn more about Earth Day, and then go spread the word to anyone interested.