Western Oregon Journal

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            Earth Day. What does anyone do to celebrate it? Not much. Maybe in elementary school you would do an extra unit on the earth, color a map of our planet from space, or discuss how it is up to us to keep our home clean. But after you have moved on from childhood, Earth Day becomes just another square on the calendar. Or so I thought…

            I am a tried and true Oregonian. I love the rain (the ultimate test) and I can’t think of a more beautiful place to live. And maybe that’s how a lot of Oregonians feel—we are protective of our state and proud of it; it’s so green, it’s a little wild and we want to keep it that way: natural and pristine.  So it would seem that a state so interested in its outdoors and the preservation of its natural beauty would celebrate a day like Earth Day—it’s the very thing Oregonians stand for.

            So why don’t we? Why aren’t there parades or statewide highway cleanups? Why does it go by virtually unnoticed, the smallest blip in our radar of events? The answer is simply that any true Oregonian celebrates Earth Day every day. I have heard friends and out-of-state visiting relatives exclaim in disgust that they didn’t even recycle pop cans. It was like sacrilege she said, spoken like a true Oregonian. Or my boyfriend, who would rather stub out his smelly cigarette and keep it in his car than throw it on the highway. “I hate to litter,” he explains. Oregonian, tried and true.

            I always thought our state was similar to others, until I compared. I visited New York over spring break and saw garbage bags piled all over the streets. I visited North Dakota and Montana last summer and saw the most barren landscapes, the driest plants hanging on to life by a brittle, brown root. And I began to truly appreciate that Oregon was not just something I loved because I grew up here, it was something I loved because, by comparison to other states, it is truly majestic. Of course each state has its problems, but I’m not talking government, I’m talking environment. And it is hard to deny that Oregon is one of the most beautiful states in this country.

            So what does this mean to you? Perhaps you are just a transplant and do not see Oregon in the magical light that I do. Or maybe you hate the rain, and sunny California is your next stop. That’s okay, you don’t have to love it like I do, but realize that there are people here who do love Oregon, so treat it with respect. Don’t litter, don’t pollute if you can help it and don’t forget to notice that you are living in a state worth all the rain-soaked days, if only to see the green that it creates.

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