It seems that every other week, JC has a dress down day to support some worthy cause or another. Although these are, no doubt, for good causes, most of the time they feel a bit random. What I don’t understand is why the administration has failed to support the most universal cause out there: Earth Day.

Caring about the Earth is not going out of style like some sort of altruistic fad. It’s part of our everyday lives. The chaos of life tends to distract us from reality, but there’s no reason why we can’t take one day out of the year to appreciate the planet.

It would be nice to know that this generation cares about the Earth. The carbon footprint of our society is disgusting, to say the least. It seems we have grown to favor construction and convenience over the “green” movement. I’m not suggesting that we end construction or revert to the days of horse and buggy, but modern society doesn’t have to pretend the Earth’s needs don’t exist.

Earth Day is a day dedicated to the place we live, and although making a difference seems like a good idea, it’s not always so realistic. It’s easy to see that Bel Air doesn’t have much ground left for tree planting or sunflower growing. But just because there aren’t many opportunities for the overworked to make a difference doesn’t mean we should leave Earth Day to North Harford.

Although planting trees is nice, we don’t have to save the planet to show Earth Day its due respect. A small celebration or an oh-so-famous dress down day would be appropriate.

Planet Earth is our home. How quickly this elementary school thought has left us in favor of a progressive lifestyle frightens me. There are enough big picture concerns that fall through the cracks in our lives. The calendar has already paved the way for an Earth Day celebration, why shouldn’t we take advantage of it?

Kaitlin Bobbin can be reached for comment at [email protected]