Back before Covid-19 scared me away from travel, I was fortunate enough to take an early morning train to Washington, D.C., for a long weekend with some friends. Settling comfortably into a window seat, I passed the hours watching the world go by as we hummed along the tracks.
My mind wandered, although surprisingly not to the upcoming gathering of friends and the all-night catch-up chats I was looking forward to. Instead, the destruction of the planet I witnessed out the window was all I could think about. The destruction—and yet the hope I saw there as well.
Although there were definitely some nice areas and quaint sections of towns we passed, for much of the trip, the tracks took us through some very run-down places. Trees, flowers, plants and animals were replaced by crumbling buildings, rusted scrap metal, old tires, abandoned cars, broken appliances. I saw trash and human disregard for nature’s bounty and beauty. It was depressing and sad. This mini view out the window reminded me it is all too real, not just here, but happening on a global scale. The Amazon is disappearing, landfills are growing, forests are burning, and mountains are being strip mined. Trees, plants, and animals all gone.
Fortunately, I also saw evidence of Mother Earth’s ability for rebirth and with it, I found hope. Inching upward through cracks in pavement and cement walls, curling toward the sun along discarded rebar, poking through and around garbage, plants reclaimed their space. Now and then even a glimpse of wildflower color announcing nature’s ability to create despite man’s ignorance and indifference.
A seed carries with it all the information necessary for new life. With just a little ground to hold on to and some water to drink, it will sprout and grow, hanging on for dear life in even the most precarious of places. Where there are plants, animals will return, too, poking around for food, building homes, caring for their young.
Which means all is not lost. In 2020 it increasingly looks like we are losing this battle for the Earth itself. Perhaps we are. Yet nature gives her all. We must do everything we can to help her before it’s too late. Let us hope a new American administration agrees and takes action. For as they say, there is no Planet B.
Susan Barzallo is News & Associate Editor of The Animals Voice.
