What does it mean to you?

Earth day again. The 43rd. A lot to look back at.
There have certainly been victories: a lot of pollution has been cleaned up, the ozone hole is shrinking and should disappear, and renewable energy is beginning to take hold.
But new problems are appearing and we are on the brink of possibly creating a large new one that we could avoid.  Tar sands oil.
At this time when new forms of energy are beginning to take a larger share of the mix, should we really invest in some of the dirtiest petroleum possible?
Can we really not override those who refuse to move out of the 1950s?
Appropriately, this is the time for a lesson in interconnectedness. Corporate funding of elections instead of public funding, the partisan drawing of district lines, and a rather silly changing of the rules of the Senate, have all contributed to this problem.
These things are wrong and dangerous in many instances, but when it comes to the future of the earth itself, they are perfectly unacceptable.
Of course, the planet will go on, but in what state? Will it be a planet we want to live on? Is mere existence the standard we are shooting for?
The best way to honor this Earth Day is to decide not to lurch from disaster to disaster and get active for a few days or weeks at a time, but make a real commitment. Stand up for a different earth, a different future and be active in some way every day.