To save planet, try using common sense

David W. Kuhns Sr./Northwest Guardian

Earth Day is all about common sense.

The annual celebration of concern for the environment in which we all live has evolved over the years. But the central theme of reflecting on the best way to care for our world has always had its foundation in simple logic: We have one world with finite resources; common sense leads you to the conclusion we should be careful what we have.

The arguments and conclusions surrounding sound stewardship of the environment have changed over the years. That is OK — common sense changes.

In 1799 the 67-year-old George Washington developed an infection in his throat. To treat the former president, his physicians followed common sense of the day — they opened a vein and bled him, multiple times. In the end, the common sense of the day drained about a third of the blood out of a seriously ill man. If the infection might not have killed Washington, the common sense treatment he received was inevitably fatal.

Common sense just a few years ago said that the world was so vast that nothing man did could possibly have a material effect. We might suffer the effects of localized pollution or damage to the environment, but the planet would go spinning along, adjusting nicely — keeping everything in balance.

Now, most of the world — including the official position of the U.S. Government — accepts that human-caused changes in our atmosphere are leading to global shifts in weather — global warming.

When Earth Day began 40 years ago, the primary concern was the health of species. Now we are concerned with the health of the planet. Common sense shifted.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord observes Earth Day in several ways this year. The JBLM Lewis Main celebration will be held April 17 at the American Lake Community Center MWR Tent from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.JBLM McChord Field’s Earth Day will be celebrated April 22, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in front of the McChord Field Commissary. Both events will provide plenty of fun and information. We encourage you to attend.

The Army hasn’t always been known as a friend to the environment. The Army’s philosophy in decades past was one of “out of sight, out of mind.” If you had something you didn’t want or didn’t need, you dumped it, buried it or burned it, without much thought to long-term consequences.

As a result, most posts have a variety of cleanup sites, and repairing past damage is often the focus of Army environmental efforts.

But Joint Base Lewis-McChord, far more than most, has gone beyond those reactions to the past, and concentrated on the future. We are several years into a 25-year plan to achieve a “sustainable” base. We seek a balance; a future in which Soldiers train, and families live on base with absolutely no negative impacts — no waste, no pollution and no interference with accomplishing the mission.

The Army’s theme for Earth Day is “sustaining the environment for a secure future.” Our community is leading the way to that vision.

We need to take all the steps that we can, now, to ensure a better future — knowing that some of the focus will likely shift.

We have to be smart, vigilant and careful in how we treat our world. We don’t want our planet to end up like George Washington — killed by yesterday’s common sense.