This Earth Day, as we reach nearly a month without rain here in the Pacific Northwest, I am tired.
I am tired of the fire warning being red in April. I am tired of Big Oil still running this country. I am tired of pipelines that are still being built, no matter how hard people fight. I am tired that the US government is still committing genocide against Indigenous people. I am tired that dams are still killing salmon. I am tired that it’s looking like Zenith Energy Terminal’s permits will be renewed. I am tired that coal trains continue to trundle forward.
I am tired that state governments blame renewable energy for problems brought on by fossil fuels. I am tired that Japan is releasing radioactive contaminated water into the Pacific. I am tired of plastic. I am tired of ODOT pushing forward to expand I-5 into the Harriet Tubman Middle School grounds. I am tired of clear cuts. I am tired of wildfires and droughts and pests and disease. I am tired that 100 companies contribute the most to the climate crisis and yet feel no retribution. I am tired that the City of Portland has yet to declare concrete steps toward decarbonization. I am tired that the US military, prison industrial complex, and police contribute so much to climate change, as well as ruin millions of lives every year.
I am tired.
I am tired of teaching my students and seeing them already despair over the climate. I am tired of protesting this shit. I am tired. I am tired.
No. Scratch that. I am not tired. I am outraged.
Happy Earth Day. Happy Greenwashing Day.
