On Earth Day I Plan To Give Planet Earth A Rest Day

Here is an idea worth spreading. After listening to Derek Silvers’ TED Talk, ‘How To Start A Movement‘, well, I thought, maybe I can start a movement that could help the planet. This Sunday is Earth Day and the way I plan to contribute and celebrate is by doing nothing. By nothing, I mean I will not do anything that requires any energy except human energy. I will not get into a car, bus or subway. I will not use any equipment that requires electricity. I will not use my computer, iPad or even a phone.

I am doing this because I strongly believe that Mother Earth is tired and needs a day off. I have written about this previously in blogs such as ‘Earth Day, Take a Rest Do Zilch‘,  ‘Time To Do Nothing on Earth Day‘ and “Forget Earth Hour! What the Earth Needs Is a Planetary Holiday‘.

But talk is cheap. In order to start something, as Nike says, ‘just do it’.

I hope to post this on the TED LinkedIn group and everywhere else I can think of and hope that others will follow my example. Perhaps someone in Nike will see this and make it into a new campaign – Just don’t do it?. After all, doing nothing but walking, running, cycling, playing basketball and so on is good for Nike and good for the planet. Perhaps major media companies will help spread the word and, if not this year, by next year there will be thousands of people celebrating Earth Day by doing “nothing”.

Even if nobody else joins in, that is fine with me! I will feel that I have done something for the planet. I will feel that for one day I did not use any of the planet’s precious resources.

The truth is that my goal is not for people to abandon Earth Day, Environment day or Earth hour. My goal is to create four Planetary Rest Days. There will be one for every season of the year; spring, summer, fall and winter and, perhaps, eventually spreading to one a month. I see this as not only beneficial and necessary for the planet. When one hears the constant worries of jobs being lost to automation and AI, I see this as contributing to humanity as a whole.

Just to be clear, it is a not that I will be doing ‘nothing’. I actually plan to work hours in my garden and use all of my non-electrical instruments. I plan to visit some friends in north part of Toronto by cycling about an hour each way. I plan to go for a long walk with my life partner and maybe even have a picnic. I plan to drink some wine and chat to people I see and meet. But mainly I plan to give mother Earth a rest. I invite you and your friends to join me!