EARTH DAY, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

By Christian Garcia, LEED AP BD+C, Homes, WELL AP

April 2023

Although the purpose of these paragraphs are to share what Earth Day means to me, personally and professionally; my goal is to encourage self reflection regarding our lives, our way of living and the impact of it - all around us and beyond our own community.

We’re living in 2023, not too far from the 2030 Agenda established in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly to take action in matters of sustainable development. 17 Sustainable Development Goals were set to end poverty and social inequality, and protect the environment. Reports from 2022 still show we are far from our target and it's imperative to take action as individuals and as a society; no matter our race, country of origin, social status, education, age, gender, etc.

https://sdgs.un.org/goals

For a long time I asked myself how I could take action. I decided my profession was one of the ways to do it and I made a commitment on learning and applying knowledge of sustainability to Architecture, my passion from childhood. I couldn't get it into my head that my profession was (and still is) responsible for 40% of the carbon emissions on the planet, not to mention the percentages of water contamination, landfill waste and biodiversity destruction with every building that comes up.

I was not able to comprehend that, while my goal of becoming an Architect was to design spaces so people could feel safe and enjoy life, I could be contributing big time to air and water contamination and climate change itself - factors that are not only affecting the people I designed for, but it is affecting my own family, my friends, people I love and care about. I was contributing to the illness affecting the world where my children were going to grow old.

Doing as much as I can in the present and going against different kinds of thinking and not always supported, I still think there is much more that I could do.

While I took a professional approach to take action, my personal life had some turns as well that had only fired up my urge to create awareness and keep spreading knowledge regarding the importance of being kind to our planet and our society.

Last year, navigating the difficult tasks of parenthood, my son started behaving in a way no one understood. When the diagnosis came up I had no idea how to help him because there is so much controversy in the medical field about it and no one is completely sure how to help children with this diagnosis.

When in crisis, I turn to find solutions in knowledge, in books and science. My profession and all the accumulated knowledge suddenly didn’t make sense because I couldn't help my son; and I wished I could go study Medicine, Neuroscience, or whatever was that made me able to be useful. Then it clicked.

I can still help him and many others. How? While the diagnosis has no cure, it can be controlled and symptoms can become mild and even go into remission. His brain gets attacked while his immune system is attacking whatever looks like a threat for his health, even stress. And then, the flare comes; that scary monster that takes my kid away from his loving self due to brain inflammation.

Designing healthier spaces - schools, playgrounds, homes, offices - could mean my son has a better chance of thriving through this condition. If he is not as exposed to viruses, bacteria, stress, he could do better and his brain can have time to heal itself. Spaces with better ventilation, antimicrobial surfaces, calming and soothing forms and volumes; finishes and materials; materials with less chemicals and visual or even physical connection to nature, and daylight.

And there is so much I could say about each of these design items of why and how a healthier built environment could be helpful for my kid; but I really only want to point out that overall, a healthier world would make my son’s world better. That's my cue to keep fighting in my profession and my personal life, and the reason for my plea to ask you how could you help children like mine with the tools you got.

Less air pollution could eliminate the trigger for his condition, as well as less contaminants in the drinking water. Organic foods or food with minimum processing and/or added artificial ingredients. There is so much I cannot do or control but there is so much you can do, for all mankind.

What does Earth Day mean to you? For me, it is a day of gratitude for entire countries doing their part, schools, creative individuals doing something for my son to have a better life, a healthier childhood and a thriving adulthood. For me, it’s also a day of reflection on what we can do to make a better world for us, for our loved ones, our children and grandchildren. Not only today but on an ongoing basis.

Changing our lives is not easy but we are getting closer to the point of no return. We may not see the consequences of our actions directly but many are fighting for their lives because of how we’ve managed this planet we live on. Many children like my own have no clue that past generations are accountable responsible for their current and future health, social and environmental suffering.

Earth has given us so much good, and we’ve done so much irreparable damage.

What does Earth Day mean to you? What can you do to help achieve those 17 goals? What can you do to help repair the world we all live in? What can you do today? What can you do tomorrow? And the next day?

Graphics belong to EARTHDAY.org

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