Here's a postage stamp I'm going to stock up on: The one honoring writer-philosopher-naturalist Henry David Thoreau.
Kudos to the Postal Service for offering it.
The following Thoreau quote has been a permanent fixture on Ripple Effect since this blog first went live several years ago: "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."
To me, that one quote sums up why I do what I do and why readers in the Great Lakes region - or any part of the world, for that matter - should care about the environment.
It's because of our Sense of Home.
The new Henry David Thoreau stamp was released today at Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. Thoreau's 200th birthday is July 12. Photo credit: U.S. Postal Service.
As I explain in my own words right that Thoreau quote - in the right-hand column of my blog's home page - every pollution battle "ultimately comes down to mankind's desire to better itself while protecting its sense of home."
I happen to focus on Great Lakes energy-environmental issues, which are far removed in distance from Thoreau's Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., but not in philosophy.
Just about all bodies of water, all forests, all mountains and other great ecosystems have a ripple effect on our public health, our natural resources, our economy, our psychological well-being, and our homespun pride.
I'd argue that if we thought more of the planet itself as our home - which it is - we'd take better care of it.
It's a simple concept. And, yes, there's obviously a need for industry, development and all of the modern conveniences mankind can enjoy.
But instead of getting worked up by confusing buzzwords like sustainability or becoming so polarized over political views, we'd all be better off if we simply thought of the Earth as our backyard or home that deserves a certain amount of respect.
Another thing I've always liked about Thoreau is how his writings on civil disobedience became a backbone for non-violent movements led decades later by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
We're seeing more of that today in protests on anything from the environment to women's rights to President Trump's proposed immigration ban.
Here are the details for the Thoreau stamp:
The Postal Service released it today at Walden Pond.
Thoreau's 200th birthday is July 12.
Like most others issued these days, it's a Forever stamp.
Thoreau, who lived from 1817 to 1862, spent two years - 1845 to 1847 - at Walden Pond, living modestly in a one-room house at the edge of his hometown on Concord and being inspired by his frequent nature walks around Walden Pond. His experience there served as the inspiration for his iconic 1854 book, Walden.
“Thoreau was one of the great thinkers in this country’s history on a wide variety of subjects, and the expression on his face in the stamp image captures his introspective and inquisitive nature,” U.S. Postal Service General Counsel and Executive Vice President Thomas J. Marshall said. “Thoreau encouraged everyone to lead more thoughtful and considered lives. Given the pace of today’s world, the many demands on our time, and sometimes conflicting priorities, I am sure we could all benefit from his advice.”
Environmentalist-actor Ed Begley, Jr., a Walden Woods Project board member, said the organization is honored to have Thoreau recognized with a stamp. Begley said he views Walden Pond as "the birthplace of the American conservation movement.”
I was fortunate enough to experience a hike around Walden Pond during the final day of the 1995 Society of Environmental Journalists national conference.
I met and strolled alongside someone who has become a lifelong friend and important mentor, Jim Detjen, one of SEJ's founders and a former Philadelphia Inquirer science editor who was in the early stages then of creating Michigan State University's famed Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
For more about Thoreau and his commemorative stamp, including instructions on how to order a first-day-of-issue postmark, see this Postal Service news release.
To follow the Twitter and Instagram discussions, go to #ThoreauStamps.
prof premraj pushpakaran writes-- 2017 marks the bicentennial year of Henry D. Thoreau!!!
Posted by: prof premraj pushpakaran | 07/03/2017 at 12:31 AM