Happy Earth Day!

When you go and tell that to the next person you see, there’s a chance they’ll say, “What do you mean? My birthday was in January.”

No, Earth Day. You know, that one day in April where you actually remember to recycle the takeout container you got for lunch, and feel a little bit better about yourself? No?

Okay, well, it’s true that it isn’t the most popular holiday, despite Earth being older than the invention of all of them. Maybe it’s because most people don’t find the tradition of picking up trash to be particularly exciting – but I think it runs deeper than that. Think about it — people willingly suffer far more than an afternoon’s worth of collecting soda cans for the things they value (like staying fit, caring for our children, getting enough money, etc.).  

In other words, Earth Day, and Earth itself, isn’t widely celebrated because the earth is not something that modern society values. 

Think about it – Climate change is one of the top global issues according to the UN. However, head on over to trends.google.com and you’ll see that the popularity of the topic is near zero when compared to searches such as “Facebook,” “Walmart,” “Netflix,” you name it.

If you are reading this with a pressing question in your mind – why is it like this? – or even wholeheartedly disagreeing (hopefully because Earth IS such a big part of your values), I’m glad you’re here. I’m starting this website to get to the bottom of it, because, while Earth has greater concerns than whether or not we put on party hats for it, I think it deserves to be celebrated, thanked, and cared for – suffered for.

Mission 

Terrestrial Palimpsest strives to critique the relationship that modern humans have with the earth from ethical and practical perspectives in order to encourage a cultural sense of responsibility to the natural world.

What’s with the name?

Yeah, I know. I could’ve just named it sallyrother.com (which is totally not a link to my freelancer’s website), or something simple. But there’s nothing simple about this topic, so it needed an all-encompassing name, whether marketers agree with me or not. Let’s break it down:

Terrestrial – of or relating to the earth

Palimpsest – 

“something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form”

or

“a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing, but of which traces remain.” 

(Oxford Languages) 

No matter how much we alter the planet, we are still bound by its rules, even when we pretend we’re not. The earth is just a palimpsest on which we build our civilization – it will always be the earth underneath.  

Content

Are you still with me? 

Here are some types of articles you can expect to find here:

• Place-based reflections on the human-nature interactions present at chosen sites
• Analyses of cultural attitudes toward the earth in media
• Interviews
• Rants and Ravings (on-topic)
• The odd personal or creative narrative

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it. If you’re still with me, perhaps you might consider subscribing?

Happy Earth Day, 2025!

Also – A notable steward for the environment has died. Pope Francis, who died yesterday, consistently pushed for protection of the natural world in his papacy, largely through his encyclical, Laudato si’. May his legacy live on. 

(Why is an environmentalist Pope so revolutionary? – A topic for a future article, coming soon.)