There has been a lot of debate all across the Internet about whether Earth Day really means anything anymore or whether it has been hijacked by marketers.

 

One of MNN’s (and my) good friends, Adam Shake wrote on his Twilight Earth blog about an e-mail he had gotten from QVC about shopping for 24 hours straight – in honor of Earth Day. I had received the same e-mail and my husband and I had a good laugh over it.

 

Treehugger today asked several green bloggers, including MNN’s own Karl Burkart, if Earth Day matters anymore.

 

Over at The Good Human, Dave Quilty wondered if Earth Day should be his greenwash of the week. On average, he received 15 PR e-mails a day trying to convince him to write about products to be bought to make Earth Day even greener.

 

Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish bemoaned the Earth Day PR pitches, too. She felt like she was being told, “Let’s buy, buy, buy our way to a clean and green tomorrow.”

 

Honestly, this year, I was so discouraged by the e-mails that I gave up reading the majority of them. I’m sure I missed some great, legitimate press releases but they were drowned out by the cacophony of “With earth day just around the corner, please spend money at our online store and we’ll plant a tree for you.”

 

About a week ago, I told my husband that I wanted a to make a t-shirt that said, “Every day should be *&^% Earth Day. Stop bugging me about April 22.” I’ve been rather cranky about the whole thing.

 

Then this morning, I opened up Tweet Deck, and I saw this Tweet from my friend Alison Kerr.

 

 

Suddenly I wasn’t cranky anymore. Just one genuine, “I’m happy it’s Earth Day because I really love the earth” message turned me around. Thank you, Alison.

 

And, I’m going to steal her wish and make it my wish for you.

 

Happy Earth Day! May the earth yield you wonderful food this year.