Earth on the Brink

With wars in the Middle East and our democracy being dismantled daily, it might be easy to let Earth Day pass by on April 22^nd without remark or action. After all, this Administration is wholly uninterested in climate change, environmental safety, or the health of the planet.

In 2026 alone Trump started an aggressive, environmentally destructive war, and his version of celebrating Earth Day was to dismantle the National Forest Services, destroying generations of knowledge, expertise and research in the stroke of a pen. Having destroyed the Bureau of Land Management previously they are a completely restructuring the NWS organization in an effort to completely neuter it and then turn it over to logging and mineral interests at the state level for exploitation. The Trump administration seems to treat the environment as a resource to steal for their friends, or something to be ignored entirely.

The environmental cost of war is rarely discussed, but it is devastating nonetheless. The exploded munitions and destroyed infrastructure poisoning soil and water. The burned fossil fuels in the ships, jets, and bases; the resources needed to clean and rebuild the battlefield. In war the cost to the environment is rarely considered just the moment we need to be thinking about it the most. The systems that play into the climate crisis, from ailing food supply, growing water scarcity and mismatched infrastructure to changing climate realities are all exacerbated by this conflict, and in turn, make conflict more likely in a shifting landscape of political and economic challenges.

 Choosing to ignore the reality of the climate crisis, as this administration seems wont to do, won't make the problem go away. After all, this is physics, not sales, although I’m not confident Trump knows the difference.

He thinks he can bloviate his way out of the growing poly-crisis, but he is learning that at some point, reality begins to assert itself. Putting aside that between our aging infrastructure, the AI bubble, reckless wars, massive income and wealth inequality, rising unemployment, and inflation something has to give. The environmental and economic damage Trump has already caused the country that everyday Americans will pay for is hard to fathom. Fertilizer and food shortages from the war wait like a ticking time bomb of deprivation, and could follow a super El Nino this summer, bringing deadly heat and drought.

Staring down all this pain and destruction can feel hopeless, but as Earth Day 2026’s theme of “Our Power, Our Planet” reminds us, we have the power, through persistent, collective action, to change the path ahead.

The warning lights could not be flashing brighter, the economic forces who don't care if the Earth survives beyond next quarter cannot be allowed to rule our fates. There is still time, and we still have power. The climate crisis is still a slow-moving crisis, and saving the planet is both our best and only option. So, get out there get active and get involved to safeguard this planet. Together we can make sure that this world can be enjoyed not just by Our Generation but all generations to come.

Don't shop on Tuesday.

#DSOT. #UPM