What does Mother Earth mean?
The Collins definition is that the Earth is considered as a living being and the provider of all that is on the Earth.
The term Mother Earth is used to refer to the planet Earth as a woman or a goddess.
It is a personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother.
Mother Earth or Mother Nature is also known as Gaia or the Mother of All. The reason why Gaia was named as the Mother of All is related to her place in the Greek mythology as a mother figure.
What does Mother Earth provide us?
Our planet has always provided us with resources. Our daily needs have been provided by the natural world: food, water, medicine, materials for shelter, and even natural cycles such as climate and nutrients.
Here’s a list of what nature gives us:
Water
Water is our number one resource responsible for our very existence. Pollution and overuse has threatened many of the world’s drinking water sources. Freshwater ecosystems naturally remove pollution and toxins from the water. Biodiverse ecosystems purify water more quickly and efficiently.
Pollination
Insects, birds, and even some mammals, pollinate the world’s plants, including much of human farming. Around 80% of the world’s plants require a different species to act as pollinator.
Seed Dispersal
In the same way pollination occurs, many plant species rely on other species to move their seeds to new sprouting grounds. Seeds are dispersed by an incredibly wide-variety of players: birds, bats, rodents, elephants and tapir, and even, researchers have recently discovered, fish.
Pest Control
Almost all agricultural pests have natural enemies including bats, birds, spiders, parasitic wasps and flies, fungi, and viral diseases. Agriculture and ecosystems can be severely impacted by the loss, or even decline, of pest-eating predators.
Soil Health
Healthy fertile soil provides optimal homes for plants, while participating in a number of natural cycles: from recycling nutrients to purifying water. Soil is renewable, but overuse and degradation can occur due to industrial agriculture, pollution, and fertilisers.
Medicine
Nature is our greatest medicine cabinet: to date it has provided humankind with a multitude of life-saving medicines from quinine to aspirin, and from morphine to numerous cancer and HIV-fighting drugs. Researchers estimate that less than 1% of the world’s known species have been fully examined for their medicinal value.
Fisheries
Humankind has turned to the rivers and seas for food for at least 40,000 years but probably even longer. Globally, more than a billion people rely on fish as their main source of protein, many of them among the poor.
Biodiversity and Wildlife Abundance
Biodiversity produces food, fibres, wood products; it cleans water, controls agricultural pests, pollinates and dispersers the world plants.
Climate Regulation
The natural world helps regulate the Earth’s climate. Ecosystems such as rainforests, peatlands, and mangroves store significant amounts of carbon, while the ocean captures massive amounts of carbon through phytoplankton.
Economy
The environment underpins the entire global economy. Without fertile soils, clean drinking water, healthy forests, and a stable climate, the world’s economy would face disaster.
Health
Spending time in a green space, such as a park, provides benefits for one’s mental and physical health. There are mental health benefits to exercising in the park rather than a gym.
Art
The natural world has provided global arts with some of its greatest subjects. What we lose in nature, we also lose in art.
Spiritual
Perhaps the most difficult gift of nature is to measure its ingrained connection to human spirituality. In most of the world’s religions the natural world is rightly revered.
Why Mother Earth not Father Earth?
It just doesn’t sound right does it? It could be because the Earth nurtures us and gives us what we need to live, like a mother does for her children. It may also be influenced by early civilisations that had goddesses representing life and fertility.
International Mother Earth Day is April 22
Overpopulation, biodiversity loss, and deteriorating environmental quality are major concerns being raised through this campaign.
Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet and its people. Restoring our damaged ecosystems will help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction. But we will only succeed if everyone plays a part. We need a shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet. One that promotes harmony with nature and the Earth.
Did Mother Earth take a breath during Coronavirus lockdown in 2020 or not?
Yes! The positive impacts on Mother Earth were:
1. Reduction in Pollution
The vehicular pollution and industrial pollution decreased because most of the industries were forced to come to a halt for a few months resulting in decreased air and water pollution. Travel to other countries also ceased.
2. Decreased Industrial Waste
As most industries were closed there was a marked decrease in waste such as harmful chemicals, toxic gases, scrap and more. Cleaner air and increased visibility was noted.
3. Less Traffic
As we were forced to stay home during lockdowns there was less traffic and more businesses began work from home for their staff. The fear of catching the virus was another reason to stay home! Animals began roaming freely in major cities. We also saw a surge in the purchase of pets and then cute videos of pets on social media, there’s no mistaking the benefits of having a pet especially in times of stress.
4. Family time increased
As most industry and schools were closed families spent more quality time together. Communities came together to help shop for the elderly and the sick. People began comforting each other in unique ways and we also learned how to see each other via Zoom meetings, FaceTime, WhatsApp and more.
5. Improvement in the Hole in the Ozone Layer
Scientists noticed during lockdown that the hole in the Ozone layer over the Artic began healing.
The negatives of the Coronovirus are how to recover the economy of every country. An increase in PPE has seen a massive spike in medical waste.
Whilst the virus is not to be taken lightly we can see the benefits on Mother Earth and these lessons learned will benefit us in the future and how we can take better care of our planet.
Is Mother Earth dying and are you wondering if Mother Earth will survive?
For decades, environmentalists have been shouting from the rooftops about the dire importance of protecting our planet. If we don’t protect it, they warn us, we’re going to suffer and quite possibly die.
Humanity is currently transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Until now, we’ve been constantly taking from Mother Earth without giving her nearly anything back. But as we develop and mature, we come to realise how imbalanced our relationship with her has been because of our unwillingness to reciprocate her gifts. And eventually, when we enter adulthood, we’ll want to give back to Mother Earth for everything she has continued to offer us.
The damage that we’ve caused to our common mother is beyond measure: Deforestation, Soil erosion, Pollution, Climate change, Biodiversity loss and more. We depend on our environment for our very existence, while we continue to destroy it for materialistic gain. If we want to survive, we need to learn to protect and embrace this planet and not work against it. If we don’t, we run the very real risk of destroying our home and condemning future generations.
What’s needed is for us all, not just industries, to learn to live more sustainably, we all need to be on board. Becoming zero waste and not only carbon neutral, but carbon positive and choosing to refuse single use plastics. Reducing our landfills and recycling of more varied products. Back to a simpler way of living.
Once we experience the power of nature, we are reminded how important it is to work together to take care of this magical place that we call home, our Mother Earth!
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