Hands Off the Planet: Earth Day 55

By David C. Mahood

Millions of Americans gathered on Saturday, April 5, 2025, for the Hands-Off protest in reaction to the current administration’s disemboweling of the agencies of the government. My wife and I were present at the nationwide event in our small town in Massachusetts. The first time I toted my sign for a protest was in January 2017 for the massive Women’s March, which certainly had a similar feel to it. Everyone has the right to be angry and everyone has the right to peacefully protest. If we lose that right, it will be game over.  My sign reflects my concern for the health of our environment: Make America Cool Again- Stop Burning Fossil Fuels. In my naïve way, it may bring attention to the future we do not want. One with climate catastrophes, and one that spares none but will arrive first at the doorstep of the least capable and least prepared to withstand it.  When I say no one is spared, I mean everyone, and every living thing.  The loss of other species ensures that we will forever alter the chain of life, one that didn’t need humans for most of it. Preserving habitat isn’t altruistic, it is survival. Those atmospheric coils, as I dubbed them years ago, are not cooling and adapting to them will be the challenge of our times.

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The Hands-Off protest intertwines with all environmental protests because at its core is the need for being accountable for our actions. When we pull back the caring hands we once extended to the neediest of people, there are consequences. In 2007 and 2008, I had the honor of serving a USAID program established to assist struggling Indonesian manufacturers hit by devastating earthquakes in 2006.  Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world and outside of the African continent one of the 50 poorest. I was in contact with hardworking communities living in conditions that were nothing like the ones we enjoy here in America. USAID’s budget is less than one percent of our government’s total spending budget. The money distributed proportionally is intended for the poorest nations on the planet, the majority being African. I can’t fathom the severe consequences of the recent reductions in aid to these countries.  They demonstrate a lack of empathy, which is also reflected in our capacity to care for the environment. I wrote in my second book, “That we have drained our planet of its living resources and not paused to change our course of action seems incongruous with a caring and compassionate society.” And as distinct as global incomes are around the world, caring for others has always been a token of universality.

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As we spoke to fellow marchers we got a sense of inspiration, which is the catalyst for change. We cheered each other on and commented on the shirts and signage on display. We didn’t confront any ideologically opposed agitators or throw tomato soup or defecate on anything, we just bonded. I am not certain if we made any significant impact but it got me out of my cave of lament and that is the point. We cannot remain quiet, idle, or disengaged. History has taught us that apathy is tacit acquiescence. Hands off our planet is worthy of signs, gatherings, and lobbying. We don’t need to drill, baby, drill, we need to care, baby, care. One day this past week, a 9-year-old heading to school in Kentucky died when he was swept away by floodwaters. 24 others died from this storm that was intensified by climate change.  We won’t remember their names and soon an even bigger storm will come and take more of us.  Hands off our planet means that mitigating the effects of warming atmospheric coils is a priority now for a generation that has been too passive toward arresting it. It means that our kids can take the mantle of climate advocacy with a sustainable future. A future that makes America and everywhere else cool again.