Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! Today marks of the 107th anniversary of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s birth. The “magician, poet, and Pied Piper of the imagination,” as Melissa Bell so perfectly describes him, left a legacy of 48 books and countless drawings that will forever enrich the lives of children, and will help future generations grow into better adults.
Of all the wonderful children’s book authors there are out there, I can’t think of any that sneak in moral lessons that are better aligned with our efforts, energies, and concerns here at GOOD. (It makes us feel very warm and fuzzy to know that the First Lady is reading Dr. Seuss stories to school children today.)
Of course, as the environment guy around here, I’d be remiss not to mention that sacred writ of environmentalism, The Lorax.
Here’s a cartoon version of the wonderful tale of that indescribable creature that “speaks for the trees” and the Truffalas that he tries to save.
Part 1
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5jnJdnQPr8
Part 2
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzYRkGIQpOs
Pass the tissues. A couple years ago, I played (with my little cousin, I swear) this great online game—The Lorax’s “Save the Trees”—where you had to catch Truffula seeds, replant the forest, feed the trees fresh air, and protect them from “axes that hack.” I can’t get the game to work today, alas, but here’s the link. Maybe you’ll have better luck. Even if not, there are a whole bunch of other games on the really incredibly fun Seussville site. Try not to lose your whole afternoon clicking around that web world of wonder.
As a special Seuss birthday bonus, here’s comedian Marcus Brigstocke channeling the good doctor on the heals of the busted climate meetings in Copenhagen. I don’t think you need to understand the perplexing bureaucratic nuance of United Nations diplomacy to get the jokes. It might even explain the hapless system better than most news sources.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_RlKxz_ymQ
The bit is about COP15 in Copenhagen, but probably would be just as fitting after last year’s meetings in Cancun, next year’s meetings in Durban, or the first U.N. climate chats back in Rio in 1992.
In parting, because it’s Dr. Seuss’ birthday for goodness sake, and who could resist:
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
