Is it time to do away with Earth Day? That’s a question posed by Joseph Romm in an article he published Tuesday in the on-line magazine Salon.

Earth Day, Romm suggests, has been relegated to a day for children to plant a few trees and for conservative radio hosts to belittle as some remnant of the past to which environmental wackos still cling.

It’s a day for those bitter environmentalists, he says, for the nagging idealists who bother us with talk of such things as carbon footprints.

Many people who talk of their support for Earth Day don’t really care all that much about the environment anyway—unless it’s warm and sunny outside.

In these days when presidential candidates are selected by whether or not they wear a flag lapel pin, Romm wonders why there’s no one wearing an Earth pin. Is concern for the Earth an elitist activity, something only for those who have their other needs covered and can afford the time to think about what we’re doing to the planet?

Environmentalists really do see the world differently. They see webs of interaction and relationships between all living things—a much different view than those who see little use for any creature that doesn’t fit into man’s dominion of the planet.

Romm is suggesting that Earth Day attempts to cover too much ground. Narrow it down to Soil Day or Water Day or Sustain the Earth for Human Habitation Day.

Ultimately, Romm says, slowing climate change isn’t about saving the planet because Earth will survive without us. It’s more about maintaining a habitable place for us to live.

Homo sapiens have existed on Earth but a small fraction of the history of the planet. Who knows when another species will take its turn to dominate. A bacteria, perhaps, or the almighty cockroach.

Romm finally settles on Triage Day as the most appropriate way to go. Assess the damage, determine priorities and work toward preserving the well-being of billions of the planet’s inhabitants—not just one day a year but every day.