Google changed its nameplate this morning to honor Theodore Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, who would have been 105 today. The search engine's name is spelled out by some of his most beloved characters, but one of his best is not among them. The tale of the Lorax was Seuss' environmental fable published in 1971. In it, he speaks out against the destruction of the environment through the Lorax, a sage figure who speaks for the trees, only to watch his habitat destroyed by an unsustainable business. After the plants are killed and the animals leave the barren wasteland behind, the polluting Once-ler realizes the terrible mistake he's made, and urges a young boy to plant the last-ever Truffula seed to restore the beauty of the land.
(And to give this a news peg, we recently learned that our consumption of soft toilet paper, instead of paper from recycled fiber, may be a worse environmental sin than driving a Hummer. Truffula trees?)
Just for fun, here's a clip of the beginning of the TV special based on the book.
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