Our Toxic World
I don't get it. Why isn't the pollution and destruction of our planet not a priority? I have been embarrassed and disgusted by Canada's performance in Nairobi this past week, and I don't think that I've ever been embarrassed to be a Canadian before. (If you're reading this and you voted for the Conservatives in the last election, then shame on you!) The statistics about global warming are staggering. Glaciers are melting at a faster rate than the science community thought possible. There is a direct relationship between the temperature of our planet and carbon dioxide emissions in our atmosphere. In 20 years we will be living in a world where millions die each year due to weather changes and lack of fresh water. There are already wars being raged in parts of this world over access to water. If you haven't seen Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" then I highly recommend that you watch it. It should be required viewing for everybody, especially our children who are going to have to shoulder the burdens of our excessive consumption mentality.

Small changes you can make:
1. install a programmable thermostat
2. change your lightbulbs to the energy efficient ones
3. don't even THINK ABOUT buying an SUV or any other gas-sucking vehicle
4. buy LED Christmas lights
5. walk, bike - don't drive
6. stop buying your kids the latest electronic gaming system - where do you think the old ones are dumped? (hint: toxic dump sites in poor countries like Africa)
7. don't idle your car - A/C is a luxury, not a given
8. turn off the lights, the computer, the TV when you're not using it
9. recycle! I'm down to 1/4 bag of garbage each week ever since our town started a food recycling program
10. educate yourself and your children

I am pissed off at what stupid people we have been. There is so much beauty in this world and we're blowing it.