BEFORE YOU SLAM ME FOR BEING ON A PLANE – READ THE NEXT POST! I APPRECIATE YOUR VIEWS AND WILL KEEP ALL COMMENTS (UNLESS VULGAR) BUT I ASK YOU TO CONSIDER YOUR LIFE BEFORE YOU JUDGE MINE! Thanks!
I wanted to thank my friend Purple Pepper for her contribution to the Earth Hour post earlier today. I was on a plane from Savannah to Atlanta when I read an article reminding me about Earth Hour. Purple Pepper graciously posted the information for me since I wasn’t around my computer. However….I also wrote an article while waiting for my return flight back to Tampa…so here it is:
Delta Airlines SKY magazine had a great green issue this month and the cover was about Earth Hour. I remember when Australia honored Earth Hour last year so I was glad to see this again this year.
It’s not just about an hour as it is to how much we as individuals impact the environment AND how we as individuals have a personnal responsibility to help reduce our impact. We can sit around all day and blame the government for the lack of environmental laws but we need to take a step back and remember that we CAN all make a difference without laws.
What are some of our biggest issues we face today? Is it the war in Iraq? Is it the rising price of gasonline? Is it the poor economy we are facing more and more each day?
By being a good environmental steward we can help with all of these issues. How you might ask?? Think about today and the Earth Hour. If we all (American’s or elsewhere) turned off our lights for one hour tonight not only will we be reducing our personal energy usage BUT we will also help reduce the amount of oil consumed on this planet. We often forget where our daily necessities come from. You don’t consciously think that you are contributing to the rising oil prices when you leave a light on in a room as you go off into another room; only to turn on another light. And how often do you consider that by turning off that same light you might help us as American’s to bring our men and women home sooner from Iraq.
Why are we over there anyways? I know there are many other reasons for our military presence in the Middle East but one reason for this (and other past wars) is due to the fight over – OIL!
Why have we become so dependant on this non-renewable resource? How many of the products that we use on a daily basis are made with oil? I would challenge you to think of a product that doesn’t directly or indirectly use oil. Whether in production, transportation or in the use of the product almost everything we use or consume contributes to our dependance on oil. Have we always been dependant on oil? When did we as humans first use oil and what did we do before then? What lessons can we learn from those individuals who didn’t depend on the oil?
So I know I have ventured off into a very controversial area but we often forget how dependant we are on this resource. And what other technology or resource is available that would reduce this dependance? What did families do prior to having electricity in the homes? I bet 1) they had better family values and strong family bonds, 2) they were healthier without all that junk food and televisions, 3) they incorporated exercise into their daily activities, and 4) they took pride in their communities and natural resources.
There is a lot to say for the way things use to be BUT we also have to embrace where we are today. As we turn off our lights tonight at 8pm (local time) I challenge you to take the time to consider additional ways you can change your life; not only to be a better environmental steward BUT for your FAMILY, your COMMUNITY, your COUNTRY, and your MOTHER – MOTHER EARTH!
Presumably that airplane you were flying on was powered by rose petals.
All this talk of flying in jets, somehow intermingled with entreaties to stop using oil?
Do you not get it? Or do you just not care that you are a massive hypocrite?
wow, well at least if what some are saying is true, you flying all over spewing CO2 might get the snow to melt in Winnipeg, but we’re already late because of global warming no doubt.