An Inconvenient Truth

It's hard to deny that humans are having an impact on the environment. Even if you only believe some of what is said in this film, it's still a wake up call. But don't listen to me, I'm no scientist. Watch the movie and visit the site. Decide for yourself. One of the things they taught us in the Boy Scouts was conservation and to always leave someplace a little better than you found it. Recognizing that there's an environmental problem does not have to be an indictment of past generations. It's simply a recognition that we can not maintain the current pattern indefinitely. I want to leave the environment a little better than I found it for my daughter.

So, you may ask, as you crane your neck to view me up here on my soapbox, "What have you done to make a difference?" On the theory that a little green goes a long way, Sue and I have started to make a conscious effort to make our lives a little friendlier to the environment:

• LED Christmas Lights - they use 10% the electricity of regular lights
• Compact Fluorescent Bulbs - I can't stand them everywhere but we've replaced as many incandescents as possible. They use 60% less energy.
• Buy organic - believe it or not organic farms capture more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than regular farms
• Lower your thermostat - Put on an extra sweater and suck it up. You could always get a coyote hat.
• Support farmers markets - the less distance produce has to travel, the less energy is used in getting it to your house
• Recycle - look at those little numbers in the triangles on plastic containers and recycle everything you can