My house is a bit silent after watching An Inconveninet Truth. It’s taken me too long to actually watch it—as an environmentalist, it should have been first on my list. At least, I used to be an environmentalist.
Growing up in Laguna Beach, California, I had an unusual upbringing. I cannot place the balme for this entirely on my parents—the majority was the society I was raised in. Everyone in Laguna is a little bit nutty…and granola-y. We recycled, we were concerned with water pollution (since many of us surfed), we were devastaded by wildfires, we protested as an entire city the proposed destruction of our canyon.
Here now in Las Vegas, Nevada, there are chuckles over said upbringing. “Are you a hippie?” people ask. They snicker but when I deadpan respond, “Well, kinda” they stop snickering and slowly back away. “Damn granolas” I hear, “When you gonna grow some dredlocks?”
And then I hear the complaints: I can’t believe it’s hotter this summer than ever before; why did spring come so soon; it sucks how short the snowboarding season was. And yes, I agree with all of them, especially the last. As an avid snowboarder, I only had a few good trips this season—without snow, there isn’t much of a sport. This is where we come in. If you watch An Inconvenient Truth, your eyes will be opened if you are not already aware. America is the number one producer of gases etc. leading to Global Warming; we produce more than double any other country on the planet. So, who is to blame? Can we continue the shrugging “that’s a shame” game where we aknowledge the problem but do not address it? What if it only took a few simple things to make things better, then would we?
But it is simple. We just need to DECIDE that we want to do something. Yes, it’s, as the name implies, inconvenient. Yes, it’s one more thing to worry about. But what will our children do in 50 years? If we have kids or friends have kids, shouldn’t we care? I for one have decided that I’m making a change. Growing up in Laguna Beach I spent massive amounts of energy trying to save this beautiful planet we live on. I retired for a while, beaten and exhausted by the politicians and lazy naysayers who live for the moment and for themselves only. However, I’m back to my soapbox! I hereby make a promise to my nephews and my three godchildren and to this earth that I will do everything in my power to protect her regardless of the politicians and egoists who are not moved by the decidedly fast-approaching end to life as we know it.
http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_links.php
I promise to:
1. Teach my nephews how to save the earth
2. Put a plastic bottle in the toilet tank and xeroscape my backyard to save water
3. Plant a tree…or two…or three
4. Recycle, reuse, renew
5. Earth-friendly meals (less containers; closer to lowest food chain; organic and whole foods)
6. Use both sides of paper
7. Only use A/C when absolutely necessary
8. Snip 6-pack rings and don’t release balloons
9. Use rechargable batteries
10. Remember that dolphin-safe tuna really isn’t
11. Use energy-effecient bulbs, turn off appliances when not being used, and do an energy audit on my home
12. Join environmental organizations
