Last week I read a column in The Dallas Morning News by Steve Chapman who raised the issue of environmental changes that have dire consequences and some people who pretend no danger exists. He cited a comment by Sarah Palin who was attending a motorcycle rally and said, “I love that smell of emissions.”
She had apparently taken a deep breath just prior to the comment, as if trying to indicate there is nothing harmful in a lung full of carbon monoxide and whatever other chemicals are in emissions from engines.
And she could actually speak afterward?
It is hard for me to imagine that there are still people who think there is nothing bad going on with the air we breath, the food we eat, and the measures people will go to to get rid of bugs.
Hello? Where do you think all the bees and butterflies have gone? And what is the long-term impact of that?
Chapman’s column was written as a challenge to the Republican Party to get serious about conservation and environmental protection issues as they formulate a platform for the 2012 elections, but I see it as a challenge to all politicians. We need to get serious about protecting the earth for the generations to come, and stop plundering it to meet immediate needs.
It should also be a challenge to every individual to try to do one thing a day to help reduce global warming. One of the simplest things we can do is to limit driving. Plan to run errands all on one day if possible. Car pool. And try to cut out unnecessary trips. One day without driving has a significant impact when millions of people are doing that.
Recycle and reuse items instead of buying new. We have such a disposable mentality that if something breaks we think we have to buy new instead of seeing if the item can be repaired. And when we do buy something new, it helps to find it in packaging that can be recycled.
Plant a tree. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. All plantlife absorbs carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen, which is one of the reasons that rooftop gardens are becoming more and more popular. It is one way to get greenery in the midst of a cement jungle that is what most of our large cities have become.
Rooftop gardens were once thought of just being atop luxury penthouses, but they are now being put on many other buildings, as well as some homes. Here is a link to a site with more information about growing things on a roof:Rooftop Gardens
If you are interested, here are two other sites with information on how to get active in efforts to save the earth.
I look around and see fires out of control in one area, floods in another, excessive heat in another…it makes you wonder if these changes are irreversible or just cyclical. I can’t imagine what the world will be like when my kids are my age. Since I was fairly young when I had kids, that’s not too many years into the future.
The future is scary, Helen. I keep hoping that enough people will take small steps that it will have an impact. Obviously, government and corporations will never move fast enough to get something done. It takes years just to get the bureaucracy in motion.