Ok, so, here we are . . . finally getting to the main purpose of this blog:
I would love for everyone to switch to cloth diapers, have as big a garden as they could handle and recycle; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! My reasoning for this is based on my personal background and some books I have read.
Personal Background: Globabl Ecology Studies Program, Oceanography Major, METOC Officer. I have been up to my neck in environmental issues since I was at least 14 years old.
If you explored those links, you now have an idea where I am coming from . . . maybe. Perhaps I just confused you.
Not everyone can or is going to spend all the time to read books and take classes in order to learn how to steward the planet. This earth does not belong to us, we are really just here to take care of everything; plants, animals, sea, land, air and each other! Family, Community, Planet . . . that's the goal.
What makes one go, "crunch?"
Family. The definition of family can be wildly specific or as far reaching as is needed. Mother, father, and child are just the begining, but such an important beginning. Strong families are the foundation of healthy communities.
Community. Neighborhood, associates, etc. Your town is your community, your street is your community. As these entities ail, and they are sick, the rest of society follows. Healthy communities take care of each other and become self sufficient. Vibrant communities help stabalize the planet.
Planet. Here's where we will wax philisophical for a few moments. The planet encompasses the environment, the people and it's God. God calls us to care for the, "least of these," through His Son. The least have no electricity because they have never needed it. But their ways of life are being taken from them. The least have no habitat, no place to live because it is being taken from them. The least used to be the smallest, rarest, most removed groups of people, plants, animals and ecosystems on the planet. The least are now not so rare, not so small and not so removed. The least can be your neighbors or your local river.
Family and community have to take on global meaning. There is no dodging this responsibility. As those versed in science can tell you, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, everything we purchase, everything we throw, "away," everything we want will have reprecussions, either positive or negative. Negative reprecussions are as simple as adding unnecessarily to the land fill by purchasing items with too much packaging or by not recycling. They are also obscure, yet serious. Purchasing chocolate manufactured with slave trade cacao or coffee from clear cut rainforests.
This is meant to be a hopefull blog. So here are the positive reprecussions: purchasing produce at a local farmer's market keeps local families in business and not only puts food on your table, but food on theirs as well. Unplugging appliances reduces your energy bill and the demand on local power plants. Teaching a low-income family how to grow their own food in the summer helps them reduce their grocery bill and gives them high quality produce to eat, boosting their health as well as their self esteem. I'm sure you are coming up with others as you read!
So, what's to be done? Do what you can with what you have, where you are, right now. What you have at the moment is this blog. In the coming days and weeks, I will be chronicling the ways my family is attempting to become greener and greener! So, for starters . . . unplug your computer when you are finished reading and come back to visit often!
Family, Community, Planet!
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