COME ON and DO SOMETHING

Well, I was going to talk about "colleagues" tonight... a word which, evidently, I use a lot. Lucky for you, Jon & I watched a movie that I feel is much more pressing to discuss. Colleagues will just have to wait for another day.

So... I told you a few days ago that I'm a truth convert. Well, I'm also a cynic; something of a pessimist; an untrusting person; someone who doesn't take kindly to being told what to think, say, or do; and a conservative Republican. And as of tonight, I'm an inconvenient truth convert. Yes, I've been sharp-tongued when it came to Al Gore. I've been snide about global warming and the "climate crisis" we're facing. I've been more likely to believe the nay-sayers than Al Gore. I reveled in the news stories that say Al himself is a huge consumer of energy and isn't "green". I hate it when celebrities jump on an issue bandwagon... especially when it's not one I'm already on... because then they just make me feel small(er). I watched Al Gore at the Oscars, and I was simply perturbed by the hoopla.

Tonight, I think there should've been more hoopla. I wish more celebrities were on the bandwagon. I don't really care if Al Gore is "green" because I feel that he's pretty much doing his part by giving his presentation and making this DVD. It's the other celebrities who are on the bandwagon that I care about being "green". It's everyday people that I want to be more "green". I don't believe the nay-sayers anymore. Al and his movie convinced me that global warming and the "climate crisis" we're facing is real. I'm going to stop being anti-Gore.

And I blame the polar bears -- the poor innocent polar bears -- for this change of heart.

Tomorrow, for the polar bears, I will:

• Stop consuming so much energy
• Do more research about what I can do personally that will make even the smallest of differences
• Pay more attention to recycling everything that is actually recyclable
• Stop buying so many things that aren't recyclable
• Start looking into the possibility of buying a hybrid car (does it really make a difference?)
• Explore more of www.climatecrisis.net to see if there's anything else I can do to become more "carbon neutral"

And tonight, I'll tell you all to watch the movie An Inconvenient Truth.

So, maybe it's not as bad as Al makes it out to be. Maybe the whole global warming thing isn't as oh-my-gosh-we're-all-going-to-die as he wants us to believe. But, even if that's the case, what's the harm in us making an effort to reduce our small little effect on the globe?

I'm embarrassed about being so flippant about my ecological footprint a month ago (huh... interesting that I'm going back and re-reading mid-February posts today). I was partially dismissive of the 5.8 number (of planets necessary for the world's population if everyone lived like me) because I think that's a much-inflated number. I already do some things to be more carbon neutral. I recycle. I don't drive a lot (some days, at all). I turn off lights when I leave the room. I bought a tree (okay, I killed one too... but I replaced it). I try very hard to keep the plants I do have alive and thriving. But, yes, there is much more I can do. There's a lot more we can all do. So, COME ON and DO SOMETHING with me.