Snowy winter days offer time to be thoughtful and  I've been pondering what man's global priorities are and what my
personal priorities are as well. Life in 2007 doesn't feel as carefree as it once did.

The human species has spread across the planet and wrapped her in roads, smoke, wires, waves and images.  Men
have fought each other with cruel weapons of destruction, each holding beliefs of protecting what is right or rightfully
theirs. Science has brought the universe to our doorstep, medicine into realms unimagined, and technology that could
perhaps save us from ourselves. Population has grown and grown, devouring much of the natural world...with no end in
sight. Industry and the hunger of population demand more and more to fuel the economic train and feed the many. The
money machine runs on and on and on. Our personal habits and needs create more demand. We are bringing Nature
to her knees. The situation is grim.  

Energy, food, transportation, community - ¦all interlock in a web, an environmental, economic and social web. Every step
we take is part of a path, a movement toward the future. Most folks are aware of global warming but are uncertain or
unwilling to make personal changes. We all are uncertain; this is new territory. Many of us suffer from feelings of guilt or
procrastination, which can be paralyzing. Others venture into denial to escape their fears. Change will come, whether
people act now or choose not to. So the question is... What can one person do? Look at what you actually do in your
daily routines. We need to be aware of our own impact and we can work to lessen that impact. Begin with little personal
changes, like walking more, eating better and being positively oriented to life. Those who are able can begin energy
transformations at home and in our work.

We can begin to move in a new direction. Changes made now will be cheaper than they will be in a world reeling from
resource depletion. Bravely modeling what change looks like, what change feels like, and being willing to make personal
changes and supporting others with green change is moving towards solution. We have to act in faith to avert certain
environmental disaster for future generations. We must bring environmental consciousness into our day-to-day life. We
can take baby steps.

What can we do?  Using food supply as an example, we can ask, "Where does our food supply come from?" The food
industry is a tremendous oil user and not secure when global fuel supply is taken into consideration. Food can travel
thousands of miles before arriving at our tables. Simple, easy changes are right before our eyes. Organic and locally
produced foods are right there on the shelf next to the processed stuff. Your physical body will receive an immediate
improvement from better food choices: fewer or no toxins. Baby step. Eating less adds to our global consciousness of
ever-present hunger and distribution inadequacies. We will be just fine eating less. Baby step.

Growing your own food is a big baby step towards self-sufficiency and to being more "whole" in our daily lives. Rodale,
the father of organic gardening, once said that one is not truly alive until one grows his own food. Growing your own
food brings the rewards of tastier, healthier fruits and vegetables. Planting fruit trees and berry bushes build up local
food sources. What if everyone decided to grow food and share it with the neighbors?

Cars. Another opportunity to explore options. New purchases should be carefully considered, weighed and measured.
Hybrids and alternatives are the only consideration we should make in the face of global warming. Plug-in electric
hybrids, solar cars, biofuels and new technologies are coming at a fast pace.

Even without buying a new car, we can change how we utilize our present cars. Purchasing the least toxic, least
offensive products, such as critter-safe antifreeze, and keeping the vehicle tuned and running clean, and choosing to
reduce the miles driven. No more unconscious car trips. More conscious bus and rail trips. The physical body will enjoy
an immediate healthy improvement through of walking more and being outdoors in the fresh air. The community feels
more intimate from the sidewalk than a car. Another baby step.

Buildings in the United States consume forty percent of our energy used. We can build lovely houses that don't need
fossil fuel systems to stay temperate year round. Since we can build them, why don't we? We must get serious and
demand smart, sustainable practices in our buildings and structures. City planners need to open their eyes, see outside
the accepted "norm" of communities, and seek new community designs and zoning created with environmental
awareness and social consciousness.
Everyone, and especially those of us in the United States of America, is intimately involved in this global warming,
climate crisis. We either are reducing personal impact and increasing awareness or we are in procrastination and denial.
The planet has tipping points, areas that are critical in maintaining balances within the natural world, and, once reached,
the planet will be unable to heal the damage. We must begin to wake up and take action. Call it global warming; call it
climate change. Change is coming. Call it whatever you want.

Rather than wait for the government to "fix" global warming and wait for the economical upset of oil depletion to hit,
everyone should consider NOT WAITING. While a few officials don't see the light on global warming yet and consider it
an environmental farce, most former naysayers have seen the evidence and are convinced that action is demanded.
The vast majority of scientists are convinced as well, with science clarifying the problems and potential solutions.

Reduce competition with your family, friends and neighbors while encouraging cooperation. What's that look like? Share
rides, share cars, share food, share clothes, share resources, share money if and when you can. Conserve water and
don't be wasteful. Care about your community without having a dollar sign attached to outcomes.

2006 is documented as one of three warmest years ever recorded. The ten warmest years ever have occurred since
1995. The melting of Arctic permafrost and ice pack is the canary in the mineshaft. We must be proactive. Begin with
personal changes. Fifty years from now, what will the people say about us? How will our grown children and
grandchildren feel about us? What will they say was the biggest help in the face of global climate catastrophe? What
don't we know?  What do we need to know? As American author James Howard Kuntsler put it: "It's not that we need to
do "less bad" but that we need to do more good!"

Change is inevitable. "Go green" sooner rather than later (and make much more headway.) Many folks are hard at work
planting fruit trees and food gardens, looking to the future. Change isn't cheap, but the cost of doing nothing is too
dear, too high. Our biggest mistake would be to do nothing. Delaying action to reduce global warming will only increase
the future costs, add to the intensity of the climate change and burden our children and grandchildren.
Most of us won't be here to witness long term outcomes of our efforts, so we may never know about our mistakes. We
may not live to see much success. But our children will. Take baby steps now in anticipation of inevitable change. Baby
steps can become long strides with time. If we can make the changes so desperately needed, our children will be able to
continue in our footsteps. On the base we provide our grandchildren can build a new future. In these bleak times don't
forget to pray and be thankful for all we have and have known. Keep spirit alive in your heart. Somewhere in this great
universe is the rhyme and reason to it all.

  

C 1-2007 Becky Elder