Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Just let them breathe.....

The Earth that we evolved from and were born onto is changing and not for the better. I personally would like to leave my grandchildren with the lush, green, lovely Earth that I knew as a child…that I discovered with my Daddy, walking through the Texas woods; the Earth that we (the Four Musketeers) escaped to every summer down at the creek not far from our east Dallas home; and the secret places of my older youth where we would skinny dip all day long in Austin. Don’t you have those places - cherished in your memory? Don’t you want your grandchildren to be able to discover places like that for themselves?

All of the energy we consume that is made from fossil fuels – petroleum (gasoline), coal, natural gas – are basically fuels formed by natural resources such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. These organisms and their resulting fossil fuels are typically millions of years, sometimes exceeding 650 million years old. That means we aren’t making any-more any-time soon.

These fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and as we burn them to make electricity and power, carbon (CO2) spews out into our atmosphere. This causes big problems – making our Earth much warmer, triggering havoc for asthma sufferers, and helping to make severe drought and torrential floods. Scientists say that at 450 parts per million (PPM) our Earth becomes unrecognizable…trees and species dying, fresh water receding and “acts of God” everywhere. Right now we’re at 390 PPM!

I am supporting the global movement 350.org to call attention to what’s going on all around us. 350 stands for 350 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere – where we have our Earth back, like it was. We need governments and leaders and citizens to understand what this means for all of us…inhabitants of this Earth. It’s not about what party you support or what country you’re from or what color your skin is – it’s about making sure that we leave an Earth where our children’s children’s children can breathe. That’s really all we’re asking. Just let them breathe.

You can do something right now. It’s about using energy made from the sun or water or the wind. These kinds of energy don’t produce carbon. This renewable energy means that we are not depending on the Earth’s stored finite resources for our power. And it’s about using less energy (the kind we’re using now) whenever you can.

All that barrage of information that comes at you from your TV, radio, computer and phone, that’s what you need to do. Every non-profit, government agency and stewardship proponent is giving you the answers. Write the President, call your representatives, go to your city officials – tell them you support 350 parts per million and see how you can help get us back on track. We’re all in this together.

• It’s kind of late for the woods I used to explore with my Daddy; it’s probably all developed into Mc-mansions. We do have parks and preserves and national forests to explore where the silence surrounds you and you know you’re part of something much bigger.

• I don’t know if our White Rock Creek is as clean and untouched as it was where we could spend the day fishing and swimming without a care in the world. I know I can support the creeks and rivers and lakes that do still exist by keeping chemicals out of the stormwater.

• I know for a fact that Onion Creek in Austin was put in a pipe and covered over to give some builder a place to make a buck. The loveliness that he saw is not there now though, because the creek is not there to feed it. I know now that I have the power to voice my opinion to keep that from happening to other creeks.

I hope you will do your part. Make changes in your own life; tell everyone what you’re doing. We all have to stand up and say we care about our Earth. It has no other voice.

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Would love for you to help me empower everyone to do what they can to conserve our beautiful planet for our children's children.