Now, I recall a time, not too long ago, when the temperatures were downright chilly. We had purchased our new sailing vessel in the fall, and had committed to a date in the spring (we had no clue as to what type of weather we would see, but securing this date was a must). In preparing to launch in the spring of the following year, we needed a guarantee that there would be enough moving water in which to place the boat, which there was, but the rest of the marina still had solid ice.
The following pictures are a Then and Now view of roughly the same time of year.
THEN April 2003 (Notice the tiny icicles hanging from the lifelines)
NOW April 2007 (It was 25 degrees Celsius on Sunday. The only reason that we are not in the water, is because the bottom needs some work, otherwise we'd be floatin')
See how our seasons have changed?
We can all do our part. Don't assume that our Governments will do everything.
- When shopping, refuse bags. Bring your own bag(s), cloth preferably, and reuse. Many places still do not recycle soft plastic. This goes straight to landfill and does not decompose.
- Recycle, recycle, recycle!
- Choose environmentally safe products, especially if you are a boater or a cottager. These particles end up in the water system.
- Drive environmentally friendly vehicles. Maybe you don't really need that honkin' SUV?
- Lightbulbs - get rid of the old incandescent bulbs and start using the funny looking eco friendly ones....and yes, you CAN fit your old lamp shades on them!
- Leaf blowers and gas lawn mowers (and gas anything) all release toxins...think first before buying AND using!
- Many restaurants do not recycle hard plastic. Take it home and recycle it there. We do. And then comment to those establishments that they should beef up their recycling program.
- Boating - power versus sail.....guess which one is better for the environment?
4 comments:
Sounds like a reasonable enough game plan to me! One step, one piece at a time. Might not be the speediest operation ever, but eventually, with enough cooperation, things will be accomplished.
What a difference in weather! And those are all good tips we should follow.
I've been meaning to ask you if you read Odd Thomas yet. Also.. I tried to call you yesterday morning to chit chat. :)
What if recycling uses more energy? - as is the case with glass recycling/
Plastic shopping bags may be better from a greenhose perspective as they are lihjt weight. Many shboppers who use (heavier) re-usable bags leave these in the car - and end up taking them wherever the car travels. This means that collectively we end up mtransporting thousands of tons of material than we need to.
It amazes me how people simple seize on an idea to do with the environment and assume it is right!
Gerard, Sydney, Australia
gerard....thx for the comments, and all are valid points. Nothing in my proposed list is simple. Only sounds simple. It's always a choice, but better to do something rather than nothing. People inherantly prefer to do nothing, but we have to do something. My country has been recycling for many years now, and it is fairly commonplace, in fact, one stands out if they DON'T recycle (such as the restaurants that I noted).
Today our government proposed eco light bulbs. Eureka! Except that we've been using these for a few years now.
Do something or do nothing.
I prefer to so something, no matter how simple.
Cheers!
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