Activistas

Our (Depressing) Present = Their Future

I spend a lot of time thinking about my kids' future.  All moms do.  What kind of people will they become?  How can I help them become responsible citizens and all-around happy people?   But I'm not sure I spend enough time thinking about how the choices we make impact the world they will inherit from us, and how to change the course. 

These very disturbing photos show a plastic soup - 100 tons of non-biodegradable plastic detritus that has been dumped into the Pacific Ocean, covering 500 nautical miles.  To put that in perspective, two large floating plastic masses span from California, past Hawaii, and then all the way to Japan.  This.is.crazy.  Not only are the household plastics we use on a daily basis potentially hazardous to our health, they are taking over our oceans, entering the food chain, killing sea life, disfiguring animals and otherwise wreaking havoc.   

Changing the Climate: Yes WE Can. You?

Even though we discuss global warming daily here in the People's Republic of Portland (uMs included), recent research suggests that the majority of Americans do not yet understand the urgency of the climate crisis.  While the vast majority (77%) of Americans believe there is solid evidence that the Earth is warming, less than half understand its link with human activity (47%), and most Americans do not view it as a top-tier issue, ranking 4th lowest of 23 issues tested last year according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

The silver lining?  There are now so many ways to get involved at so many different levels.  The first challenge for each of us?  Figuring out where to start and making the commitment to be part of the solution.  We all have a part to play.  One great way to begin is to

Everyone knows Al Gore and many have seen his award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth.  Not many know his Alliance for Climate Protection, though, which has a science-based public education project called the We Campaign.  WE works to educate people from all walks of life that addressing the climate crisis is uniquely urgent and that mobilization to solve it at home, at work and in civic life must commence immediately.

Have you joined the We Campaign?  Waddya think?  Feeling empowered?  Planet changing?  Or not.  Maybe you just have your own action plan for climate change in  your family?  We're all ears.