350

   In this blog I usually blog about the joys and adventures of my bike riding instead of car driving.  I do it because it makes sense to me.  I try to solve the problems of my life-in this case transportation need, with solutions that upholds my values.  I don't usually talk much about that side of my thought processes-I know I can get too preachy so I try not to do it. 

  But today in the blog is different.  Tomorrow is the International Climate Action Day and I am taking this day to explain what I do in a bigger picture.  I will just state the bigger picture-its bad out there.

    Scientists have determined  that is the Earth is to conintue to be the way it iat has been the the whole 10,000 years of our civilization and that provides an environment for life as we know it, the atmosphere can have no more then 350 parts per million of CO2.  Where does it  measure today? 389.  That should give us pause to think. And think deeply, and long.

   I am amazed that people still say our activities have no consequenses in our world.  When has anything not had consequences.  Denying responsibilities does not make those consequenses disappear.

   I am not a scientist.  But I have a deep feeling that what I pesonally does makes a difference-either in a positive way or negative.  I keep that feeling in the fore front when I am making decisions on my life.  I make a difference.  My decisions make a difference.  My actions make a difference.

   I have been trying, bit by bit, to live a low impact life.  In this very rich and wasteful country of ours, it takes planning to live simply.  I have long said, our country does not have a problem with not enough, we are drowning in affluence.  Try to NOT buy things and brings things into your home.  Much harder then you ever would think.  It takes more effort to keep it simple and be thrifty then it does to accumalate and be wasteful. 

   I ride bikes because I feel the world's future depends on it.  But it is not enough.  By refusing to take action a long time ago (just think how the picture could have been different if we had stuck to the energy policies being set in the '70's) we are  in a position to having to do drastic actions-much like putting off that 35 page paper for world history class until the night before.  Its time to pull a world all nighter and get serious about our climate.

    I challenge you to find out what you can do. Go to  350.org   Their mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.

  What you do does make a difference.  Live your life like it does.