Going Green

With the (Canadian) election coming up, I've been thinking a lot about the things that matter to me. I think it's safe to say that the key issues that swirl about in the media are Security, Economy, Human-rights and the Environment.

So, I know that I'm over-simplifying things but I've decided to put my environmental concerns at the top of the list. It seems to me that we can hardly work to have a stable, sustainable and environmentally aware society without first embracing some level of altruism. I mean, to survive, we have to share: water, power, food, air. When one suffers, we all start to feel the pinch. Yes, wealthier countries can afford to hoard and be selfish for a time, but in the end, this way only leads to destruction. Our resources are running out, and we need each other.

A caveat: I'm hardly a political science major, I'm just putting structure to the thoughts moving about in my busy busy brain.

So follow me... we go green. We somehow learn to diversify our resources more equally. We eat locally, and in season. We grow gardens, not lawns. Homes are built smaller and come standard with things like composting toilets, rainwater collection systems and solar panels.

We talk to our neigbours, we trade them cucumbers for chicken eggs... and share a glass of the awful wine we made last season, we embrace culture and learn skills from one another. And we make a shift, a change in our thinking. Rather than seeing all the ways we are different, we see first our shared humanity and our need for one another.

I think... this kind of community life would make it harder for extremism to take route.

I'm not talking about a return to the dark ages either. I think there's some pretty rad science out there, that given the chance, can help us change to live in a sustainable and comforable way.

Check these links to see what I mean
http://zerohouse.net/wordpress/
http://www.teslamotors.com/en_CA/powerwall

These are some capitalistic ideas I'd happily give dollars to.

I know there's about a billion holes in my dream, and so many awful gut wrenching 'what if's'. I am not isolated from the horrors of this world.

I just need to choose, to dream or despair. I need to believe that things can get better, not worse for my children. That I can affect positive change.

So I'm going to dream.
And learn canning. :P