"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it." ~ Robert Swan

 

It’s a dreary, rainy September morning as I write this; the third day in a row with steady, prolonged rainfall. We need the rain. I did not cut the grass for most of July and August as my normally green lawn turned into a brittle, brown prairie lot.  The two-month stretch of local drought was a glimpse of what some Western states contend with regularly – dry conditions, water shortages and fire warnings. Hurricane Fiona is on the move in Bermuda and several other tropical storms are developing in the Caribbean that could impact the Gulf Coast and parts of North America in a few weeks.

 

As per WorldWildlife.org, “Rapid glacial melt in Antarctica and Greenland influence ocean currents, as massive amounts of very cold glacial melt water entering warmer ocean waters is slowing ocean currents. And as ice on land melts, sea levels continue to rise.”

 

From droughts and fires to hurricanes and glacial melt, the impact of changing climate dynamics is undeniable. Yet, for most of my early life I didn’t see the need to contribute a concerted personal effort toward green and sustainable living. After all, how much difference will one person make, and how big a deal, really, was (is) concentrated smog, auto and factory emissions?

 

Today is a bit different, as the global climate situation has become a bit more dire. Now I try my best to minimize my carbon footprint and the impact I (we) make on the environment. Kudos to my friends Nadia and Jim, in Atlanta. During a recent stay there, I witnessed their concerted household effort to recycle and reuse everything with an efficiently organized and well-executed sorting, storage and delivery system for discarded materials that ultimately make their way to an effectively run recycling center.

 

Witnessing their effort gives me hope that we can all take Robert Swan’s quote to heart, and exercise the responsibility to have our personal actions make a difference—locally, regionally and globally.

 

Consider the following ways you can help make a difference: conserve energy and water, recycle efficiently and consistently, re-use and re-purpose, ditch the lawn for native vegetation, source locally, minimize use of dangerous chemicals, build for the future and wire for solar, go solar, go electric, support climate initiatives and start or join local impact groups. Do what you can to learn more and help leave a healthy planet to future generations. Give them the opportunity to live in a place where they can feel good, live simply and laugh more.