A Wake Up Call
For those of you receiving this post by email, please make sure to click on the blog link so that you are able to view the video. It is worth it! This post was written as part of Steady Mom’s 30-Minute Blog Challenge.
Janelle from Healthy Child/Healthy World has asked the mom community to help spread the word about a new campaign that they just launched centered on a video called “A Wake-Up Story.” They are trying to WAKE UP as many people as they can to the issue of chemicals in everyday products and encourage them to vote with their dollars in the marketplace and vote with their voices to governments.
Please watch this very short video (it is absolutely gorgeous) and then pass it on to as many people as you can. One by one we can make a difference together.
A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.
Need some ideas for ways to share this very important message? How about…
…your blog
…on Facebook
…on Twitter (”Are you awake? Watch this and you will be. AWakeUpStory.org)
…on YouTube (you can comment on the video and/or share it on your playlist)
…on StumbleUpon (give the website a thumbs up)
…on Digg
…anywhere else you can think of!
Giving Up Carbon for Lent - Beyond our Homes
How is your carbon fasting coming along? I am quite pleased with what our family has accomplished. Not simply because reducing my carbon footprint this Lent caused me to stop and reflect on my life (both spiritually and physically), but because over the course of 40 days my family and I are building some solid habits that we can stick with. Aside from choosing to use our own feet more often, we are now remembering to unplug the electronics and microwave at night. Our house is chillier, but we just snuggle more (and wear sweaters). And I really seem to have lost the urge to shop recreationally! These are all changes that I am quite proud to say we have been able to sustain for the past few weeks and plan to maintain in the future.
My next challenge shifts the focus from our homes and places it out into the rest of the world…
Did you know that while ’civilized nations’ continue to consume more and more energy, our poorer neighbours are suffering? Countries in sub Saharan Africa are experiencing some of the strongest impacts of climate change today. These areas are caught helplessly in a cycle of floods and droughts. Other nations are under great risk of being completely submerged as sealevels begin to rise.
Until affluent nations have demonstrated that we are serious about cutting our own emissions, we are in no position to preach restraint to the poorer countries. Our governments’ most common excuse for inaction can be expressed in one word: China. They like to cite that China’s emissions per person have been rising by around 2% each year. However, these increases are still relatively small compared to our own. A citizen of China produces, on average, 2.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. A citizen of the U.K. emits 9.5, and of the U.S., 20.0. To blame the Chinese for our Earth’s problems is beyond hypocritical.
This is the point where we need to stretch beyond our own lives and become activists for others.
Action Suggestions:
Pray. This can be a personal prayer for guidance or an outreaching prayer for others in positions of power. Pray for those who are already suffering from the effects of climate change.
Reflect. The reality is that your actions can affect someone half a world away. Think about making conscious decisions every day rather than simply running on auto-pilot.
Talk. Share your carbon fast experience or other green choices that you are making with other people in your churches, schools and communities.
Write. Let politicians know that they need to take action on climate change today.
Participate. Join, or help to start up, a committee at your workplace to lower their carbon footprint. Your boss will probably appreciate the savings to the company’s bottom line. This idea also applies to churches, schools and even towns.
Vote. Vote for governments that are going to invest in the environment (i.e., fund research and development into renewable energy, governments that are committed to improving public transit).
Learn. Continue to educate yourself about ways to tread lightly on the planet.
Are you ready to become an activist for our Earth? You do have the power to make a difference in your home, your community and across the globe. Don’t turn your back on what is the right thing to do.
Carbon Fast Challenge:
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