Oh wow. Some good stuff went down today. You're in luck. I am feeling MUCH better after a few under-the-weather days, definitely more feisty and opinionated! Here's my list of favorite things that happened over the last 24 hours.
1. I read on Treehugger.com that The Pope, yes The Holy See himself, has officially declared pollution and crimes against the environment to be sins. Yup that's right! BALLA! Remember that verse from Genesis (I know it's hard, dig back to those Sunday School days or click on the link) that yakked on and on about God entrusting the care of the Earth and all its pieces and parts (i.e. the environment and all living things) to Adam (i.e. humanity)? Well turns out he/she kind of meant it. So it stands to reason that fossil fuel binges and the dumping of toxic nuclear waste weren't a part of what God looked around and saw as good.
Now even if you don't subscribe to a Judeo-Christian point of view, or any religious point of view for that matter, it's common sense to take care of the house that you live in if you want it to last. And the thing that so many also forget, in this ME l I l MINE centered society, is that we all affect each other. That's the theme of Globalization: Interconnectedness. Essentially, in many ways, we probably have more control over the lives of others than our own. If we only focus on ourselves, the negative toxicity of selfish living is going to come full circle and bite us in the butt.
We've got to accept that it's now an US l WE l OUR Earth, culture and future. The sooner we do this, the better, as the alternative doesn't look good. Plus the Pope said so.
>2. I was browsing through Charlotte's popular news magazine Creative Loafing today and ran across this ad. It seems that the pressure being exerted by the Green Movement has now reached even Big Tobacco. HILARIOUS isn't it? This is greenwashing at it's best (worst?).
Hey you, our cigarettes are more natural! So even though you'll get cancer and die a slow horrible death, you won't inhale all those nasty pesticides and won't be hurting the Earth--just your own lungs and the hearts of all your friends and family.
It's almost too much. Almost too ironic. I am crying and laughing hysterically at the same moment. Get a load of the copy:
But I'm an optimist, so I have to acknowledge the positive realization that I got out of this. This ad, and ones like it, show the powerful effect those of us pushing for genuinely greener products and services are having on the market place. It starts with the greenwashing, but at some point the wolf gets caught and the sheep's clothing either becomes certifiable organic bamboo cloth or the wolf goes home with sagging profits and no demand for it's stinky costume.
3. After work I went on the nicest walk in my neighborhood park. The fresh air and warm weather rejuvenated me to the fullest extent. Sitting in an office day in and day out wears on me--all I want to do is take a quick trip down the road to the running trails and skip the afternoon of the work day. So today I revelled in the later sunset and took advantage of our park. And guess what I found?! A SWING SET!!! Oh, you can't even understand my joy! I sat there and swung for a good 15 mintues. I slipped into a meditation inside the rhythm of the push/pull flow and it was simply put, freakin' awesome.
Tomorrow's Agenda: Cyber-Blog Tag. I've been tagged it by two fellow bloggers and I guess it's about time I was a good sport and played along!
