State of the globe

I am very upset. I read a few websites this morning and was disheartened about the state of our world. Not the nation - the entire world.

First I read:
Global warming nears ‘dangerous’ level
Researchers say average temperatures are close to a million-year high
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15003895/

..."If global temperatures go up another 1.8 degrees F (1 degree C), it would be equal to the maximum temperature of the past million years.

"This evidence implies that we are getting close to dangerous levels of human-made (anthropogenic) pollution," said study leader James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies."

Then I read:
Global warming
The inconvenient truth about what we eat
http://www.veg.ca/issues/e-climate-change.html

"We can also play a key role for positive change by adjusting what we eat – at least 8% of global climate change is directly related to agriculture.

By eating low on the food chain, locally-grown and organic, you can make a significant difference."

We are at a dangerous point of the state of our earth. However, most of us are unaware. Our leaders are not making many efforts to encourage or enforce changes. We don't know what steps we can take to reduce our emissions. And if we do know, they seem so overwhelming or unattainable that we don't even want to try. What type of world are we going to be living in in 20 years? In 50 years? What type of world are we leaving to our children or grandchildren? I don't care if my children will be able to purchase things. I want them to be able to eat fresh foods and drink fresh clean water.

A year ago, I doubt that I would have made any changes becuase I didn't think it mattered. I thought "It is too difficult, I would have to make a change.... Would anything that I do really make a difference? How could I make any difference?"

Well, as an individual, I may not make a huge difference. However, I have to believe that by teaching my children, by sharing my knowledge and attempts with friends and family, by conversing with my neighbors that I have to be making a difference. We have neighbors who are now walking to work, eating locally, recycling and reusing, and changing their consumer habits. Alone I may not be much, but as a growing group, there has to be a difference. Think of throwing a pebble into a pond and the ripples of the waves.

Food
try these things and then add another step!

1. Buy foods closest to their freshest state (i.e. less packaging). The more packaging, the more energy used.
2. Cook from scratch (again - less packaging)
3. buy local (Foods that are transported 3000 miles use a lot of energy)
4. and/or organic foods. (Pesticides and herbicides use a lot of energy. )
5. grow foods (anything - even in a pot on a porch. Any step can help).
   
6. Eat lower on the food chain (a vegetarian diet can be a very powerful change to reduce climate change. A meat-based diet uses much more energy. Also, the more land that is used to grow plants, the more Co2 can be absorbed by plants - and not released into the air).

I know that there are people who cannot do these things for one reason or another (poverty, education, time, etc). However, any step that can reduce energy consumption can have an impact. Food is just one step along the path toward sustainability and a healthier earth.