So you think you can change!

Just finished reading "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" by Thom Hartman and am recovering from my week as the program director at The Washington Youth Summit on the Environment sponsored by George Mason University. The premise of the Youth Summit was that the 125 high school students assembled from across the country can make the world better and take action to care for our environment. With so much to do and so many problems it's easy to feel overwhelmed, but these future leaders will be the group that society relies on to help us change our ways.

Hartman spends much of his book examining the old vs. young culture power struggle exemplified by the native american and european explorer relationship so well understood by those of us that grew up or have spent any time in the southwestern part of America. The younger culture ideas that life is about the here and now and individual desires (and who cares about future generations) were shown to be extremely selfish and shortsighted. Case in point, as we continue to drive here and there and literally burn huge amounts of "ancient sunlight" we are getting to the point that much of the known oil below the ground surface will be used up. Hartman suggests that we will be at this state within the next 40-60 years. Forget about climate change, the thought that the would may be out of oil within my lifetime is a scary one; especially given our dependence on it.

With each day that passes we get closer to the first day without oil and there is no telling what wars or conflict will arise over the last years that it is available, not to mention the potential climate implications to using it as a primary source of energy and materials (plastics and others). We must act now and begin to change minds and habits before there isn't any more time.

More on what you can do next time.

Be well,
Richard

photo via David Reece