carbon footprinting a great opportunity

I wonder to what extent the future of our dear Mother Earth is being decided in Bali at the moment, at the world conference on Climate Change? After all, the way the global climate is changing and the prolific way we spew out carbon emissions into the atmosphere is something that affects each and every one of us, yes, every member of our enormous human family. Surely it is incumbent on every one of us to do what we can, in our infinitesimally small way, to play our part in reducing the level of carbon emissions. We must take note of and reduce our own carbon footprint. And we can.

Not only can we but it is a great opportunity for us. No matter whether I am in Thailand, Italy or the UK, I am aware that life is becoming ever more expensive, what with the rise in fuel prices, food prices, rentals, transport fares, you name it. It's all becoming more expensive. And everywhere tourism is down, house prices are in the doldrums and there is a general sense of despair and despond, especially as this year has been so malicious for so many people. It seems that even the stars are against us. So, what a great time for us to apply ourselves to saving money, and not only saving money but also cutting back on our own carbon footprint so that we can, in our own little way, help Mother Earth to start breathing healthily again.

How do we do this? Well, it's easy. We use water in a more economic way. We convert to energy saving bulbs and also use our electricity less by not being wasteful which we have been in the past. We use aeroplanes less and trains and boats more. We cut back on the use of our car or motor bike by 20% or 30% ... and walk more! We recycle our rubbish more carefully. We insulate our houses more thoroughly. We use biodegradable packing materials. We buy a reusable shopping bag and cut back on our use of plastic. There is a long list of things we can do and things we shouldn't do. And, if we add it all together, it becomes a campaign of saving which will cut back on our spending. Is that not a good thing?

Most important, as we start to apply ourselves to cutting back on our carbon footprint, so our awareness will grow and deepen and we will come to value our natural world and also our place within it. So, the whole exercise is not just practical and financial but it is also spiritual and it will help to place us where we belong, at the heart of nature. More and more, especially in the cities, we have lost touch with nature and so we have lost touch with who we truly are. If we can remedy this in our own lives, then learning to lessen our carbon footprint will become an exercise of great benefit to us all.

So, let's start walking more, let's get the bicycles out, and let's save all we can on those emissions.