Baby It’s Cold Outside

And I just turned down my thermostat.  Go figure.  It is currently -27°C (-17°F) and my furnace was running and running and running, working hard to keep us warm, and burning all sorts of natural gas for the privilege.  So I turned it down one degree.  How much difference can one little degree make?

 A lot, it turns out.  No longer toasty warm, we are sitting now at warm, with a bit of chill around the edges. Toes and fingers are especially susceptible.  But overall, it is not so bad.  Throw on a sweater!  Get out your fuzzy socks!  Toss another blanket on all the beds! 

The bit of a chill actually feels good.  It is a constant little reminder that I am DOING something, taking the one small first step to a greener lifestyle and a smaller carbon footprint.  When I first realized that I had to do something, and do something big, that I no longer could live the way that I was living before, I felt so hopeless.  What can I do about these massive environmental problems?  What is one little voice?  How can I possibly make any sort of difference at all?

I did not know which felt worse – the fear and sadness over the impact these problems will have on my children, or the hopelessness and despair about not being able to do anything about it.  How could I look into their little faces and carry on as before?

My ultimate goal for the blog is to inspire social change, which I believe will lead to political change, and hopefully, ensure that rules and regulations we desperately need to get our carbon under control will finally be put into place.  We live in a global village, but it is going to take individual actions (person by person, country by country) to get this thing done.   Ultimately, it comes down to this inspiring quote:

“You must be the change you want to see in the world” – Ghandi

Now excuse me while I throw on another sweater!