This morning I was listening to news radio where a man was being interviewed because he was fighting against having solar powered windmills put in down the road from his home in Montana or somewhere. He said that the windmills would block his view of the mountains. Well, heaven forbid. Never mind that the planet is dying and that there are a select few who reside on this planet who are trying to slow that painful death. I watched a TV show this weekend where this Australian guy traveled half way across the country on a motorcycle that was powered entirely by natural gas. It was actually quite genius. It was a concoction of all natural resources and it worked like a charm. He was even able to run a Hummer Limousine on all natural resources and I wondered—why have I never even heard of this before?? And why is this program running on a Saturday evening on a station that only people like me who don't have cable watch because they don't have any other stations?? Why is it not on prime time informing thousands, millions, of the possibility of the alternatives to fossil fuels??
Then there was the fruitless search for recycle bins I tried to acquire for the office I work in. We go through so much paper every single day, and most of it winds up in the dumpster, along with several other recyclable materials that are justified as trash due to the fact that there are no bins in our office. So I called the county, who told me to call the city, who told me to call an independent recycling company, who told me to call another independent recycling company, who told me I’d have to pay $40 a month to just have them pick the stuff up. After informing my supervisor of this, it was decided that $40 a month is too large of a price to pay. And so…nothing has changed.
And then there’s Michael the gorilla. I watched a PBS special last night about Michael the gorilla who was taken from his native home to a zoo when he was very young because his parents had been killed by poachers. Eventually Michael was adopted by the same people who cared for KoKo, and he learned how to communicate through painting and sign language as KoKo did. During this special last night, one of Michael’s caregivers asked him, in sign language, what happened to his mother. And he described, IN DETAIL, her gruesome death and his captivity. It was the most amazing and saddening thing I had ever seen. And it made me wonder---what is the matter with people?? Why do we hurt each other and animals and the environment? Why are we so dang selfish?
I always wonder why the stewardship that man has over the earth and its inhabitants is taken so lightly by some. By many! Such a sacred blessing that people take for granted. I’m not saying I am perfect, but how I wish we all would try harder.
I get a lot of crap for encouraging people to write to their senators about oil drilling in the Artic Refuge and signing petitions against high intensity sonar testing in the world’s oceans. Perhaps it sounds fanatical to some. But I’ll risk becoming a bit fanatical. At least I can go to my grave with a clearer conscience. And I will not feel any shame in inviting Michael the gorilla to my dinner in heaven.
