The theme for the 3rd annual Blog Action Day is Climate Change and it’s a topic that I have a pretty keen interest in. Now I’m not going to reiterate what I said on Earth Day because my opinion on the importance of doing what we can to minimize our impact on the earth hasn’t changed – nor is it likely to – I’m just going to say that each and every one of us knows what he/she is or isn’t doing to make a difference. For those of you who take issue with the idea of climate change – I’ll simply ask you to apply some common sense – there isn’t a single place where humankind has touched that hasn’t been effected by our presence. Some times that presence has been positive and in others it’s been negative but we can’t take the credit for the good without accepting responsibility for the bad. Ultimately, however, the choice is up to each and every one of us.

For as long as I can remember I’ve made a conscious choice to do what I can. It’s mainly been by doing things like reducing consumption and minimizing waste. To be honest it’s not that hard – switching to energy efficient light bulbs, turning off lights, computers, and appliances when I’m not using them, recycling everything that I can, and driving a little less. Does it make a difference? I can’t say for certain but I firmly believe that the impact can be profound, especially if we were all to do it. In the words of the English Playwright and Poet John Heywood: “Many hands make light work.”

Whether you think that we are impacting the climate or not, consider this: we only have one planet to call home and it’s ours to do with as we see fit. We can leave it a little bit better than we got it or we can simply ignore the responsibility and do nothing. In the end, it’s all about choices. As for me, I’m choosing to do what I can. I want my son and all of the generations that follow to be able to marvel in this great place that we call planet Earth.