My neighborhood is full of people who drive Priuses to haul their Labrador Retrievers to the park for a run. According to two New Zealand researchers, the beloved pet they are hauling has twice the carbon footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser. The three cats at home? Each of them mucks up the environment about as much as a compact car.

I am not a climate change debunker but have some discomfort with the processes around Copenhagen. I have been having a hard time working through them because I do not deny there is a problem and I do not deny that we need, urgently, to care for our planet. What I have trouble with is the band-wagon that seems to be surrounding these issues and I feel suspicious.

Welcome to my blog — a place to reflect with me on God's healing of soul, community, and creation. I hope you will visit often and be part of this sacred conversation.

My first official stop as Moderator was on the beach at Naramata Centre on Wednesday, August 19. Within a cathedral of light reflected by earth, lake, and sky, the community gathered for worship. Lake Okanagan was at my back as I donned the moderatorial stole for the first time since the installation service. As I draped it over my shoulders, the fringe of the stole touched the sand at my feet. My immediate reaction was to gasp and blurt out to the crowd “Oops—don’t tell anyone it touched the ground!”

Smoking is, unfortunately, a fact of modern life.  As a non-smoker (with the heart and lungs of a person half my age according to my doctor), and a person aware of environmental issues, the disposal of cigarette butts has become a problem.  This discussion is not a militant anti-smoker attack (hey, its their lungs!), but rather seeking practical ideas and solutions to the disposal of cigarette butts.  Some of the more practical suggestions include Personal Ashtrays, Wall-mounted Ashtrays, Post-mounted Ashtrays, Free-standing Ashtrays and Windproof Tabletop

Facebook Campaign to Stop Dump Site 41

Target:Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Environment Minister John Gerretsen.

Sponsored by: Danny Beaton (Turtle Clan, Mohawk Nation), The Council of Canadians, Citizens Concerned for Safe Water, Green Party of Canada, Sierra Club of Canada, New Democratic Party of Ontario.

We the undersigned demand that the Ontario Government reverse its decision granting permission to drain water from the aquifer at Site 41 in Simcoe County to allow for a landfill to be built on the site for the following reasons:

Population Growth and Its Destructiveness

It seems obvious that one of the biggest factors contributing to the destruction of our way of life is population growth. Yet we hardly talk about it, much less do something about it.

Since I moved back to the city, I am dismayed to find no green bin at my apartment building to recyle organic waste.  I have lots of apple cores, carrot tops, coffee grounds etc. that just go to the landfill.  

After some initial revulsion, I am looking at the idea of  turning that stuff into compost for my planters by starting my own worm farm.  I don't have much of an issure with the bin outside, but worms need to be warm during the winter, meaning I'd need to coexist with them in my living quarters.

Thought of the day:

I've been inspired - if that is the word, maybe driven over the edge would be more accurate - to radical, subversive prophetic action by Geez magazine, Bruce Sanguine and a number of thoughts and impulses that have been tumbling around within me for a long time.

I'm going to sell my car.