Walk, Don’t Drive. Now that the price of gas has gone through the roof, it’s time to vote with my pocketbook.

A walk around my neighborhood has taught me that I in less than a half hour I can walk to the post office, two supermarkets, three bus stops, a train stop and two hiking trails. My new, lighter carbon footprint goal is to limit my driving to less than 100 miles a week. That gives me a bit of wiggle room to get to the doctor and my consumer supported agriculture farms.

As an active Earth Day participant since 1970, I have seen both progress and devastating set backs, which I have written about in greater detail with additional resource links.

If my only source of information were the corporate media, I’d be discouraged. But I know better. I know I can easily give up driving without sacrificing my daily activities, including hiking. If I were brave, I’d invest in a bicycle. I know that all over this planet, people I’ve never met are making choices based on values dear to me.

All it takes is for each and every individual to decide to do one small thing, plant a tree, grow sprouts, keep useful materials out of the landfill, turn off a light - it seems so small, but like every small act, the value of the investment compounds.

I have to believe that there are enough of us taking one small step every day to invalidate the idiotic patter that has replaced media news. With that kind of grassroots effort, we may at least hold off, if not reverse the devastating trends set in motion in the last 40 years.

Tags: Community, Conservation, Environment, Nature