Smoke Screen

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We have the worst air quality in the world, according to the CBC.  I just looked again to check that and I don't see the part that says it's the worst in the world (hard to imagine that it's worse than pictures I've seen of the air quality in New Delhi), but it's not good.  Look at the picture!

It's apparently just the worst in our way of measuring the worst.  It's pretty bad anyway, though, no matter how you describe it.  I am supposed to have an outdoor aquafit class tonight -- should I go?  I'm pretty old and maybe it's not a good idea for me to breathe in all this smoke as enthusiastically as I breathe at aquafit.

It's all part of that scary scenario of climate change.  The forests are hot and dry because our climate is changing and so these huge events, like 600 wildfires burning throughout BC and record heat waves everywhere and "superstorms" are part of our future.  Yet we seem so incapable of doing anything about it.  Where's the international will to tackle this thing?  Can't we see that it is an emergency?  I know lots of people fret about jobs and if we do anything to address climate change, then people will lose their jobs and the economy will tank, but if we can't live anywhere on the planet, then it won't matter if we have jobs or an economy.

What can we do to change this direction we're heading in?  Well, I guess it feels like a tiny drop in a very large bucket, but I think we need to take transit and not drive our cars so much.  We have all heard the mantra about "reduce, reuse and recycle" and I think we're pretty good about recycling, but the first one on the list is "reduce".  Don't use so much stuff.  Stuff isn't going to make you happy.  Cliche alert!  The best things in life aren't things.  Instead of seeking solace by buying another t-shirt or pair of pants or SHOES, make something out of what you already have (reuse!).  Go to the thrift store instead of buying something new.  (It is Thrift Store Week this week, in case you didn't know.)

And the final thing (and perhaps the most effective) is to get involved somehow.  Write a letter or an email to your member of parliament demanding that they do something about Canada's role in warming up the planet.  Join a group or volunteer with an initiative that tries to wrestle this awful scourge to the ground.  Spread the word to your friends and family to think about climate change and try to do something about it.  It can't hurt.