With our realization of the climate crisis, this is a huge year for the environment. It is covering the media and wonderful programming is on TV. Look for “The Green” on the Sundance Channel each Tuesday at 8pm. The Discovery Channel has a great program called “Green, the new Red, White, & Blue”. See “What if the Oil Runs Out?” and “Cool Fuels” on the Science channel. It’s everywhere and we need to wake up and start making a difference.
April has been an exciting month. Laurie David and Sheryl Crow came to SMU April 9th to begin the Stop Global Warming College Tour. They are touring 22 colleges in Sheryl’s biodiesel bus and we were the first stop. It was informative, fun, great music, and everyone attending received a 13watt CFU. You, too, can join the virtual march by signing up at www.stopglobalwarming.org to send a message to Congress.
Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal, the dirty secret behind America’s energy future, spoke in Dallas on April 10th. Wow! Fortunately TXU’s plan for 11 new coal-fired plants in Texas was reduced from 11 plants to 3 plants. Coal is the cheapest means for producing electricity. It also produces massive amounts of carbon. America’s hope is to develop technology to sequester the carbon from coal-fired plants. The plan is to isolate the carbon and then bury it. Is that really a good idea?
April 14th was the Step It Up 2007 rally around the country. The purpose: to send a message to Congress to cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050. The Dallas Sierra Club hosted the rally at the Bath House at WhiteRockLake. Despite the weather, it was wonderful with green vendors, green information, two electric cars, and green building. Presentations were simultaneously run in the theater. It was exhilarating. This was just the first step. Go to www.stepitup2007.org to get involved in the next steps.
Global warming is not a new concept. Our awareness is new. We need to start making changes now. It will be too late if we leave it to our children. We can make small changes ourselves. If you are concerned, please let our government officials know on local, state, and national levels.
With increased environmental awareness, hoping all of our schools will have an Environmental Chairman for next year. As your Council Chairman, I will have workshops and resources to help you, and I want your input as well. Collecting used print cartridges and cell phones for recycling are great fundraisers. Selling CFL bulbs can make a difference in our community and fundraise as well. Europe has already made the change to mandatory use of CFLs. The U.S. has already informed our manufacturers to get ready for the change. Global warming is not our only environmental issue. It’s just the new issue. And it’s huge.
Our PTA sponsored the Environmental Awareness Contest. Eleven of our entries moved on to the State competition. We are proud of all of our entries. Of special interest is the Newspaper Article written by Lacie Block, 5th grade at Hillside. We can all learn and do from her wise writing.
Would you like to know what you can do to help the environment?
Go to these websites listed below for more information on some simple things you can do to make a big difference.
The Green Guide
Green Living by National Geographic |