I want this, I need that...and then BOOM! A beautiful snowfall

Snow always has the power to make one reflect. The veil of white and trees, the cold air, and the wind just rattle your cage and jar your emotions. So, as the snow fell today, slowly at first and then with a wee bit of strength, I thought about the climate. The cold. The heat. The rain. The snow. I know there is a great deal of chatter about climate change, global warming, and greenhouse gases. It's an interesting conversation. There are those that believe that big business, with aid of governments the world over, have caused much of the damage in the pursuit of more and more profits. Hmm...in the pursuit of more and more profits. Left by itself, that's not such a bad thing.

However, let's look at it in context of modern day economics. Demand the world over has increased dramatically as the population has swollen. People want/need more things. Companies create the things that people want/need. Companies have to stay in business. Profit builds capital, and yes, satisfies shareholders (who are also made of the same people), and the cycle starts again. The disconnect for me, as I have slowly learned, is that the want/need threshold has somehow become blurred. But, that's not really the big issue. The big issue is that we have demanded more and more at lower prices. I'm not defending the big corporates (for it is they that market to us, knowing full well which things are alluring and why), but they are reacting to our demands (again, we maybe too bloody stupid to actually think for ourselves, having the need to always give into marketing's charms). So, what does that mean?

Well, I'm all for the open market, and I'm certainly not here to tell you what to do. However, might I suggest a few things? Like it matters what you think...this is my damn blog. Here goes (most of this is common sense, but it's the snow that made me say it):

1. Buy American. Okay, okay. I have a German car, many items from China, and an Indian wife (I didn't buy her and so that doesn't really count). I need to do better.
2. Buy closer to home. We try when we can to consume our foods from local providers. There are some great community gardens. One of my favorite sources to find community supported agriculture is the following site, http://www.localharvest.org/csa/. I think we are going to try one the farms here in New Jersey this year. They provide chard. I'm not sure what chard is, but darn it, I'll learn. This goes hand in hand with #5 below.
3. Vote and pray for peace. War is very wasteful. Not only does it suck resources out of economies the world over, but it just silences the progress of many wonderful souls lost because of it.
4. Laugh. Well, okay, what does that have to do with the environment? I'm not sure. Say no more.
5. Drink more water. The less processed beverages we drink (which I daresay we don't need), the less energy will be consumed. This is a theoretical notion, but I'm going to stand by it. Now, do we need cleaner water? Yes. Can we solve this problem? I don't know. If we drink less of the processed stuff, the less waste will come from less process, and the water will get better? Maybe.
6. Watch less TV in favor of more reading and endless games of UNO and Scrabble (both need to be followed by those little trade mark symbols, which I don't have the ability to add in this program). We may end up finding that we sway our lives more so than THEY sway our lives if we watch a little less of the boob tube. Just saying.
7. Write in the dark. If only I had a camera, then I could show you.
8. Play in the snow. It's silly, but I hear it is good exercise. It helps reduce fat. Again, if only I had a camera, then I could show you. And then perhaps not.

Those are some ideas. They're not the best. They're not the cheapest. Some didn't turn out as funny as I had hoped. But let's understand this (still my blog!): the decisions that you and I make in turn drive the decisions made by governments and corporates alike. If nothing else, there's more of us than them. We can just kick the crap out of them.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative or senator today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits. If that doesn't work, then throw a shoe.