We watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home the other day - you know, the funny, spock-directed one where they save the humpback whales. It was like a window into the 80s.
What struck me was how gentle and earnest environmentalism used to be... like, "here's a nice cause - let's think about saving whales!"
These days, it's more like, "oh, my Gd, we're all going to die! SOON!"
I dunno which is more likely to be effective. I mean, I understand that scientists have new information, and I know we all have to cut back on our consumption of the planet rather drastically, but... I suspect people may be either petrified into inaction or feel the task is too great for them alone.
My guiding principle comes from Pirkei Avos: "Lo alecha hadavar ligmor, aval lo (ayn?) ata ben chorin l'vatel mimena" ("It's not upon you to complete the task, but neither are you free to desist from it.")
That said, here's a video that gives a lot of food for thought about our society's "STUFF addiction" and, at the end, some gentle inspiration:
Warning: it's 20 minutes long... great for grabbing the kids and sitting them down, especially if they think reusing stuff isn't cool like certain of MY children.
I woke up thinking about ways to save water that wouldn't be too gross, like showering with a basin and saving the water for the garden. That garden really does drink up tons of water. I hope I will have more energy this summer so I can water the front-yard perennials at their base instead of sprinkling the leaves. Maybe Naomi Rivka can help me...
Wish I could afford a rain barrel - would be nice if the city had a subsidy program for them.
Breakfast time now while the baby sleeps! Woke up all achey and fevery again, but pills are kicking in. NEED to get more than 3 hours' sleep in a row to start getting better... I can't even blame it on Gavriel Zev anymore. :-(
<3 J
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