Please give your attention to this

So I stopped into Starbucks today.  Yeah, I'm not big on them either, but they're the only game in town for a decent latte in my end of suburbia.  On the side of my cup, there was a bit of corporate bragging about how Starbucks is working to protect free trade and our environment.  Believe it or not, I really am I skeptic by nature, so I started to wonder how much of the cup's slogans were the truth and how much was corporate, whitewash PR.

Then I thought, "so what am I doing for the environment?"

Besides making sure I recycle whenever possible, eating more vegetarian meals, and checking that my house uses as little electricity as necessary, I've started to get a bit more active in the effort against global warming.

And I urge you to  go to this site for the Union of Concerned Scientists and sign their petition to force Congress to allow the EPA to do its job and cut greenhouse gas emissions.  It will take but a minute of your time and it costs nothing.  Unless of course you disagree and you like it hot.  I mean, really hot and then bitterly cold in the winter.  Or maybe you're in Arkansas, secretly waiting for the day when your state becomes beachfront property.  

Also, if you're an animal lover like me, please check out the Alaska Wilderness League.  The state of Alaska is one of the few remaining wilderness areas on Earth.  Sarah Palin and Big Oil don't care much for that.  The ecosystem there is a fragile miracle and every plant and animal serves its purpose within it and even affects our environment here in the lower 48.  All is interconnected in the end within this biotechnical integration system we call The Earth.  A destabilized environment leads to ecological disasters, strained resources, and poverty.  For you national security bigwigs, nothing grows terrorism like extreme poverty.

Finally, I don't know if you've noticed but this is an election year.  Those of us in Illinois are painfully aware of it, inundated with mass media messages that all begin with those same, damned deadly words: "the following is a paid political announcement."  I won't tell you who to vote for, but when you research your candidates, please consider what their stance on environmental issues is before you make your decision.

After all, it's not enough that we change our light bulbs.  We have to change our leaders.

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