Global Warming

Feeling the crunch lately? Cost of gas, food, airfare, and nearly everything else getting you down? Well what if your energy costs reached $141 billion a year? What if you're water costs reached upwards of $950 billion a year?

After an unnecessarily long legal battle, the NRDC, Greenpeace, and the Center for Biological Diversity finally won some protection for the polar bear. Now listed as a federally "threatened" species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the new classification forces the current administration to recognize the negative impacts of global warming.

I feel as if I have grown up with Global Warming like it was a sibling of mine. It was always an issue in my household. My mother used to write for an environmental newsletter and my dad is a scientist with an expertise in the issue, so climate change was perpetually discussed. In fact, they talked about it so much that when I was young I thought it was something good. I did not really understand its detrimental consequences until later in life. Because it was always coming up, the term lost its meaning. I did not care about the issue and when people asked me if I would become an environmentalist like my father I would look at them like they were crazy, “Me, an environmentalist?!”

Earth Day is tomorrow April 22nd, and though the holiday doesn't grant a day off of work, school or the closing of government offices, it is a day to spend at least a little time thinking about the environment.

For those looking for an easy way to give back to the environment..and get a little something in return, you should check out a new CD just released by our friends at Green Owl Records. You'll get unreleased tracks from such artists as Feist, Deerhoof, Muse, and Bloc Party and the Energy Action Coalition will get 100% of the profits. Find the Green Owl Comp at your local Whole Foods, or check your local record store, itunes, amazon....

It used to be that in order to get your opinion heard you had to muster up the nerve to shout from a soapbox on your nearest corner. We're lucky that today anyone with a blog or a webcam can shout their message to the masses, whether it's a sincere political conviction or just your personal support of Britney Spears.

On the day when everyone collectively celebrates the Irish and all things green, perhaps it's also the time to think about giving back a little green to good old mother earth. Check out our Donation Page and think about buying a pint for the planet. Just a little green to keep her green.

While most political news lately has been a wash of scandal, political backstabbing, and campaign, campaign, campaign (repeat until the page is full), a still pressing and important issue is seeing decidedly less attention. Pending Climate Legislation holds the possibility of being a real first step for change, or yet another misstep in the current government's reaction (or inaction) in the fight to curb the effects of global warming.