Thursday 19 January 2017

The clock is ticking.....

Tick tock tick tock- goes the clock. I don't know if you notice or experience it as I do, but somehow the days seem to dissolve into nothingness at a speed of knots that is making me nervous.

I seem to be ticking off my days on the calendar faster than I have ever done. I wake up Monday morning and before I can complete my set tasks it is Friday afternoon.

And it isn't just me. All around me I hear the same comments.

Is that a real reflection of what is ging on? Is the world spinning faster, are our days losing time? Hardly seems possible. Yet, for some things, time is running out. For certain species animals in our wonderful and colourful world of nature- things aren't looking too cheerful. Ice caps and glaciers are losing ground ( or in their instance - ice). Flocks of birds are shifting their breeding grounds, tree types are threatened as are habitats and small indigenous peoples are being forced into unfriendly and alien territories.

I recently saw this posting of The Free World Charter and it instantly reminded me of a book I used to read to my children and later my students at school. My grandchildren have also got a copy of this book- which I feel ought to be in all homes and lessons taken from it put into practice.

And the book is called: The LORAX by Dr Seuss. Dr Seuss wasn't so silly after all when he wrote this book which was published in 1971. I guess people didn't take it seriously because it was ' a children's book!' What may also have played a role was that the damage brought to light in the book- wasn't as evident then as it is now. The thought- we have TIME to fix this, also played  apart I feel.

BUT people, the rate things are going - TIME isn't our friend anymore as far as this subject is concerned. We NEED to wake up- NOW!! And YES, YOU CAN make a difference. All little bits help.

Maybe I am speaking to the converted and my readers already recycle, grow their own vegetables, ride bikes when possible instead of taking cars. Maybe you do already contribute by having solar panels and eat meat only once a week- or not at all. So, well done for that. And thank you. BUT there is MORE.

We need to not preach - but encourage others to join us.

Invite acquaintances over for dinner and cook and serve fresh produce- so they can taste the difference.

Do stop and pick up that discarded tin can, food wrapper, Mc-ers meal box, which hasn't landed in the rubbish bin where it belonged - but missed the  mark. Help it find it's way there.

Sort your refuse- plastic, metals, paper, food scraps and 'ordinary' waste.

Avoid the 'cheap clothing' stores. Better to have a 'environmentally and employment friendly fabricated clothing article which lasts then 6 cheaper unfriendly versions.

Educate your (grand) children - especially by example. If you pick up the chippie wrapper and bin it while at the park or on a walk, and they see you do this, they will learn some valuable lessons like:

1. Keep our parks, paths, cities clean- it starts with you
2. Don't litter.
3. Every effort no matter how small- helps.

As far as  projects that are about saving the whale, or whatever- support the initiatives, give credit where credit is due and select appropriate materials when purchasing home products.

Small things but they all help fill the bucket.

Anyway, enough of my ranting and raving. It all came about the memory of reading Dr Seuss great book- The Lorax. If you haven't read it- time you did! Think it out to be more widely read and promoted.

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