My footprint

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about my own carbon emissions, resource consumption, and the inheritance I'm leaving for my child and future generations. I look into the lovely face of my boy and wonder about his future - will he have to fight for clean water, will he have enough resources to heat his home, and will he forgive us for our waste and disregard .

We waste fossil fuels to import plastic trinkets (made from fossil fuels) from China to North America. Have you noticed that kids play with a plastic toy a few times and then completely forget about it? They don't need to play with plastic junk, they need the time and freedom for creative play, to run, jump and explore the world around them. Spiderman action figures won't improve their lives, so why do we buy them?

I could, and likely will, go on and on about this subject, but my point today is that I'm leaving behind the political ranting, in favour of a discussion on sustainability from the perspective of a suburban family. This weekend we'll be watching the Human Footprint on the National Geographic channel (Sunday, April 13, 9 PM). In future posts I'll share the ways in which we have worked to reduce our ecological impact. We're far from perfect and have far to go, so please feel free to share your ideas.