Speedlinking - the good and the bad

If you’re in Toronto this weekend, there are some cool things going on…

1) There is a Harry Potter exhibit going on at the Science Centre – not only this weekend.

2) Walking with Dinosaurs is on today and tomorrow – this looks cool!

It’s been super warm some days this week and I’ve been LOVING it! The kids are off from school today and I think the park is calling!

So, the bad… OIL. STILL. GUSHING.

Yup, the oil is still gushing, it’s horrible – just take a look at the photos from the Gulf (I could only make myself look until #4!) BP’s response has been absolutely pathetic, and at times, thanks to Tony Hayward, uninterested and absurd! It’s like watching a horrific and tragic train wreck in extreme slow motion.

We really, really, really need to put a lot more resources into finding alternate energy sources!

The Story of Stuff

Thanks to Andrea for sharing this website. I just looked at the full 20 minute video – it’s very well done. Please take the time to check it out and let’s all try to be responsible consumers!

Go look at the video!

About that pesky oil “spill”...

So. I find it completely outrageous and absurd that oil has been gushing into the Gulf for more than a month. If you haven’t seen the oil “gushing” into the ocean, here is a video – does it not make you mad that this has been allowed to happen for 30something days? (Here is BP’s live stream)

Now, by no stretch of the imagination am I a treehugger, for one – I do have a huge gas-guzzling minivan and I do love it. Admittedly I would love it a whole lot more if it ran on biodiesel, but I do what I can for now – I never idle the van, I commute by train when I can, I try never to use drive-thrus… I do the little things that I can. I do wish, however, that our economy was not so dependent on a limited natural resource whose extraction and processing causes such widespread ecological destruction.

Although I do not particularly like oil and gas companies, I don’t want to see all of them out of business – until the day we are all powered by corn oil, we kinda need them around – I find their lack of ethics and environmental concern to be irritating, to say the least. It’s not enough that these companies support football games and other youth activities, as their “community involvement”, whilst it is important, I would like to see community recycle centers, I would like to see wildlife reserves, I would like to see them give much much more money to the people, not the government or political campaigns. I want to see money that goes directly to schools, hospitals, parks, welfare, and other community-based services.

There are a lot of companies that I’ve stopped regularly shopping at, Walmart for example. And a lot of products that I avoid, bottled water and plastic bags for example. I realize that lack of my small purchases is not going to make a huge difference but if we all become responsible consumers, it will force these huge corporations to become more responsible as well. I don’t want them to be out of business, I don’t want any more people to lose their jobs, but I want corporations to rethink their policies and the way they operate, I want them to operate with ethics, justice, and compassion. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, if we don’t have a thriving, healthy community or a habitable environment, what would be the point of having all that money?

Think about it. Do what you can… stay informed, be responsible.

The people’s victory

Congratulations to the Prime Minister elect of Trinidad & Tobago! Props to the people of Trinidad & Tobago for a job very well done.

Random things

1) What is with the price of gas? I really thought I had it all figured out – goes up like Thursday and down on Tuesday… apparently not. Also, it goes up if our dollar (CAN) goes higher than US.. um, why? Seriously, the price of gas baffles my mind!

2) I am giving a WordPress workshop at BlogHer ’10 in NYC this August, so if you’re going to be there and want to meet up, let me know!

3) It’s 28 degrees today! Yay!!! I’ve been waiting a long time for warmth. Apparently it’ll be gone by the weekend though… :(

4) I want more cheesecake. Like, for reals… pineapple upside-down… it was unbelievably good!

5) So, now that the house is done, and I am not throwing out van-loads of crap, I kinda miss the dump! Hahah. Yeah, really, I do. I think any environmentalist, or pseudo-environmentalists would LOVE it. My 4 year old said “mommy, this boy in my class does not recycle!! Can you believe it?!” It was great.. I love that my kids are conscious about the environment. Now if only I didn’t kill my plants!

Happy Thursday people!