I have been reading Discover magazine’s Top 100 Science Stories of 2006. “Alternative Energy” made it to number one. Momentum is building and maybe, just maybe, change for the better will happen in time.
Just after An Inconvenient Truth was released last May, Justin and I attended a presentation by Al Gore at Town Hall. He was inspiring, almost like a good preacher, and I left the theater feeling empowered and motivated.
And then… nothing happened. I didn’t replace our lightbulbs with energy efficient ones. I didn’t bring a garment bag to the dry cleaners. I didn’t write a letter to Congress. I didn’t change one thing. I visited Gore’s website for the first time today. I didn’t even see the movie!
Isn’t that usually the case? Lately a few things have made me sit up and take notice and vow to make this world a better place. I get discouraged easily though, and the cynical (though realistic?) thoughts creep in that one person’s actions don’t make any difference. The scale of necessary change requires shifts in the government. It all seems so big. And just like that I’m on to something else.
So according to Discover, we’ll be seeing many more wind turbines in the near future, no thanks to me.
Justin took this photograph on our trip to West Virginia in October.
