My little thoughts on Planet Earth...

This weekend I had an amazing conversation with my youth about global warming. Now, I have to admit that we usually don't have conversations on that topic. Yet, when you walk 10 k together on a BEAUTIFUL fall morning, it comes into the picture. Especially since here in Ohio the temperature has been well into the 90's until the middle of last week. (Not that my flip flop loving feet are complaining at all!!).

Anyway, we had quite a conversation about it... also in part because of Al Gore winning the Nobel Prize for his work just last week. What I realized over the course of conversation is that kids today are a lot more aware of global environment issues than they ever have been before. They know about global warming, they have read and watched "An Inconvenient Truth" (which is a truly disturbing movie if you haven't seen it), they know all about conservation and recycling. The part that bothers me... is I am not sure it bothers THEM.

At the youth house we try to be good stewards. We use regular plates, cups, and silverware for our meals together and wash them by hand when we are done. We recycle our cans and plastic bottles. When we have to use paper plates, we use biodegradable ones that we put in the youth house compost pile. We rarely turn our pile, its true, but the animals around here do eat a lot from it, so that's not bad!! (Plus I have traumatic memories from childhood of turning the compost at Whip Poor Will on hot summer days. Gag, gag, gag.) We even scrape and compost paper plates during fundraisers and church wide meals that the youth help with.

I try to help them see the importance.

But I am not sure they do. I am not sure at all that it really matters to them, because I am not sure they see how it directly impacts them. That makes me sad... and it makes me worried.

We spend lots of time outside. We camp LOTS, we canoe, we hike. We don't have airconditioning in our youth house, so we save energy. We eat outside lots in the summer. Nature and the outdoors are important to me... and are becoming important to them....

But somehow they need to see beyond their sheltered views of the people doing the talking and decide to take action on their own. I know, I know... it is important to plant those seeds in them for the future... but if we don't get going soon... what will the future look like.

I worry. I need to find solutions.

There is hope... we just need to put it into action!