I know - raised eyebrows. After-all, I make no bones about the fact that I am conservative and so that must make me a dirty capitalist who wants to burn Mother Earth, right? Wrong.
I believe that we should drill early and often to develop new oil fields for domestic production. At the same time, I believe that we should do whatever we can, in the private sector, to develop new energy sources that are renewable and have less impact on the environment. Why then, should we drill? Because destroying our economy in order to punish energy use will not build the new technologies we need. Because it will take 30 - 50 years to develop the right combination of new energy and delivery systems to make those new sources (Not corn ethanol) viable and available.
I believe that we should all try to be more mindful of our own impacts on the planet. For me, that means recycling and compost gardening. I am learning more all the time about compost and organic gardening. I think growing a garden and sharing the surplus with others as you can is a great way to feel closer to the Earth. I think getting your hands dirty is great stress relief.
I believe we, as consumers, can impact companies and whether or not they use renewable methods for packaging, manufacturing and materials with our purchasing power. We don't need the government to tell us what kind of products we can buy - like light-bulbs or toilet paper. Less government means more variety of responses to helping the planet.
I believe that the enviro-nuts who keep extolling us to live in caves and "save the planet" are way too impressed with their minute impact on Mother Earth. The earth is magnificent. It has been here for billions of years without us and will continue to be here for billions of years until the sun burns out. Earth needs our respect and care; it doesn't need our meager efforts to "save" her. We try all this "regulation" at the federal level and UN level to cut carbon dioxide (want to cut CO2? Stop exhaling) and the volcano in Iceland spewed more CO2 out in one week than mankind has in decades. Earth doesn't care about our efforts - she is more powerful than we ever thought to be.
So, Happy Earth Day; be kind to the Earth; learn more about our wonderful planet; plant a tree. Be smart.
