Making a Difference

I wanted to have a page on my website where I could highlight some of the issues in the world today that are personally important to me. For a long time I've been concerned about the environment. We have a beautiful, endlessly fascinating planet, but I think we could be doing a lot more to take care of it. Careless pollution of our land, air and water is one big concern, but I'm also troubled by how human activity (primarily our energy production and consumption) has contributed to global warming and climate change, which most scientist believe has already started having a devastating effect on human habitation and life all over the planet.

I often feel frustrated, wondering what I can do to help. So here's a couple of things I've learned about that can help the environment. Maybe they're small things, but I'm hopeful that if more and more people take action on them, it might make a significant difference.

On your left, you'll see a short list. If you're interested, you can learn about Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (which use a fraction of the energy of regular light bulbs), and a Canadian company that sells green electricity -- only if you live in Ontario, Canada, unfortunately. But I'm hoping that if more and more people demand clean electricity, more companies will start supplying it around the world.

-- Kenneth Oppel