This post is part of a global online community called Blog Action Day. This year, we're speaking out about climate change. If you have a blog, check that site out and put up a post of your own to help spread the word.
In Canada, especially in the prairies, our connection to nature is very real and very felt. We experience some of the most dramatic annual weather changes in the world, with temperatures here ranging from over 30°C in the summer to lower than -40°C in the coldest months. We're attuned to our environment because we have to be.
What I found when I first moved here ten years ago was a community that was active and aware of environmental concerns. Our energy sources are among the cleanest in Canada, and Manitoba Hydro's new headquarters are being built using all the latest advances in energy efficiency. We have campaigns, programs and subsidies to help home owners lower their energy use. Manitobans seem to take a very conscientious approach to the environment, and that's one of many reasons I've felt privileged to call myself a Manitoban.
You can easily find the science and info behind climate change through google and many other sources, so I won't repeat them here. But I will say that it is clear to any rational observer that we've been exhausting our planet's resources at a frightening and ever-increasing rate over the past 100 years, and we are just starting to see the effects. How much longer can we go on without striking a balance before we've gone too far?
If everyone does a little bit, it adds up to a whole lot. So make sure you're diligent with your recycling, turn off the tele!, choose energy efficient options whenever you can, start or join a community composting group, and be a positive change in this world for the sake of those you're leaving it to, be they your children or others.
And while you're at it, check these guys out and show them some love too:
http://wildernesscommittee.org/
