It seems every day new studies appear, screaming their warning. These are from published accounts in just the last week: The Antarctic is warming, not cooling. North American trees and forests are dying off. The world faces a clean water "tipping point."

Here is a hard thought: Experts have estimated that for China and India to attain a standard of living comparable to the West, they will require the natural resources equivalent to six planet earths.

What can we do? Change. We can each simplify our life and our choices. Get educated on what our choices mean. Change our way of thinking. Sustainability -- not continual growth -- has to become the basis for our life and our economy.

The United Nations estimates one third of the world's population suffers from water shortages. By 2025, that number may rise to two out of every three people.

It takes 225 gallons of water to produce a single glass of orange juice. Two pounds of microchips require over 4,000 gallons to manufacture. A single hamburger can come in at 630 gallons.

Our present lifestyles are simply not sustainable given current resources, consumer habits and technology.

Locally, various watershed tasks forces -- including CA's Watershed Advisory Committee -- are developing plans to improve water quality. Plans for smarter growth with reduced environmental impact and even restoration of ecosystems are under consideration for Town Center. Fleets at state, county and local levels are converting to hybrid technology. However, these actions are only a small part of the solution. Everyone needs to contribute.

Read. Better yet, join a group of local residents sharing in the same concerns. Climate change and simplicity discussion circles are springing up all around us. If you want to get started, contact the Climate Change Initiative of Howard County at HoCoClimateChange@gmail.com or visit www.hococlimatechange.org.

Voting for change is easy. Now comes the hard part.

Michael Cornell

River Hill

Michael Cornell represents River Hill on the Columbia Association's board of directors.

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user comments (1)

user citizentaxpayerjane says...

After the big blue bin was delivered I'm finding that I have about 1 bag of trash per week, rather than 3-4. Even though it's ugly, it's tremendously useful.

Posted 9:51 AM, 02.07.09

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