Blog Action Day – Go make a difference!
As part of blog action day I promised I’d write about climate change. Except I’m not. Kinda. I’m going to write about how I even started to care about the environment and why I’ve decided to devote a fair amount of my personal life to climate change and environmental issues.
I wasn’t always this way. I didn’t always care. I used to make fun of my sister who wanted to be a park ranger. “That’s lame” I’d snipe, “No one cares about the environment”. I never recycled, never reduced and took the world’s longest showers.
I was studying pre-veterinary science in university when one of my professors begam discussing one of her conservation biology projects. She had been working on reviving Golden Lion Tamarins in South America and to me, it was just one of the most interesting things she could have done. After class I peppered her with questions and she directed me toward the Geography department and Dr. Parker for a conservation class that I could use to fulfill my GEN-ED requirements.
My first though? Geography? Conservation? I don’t want to learn about maps…psh.
The more time I spent in class, the more I learned how climate change was affecting all of us. How food shortages and climate patterns hit those with the least the hardest. How our environmental systems are all connected and can be thrown of kitler. Before long, I was actually starting to care. I realized that how we treat this planet is a sign of how we treat and care for each other, for our neighbors.
After falling headfirst into my environmental policy program I headed off to Arizona as a campus organizer to work on (against?) climate change. I recruited students from across the political spectrum fighting to limit carbon emissions from cars in Arizona. They (and I) worked tirelessly to gather petition signatures, speak to the local community and wait hours for their chance to give their public comment. Those students continue to fill me with drive and passion each day, I worked to make a difference and I encourage you to join me.
The next time someone asks you to volunteer, or sign a petition (that you support) – just say yes. I promise you, it DOES make a difference!
