2006/July 23rd

July 23rd,
yesterday it
was 112 degrees,
a record high.
In the evening
we watched
a show on
global warming,
as though we
needed to.
I didn’t learn
too much, but
a few things –
how the oceans
will rise just
from heating
up. I should
have thought
of that.
The polar bears
may die off.
They didn’t cover
a lot of things,
not much about
trash, how a
styrofoam cup or
baby’s diaper
won’t decompose
in the land
fill.
The methane
put off by cows,
the waste created
by a McDonald’s
hamburger.
The dangers,
in general,
of beef.
Still, it re-inspired
me to do better.
I had slipped.
Not just in my
electricity use
to keep cool,
I’m not giving
that up,
but in my
commitment
and consciousness.
Where it counts.
It’s the main
reason I became
a vegetarian,
because the Earth
can feed us all
if we are, but
not if we insist
on eating cows.
I’ve not slipped
there. I have no
urge.
Still, it’s hard
to live right.
And as I always
say,
“The simple life
isn’t.

7/23/06