Reality Check

So I think that I've always been pretty green, I re-use my water bottle at the gym, I bring my own bags to the grocers and we do recycle EVERYTHING. I'm also one of those people who believes if it works, like my cell phone or my TV, why toss it? Sure I'd love to have a iPhone or a jazzy LCD (and it would save so much room) but why fill the landfills? But then I took a quiz on NDRC's Simple Steps website (http://www.simplesteps.org) and I'm addicted to oil! We all are!

The Exxon spill that happened in Alaska, I was a senior in high school, and yes I was upset, but I still kept cruising to the beach with my friends. Unfortunately, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. I see what's happening now in the Gulf of Mexico and I weep every time I see another image on the TV screen. The reality is we really don't know the damage yet, and things won't ever be back to normal. How could this have happened? We can sit and blame and blame and blame but it's not going to solve the problem of our addiction to oil. I remember my dad once telling me, "Chris, you can't be guilty for being a human." And I replied, "Maybe so, but I'm guilty of being an American." And you know, the Celtics lost the NBA Finals last night. All of Boston was super gloomy because of it and I'm thinking, "Really? This is the first thing on your mind?"

What can I do? I'm just me, painting kitties and puppies and listening to my music and trying to enjoy myself while I'm here. What can I do? I feel so small. What can I do? I took public transportation to work today. What can I do? I shut my computer off when I leave work and cut the light switches off that everyone leaves on. What can I do? *sigh*

I bought some Tshirts from Threadless (http://www.threadless.com) before and then saw this one:

so I had to get it. Anything to support the big ass clean up that we should all be involved in. Then I read about this woman who is running a blog of sketches to raise money for the clean up. The art work is only $10 a piece and all proceeds go to the clean up. I'm thinking of doing something similar. I know I have pictures of pelicans somewhere from my visits to South Carolina..... Anyway if you want to visit her site and donate go here: http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com . I've contacted Kelly myself and asked how my own art can be helpful. (And have donated to the cause directly).

And here's a beautiful before and after shot of a pelican. If you've ever dealt with a wild critter, you can only imagine how hard it must have been to clean this bird!

So then I read something that @charmfx had wrote on Twitter and it really hit home with me. It was: "When disaster strikes, when times are uncooperative, those are opportunities for creativity to remind all of us who we are."

Dutchess

8x10" watercolor

Dutchess' owner won my gift certificate that I had donated for the Gifford Cat Shelter. She loves her kitty so much, that she put the gc for a 5x7" painting towards a larger 8x10" painting. What a pretty kitty :)

As Obama said, "The time for change is now!" Please please please, when you leave the room, shut the lights off. When you ask for another drink at the bar, tell your server you'd be fine with using the same glass. My fear is that the oil drilling will become more dangerous, more expensive and make us behind the times with the rest of the world. If we don't change our ways, then we all suffer.

Now, shut the computer off and go for a bike ride. It's beautiful out.