Light one candle -- or one fluorescent bulb

[Originally posted 3/13/08]

by Mary Turck, 3/13/08 • Growing up, I heard my mother admonish us, time and time again, to light one candle rather than cursing the darkness. She meant that we ought to do something. Any effort to make the world better would accomplish more than giving up in despair.

Today, as we face climate change around the globe, air quality alerts at home in Minnesota, depletion of water resources, and all of the myriad environmental challenges, we need to remember those candles. We need to make changes in lifestyles, transportation, energy use and consumption in order to live more sustainably.

In today's TC Daily Planet, Brian Peterson explains one of the more complex approaches to change in Cap and trade: Why you should care, what you need to know.

Last week's Neighborhood Sustainability Conference at Augsburg offered voices of hope. MTN collected several voices from the conference at its Sustainability 08 page.

The Twin Cities have many programs, people and organizations working on issues of sustainability. One of the voices speaking about sustainability and hope in the Twin Cities is Jay Walljasper. His book, The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Placemaking, (reviewed here) tells stories of sustainable neighborhoods. He spoke at the conference last week – see and hear him here.

And then, if you want to light a symbolic candle, or a practical fluorescent light, take the Minnesota Energy Challenge, and join in being the change we all need to make together.