the ocean's on fire

I should be used to this state of environmental alarm that I fall into every so often. It has cropped up regularly ever since I watched the 1990 Earth Day Special starring Bette Midler as a downtrodden Mother Earth. I feel a big weight of the fucked-up state of our environment and the way many people, myself included, abuse it.

In a way I'm pleased that gas costs are increasing. I can hear Dave say, '...says the girl who rides the bus to work'. High prices encourage people to behave differently. I'm hopeful, and maybe naive, that ridiculous gas prices will force people to find alternative modes of transportation. Hopefully, carpooling, mass transit, biking, and walking will be taken up. "In many parts of the country, walking has become as quaint a pastime as spinning yarn or playing the bagpipes." That line from the New York Times Green issue made me laugh.

Any of those transportation alternatives give our degrading environment a break, decrease reliance on fuel, increase health, and promote interaction with the community. I'm sorry if soaring gas (and everything else) prices hit the working poor the hardest. And also sorry if mass transit greatly reduces people's quality of life. But we as a society are used to having pretty much everything we want. I think we can make some sacrifices.

Tonight at my friend's house I read an article from yesterday's newspaper. It essentially said the world is in a worse state than originally expected (?) and we are all going to hell sooner than we thought (in approximately 50 years! Pack those bags). The acidity of the Pacific is rising at alarming rates, sensitive marine ecosystems are failing, etc etc.

My biggest frustration is that people still view our resources-- food, water, energy-- as infinite and they consider the Earth THEIRS. I don't know how to solve the problem or how to just let it slide. I do feel better that my job as a planner entails addressing environmental change and finding viable solutions.

An interesting note regarding planning concepts: About 3/4 of my colleagues own their own home. The rest of us rent apartments. About 80% of them own single-family homes, and 20% own condos. Meanwhile, 'smart growth' advocates for high density housing to keep neighborhoods compact and lessen the need for cars. But even the senior planners, who hawk high density, love their homes, garages, and yards. It's completely understandable. Bar-B-Qs and driveways are nice.

On a cheerier note, I just made sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. I've been in a big cooking binge lately. You know, before the world's food supply runs out? JK.