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I've spent the past week watching films about the oil crisis, and several months reading every book I can get my hands on.
I am having a really hard time with how ignorant I have been these past years about this impending crisis, and now that I'm reaching a more in depth level of awareness about the crisis we are in as a planet I'm incredibly lonely. I see how far away most American's are from understanding how dire the economic and natural resource situation really is, and when I talk to friends and family they seem to want to change the subject fairly quickly or they laugh off my questions and concerns.
I never considered myself an "activist" or "environmentalist" because that job is for hippies...afterall, I watch sex in the city, love Dolce and Gabanna and get my hair highlighted!
But I'm finding I have less and less tolerance for sitting myself on the red ultra-suede couch to relax and enjoy the latest People Magazine and cell phone gossip about whomever or shop for the next barely used dress I might wear to that next cocktail party I hope to get invited to. I'm lonely! I want my collective comunity to wake up and smell the exhaust fumes! Our conciousness needs to shift and get real about what needs to take priority! Now!
I think most of us are under the assumption that "someone else" is going to fix this...someone with the power to do so, but if you are reading this than join me and start really asking yourself "what if that someone does not exist?" more importantly...who IS this person?
What if the crisis continues to get worse (and it will) and you are so far behind comprehending how long it's gone on that you sit dumbfounded when the reality actually hits you between the eyes. What will it take?
Will it take a trip to the supermarket only to find that there is less and less to choose from for fresh food on the shelves?
Will it take pulling up to the gas station only to realize that you can no longer afford to fill your tank?
Will it take a gas bill big enough for your weekly commute to realize that you can no longer even afford to get to work to get the paycheck because your paycheck will no longer cover your expenses?
Will it take leaving your job in search of a better one to realize that no one is hiring because it's too expensive to do business?
Gas and oil and it's products are currently what make the world go around...they don't just allow you or I the freedom of getting where we need to go and the convenience of any whim at our fingertips, but they are exactly what enable every manufacturer, shipper, designer, retailer, grocer, etc. to stay in business...it's the fuel that keeps everything in motion. It's WHY you and I sit idly and watch Access Hollywood and E!; and can only seem to occupy our collective thinking by what we want to go BUY next! It is what the economy and all of our vices are built on.
I personally think that the only cocktail party people should really be attending is Green Drinks www.greendrinks.org, and If you can't attend bring a discussion to your next summer soiree and while sipping on a cold glass of pino ask a pointed question or two to Muffy and Conrad about what really matters to them...
Lilly Pullitzer's next collection or the steady decline of life on the planet?
It's a simple choice, and a great conversation starter really...except no one is talking (like the twilight zone)
So here is a link to Green Drinks:
www.greendrinks.org to get involved and be part of the solution. It's likely that there is one in your area and if there isn't - call the organization and start one!
The title of Gores Movie "inconvenient truth" was in fact so appropriate, because no one really wants to look at the real issues or understand the root of them. I found my range of emotions while watching two films in particular A Crude Awakening and The 11th Hour to range from horriefied, dismayed, deperate, and scared shitless to hopeful, inspired, empowered, and entralled.
I found these two films to be the most informative and the most compelling around at least giving me a perspective from which to start making some of my own personal evaluations about the crisis so I place the links hoping to pass along a place to begin if you are interested:
http://wip.warnerbros.com/11thhour/
It's hard to make informed decisions
