Climate change: I don't get it

I don't get it. There is a massive ice island, four times the size of Manhattan (in other words, really really big) has broken off from Greenland's Petermann Glacier. Extreme drought in Russia, massive monsoon floods in Pakistan. To me, clear signs that the climate is changing, the planet warming. And meanwhile, climate change talks in Bonn moved the global discussion backwards from the extremely weak Copenhagen talks. Argh.

I don't get it.

The tragedy is that there are so many things we can do, at every level, to radically change the situation. And yet the world sits, and doesn't change its behaviour, and poor people and nations are going to suffer and wealthy nations and corporations are going to grasp and struggle over the few remaining drops of oil buried deep within the earth.

Lawn mania

We returned from a holiday yesterday. It seemed as though we were away for a long time, but in reality it was only about 10 days. The kids and I did a loop of cottage country - driving north east to a friends' cottage and then south west to a family camp.

Not much has changed here in the suburbs. The cars are in their driveways, and come and go, just like ours. The lawns are neatly kept, with various levels of neatness and beauty. No surprisingly, our lawn is, well, on the low level of beauty - in the eyes of the neighbours at least. I kind of like it, as there are many natural plants and flowers (some people call these natural plants weeds, but their perspective has been shaped by a distorted lawn ideology).

We were allowing the natural plants to grow unabated, and truly there were some monster dandelions. At the recent neighbourhood get together, we were kindly mocked for the disarray, so we made some efforts to improve the look. Compared to our neighbours'lawns, it is a weed forest... or a weed rebellion, quietly occurring here in the suburbs.

Hey hey, ho ho, lawn mania has got to go!

a good time

The neighbourhood get together was last night - four families (minus teenage children) from four houses all in a row. As we walked up Jeff said "we all have big houses" and he was correct - we do. Why is that? Why are sububurban homes so large, and getting larger?

The neighbourhood in which my school is located is newer, and wealthier, and the houses are bigger! It is a completely distorted world we live in, with people who have far too much and people with far far too little.

Anyway.... this is only the second time I have gotten together with my neighbours since moving in here 9 years ago. There are so many reasons for this.... but.... it is sort of weird. I have watched their children grow up through my window, they are all now off to college, and I wasn't clear on their first names. Ouch. I hope this is a start toward a new community, as my neighbours are nice, decent, interesting people.

An invitation

Yesterday, I was walking around the neighbourhood with the kids and saw not a soul - it is always pretty creepy when that happens. Every once in a while I think "oh no, everybody has been wiped out by a weird virus and we are the only ones left", some weird 28 Days Later scenario.

But then I saw my neighbour Paul, and we had a nice chat. Zombie fears were put to rest, for now.

Later that evening, the doorbell rang. Fulling expecting either someone selling something or asking for a donation, I was happy to see that it was my neighbour Joy (Paul's wife). She noted my look of trepidation, and I said that I was worried I was about to be solicited for money. She then invited us to a barbeque, with another family as well. !!! We are bringing a salad; as Joy said, "bring a salad, not money" - funny joke that took me a few minutes to figure out.

Summer arrives, the dog is dead

As a teacher, I find the end of the school year super busy and intense. The combination of report cards and extra events is challenging, but this year I am moving classrooms (again!), so I have packed and moved. In August I will set up.

Regardless, summer is here, and I am happy.

It is important to note, though, that the dog is indeed dead. She was old and her kidneys failed, and died in early June. Very sad, however, now that the sadness has faded, somewhat liberating. Pets are a great deal of work, and this particular pet was a lovely lovely dog for many many years but very challenging to care for in the final six months of her life.

Earth Day and all that...

Despite feeling frustrated yesterday, I am feeling a bit more optimistic. I am the chair of my school's Ecoschool committee, and we put together an amazing Earth Day assembly on Friday. Art, music, drama, chants, readings; very powerful messages communicated to 700 students. Also included a great video clip about water bottle use - really an excellent critique about manufactured demand which the students at my school desperately needed to hear!

Frustrated

Yes, I realize I haven't written in - oh - three and a half months. But, hey, since NOBODY reads this it is really not a problem. Ha! So there, completely invisible and non-existent audience! My thoughts are only relevant to myself.

So, what happened?

I have to admit, the earthquake in Haiti suspended my ability to comment. The deep poverty and lack of a real solution was extremely troubling, present in my mind, and I did, do, not know what to say.

On a different topic...

I tried to connect with my neighbours, and their kids, and my friends in my broader suburban community. I called everyone I know, and told them that I and J and C would be at a local school once a week, to play.

On week one, there were three participants: myself, J, and C.

On week two, there were four: myself, J, C, and the dog.

She counts, doesn't she?