Growing up, my beautiful island home lay in the path of Caribbean hurricanes that were so predictable that a popular jingle served as an accurate forecast throughout my childhood.
June too soon
July stand by,
August come it must
September remember
October, all over.
Alas! This is no longer the case. These days, it seems as if storms are developing much sooner and at unpredictable rates and we can now expect hurricanes as early as June and as late as October or November.
The southwestern United States where I now live is another indescribably beautiful place where the landscape, in every direction seems created for the pages of glossy nature magazines. Disaster recovery businesses move to our city because we are among the areas least prone to suffer natural disasters. Such tranquility and beauty should remain a treasure for successive generations to enjoy into eternity.
But the predictions are that this delightful region is destined, within a few generations, to become an inhabitable wasteland, abandoned for lack of water. See articles the
Nature Conservancy:
While the permafrost melts and seas rise in some parts of planet earth, in others, rivers become dry gulches and plant and animal life get increasingly threatened by lack of water.
It may be difficult to believe, but many people are still not aware of climate changes and threats to our planet. Others dispute that there are changes and still others strongly disagree about the reasons for the changes despite persuasive arguments from credible spokespersons like
Al Gore; What there is no denying is that planet earth is changing in dramatic and observable ways that threaten the existence of life as we know it.
I am delighted that I live in a city where efforts have been made at the highest levels of leadership to take the initiative to build awareness and encourage responsible actions to stop or reverse climate change. Our mayor established a
renewable energy financing district:and promoted a
green city.:
"We have a deep-rooted responsibility as a community to make
the best possible choices in determining the legacy that will be
shared with Albuquerque's future generations."
- Mayor Martin J. Chávez
The message encourages green living from A to Z; from art in the city to the zoological park; to conserve energy by riding bikes and leaving cars at home to take the bus or the new Rail
Runner Express commuter train. City residents are encouraged to take advantage of incentives to make existing homes more energy efficient with low-flow toilets, updated energy-saving light fixtures appliances, HVAC systems, low maintenance, water saving natural and xeriscape gardens. Builders of new homes get well publicized recognition LEED certification for green, healthy, energy-efficient architectural and design features.
Whatever the reason(s) for climate change, efforts at clean living, preservation and conservation of non-renewable resources still make for good stewardship of the wonderful Earth home. If we are consistent, chances are we will pull ourselves back from the brink and our planet will not self destruct rendering future generations homeless.
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