Amid all the hustle and bustle of my enormously busy life, I was told that yesterday was Blog Action Day. After initially pretending I knew all about it, I found out that every October 15th the world's bloggers unite to post about one particular topic in an effort to create awareness. Now, I'm all for being aware, and though I'm not the spitting image of an 'activist' of any sorts, I decided to sign up as well. Perhaps there were a few bribes of cash and kind involved in the process, but let's move along swiftly shall we?
So I clicked on the link on Pseudorandom's blog post, and registered my blog. Lo and behold, this year's topic is none other than one I am extremely enthusiastic about - climate change. I am so enthusiastic about this, that I actually have a tag on this blog for global warming, though I would strongly suggest you don't read it if you are in fact passionate about the subject and have a poor sense of humour.
Sure I might be a bit late, but since it's still October 15th somewhere on the planet, I thought I'd write up a small post about it. I doubt I was ever very environmentally conscious while I was growing up, but in a way that is our Sri Lankan culture isn't it? However when I went to India, I started dating an extremely passionate environmentalist (sorta) and pretty soon I couldn't throw a candy wrapper away in the privacy of my room without hearing her voice in my subconscious berating me for hurting mother earth.
Yet I am grateful for that, because while I have been quite un-enthusiastic about the environment, I have always believed in doing my bit. The country we live in has so many concerns, and one of the biggest ones is protecting our environment. Recycling and re-using literally get swept under the carpet for larger more political issues, and yet no developing nation can be accused of being negligent in this department. Climate change is happening, and just looking at the smog that settles over Colombo every morning when entering the city should be enough to make you ask yourself "Surely that can't be a good thing".
In Asia, I believe that most countries have a extremely low opinion on the environment, and this is reflected in their almost blatant ignorance of the basics behind recycling and conservation. My home is probably one of the few homes in the hill capital that uses solar panels instead of a geyser for hot water, and when we tell people of it they think we're just trying to be 'posh'.
I could go on and on (well not really, I'm kinda done) but instead I'll link to an interesting post I read recently which pretty much sums up what I'm talking about!
And last but not least, before you go out and change the world, I encourage you to listen to this first.
So I clicked on the link on Pseudorandom's blog post, and registered my blog. Lo and behold, this year's topic is none other than one I am extremely enthusiastic about - climate change. I am so enthusiastic about this, that I actually have a tag on this blog for global warming, though I would strongly suggest you don't read it if you are in fact passionate about the subject and have a poor sense of humour.
Sure I might be a bit late, but since it's still October 15th somewhere on the planet, I thought I'd write up a small post about it. I doubt I was ever very environmentally conscious while I was growing up, but in a way that is our Sri Lankan culture isn't it? However when I went to India, I started dating an extremely passionate environmentalist (sorta) and pretty soon I couldn't throw a candy wrapper away in the privacy of my room without hearing her voice in my subconscious berating me for hurting mother earth.
Yet I am grateful for that, because while I have been quite un-enthusiastic about the environment, I have always believed in doing my bit. The country we live in has so many concerns, and one of the biggest ones is protecting our environment. Recycling and re-using literally get swept under the carpet for larger more political issues, and yet no developing nation can be accused of being negligent in this department. Climate change is happening, and just looking at the smog that settles over Colombo every morning when entering the city should be enough to make you ask yourself "Surely that can't be a good thing".
In Asia, I believe that most countries have a extremely low opinion on the environment, and this is reflected in their almost blatant ignorance of the basics behind recycling and conservation. My home is probably one of the few homes in the hill capital that uses solar panels instead of a geyser for hot water, and when we tell people of it they think we're just trying to be 'posh'.
I could go on and on (well not really, I'm kinda done) but instead I'll link to an interesting post I read recently which pretty much sums up what I'm talking about!
And last but not least, before you go out and change the world, I encourage you to listen to this first.
7 comments:
Solar panels...yay! Tell me...was that your parents' idea, or did you convince them? I feel a lot of the 'older' generation dismiss our eco-friendly ideas with an aww-how-sweet-they-still-think-they-can-change-the-world look.
And awwwwwwww Captain Planet!!! It's quite embarrassing how much of that tune I actually sang along to just now :S
Nice one G. Let's talk bribes ;)
I'm having a bit of trouble reading the post... The font sort of blends in with the background colour
Got solar panels instead of a geyser at my home too =D
The only problem with that is during the monsoon season, the heavy cloud cover blocks the sun =S
just out of curiosity, i wonder if there's a way of measuring the impact of these blog action days etc. does anyone know?
PR - nope, i was just 6 when we built our house.. much too young to care about the environment.. and yes, that IS quite embarrassing, WHY would u admit something like that?? :P
T - thanks :) and yes indeed, i shall forward my list of demands shortly.. muhaha!
The Puppeteer - hope the contrast is ok now :) and true, the monsoons mean cold showers or electric heating.. vut to do..
pp - well i'm not sure, but i did receive an email from them.. click here to read their recap of the whole thing.. apparently they got some serious attention..
mm... bookmarked thoughts :))
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