What is up with people and “Clean Air Day”? Another feeble attempt to clear their conscience of their despicable lifestyles. Lets make it a “Clean Air Lifestyle“ incorporating daily alternatives and real (not virtual) healthy living. Everyone who owns more than one vehicle per family put up your hands. There is absolutely no well founded reason for a family to require 2 vehicles. If a reason is mulling around in your head just apply the word “choice” as an antithesis to your train of thought. Together a difference can be accomplished, however to make a change what we choose is the key factor in truly affecting change. Awareness is not Action We live in a small town (lets disregard the bloated egos of our City Counsel declaring Kimberley a city, all 7000 of us including the deer!) where in far to many instances it is not necessary to drive a vehicle to get around. Far to often I observe people driving all of one or two blocks to go to the store, run an errand or visit a friend. Get off your fat asses and bike, walk, run or what have you, just don’t jump in the car and drive. We have become a society of whimpy, snivelling and whiny characters that are afraid of the great outdoors, soon we may have good reason to be afraid of the great outdoors when our gluttony will have changed it into a harsh wasteland.
A typical refinery that produces the gas for our vehicle, plus the hundreds of secondary chemicals for so many items we use each and every day
A typical stack found at one of the thousands of manufacturing facilities producing commodities for our everyday lives.
Who needs clouds when you can live under a veil of smog created mostly by cars!
We have a choice. Which one will you take?
Turn A New Leaf Inc. 
June 6, 2008 at 6:24 pm06
simmer down now crazy! i agree with you that awareness is NOT action, but you gotta’ start somewhere with the rednecks right? if they don’t even care then what’s the point. choice vs commodity is where we all turn our heads…and I come from the place where most of your commodities are manufactured so I know exactly what that environment creates…gotta’ look at the bigger picture and not get frustrated and disillusioned…this great Earth will not perish because of us…she will get rid of us first.
Now, go and eat some ice cream and SIMMER DOWN!
June 6, 2008 at 6:24 pm06
Don’t include me in with the “we”. Define “the bigger picture” Fabs. Most of the commodities we personally choose do not come from where you assume they originate from, this is my choice. Do not misinterpret the truth as frustration and disillusion. Lets not be selective at what is reality and what we wish to see and hear. Remember ….We do not inherit this land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
June 7, 2008 at 6:24 am06
here we go:
1. the “we” part, was talking metaphorically as I am well aware of your choices (I like to always talk in plural, not necessarily including you personally).
2. your car, your tv, your DVD, your garbage bags, your cardboard coffee cream containers…I group all of these as commodities…obviously I am not talking about your hemp clothing, your bike riding, your organic gardening.
3. I believe the truth is pretty blatantly there. What I don’t wish to see is you getting all apocaliptic on me (or anybody else) and loose faith in “Mother Earth”. Loose faith in humanity for all I care I’ve never had any. But I do believe that this planet is much more intelligent than to allow a bunch of idiots (such as “humans”…not Henry or Fabiola personally) to bring her down. If it’s not the Earth, maybe another mindful, more evolved race somewhere else in this galaxy will be so kind as to carefully erase us from the picture.
3. Not to say that I am waiting for someone to rescue us and I am with you on acting and not just “sitting back and enjoying the ride”, but I am as well a firm believer in the power of your thoughts and your words and somehow ranting and gallivanting dont bring the necessary positive influx of energy that we need to create change (on top of stoping to use our cars and whatever…). This I call the bigger picture.
4. Call me stupid if you like…you’re not the first one or will be the last one. Call me deluded (heard it before)…but I do not have a “preference” setting for what I like to hear and see. I see plenty…
5. Stop it.
6. I was actually getting concerned over you busting a blood vessel thinking about the pseudohippies and thought should write you to simmer down. Hope didnt make it worse 🙂
7. Ooooopppssss
June 7, 2008 at 6:24 pm06
Seems like I’ve touched a nerve with you Fabs. (Is it your conscience or the part about the”fat asses :)) By the way our vehicle, TV, DVD, and many other items are 3rd hand, 4rd hand and in many cases salvaged items. As for garbage bags and cream containers the ones we use are made in Canada. This discourse has wondered off into other topics such as “Mother Earth” and ranting. Don’t associate emotions with what has been presented within the original article, I would never put my personal health at risk because of humanities stupidity. As for Mother Earth or Gaia, as I prefer to name this mystery, humanity has the inability to comprehend the true nature of this complex entity if we can consider this. Let us look within ourselves for once instead of having false hopes or faith in a “more evolved race somewhere in the galaxy”. When will we ever endeavor to be more evolved? In my short life here on this earth so far I’ve seen many things go from bad to worse. When you were but a mere child I was already involved in attempting to create changes towards more harmony and caring. Overwhelmingly though I have observed destruction and innihilation. Streams I used to swim in now devoid of fish and other life, most of Alberta’s groundwater not fit to drink due to the extensive oil exploration, local species of wildlife extinct and the list can go on. You can maintain your complacency and I will continue to step forward, you need not be concerned for my well-being, I have mustered well so far.
June 16, 2008 at 6:24 am06
Out of curiosity, what is a well founded reason not to have 2 vehicles?
June 16, 2008 at 6:24 am06
And what is that bizarre red square by my comment all about??
June 17, 2008 at 6:24 am06
Keri don’t the three images show enough reasons? or would you like more? The red square is an automatically generated icon created by this blog server, everyone that enters a comment gets one, if you are registered with WordPress you can create your own.
June 17, 2008 at 6:24 am06
The images show me that having a car period is bad news. Granted, there are situations where owning 2 vehicles makes little or no sense, but you can’t discount the fact that there ARE situations where 2 vehicles are more than a luxury, they’re a necessity.
June 17, 2008 at 6:24 am06
I do discount the fact that there are situations where 2 vehicles may be necessary, first because this is not a fact and secondly it comes down to the choices we make and the lifestyle we choose. Humanity has survived without vehicles being a necessity for thousands of years. In general it has been within the last century that society has strayed from basic necessity to gluttonous greed. Tell me what the underlying reason or situation is why 2 vehicles are or may be a necessity? and I can show that it is totally by choice. We have the ability to make choices that can affect a change for a cleaner future, it is up to each one of use to reflect on how we can make a difference. Just talking or thinking about the problems does not change them. Giving ourselves reasons or excuses just enhances and perpetuates the situation we find ourselves in. We must go beyond trying and actually do something.
June 20, 2008 at 6:24 pm06
Ok, you’re right. It is a CHOICE to own 2 vehicles…just as it is a choice to own 1 vehicle. I guess I don’t understand why you’d choose to write about the gluttonous greed of owning 2 vehicles, versus the greed of owning 1. I assumed (maybe wrongly) that you were suggesting 2 vehicles is ‘worse’ than 1.
Because we have the privilege of living in a developed country, I find it hard to imagine life without vehicles. We can argue that many developing populations don’t own vehicles and they get along fine…but they also don’t live here do they? How plausible is it for most rural folk to go about their lives without a vehicle? Sure it can be done, but it is inconvenient at best.
Also, I hardly believe that owning a vehicle is demonstrative of a gluttonous lifestyle. If vehicles were run emission free (or maybe emitting oxygen?) with a renewable resource, would you be claiming the same thing? Maybe the problem doesn’t lie in vehicles at all…
June 22, 2008 at 6:24 am06
Why are you assuming that the implication of gluttonous greed applies strictly to owning 2 vehicles? It infers to a generalization where our society has gone overall. Has my statement hit a personal nerve with you? You definitely show the need to justify your point of owning two vehicles. In your mind it must be wrong to be concerned about the quality of our air, which my original post was about. Again as with previous comments this discourse has strayed. By the way, I grew up in a rural setting, 2 hours from the nearest city, 10 miles from the closest town and 3 miles from the nearest neighbor, we owned one vehicle for transportation and a truck for farm use only. All vehicle use was planned and driving was maintained to a minimum (and this was during a time when gas was cheap. 25 cents per gallon back then.) This can also be possible nowadays by using common sense, which sure isn’t common anymore. There are alternatives however they are rarely taken. You have your point of view and lifestyle and can live it to fruition and I have mine, our personal choices and lifestyles differ greatly that is why we call it a free country.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I stress to much and should get another vehicle, one for myself and one for Tracey. That way we won’t have to plan our outings and she can drive to her shop and I can drive to mine. Maybe a Hummer cause they look cool and people will notice and think I’m made of money and they ride kind of high so I won’t have to breath in everyone else’s smog.
I have to visit my neighbor tonight, 2 houses down, but I’m a bit tired. I think I’ll just jump in the car and drive….yeh I will!!!!…. that way Tracey can take the other vehicle and drive up later when she is free. With 2 vehicles we could both drive to Cranbrook and run errands separately without the stress of planning things together all the time. They say there might be a gas shortage and some thing called global warming. Who cares if the oil runs out cause our trusty scientists can figure out some alternative. (Funny they didn’t do that the last time there was a problem with oil prices in the seventies) Who cares about our kids and their health, they will have to fend for themselves just as we do. Maybe we should start logging the trees in the parks cause they are nice and big and are not doing any good there besides getting old and rotting, that goes for all the minerals and undiscovered oil there too, might as well use that too. Why should we worry about polluting our rivers and waterways cause the scientists can figure out something to clean them as they spill towards the ocean. For that matter the other day I scrubbed and fussed over a stain with vinegar and lemon juice, I shouldn’t stress like that and use some of those cool harsh chemicals they have to remove those stains and why worry about getting sick from that cause the scientists have drugs that can fix most any ailments you get nowadays caused by all the effluent in a typical household. They say there might be side effects by taking these drugs but they have other drugs to cure that too. Global Warming is probably a hoax put out by the politicians and scientists so they can do the Bill Clinton thing or whatever else they are up to for that matter. as for Global Warming it is probably good cause they’ll be able to grow grain and rice up north to feed the world.
June 22, 2008 at 6:24 am06
P.S.
I have to go cause the weeds are going crazy in the yard and garden. Some trusty Round-Up should fix that, if not I’ll use a tiger torch and burn the dandelions to death the way they used to do it in the “Good Old Days”.