PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 4, 2024
I am not a climate expert, but my memory is sharp and my eyes don’t lie. Weather has become different and too often, extreme. Though we are quick to judge big industry, it is a hot climatological bed that we continue to make for ourselves, myself included, for we are dependent upon, and support said industry in myriad ways. I am no longer a blind and naïve child who is ignorant of his role in climatic impact. Though smaller now, my carbon footprint is still formidable – I use electricity, consume goods, create garbage, bring it to the transfer station and burn gas delivering it there. So, I try to think hard before I get in my car for an unnecessary errand, or a long-distance trip taken alone. Make 2024 a thoughtful, purposeful, empathic and healing year for yourself, those whom you love, and the only world that so selflessly sustains our unique species. ~ Tony Everett, Otisfield