Start Small

Once again Mr. Besilly provides some nonsilly advice. "I believe that sometimes we simply need permission to start small. I get trapped in thinking so big when I'm nurturing new ideas, that I lose sight of the best place to start."

I tend to think bigger with more ambiguity and have tried to surround myself with some detail people. My bias towards action has had me start projects without adequate preparation or research but I don't often feel trapped in the big thinking. However I know (now) that not everyone is an extroverted activist so I the 'start small' advice is valuable. Mr Besilly quotes Mark Twain to end his post so I will do the same.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

Taking small steps today!

The series over the next two weeks is going to focus on immedaite, relevant and concrete action that you can take to improve your environment; personal, local, national and global. The environment movement has done a good job of creating/describing/suggesting small steps that you can take that when joined with others has a great impact.

As an introduction, I would advise you that I am not a scientist and the big questions about ‘global warming’ and CO2 emmisions will not be part of the discussion. If you are so inclined, the following sites seem to offer a balanced overview.

Pew Climate
Global warming

I am basing my assertions on personal experience and from watching the world. My conclusion is that we are experiencing a period of climate change and that our actions, as a society, have an impact on the scale and scope of the changes. If you are looking for the ‘big’ solution, I am not sure you will find it. I try to be conscious of my personal impact but I believe that the latest round of global negotiations and resulting instruments (Kyoto Protocol) are so severly flawed as to actually have a negative effect on the environment. I applaud the initiative and flame the results. From a policy standpoint, the issue being addressed can not be solved using the chosen instuments and implimentation ( this was not unknown to signators and crafters) and could have a significant economic impact but a very limited environmental.

So where does that leave us. The same place where most issues end up, on the hearts and backs of individuals and small groups. Over the next 5 blogs, we will search for and discover some low-hanging fruit that we can turn into significant action.