We must first save our planet...

We must first save our planet. 

We will then be able to save ourselves...

When I read this quote I thought to myself, well, THAT MAKES SENSE!  Seriously, I'm 51 years old and can honestly say that I spent my younger years thinking that I would grow, my parents and siblings would age and time would go by and the world I lived in would stay the same.  

But it didn't occur to me until my daughters were born that this world, a planet that is getting more crowded every day, is not the same as when I was younger.  There are more landfills full of disposable diapers, plastic, styrofoam and many, many more piles of toxic trash.  There are more oil refineries and coal mines releasing fumes that choke our round ball of a home.  There are less and less rain forests and trees feeding our atmosphere with much needed oxygen.  Deserts are appearing where lakes once offered sustenance and rivers flowed freely.  These staples of our survival have become commodities that countries fight wars over, and that makes me fear for my childrens' future.

And so yes, we MUST save our planet if we want to save ourselves.  I should say, I MUST.  I must make it part of my day to waste less water, paper, electricity, gas, food and so on.  Do I really need to get on the highway and drive 75 miles an hour?  Or can I plan to leave my house a little earlier so that I can drive the speed limit?  Should I wear those jeans just once?  Or should I just wear them again so that my washer running all the time, wasting energy and water?  Will I turn off some lights when I'm home instead of every room lit up?  When I go grocery shopping, will I remember to grab the reusable bags I have under the kitchen desk?

These are some of the things I have to take the time to ponder if I want to hand over this planet to the next generation in the shape I found it in.

As my daughters grow and make their way in this world, it's really the most sensible thing I can do.  This piece I post today, in rich watercolor gouache and delicate copperplate is a visual reminder.

Thanks for looking.  Take care of yourselves.

Claire