Step it Up 2007

Saturday, April 14th is National Climate Action Day. The organizers of the day are asking states, cities and neighborhoods to gather and let congress know we need to change – cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050. Gee, that seems a long way off! There will be an event in Frick Park on Saturday – Steel Mills to Wind Mills. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it but I will make sure I walk or ride my bike as much as possible as I do everyday.

I’ve been spending a lot of time these days assessing how I can make changes in my life to aid in the contribution of ending Global Warming. It’s more complicated than I’ve ever imagined. Lots of things need to change for me and having a car is a necessity because of Tazza D’Oro. But I also believe the little steps are important – recycling, joining a CSA (community supported agriculture), buying paper products that are not made from trees but from recycled paper, purchasing a car with great gas mileage, changing our light bulbs over to energy efficient bulbs, walking and cycling, composting…

In the last week I met 2 new customers – one from Martha’s Vineyard, MA and the other from Tacoma, Washington. Both had an interesting perspective while in Pittsburgh. They both thought it would be easy to lose sight of our impact on the environment when living in a city like Pittsburgh. Huh? I said, so how do you keep the perspective – easy, when you see the glaciers melting on Mt Rainier or live on the ocean… and they have both adjusted their lives in major ways.

Pittsburgh is a beautiful city and leading the charge on greening. We may not have the majestic beauty of Mother Nature in our sight but as a community I am hopeful we will help each other keep the perspective.