Guest blog: Why I'm fighting to stop climate change

A guest blog from volunteer and blogger Karen Murphy. -- Luis

I’m a tree-hugger from way back. When I was a girl, my folks sent us to a wonderful new school (Upland Hills School and their Ecological Awareness Center) where we learned about things like solar power and wind energy . Power for the school came from a wind generator and solar panels. This was in the early ‘70s, long before regular folks like us ever thought about photovoltaic panels and wind turbines.

When I was 15, we went to a summer camp that was run by one of the oldest coops in the country, Circle Pines Center, and I worked there in the kitchen when I was in college. CPC’s mission is to “teach peace, social justice, environmental stewardship and cooperation.” The cooperative spirit, games, work projects and peaceful setting all came together to help me understand that we need to work together to effect change. I learned so much there and still feel a connection to the place and people of Circle Pines, and though it’s been many years since I’ve visited, I hope to send my kids to camp there when they’re old enough.

My kids are young but they’re already tree-huggers -- literally (they really do love to hug trees!). At ages 6 and 8, they already know how to recycle and turn off the faucet so they don’t waste water, and they have some understanding as to why we do these things. Together we grow food in our garden, hike along the river, swim in the lake, and lie in the grass and watch the clouds float by in the blue sky above. They know that we can’t do any of those things if we don’t do our part to help take care of the Earth.

They’re too young to get their head around the long term problems being caused by the pollution and neglect of Mother Earth, but they’re old enough to know right from wrong and they understand that we need clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, and that you can’t grow food in contaminated soil.

When I think of issues that affect families like mine, joining the fight to reverse climate change tops the list. Not just for my children, but for their children and their grandchildren. We don’t own this planet: it was here long before we arrived and will be here long after we’re gone. We’re simply the caretakers and we haven’t lived up to our responsibilities. The Earth is in trouble; we’ve known that for decades and so far have failed to do anything about it. Unless we take steps now to reverse the effects of our past actions, there won’t be much to pass along to future generations.

Over the years I’ve found that some of the most powerful moments in any common cause or effort come from the sharing of stories -- one person telling another about what motivated them to get involved and take action. When we get a glimpse at that, we recognize a bit of our own story and feel more of a connection with the effort. It’s that “what… you too?!” moment that draws us together and forms a team that’s willing to make those phone calls, send those faxes, meet with our senators, organize rallies and spread the word among our friends, family and neighbors.

I’ve shared a bit of my story -- now tell me yours. Why are you a part of this historical effort?