Ever since little Cole has been born, I have been trying to put a finger on how my world has changed.
In a nutshell, I am not overcome by visceral maternal instincts, I think the others will be much better at that, but I see the bigger picture here, my chance to be directly involved in keeping our world habitable for future generations to come.
My husband and I have gone far beyond the usual recycling of newspapers , but have put our money where our mouth is by installing a photovoltaic system which allows to micro generate our own electricity without the use of coal fired power plants.
Due to increased drilling activity in our neighborhood, we became aware of what ails the current system of safety regulations and of the almost non existent rights of Alberta landowners , should big oil choose to drill on the land.
The problems range from noise pollution, overuse of our road structures by water trucks,lack of communication between County , ERSB, oil company and landowner,lack of disclosure of fracking fluid components and possible water shed , aquifer , or well contamination.
We became involved , my husband more actively than me, he became an out right activist with 2 groups currently involved in water awareness and drilling regulations.
At an upcoming town hall meeting I will present information about possible sub surface water pollutants and their health effects.
In the mean time , I am plainly shocked and overwhelmed the more I read about what is going on in Alberta.
Potemkin's villages come to mind, for all to see , we have the mountains, the rolling hills , the farmland, with all these lovely animals , but out of sight we have polluted rivers , clear cut forests ,metastasizing urban sprawl and polluted water wells.
Enough to spent a life time of raising awareness!
I begin to understand now, why so many activists are Elders, it is , because they have realized that they are part of generations to come and shape life and they often have the drive, the knowledge and the resources to be influential.
Not that I am an Elder yet, but my husband surely qualifies and believe me , I am on my my way to become a Matriarch to be reckoned with.
For our family, our children and future generations!
No comments:
Post a Comment