It Ain't Easy Being Green...

I'm not what you would call an "environmentalist" per se, not someone who is going to grow a beard, throw on a pair of Birkenstocks, and go on a Greenpeace boat ride, or even someone who thinks very much about separating the glass from the paper before the trash man comes on Tuesdays. But I believe the concept of stewardship was established shortly after Adam arrived on the scene in the garden of Eden. He was charged with keeping the garden looking good, and that still applies to us today. Frankly, I'm not crazy about having to pay $2+ for a gallon of gas, while realizing that my gas comes from 10,000 miles away and we're very fortunate not to pay much much more (read more about that here. The old adage about "we can put a man on the moon but we can't (insert your complaint here)" could apply, but I simply believe in the power of American ingenuity that will help us find alternative energy in this post-9/11 world. In the mean time, I'll enjoy warm weather to ride my motorcycle. Not because I look cool doing it (I'm 35, ask my kids if I look cool doing anything!), but because it gets 40+ MPG. In this article, Victor Hanson provides a compelling synopsis of how we arrived at the delicate balance between oil and democracy in the middle East, claiming it was more luck and foreign expertise than hard work and successful leadership on their part. It provokes thought about how our oil dependence resources terrorists. Good reading all around. We are energy hogs in America, and I think it's generational. My grandparents and parents generation thought differently than mine. We really take things for granted, an entitlement mentality. Well, not me. Not anymore. Sometimes with freedom and democracy, we have to take the bad with the good. Those who scoff at the "green" Americans would be wise to ask themselves what they can do to contribute to the cause. Still not going to put on Birkenstocks (although I do like granola), but I do vow to "clean up my act." A wise man once said, "I'm not saying my opinion is right, and I'm sure there are others out there, but this one happens to be mine...". Just my opinion.