Eco-chic?

Ah, trends! In my youth, I followed them all. From elephant pants in the 70’s to neon colour hair-bows in the 80’s to the Rachel haircut in the 90’s, I never met a craze I didn’t like. Until recently.

I understand that we are having a serious and detrimental effect on planet earth, but I am cautious to jump on the eco-chic bandwagon for a few reasons:

1) The global-warming trend is too filled with exaggeration and misinformation. Al Gore predicts, in an Inconvenient Truth, that water levels will rise 240”. This number is 17 times higher than that of the United Nations International Panel on Climate Control. This week, we will be reviewing An Inconvenient Book, by Glenn Beck. He devotes an entire chapter to debunking Gore’s exaggerations. I encourage everyone who has seen Gore’s movie to read this book and judge for themselves.

2) I’m finding it difficult to get worked up about the supposed impending water crisis. It falls out of the sky. Enough said, for now.

3) Recycling. I believe that recycling works and is important. I also believe that recycling needs to be paired with more conservative usage and alternatives to “recyclable containers”. As an example: I’ve heard it said that recycling water bottles is better than nothing. But really, using a travel mug or reusable water bottle is a significant improvement over recycling cases of water bottles. I feel recycling needs to be held up as a last resort, not a trendy, gold-star-worthy activity that even Tim Horton’s is engaging in.

Quite simply, to get me to admit to becoming eco-conscious, the Al Gores and David Suzukis of the world will need to do one thing:

1) Stop the lying. Exaggeration, in my world, is akin to lying. Give us the facts, not the worst-case, over-the-top, extreme examples and maybe I’ll consider taking your advice on how to implement changes.

Control Issues

My sister has always had a fear of the dentist, so it was probably not a good idea to let her go alone to her first check-up in eight years.  I say this in retrospect, after she walked home…five miles…with a bib still fastened around her neck.

What is it that makes people so afraid of the dentist?  Kathryn, my little sister, at twenty years of age actually left her car in the dentist’s parking lot when she bolted during a routine cleaning.  She has never had any horrific encounters while in the chair and has not had many fillings or extensive dental work, so where does this fear come from?

I was pondering this thought last week while having one of my cavities filled, I hadn’t slept the night before and my hands were actually shaking.  I was getting a small cavity filled and I was a bundle of nerves!  Fully aware that I was in no physical danger and that I wouldn’t feel any pain since I was frozen, I was mulling over the problem when the dentist asked me to open my mouth wider.  That is when it hit me.  Allowing a virtual stranger to use numbing agents and metal tools in your mouth can be scary because of the lack of control. 

Control is important, most of us like to be in control.  When you are in control, you know what is coming next and you can avoid pain and hurt.    Over the next two weeks, our articles are going to look at control: the good, the bad and the ugly.  Here is a sampling of what is to come:

Electronics

v    Take control of your pictures with Photoshop

Health & Wellness

v    Manage your health with vitamins

Finance

v    Budget for greater financial control

Relationships

v    Communicate clearly to create healthy boundaries

Travel & Leisure

v    Have fun with Adventure Travel

Book Review

v    Reading the OED (Oxford English Dictionary)

Quick Read

v    The dos and don’ts of funeral etiquette

Change the World

v    Médcins Sans Frontièrs, an overview of Doctors Without Borders

How to Project

v    How to form a book club or group