Dwelling on the Dark Side

"Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years.

The figures, published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on its website, also confirm that carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than expected. The annual mean growth rate for 2007 was 2.14ppm - the fourth year in the past six to see an annual rise greater than 2ppm. From 1970 to 2000, the concentration rose by about 1.5ppm each year, but since 2000 the annual rise has leapt to an average 2.1ppm.

Scientists say the shift could indicate that the Earth is losing its natural ability to soak up billions of tons of carbon each year. Climate models assume that about half our future emissions will be re-absorbed by forests and oceans, but the new figures confirm this may be too optimistic. If more of our carbon pollution stays in the atmosphere, it means emissions will have to be cut by more than currently projected to prevent dangerous levels of global warming." Guardian - UK

I was in a bad mood before I read that. Then I stumbled across another article - read at your own (emotional) risk: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3883272.ece. It's about how Greenland is psyched that the ice is melting, so they can access their oil reserves. (Fh@7&$%**!!!)

Here I am graduating, getting married in less than two months. How do I go about planning for my life ahead? Should I just go about my business, pretending nothing will change? Should I start farming, hunkering down and learning survival skills? Neither of these options seem that practical at the moment. My education has supposedly prepared me to make positive change - positive change in a business as usual world - incremental, glacial. Actually, glacial change is would be great - if I could only make change as fast as the glaciers are melting (ha!)

Normally, I try to put a hopeful spin on it, but right now, the truth is, I'm pessimistic and grumpy. Dark days ahead...

No, I can't end this post like that. I don't know what lies ahead. This is where faith comes in, I suppose - a faith in something greater than myself - the Earth, and the community of life - God, if you wish. I see myself as the whole, but I must practice seeing myself as a part, erasing the boundaries that separate. When I remember to think about it - to feel grace and gratitude, to revel and share in the beautiful chaos I'm a part of - this larger vision strengthens me. It gives me hope. I need to breathe, to reinvigorate my spirit, my sense of awe, my connection with something so much greater...

It's hard to articulate faith in a paragraph, especially when it's as amorphous as mine. The point is not so much to articulate it, but to remember it. We may have to fortify ourselves outwardly for the dark days ahead. We must also fortify ourselves inwardly - in whatever shape or tincture you prefer.