Getting an education from children’s TV

Stephanie Martin-Smith
Soul Purpose
OK, not to keep harping on the environment, but it will be refreshing when Lucas and I don’t have a conversation that begins with, “Does the sky look green? Do you see that too?”

Our most recent green talk took place at 2 a.m. Lucas replied “Yeah, and now it’s orange…” and not just for a flash, but for several seconds.

The smoke detector woke us as it beeps when the hydro goes out and this time it kept going, like the power was surging in and out right along with the bright green sky. There was no battery to take out and we were just glad Max didn’t wake up, or we would have had two loud noises to contend with.

Les was off working at the Stampede in Calgary, so a heck of a lot of good he was. However, it turns out he was warding off hail storms for the of the time.

We turned on the TV to see if there were any warnings and eventually it began to squeal too. So we turned everything off and listened to the rumble of thunder and watched the light show.

“Maybe Al Gore is right, the environment really is going crazy,” said Lucas.

After the storm passed and I lay awake thinking about a segment from a show the kids we were watching about cow manure – OK so I was really bored.

This company was recycling cow manure for fuel and fertilizer. It was an amazing and gianormous operation.

The host talked about cow methane flatulents and that it contributes to more than 20 per cent of the green house gasses, which is more than all of the trains, planes and automobiles put together. Now that’s just crazy, our ozone is effected more by cows farting than all of the automobiles put together?

I mean I love a burger or a good steak as much as the next guy or cheese and a tall glass of chocolate milk, but cutting back certainly wouldn’t kill me…it might even be healthy.

Also, why am I learning about this from the kids channel? Max is getting better information than me.

Clear-cutting rainforests and mass production of animals may not be a good choice, even if the fast food chains need more beef. And lots of it may be thrown away. The quota system sees milk being dumped down the drain and once again, I point out that there is no shortage of food on the planet, just a misguided system that allows children to starve.

Yes, the world would turn upside down if everyone was given enough to live comfortably. This is the only system that can possibly work, I’ve heard it all.

Dustin says his brilliant 17-year-old friend Mike Roy has written a thesis, or book or something, on a new system and I really think we should give the boy a stage because so far this one economically, spiritually and physically doesn’t really seem to work for everyone. But I must admit it does all seem to be about gas these days no matter how you spin it.