Think(ing) Green Thursday

Last April, Gina, aka The Pagan Sphinx, came up with a brilliant meme known as Think Green Thursday. I loved the idea and started to participate. When Gina's life became so busy and she found many duties so pressing that she could no longer find the time to blog regularly, she felt that she had to put the meme aside. At that time I wished that I could step up to host it, but I knew that, first, I did not have the skill necessary to handle the job, and, second, I honestly was not sure that I would be around to continue it very long.

Enter Michelle! She already hosted a meme on the environmental theme, Nature Notes Thursday. (Try it. You'll like it!) So she knew she could handle the ropes, so to speak. And the care and health of our world was her major concern. Michelle took over hosting what became Think(ing) Green Thursday.

Michelle does a fantastic job with both of her memes. She does extensive research on her topics each week, giving us so much information and marvelous and imaginative ideas on ways in which we can help our environment. Her writing style and her photography are superb.

But she worries. She feels that participation in her memes has not grown significantly. Why are not a great many people interested enough in our environment? I don't agree that the relatively small number of participants indicates a lack of concern for the topic. I believe that those of us who are participating have a great many more interested readers than our numbers would make us believe. What is happening to our world today is frightening, and that realization and the question of how we can deal with it is mind numbing. I'm sure many who would like to participate are intimidated by the subject. I am. I keep putting up posts because, for some reason it makes me feel better to write things down, even though I feel totally inadequate to the task of conveying anything of real substance. I tend to rely on supplying links to others who come up with more solid ideas. Maybe at least I can steer someone in the right direction. A lot more people do comment than participate. And a lot more people read the posts than leave comments. Those who have counters on our blogs know that.

Thinking green doesn't need to mean a post full of great ideas. It can be one expressing appreciation for what we have here on Planet Earth. Or it can be a photo. Some of our regulars post some really beautiful photos. I look forward to them each week.

Michelle has created this Green Thinker badge for those of us who are concerned with thinking green. THANK YOU, MICHELLE. She has asked us each to post something about what we try to do in our lives to help a little. I wish that I had the energy and physical ability to do much more, but I do whatever I can each day toward making our world a cleaner, happier place. I recycle of course, try to conserve energy, plant a garden, try to avoid buying or using plastics - all the much- discussed, mundane things. I often fail or forget, and become angry with myself for it. But you have to keep trying. When you stop trying you had better stop complaining, because then it becomes your fault. And while you're at it, write your congressmen about it (I do that too), and tell them what you think they should be doing. Write to the owners of the coal mines, and other large corporations whose actions are polluting our air and land and streams and oceans. Don't think about it. Do it! It isn't "just one letter", it's one of thousands - maybe millions! And blog about it too.

And maybe you could encourage us and one another by participating in this meme in any way you can. Those of us who do this every week would be very thankful tomorrow for your support and company.