This video is of Severn Suzuki, the daughter of David Suzuki.  It is from 1992 when she was 12 years old.  Remember, this is 16 years ago when the conversation on the environment was not where it is today and where, agree or not, movies on Global Warming did not help people win the Nobel Prize.

View some books by David Suzuki after watching the video.

Take a moment and read the article on Global Warming on CNN's website. 

Even if you do not completely agree with the findings, it does make you pause and think...what is our responsibility....what is my responsibility.  It may even scare you.  It does give you a little hope of the decline not happening.

Look at your kids and ask yourself ... when I am gone, do I want my kids facing anything close to this?

If someone told you that exercise may prevent disease, how motivated would you be to exercise?  Even if someone told you it will guarantee you will not get the disease you are going to get if you do nothing, how motivated would you be?  Some of you may think you would be motivated to exercise, but how long would you actually exercise for?   Probably for about a day or a week and then when the short term pay off or costs were not significant enough to you, it would become a nice to do.

Now what if you were told if you exercised everyday, you would feel euphoric all the time, you would get a great job that you loved, you would be as attractive as your favorite actor or actress?  You would probably be much more motivated.

Fear just doesn't seem to motivate or lead to long term systemic solutions...this is the same for raising kids, motivating employees, getting us to exercise and climate stewardship.

Close your eyes.  Imagine a beautiful sunny day or a beautiful rainy day.  The flowers blossoming....the glaciers as beautiful as the sun's rays bounce off of them like diamonds.  Now think how can I get this. Think I can get this.  This is what I want...not what I don't want.

We need to focus on what we want.  Not what we fear.  But with that comes a real conversation on what is it we really want.

If you have been following the news, there are many oil companies in the US that are looking to use heavy Canadian Crude to produce our growing demand for gasoline and diesel fuel.  With this plan comes the need to build or improve the refining infrastructure in the US and also request new permit levels for both water and air.

Many people and politicians are against any increases to these permits arguing the oil companies should not have to increase the emission levels.  While we would rather see reductions in pollution by everyone not just the oil companies we have chosen to take a look at our demand for energy and our responsibility to the earth in a holistic manner.

First of all our demand for gasoline is growing.  Secondly the supply of oil in the US is declining.  Thirdly, we import both oil and gasoline into the US. Why? because we cannot make enough in the US because we are demanding so much more.  Fourthly, if the US refineries do not process the Canadian Crude someone else will...like China.  Who do you think will process this crude with the environment in mind?  If you guessed US refineries you are correct.

Next question...who is a secure friendly supplier of oil to the US?  Russia, Iran, Venezuela....sorry all wrong.  Canada?  That is correct ay.

Why may it require more emissions in some cases to process the heavy Canadian Crude?  Maybe becuase it has more sulfur and other components that make it harder to refine...hence the name Canadian Crude.

Let's see. If the US refineries are badgered so much that none of our refineries can expand and get retrofitted, I guess they will have to keep on importing more crude oil from not so friendly countries at maybe higher costs.  As our demand for gasoline keeps growing, we will also just keep on importing more and more gasoline as well.  I think we will see these countries also start refining more as well.  And do you think they will be concerned as much as our businesses are about the environment??

Enviro Now....this doesn't mean have tunnel vision.  As environmental leaders we need to see the whole picture.  Energy is a necessity to maintain our standard of living as well as the environment.  But they are not mutually exclusive.