Break out the long johns!

Because a couple of hurricanes last month, we haven't turned the heat on at the house yet. Turns out hurricanes can jack up your heating bill. So last night I busted out the old polypro long johns to keep me warm in bed. These haven't seen the light of day since hiking across snow and ice a mere 1000km south of the North Pole, some eight months ago.

I don't have a car. Due in large part to a very liberal and holistic upbringing, I've always felt it was my responsibility to planet earth to abstain from burning fossil fuels when I have alternatives. I've lived downtown in the 5th-largest city in North America for many years and have never needed wheels. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate cars and the opportunity to ride in them. But, I mostly walk, and there's always a subway, bus or streetcar for the longer jaunts.

But now public transit is slightly failing me. Bringing home the bacon now means a farther commute; one which won't quite get me to my daily destination. This means I have to (grudgingly) buy a car. After what felt like months of homework, I've finally learned just about all I have to and have settled on one. Now comes buying it. But I take a bit of solace in the fact that this specific car is a bit different.

Back at the North Pole, emissions are leading to the worst ozone depletion on record. The ice is getting thinner, and climate change is confusing animals and altering the lifestyles of the people who have lived there for thousands of years. All because of what's being pumped into the air in the south spirals to the north, and stays there.

Those long johns kept me pretty warm last night. Autumn cold has nothing to do with the reliance on and abuse of oil. But there are a few attitudes that do, and there is a group of people who are proliferating and benefiting from these ideas. But...it looks like the axe is falling. Stay tuned to the news on Thursday.