Wesley likes polar bears

Can you blame him?

They're cute.His fondness for the bears and other endangered species isn't the reason we recycle, avoid buying wasteful products, such as bottled water, and prefer alternatives to plastic things, such as toys, but it does give a connection from our home to the wilderness.

Wesley's imagination takes him everywhere: to the moon, swimming in the ocean, and to great and varied terrains around our world. When he looks at me with all sincerity and says, "I want to go see ______ (fill in the blank)." I tell him, "One day, Sweetie, you may get to do that. Until that day I'll do what I can to help you prepare."

So, how does a mother help her son meet his dreams of swimming with wild dolphins or seeing polar bears?

Well, she starts at home, by doing what she can to make sure that the things he loves and wants to explore now are there for him when he safely lets go of her hand -- to cross streets or oceans on his own.

Wesley is an explorer. (Most 2 year olds are, it's in their nature, so we'll see who he is as he grows and changes, for now, though, it fits.) Wesley delights in nature. This is a boy who pretends he is swimming with fish and sharks in his bed and wraps himself in a piece of cardboard in lieu of a rocket ship. This is a child who looks at the world around him with deep interest.

This is a child who will, despite his fondness for nature, do what Patrick and I do.

If we don't connect our actions and decisions to the world around us, he likely won't (not for a while at least). So we take from the earth's resources with moderation. We are helping him reach his dreams by treading lightly on our path through this physical world. So that the things he likes now will be there when he finally has the opportunity to pursue his dreams on his own.

Whether or not humans impact the environment to the extent that environmentalists claim is irrelevant to me. I want a beautiful world tomorrow. And I can contribute by consuming fewer of earth's resources, like oil used in the production of plastics and most synthetic fibers (such as polyester). Plastics not only are comprised partially of oil, they take years to break down, filling landfills and littering roadsides until then. Plastic bottles have their place, perhaps an occasional camping trip, but not in everyday use. Think about it: Not only is the plastic itself a waste of oil and a long-term eye sore wherever it ends up, it took oil to ship them to the store. Surely, one of these cool SIGG bottles fits your style.

Reducing plastics and paper products is a small step. Larger steps include reducing your overall consumerism and reliance on shopping/obtaining things to feel good about yourself. We all feel the pull ... I do, at least. I'll be walking through a department store will see a new purse and think, "wow, it's on sale and really cute." Somewhere subconsciously I am thinking others will admire my style and my inner child is ready to pull out her ATM card.

I know the justifications: it's on sale, it's cheap, it's from a thrift store ... So what? It doesn't matter where they came from, a leather pair of shoes takes 25 to 40 years to decompose. That nylon dress on sale will take 30 to 40 years to decompose, compared to cotton, which takes around 5 months.

Read more about your trash's lifespan here.

This blog entry is all over the place, I just want to dump some thoughts and rather than leak green philosophy here and there, thought I'd get it off my chest in one post. (That said, I reserve the right to leak green.)

Hopefully our children will be more responsible than we are and then their children and so on ... all choices have some give and take and sometimes convenience wins even the best of conservationists ...