I was born in 1951 and grew up just a few miles north of Lake Erie, so when I was a kid I thought it was normal that you had to run through a band of dead fish about three feet wide every time you wanted to go swimming in a lake.

Then scientists proved that it was phosphates that were killing the fish in Lake Erie. Change the way detergents are made, they said. Control agricultural run-off as well, and the lake will come back.

"IT WILL COST TOO MUCH MONEY," the farmers and industry screamed.

The government made them do it.

The lake has come back and you no longer have to run through a band of dead fish to go swimming in it. All the dire predictions about expense and impossibility proved to be wrong.

Well. How about that?

When I was older the hazards of lead were proven. A major source of lead was gasoline. A movement began to get lead taken out of gasoline.

"IT WILL COST TOO MUCH MONEY," industry screamed. There were dire predictions about how cars would be insanely expensive and wouldn't run nearly as well.

The government made them do it.

Today I own a very affordable small sedan that runs on unleaded gas, gets about 50 miles to the gallon, and gets me everywhere I need to go.

Well. How about that?

Hey, did you hear that yesterday my country ratified The Kyoto Accord?

"IT WILL COST TOO MUCH MONEY," industry is screaming. They are saying the goals are unreachable.

Well, here's the deal as I see it. This little blue sphere we live on is a closed system, a ginormous terrarium. Everything we spew out stays here. Winds and ocean currents gradually spread things around.

Next time you see a picture of people in Hong Kong or Singapore wearing masks and walking through pollution so heavy it looks like a pea soup fog, keep that in mind.

Next time you see a satellite picture of southeast Asia and China showing pollution so dense that the countries can't be seen from space, keep that in mind.

Yes, Kyoto will cost money. Maybe, as the critics say, Kyoto will only buy us a few more years.

But you know, maybe those are all the years we need.

The amazing thing about the human race is our ability to create. My first computer had less memory in its hard drive than my current computer has in its video card. The power of the machine that sits on my desk is breathtaking and it cost me only 2/3 as much as that first 286.

Computers became a priority, you see.

Two generations after the Wright brothers barely managed to break gravity, an American president decided it would be a priority to put a man on the moon. It happened--from a bi-plane to the moon in two generations.

Priorities.

Cars with California emissions standards are slightly more expensive than other cars, but they're proof that if clean air goals are set they can be met, often for far less than what industry predicts.

Do we sit down and take a hard look at our lives, adjust the equation between what we want and what we actually need? Are we capable of pure altruism? Can we sacrifice a bit, adjust our lives to give a chance to those who will come after us?

Are we willing to buy them more time?

Me, I think it's time to talk about priorities. How about you?

--Marn

P.S.--If you're doing any of your Christmas shopping at Amazon this year, why not do it through Blue Sphere? Five per cent of what you spend will be donated by Amazon to Blue Sphere, and will be given to the Foster Parents Plan of Canada.

Yep, you get to make a large corporation cough up five per cent of its profits AND at no cost to yourself you get to help some poor kids out. What's not to love about that, eh?