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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President  For anyone paying even the slightest attention to climate news, these are difficult days not to run screaming from the building. Then again, this summer, outside is no place to be.
From unprecedented dual hurricanes Laura and Marco striking the US gulf coast last month to the scorching heat and raging wildfires now impacting California and Oregon, we're inundated with news about extreme weather caused by Climate Change. Throw in Siberian temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit and collapsing arctic ice shelves in Canada, and it's a little hard to remain hopeful. OK, nearly impossible. But, still, hope is not lost.
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By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President  Ah, 2019, It Was Such a Simpler Time
"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."
As I struggle to express my emotions in these socially-distanced, mostly virtual times, Joni Mitchell's lyrics jump to mind. Though now it's less about paving paradise than putting it under glass. Or, perhaps, it's we who are under glass. Has anyone else watched a television show or a movie recently and felt alarmed by scenes of people standing close together -- perhaps even <gasp!> shaking hands or putting a hand on a shoulder? Now, it's The Police I hear singing "Don't stand. Don't stand. Don't stand so close to me." It's the same way when I look back at photos of past Sustainable Newton events. By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President  A petunia growing from a wall above my koi pond reminds me we're made of strong stuff. It's taken longer than I hoped -- weeks in fact -- to get to where I could organize my thoughts to share a few words about how we persevere with sustainability efforts in these troubling times. But, I suspect you all understand.
It's a striking reminder how much life changed so quickly to reread my last post about Arbor Day written 43 days ago, on February 20. It was easy then to imagine young seedlings and saplings growing into mighty shade trees to shelter generations to come. But, thinking about that future is a more difficult task today. I find myself spending spare moments on days not occupied by the present to reflect on my past. Or, more accurately, the past of those who gifted life to me long ago. By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.
By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President  Vegan Black Bean & Kale Soup with Meatless Chorizo Sausage (7 Weight Watchers Points) With January safely in the rear-view mirror, perhaps it's not too risky to mention how those New Year's resolutions are going. I'm referring to the sustainability actions I committed to at the end of last year, along with my fellow Sustainable Newton board members.
For me, the focus was reducing my carbon footprint by driving more fuel-efficiently and adopting a plant-based diet one day a week. Overall, I'm happy with results so far, but neither resolution has been without challenges. (As it should be for any changes worth making.) Today is my fifth "Meatless Monday." I was traveling in early January, so I elected to start my new regimen on Monday, January 13. But, since then, I've opened every week with a vegetarian (but not always vegan) diet. I'm allowing myself eggs and dairy products, but no beef, poultry, seafood, or other meats. By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President  If you're reading this, climate change is probably already on your mind. And, if your experience is like mine, chances are good you've had difficulty discussing it with some folks. Our current climate crisis has been an unwelcome topic in some circles.
Moving past resistance to honest dialog is what tomorrow night's "24 Hours of Reality - Truth in Action" event is all about. But, thankfully, the tide is already turning. I hear it in conversations, and we see it in the very positive response to our Sustainable Newton message. But, I was still pleasantly surprised by a report published this week by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication declaring: "Georgia voters broadly support policies to address climate impacts and expand renewable energy in the state, and they want their elected officials to support those policies as well."
By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton President
Sustainable Newton is proud to do our part. We're also a bit apprehensive. Thursday at 6 pm is also the annual Lighting of Downtown Covington event on the square. It's unfortunate timing, but as they say, it is what it is. This being a global event tied to a fixed window of time, we had limited scheduling options. And, when we realized the conflict a couple of weeks ago, it was impossible to shift to a different time on Thursday, with newspaper articles, event posts, and flyers already in circulation.
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