Skip to main content

Earth Day: a day late

We got back to Baltimore late last night after a lovely weekend in Chicago, during which time we got to see lots of family and friends and to celebrate the baptism of a very sweet baby boy!

{GP3 and "the Godfather"}
We enjoyed too much good food (as we usually do when we go to Chicago), including wine and cheese at Bar Pastoral (the cheese menu contained vivid descriptors like "curd-sey" and "squidgy"), tropical drinks (the "Dr. Fong") with Chinese food at Chef Shangri-La, and a cauliflower melt at the Marion Street Cheese Market. After such a food-filled weekend, I think we'll be eating salad for a few days!

 Regarding Earth Day: we did one of the worst things a person could do on Earth Day--we rode in an airplane. One of my greatest hopes is for someone to invent a solar-powered airplane that can fly as fast and carry as many passengers as a 747...because I love doing things to reduce my carbon footprint, but I also love to travel.
{beautiful places around the U.S. (and the world)
top L-R: Key West, FL; somewhere in NH; Los Cabos, Mexico;
middle L-R: Winter Park, CO; Granada, Spain; Laguna Beach, CA;
bottom L-R: Burlington, VT; somewhere in MT; Grand Canyon, AZ}
I have always been interested in conservation--after all, I grew up with a dad who gathers plastic bottles and other litter for recycling when he goes out for a jog--but I've recently become very interested in conservation, climate change, and "saving the planet." Why would a family medicine doctor be worried about the Earth's climate? Shouldn't I be concerned about the health of people's families? To quote Stephen Colbert: "raise your hand if your family lives on the planet!"

For me, being an "environmentalist" is not about hugging trees for the sake of hugging trees. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions is not about destroying oil companies or putting coal miners out of a job. Buying local foods and consuming less meat is not about being a food snob. It's also not about being perfect or judging others for making an "environmental faux pas" (like flying in an airplane on Earth Day). 

The purpose of each of these activities is to take steps toward ensuring a healthy, habitable planet for baby Greg and for babies and children (and adults too!) around the world. It's about realizing that we're all in this together, that our actions affect our environment, and that we need a healthy environment to live long, happy, and healthy lives. The longer we wait to make changes, the harder it will be to fix the damage we have done. It's time to take action to protect all the beautiful places and beautiful people around the world.
Labels:
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On voting for Harris

  I know that no one has been sitting around waiting for my input on how to vote this election, but the stakes feel so high that I am compelled to use whatever small voice I have to share my thoughts with anyone who might be moved by them! The question is...where to begin? (Caveat: if you're here to yell about a stolen election or if you are already worshipping the false idol of Donald, this is probably not for you.) I love this country. For all its faults and flaws, I recognize how fortunate I am to have been born here, in this multicultural democracy that prioritizes freedom of speech and expression. I was educated in American public schools , I enjoy our public libraries and public parks, I have taken road trips across the country on well-maintained roads in cars regulated by motor vehicle safety standards , I have traveled the world confidently as an American citizen (knowing that I would have the protection of the American consulate if needed in whatever country I was visiting...
Post a Comment
Read more

For my dad

{Dad, third from right, breaking ground at the site of his clinic, ~1987.} On June 24, I graduated from family medicine residency and became the fourth family physician/general practitioner in three generations of Dorwarts. A week later, on July 1, our family gathered in Sidney, Nebraska, to celebrate my dad's retirement after 35 years as a family physician there. I couldn't be prouder of the work my dad has done throughout his career, his dedication to our hometown, his persistence through difficult times, and his unwavering insistence on doing the right thing even when it's not the easy thing. Even though I considered forays into surgery and gynecologic oncology (among other things), I am happy to have found my way to family medicine and to my father's footsteps. Although my dad worked long hours throughout my childhood, I never felt like I was missing out because I appreciated the importance of what he was doing. My perception was that he was spending his d...
2 comments
Read more

Happy things: a day in DC

After a week of immersing myself in shopping for a mortgage and making plans to buy our first house (just outside Burlington, VT , where I'll be starting residency in June), my dreams of tending the perennials and painting the door of a cute little farm house were dashed when the seller rejected our offer on Wednesday night. Buying a house is much more complicated than I had thought!  Since I tend to dwell on disappointments a bit too much, I was glad that I had no classes and an appointment for a haircut in DC the next day so that I could take advantage of the heat wave  by spending the day wandering around the capital city! {Cherry Blossoms at the DC Tidal Basin} After waking up at 5:30 am to ride with Chris from Baltimore (where we live) to Clinton , MD (where he works), I hopped on the Metro and headed toward the National Mall. I got off at the Smithsonian stop and followed the groups of tourists wearing sneakers and carrying cameras to the Tidal Basin. The che...
Post a Comment
Read more