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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.
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Location: Baltimore, MD, USA

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