I’ll be gone in thirty or less years.  But this will remain.

You know back in 1970 it seemed impossible that whales would make a comeback and that yesterday I was able to take visitors out to view these magnificent beasts swimming past our coast. As we wrote letters in biology class the first Earth Day to the companies in Chicago that were spewing out black smoke, we hardly knew that it could make a difference. A mere 40 years later, a friend who grew up in San Clemente says that when she was growing up, seeing Catalina Island a  23 miles away was a rare and exciting occurrence because of the smog. Now we see it daily.  Indeed my parents were in LA for a week back in the day and never even knew the San Bernardino mountains were right there.  So, even though your one straw might not “make a difference,” it’s the awareness that does, over time, change the world.  I truly fear it is too late.  But as Americans we should be leaders towards a better world and as people we should lead in any way we can.