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Mad4Christ (a community outreach group founded by my friend John Williams) is organizing a Back2School outreach, in the Lincoln Elementary school zone, to help families in need. They’re accepting school supplies and financial donations. John needs all supplies and donations no later than August 4. Anyways, to find out more and contribute, click here.

I’ve tried to avoid talking about the oil spill because too many people want to make it a political issue (especially with the cap and trade bill still making waves), and I hate talking politics because they’re so divisive and I’ve realized most aren’t willing to actually listen to those with differing opinions.

But I’ve had a few conversations with some friends and the oil spill inevitably comes up.

So we started brainstorming, and this may sound overly simple, but here goes.

1. The obvious first choice is for each of us to do our part. I’m not talking about turning into tree huggers or any other extremes, but simple things that we’ve all heard about. Energy-efficient appliances, fuel-efficient vehicles, stuff like that.
2. I don’t know if this is an EPA thing, or what, but quit allowing corporations to sell or trade emission limits. I’m sick of hearing company X talk about how green they are when everyone knows they sold off emissions to company Y. You’re not making things better, you’re just passing the buck.
3. The government should make it more difficult for American companies and retailers to buy products and supplies from foreign companies that don’t meet our environmental guidelines. We’re the largest consumer in the world, why aren’t we using that to our advantage? Tariffs, fines, whatever – if they want American business, they’ll meet American standards.
4. Eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. Even the most liberal of pundits estimate that we’ve got nearly fifty years worth of oil in Alaska – that’s enough time to get my next point working.
5. Make renewable alternative energy sources THE energy sources. I’ve heard it a dozen times in the last week; “Alternative energy is just that – alternative.” Well, as long as we keep treating it that way, nothing will change. Progress takes time. When the Wright brothers flew for the first time, I doubt they envisioned the airline industry carrying hundreds of passengers around the world. Yet, merely twenty years after their first flight there were nearly thirty airlines around the world. If energy companies and automobile manufacturers and farm equipment manufacturers and etc. really start pushing forward in designing and implementing renewable and/or sustainable alternatives to the current energy models, who knows where we’d be in twenty years?

Those are just a few ideas my friends and I came up with, and like I said, they are pretty simple. Maybe they’re too simple to actually work…… but then again, maybe not.