Rant Ahead - Turning off Vehicles

We don't live in the Dark Ages as far as I know. Every day you either see it on TV, read it in newspapers or books, hear it on the radio or from friends/coworkers.... Our Earth is suffering from "Environmental Change". Global warming, no matter what some government officials are saying, is occuring. Our Earth's climate is going to be a lot different for my children when they become adults and my grandchildren (if I'm ever blessed to have them) then it is for me. And already it is slightly different now from when I was a child.

I love the ad campaign entitled "Flick Off". Every time I see a bedroom light that one of the children have left on, I yell downstairs "(name of child here), Flick Off!". And they're learning - I have to say it less often now. I used to have to say it at least once a day, and now some days go by that I don't have to say it at all. I have had to explain to the kids that it's not about saving pennies - it's about preserving our home planet. We need to make some changes, or Mother Nature is going to whallop us with a huge change of her own, and I don't think many of the human population will survive it. As bad as the movie "Waterworld" was, I think it had an important message. I don't think that it will get that bad, but there will certainly be some changes.

Anyway, I started this rant because of one main observation I make here at the store almost daily. My store is in a little strip mall that also contains a hair salon, a nutrition clinic, and a convenience store. My whole front wall is pretty much glass, and I see people every day park in the parking lot and leave their vehicle running while they go into the store to pick up the lottery ticket, or cigarettes, or milk, or bread, or whatever the case may be. Their vehicle is left running, with nobody in it, for sometimes 1-2 minutes at a time. Why??? Is it so very difficult to turn the key and take it out of the ignition? Does it take so much energy on the driver's part to turn the ignition back on when they get back into the vehicle? It doesn't save more than a couple of seconds by leaving the engine running, and yet by leaving the engine idle for 1-2 minutes when the driver isn't even in the car wastes fuel (which we don't have an infinite supply of) and puts emissions into the atmosphere adding to the "Climate Change" factor.

Seriously people. if we want the Earth to continue to be good to us, we need to be good to her...

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"Happiness is in the warm summer sun...
...in the red leaves of fall
...is near you when your light is low
...is there on the autumn breeze
...it's on the warm wind
...is near you when your faith is dry."