It was still dark in the morning in the RV campground when I was rudely awakened by a “thump” outside our tent. I couldn’t see anything out the door, so I tried unsuccessfully to drift back to sleep. I gave up and got up when the first light blushed the eastern horizon. I stumbled over the source of the thump on the way to the bathroom – a newspaper that had been hurled from a golf cart. First time we’ve ever had a paper delivered to our tent.
I fired up the stove for morning coffee and leafed through the paper. The morning headline read “State Board Approves Teaching of Evolution.” I suppose that is progress. On page 5 there was a long, scary article about global warming. Its headline was, “Mass Extinctions Forecast if Eco-crisis isn’t Tackled.” As I read that 40% of all plant and animal species could be extinct by the end of the century because of global warming, I heard a deep rumble. A huge, silver RV (towing a golden-colored Hummer) rolled past. I could feel the heat belching out of the chrome-plated exhaust.
We’ve seen thousands of RVs & big trucks towing trailers during our journey, but a motor home towing a Hummer was over the top for me. I hope that all of us can make the changes we need so that innocent plants and animal species aren’t banished from Planet Earth forever by our relentless consumption.
A few other contradictions I’ve noticed lately:
A car parked in the Anhinga Trail parking lot with a bumper sticker that said “Piping Plovers Taste Like Chicken.” Presumably the car’s inhabitants were enjoying the birds of the Everglades, while at the same time advertising that an endangered species was expendable.
The house we are staying in today has the air-conditioning on. It also has a presto-log burning in the fire-place.
Okay, I’ve finished ranting. Time to get back on the bicycle.
4 comments:
Nothing like a good rant to start the day.
I continue to enjoy your journey and I am looking forward to the the upcoming bird day challenge.
Continue safely.
I get tired of seeing all the single-driver SUVs and trucks on the road. I'm from Houston, where nearly EVERYONE owns a truck or SUV (I pride myself in owning neither). Nothing is sadder than seeing a "normal" traffic jam, full of SUVs and trucks, with a nearly empty High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane. I can't help but wonder how many of those people work in the same building that could be carpooling if they were a little less selfish and a little more flexible with their schedules. Ok, there's my rant :)
Were you in Melbourne on 3/11/08.
Hey - we were in Melbourne on March 11th (to answer Martin). Now we are up in Cape Canaveral.
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