an unedited politically-edged rambling plea

with the wave coming up, and meeting in copenhagen, if climate change wasn't on my mind before, it definitely is now...
it is one of those things that we can choose whether or not to be apathetic...
yes it's one of those really big global problems that it seems like a little action won't amount to much, one person can't change anything, and no one is really certain about who and what causes the most damage, how to fix it, and who should take responsibility...
so it's easy to cast aside, think that it's either hopeless or someone else smarter/richer/more powerful will take care of it...
there is no such thing as someone else... we all know how much we can influence our own lives, but we will never have any idea of how much we impact the world -- even if you don't try... inaction still has effects...
you don't have to protest, you don't have to become vegan, you don't have to stop travelling... for now, all i ask is that you care and that you might consider letting that change your behaviour, even just a little bit...
we share this earth, we live on this earth, it is our home... even if you aren't convinced that the world is heading for climate and habitat destruction, just consider helping to reduce your impact on it, even just a little bit... it may thank you...
just please don't be apathetic...

the canal from my two wheels

the union canal cuts through edinburgh and makes up most of my commuter route in the morning...it's a busy route -- it's a menagerie of cyclists, runners, walkers, businessmen, mums with babies, dogs, cats, rats, swans, and rabbits...
the canal can be really still... on quiet mornings, the water simply reflects the remainder of the dawn that lingers in the morning, only disturbed by the dedicated rowers and the ducks that take advantage of the early light... other mornings, the canal moves really swiftly, and often i find myself fighting the scottish wind which is so determined to knock me into the water... raindrops often break the surface of the water, another reminder that i am definitely in Scotland...
quite a few swans live along the canal, including the group that have adopted a Canada goose... mallards congregate, and moorhens duck in front of your bike tires, like being squashed by cyclists is a fun idea... gulls and terns swoop over head, and magpies and blackbirds sing in the bushes along the other side of the path...
nighttime comes earlier nowadays, and everything looks different... i don't have one of those effective bike lights -- it's main purpose is so others can see me, not so i can see... all senses are heightened and although some parts are lit by street lights, most of the way i have to rely on a mental map of the canal... can't predict the bumps or puddles anymore, its just blinding moving along and trusting that the path hasn't taken a sudden detour and sends you flying into the canal itself to join the sleeping ducks...
not to mention the rats, maybe they are water voles, but they only come out to play after the sun goes down... there's been times where they have ducked my tires as well...
there is also the saxophone player... at lunch time he stands under one of the bridges with a tenor saxophone, bike lying at his side, and plays... just plays and plays and plays...
it's not a bad commute, really :)