Dear Members of the Menlo Park City Council,

Whether or not the Bush administration understands it, global warming is
a reality. We, as citizens can do what they refuse to do----something.
I have always believed that a true leader is an educator, and a cheer
leader. None of you is old enough to remember how dedicated citizens
were during WWII, but I am and I do. Everyone (well, almost everyone)
tried to do his/her part, from growing victory gardens, saving fat from
cooking (used to make soap), saving tin foil (precursor to aluminum
foil). We didn't use our cars for pleasure, we rode bicycles (and it
wasn't "cool" then). The motto was "use it up, wear it out, make it
do". We are so self-indulgent now that that phrase would be met with
downright disbelief. So, what can we do? What can you do, as our
leaders?

You can help us find ways to meet the Kyoto accords in our own
community. Even though the information is readily available, there are
still those who don't believe there is a problem, and even worse, those
who believe they have a right to ignore the need because they can pay
for it. I'm thinking here of SUV and other low mileage/high polluting
vehicles. In WWII we understood the necessity of our small helps. We
felt patriotic. This is a different time, but I believe that some
variation of that sense of helping the country----now it is helping the
world---can be encouraged to feel that we all need to pull together to
save the planet.

So I encourage you to set up a panel of interested people. They will
need to (1) educate (2) determine actions that are possible for
individuals and families (4) determine how those actions can be made to
seem patriotic and that being patriotic is a good thing (it's been seen
as a right-wing trigger point) (5) educate (6) encourage (7) educate,
educate, educate (8) cheer, cheer, cheer

If you finished reading this, I truly thank you. I know you are
bombarded with emails.

Margo McAuliffe
Received on Thu Feb 15 11:22:51 2007