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T h e G r e e n Pa g e
GreenER PASTURES By James Mason Ball
When I embarked on my mission to publish these Green Pages and my “Go Green with James” online blog in March of last year, I was eager for the opportunity to share with you my experiences while I was learning to live more sustainably. I committed to “improving our community and our world through education and action.” And I did so in the hope that by reporting to you in a monthly column it would help to keep me honest in my daily life, and would allow you to benefit by learning alongside me.
Together, we started with the basics: changing light bulbs, recycling, curbing energy usage. We moved on to greener driving, vacations, and holidays. We learned of the importance of eating healthy, organic, locally grown produce. We talked about hybrid cars and other green consumer decisions. But my main goal from the start was to impart critical thinking skills that will help to teach us awareness of how our individual actions impact our environment every single day, and how we are all responsible for making changes in our own lives that will help towards a much, much larger solution. And I have felt proud and fulfilled of the work that we have accomplished together. But, I know that I can have an even bigger impact, I can do more.
While I have enjoyed my tenure here at KCSM very much, I have decided to follow my environmental convictions even further, and will be leaving in the next few weeks. I am currently pursuing some very exciting career possibilities in the environmental advocacy not-for-profit sector and am hoping to work for an organization whose mission is pursuing solutions to curb global climate change. I feel that with my experience mixed with my passion, I will Your feedback, comments and questions are always welcomed! Email me at g reen@kcsm.net
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be able to make a significant contribution towards the solution. It is with bittersweet emotion that I must tell you that this will be my final article here in On Air.
I hope that over the past months I have been able to share something that has benefitted each one of you personally. Virginia Woolf wrote “The first duty of a lecturer- to hand you after an hour’s discourse a nugget of pure truth to wrap up between the pages of your notebooks and keep on the mantelpiece for ever.” This has driven me to try me best to give you something that resonated, something that you could incorporate into your routine that would make you feel pleased and proud about your own contribution. I hope that you find I have accomplished my duty. As I continue my personal green journey, I’d like to invite you to continue along with me. My blog will move from the KCSM website to jamesmasonball.com and I will continue to report on my ongoing evolution there. As I begin my new career, I can only learn more about how we all can work together to solve the global climate crisis. And I pledge to keep sharing nuggets with you. Thank you all for your feedback over the past year and a half, and especially for your supportive words and encouragement. And most importantly, keep living green…for us all. We must all play our part. You are an integral part of the solution!