I'm a mom and a weird academic who believes in bridging theory and practice. I love open forums such as these where ideas fly and the knowledge created is greater than the sums of its parts. This is why I think this effort we are doing of grassroots organizing combined with technology has a lot of potential. I admire greatly what the Peninsula Cool Team has done. Plus, people will be happy not to have me clog their inbox with my questions about global warming... instead I can let out my crazy enthusiasm here!

My interest in environmental issues started while spending time canoeing in national parks in Canada as a teenager. We were forbidden to use anything but biodegradable soap, were burying food left overs, and were picking up other people's trash. But I felt that my experiences "in the woods" were deeply disjointed with my city life the rest of the year (I thought about becoming a park ranger when I grew up!). I knew how to take steps to protect the environment if I was in the forest, but not if I was in my usual day to day life. I still feel this disjunct. The social systems we have built destroy the environment, so it is no surprise that it is difficult to enact change while functioning within them.