Former CCO President Leonard Poole challenges all Overbrook residents to consider what each of us can do as individuals to respond to the challenge of Climate Change. He believes it is the promotion of excessive consumption that has brought us to this critical juncture. In the past century we have witnessed a rapidly expanding exploitation of carbon fuels. We have become addicted to cheap energy. We failed to notice the damage we were causing to our nest, planet earth, as we encouraged continued expanding consumption.

Explore his website at http://web.ncf.ca/leonardo7/index.htm to learn more about his views.

I would like to share with you my vision of a Greening World. It is a world where every person

• Understands the consequences of their consumption and is actively engaged in reducing its effect.
• Commits to the goal of consuming no more than his or her fair share.
• Knows that to do otherwise will lead to tragic consequences for life as we know it.
• Seeks to apreciate the quality of the life they are given more than the quantity of what they have and experience.

As an inhabitant of the developed world I consume far in excess of my fair share of the world's resources. I accept that the level of consumption in our society is not only unsustainable, but is leading to tragic consequences for those in the remainder of the world who have access to less than their fair share.

I believe we need to understand that for our children, and all future generations, we must begin to re-orient our lifestyles in radical and substantive ways. I am choosing voluntary simplicity as an important step in my own evaluation process.

I believe it essential that we accept that we cannot grow our way out of this problem. I urge us to consider moving toward a model of a Steady State economy that is based on and promotes quality of life, not an ever increasing quantity of consumption. To continue to build and believe in a society that encourages us to have and consume more in the face of dwindling resources is the greatest problem we are creating for futures generations. It is a most shameful legacy.

I refer you to my website at http://web.ncf.ca/leonardo7/index.htm to learn more of my views on this matter.

Please send my your comments!

Leonard Poole