Wheatlands News

This weekend, people all around the developed world are switching off their lights for Earth Hour. The initiative, facilitated by the WWF "acts as a worldwide call to action to every individual, business and community to take a stand against Climate Change" according to the website. I must admit to having mixed feelings about the whole thing. Don't get me wrong... I think that it is a great idea, but I just wonder how much of a real difference it will make. I remember during the 1980s in South Africa when I was one of a group of editors working on UpFront, the journal of the UDF and in many ways the mouthpiece for the then-banned ANC, there were some people within the organisation who were critical of the contribution of whites to the struggle. Their argument was that we could enjoy the adrenaline rush of putting up illegal posters or holding illegal meetings, but at the end of the day we went back to the cocoons of our safe homes in our white suburbs. I feel a little li...

"Adam Fier recently sold his home, got rid of his car and pulled his twin 6-year-old girls out of elementary school in Montgomery County. He and his wife packed the family's belongings and moved to New Zealand -- a place they had never visited or seen before, and where they have no family or professional connections. Among the top reasons: global warming." This from a story in the Washington Post yesterday. As one of his reasons for the move, he says that one of his daughters "will still be alive in 100 years" (which implies great longevity...) and he wants them to live in a place that provides the best quality of life. I remember when I moved temporarily to New Zealand with my first husband in 1980, people were choosing to live there because it was the best place to be in case of a nuclear war between the US and USSR. Its interesting what makes people move. I believe the itchy feet of the migrants are something that is genetically wired into many of our DNA. T...