Caryn and I were hanging out cleaning the kitchen last night after chasing our nephews all day (well, she was cleaning the kitchen and I was surfing - thanks love). Through the ipod speakers came the Counting Crows cover of A Big Yellow Taxi. Now this is a song I have grown up hearing, but it wasn’t until I heard it last night that it struck my environmental chord…Are we going to wait until it’s gone until we realize what we’ve done to this planet? (yes that’s an oxymoron). Or are we finally coming to terms with the message Joni MItchell shared in this song that she wrote some 38 years ago? I sure hope so!

10-big-yellow-taxi

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
Put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see em
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that d.d.t. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

I have been writing an article that discusses the direct link between income and material consumption (coming soon), and what it is going to take to break that link in a world where a huge number of people are now becoming financially prolific. In a world where the knowledge of our environmental impact is spreading like wildfire, our consumption of it (earth) seems to be going right alongside the salary increases. 

To give you some contrast, first check out the extravagant lifestyle of one fellow named 50 Cent. (Sorry to pick on you bud, just gotta use yah to paint a picture) 

 

Okay, now take a look at a link my friend Devin just sent to me. It’s the opposite. No one is ever 100% wrong (as Ken Wilber would say), as is the case with 50 Cent; it’s just that their worldview may not reflect the latest that science has to offer.

 

So now tell me which house you’d prefer? And no you can’t park your plug-in at the mansion, nor can you park your Lamborghini at the eco-home!

So your decision will determine whether our earth looks like the first half of this following animation, or the second. 

Your choice rich kid

Peace Y’all