this time ~ this space

Canada’s Highway to Hell
The world’s last (and dirtiest) oil boom is under way in the boreal forests of Alberta. It’s destroying a wilderness the size of Florida.
OnEarth Magazine
Fall 2007
To capture just one barrel of oil from this geologic pudding requires brute force. Great machines mow down trees (and all their supporting creatures such as boreal songbirds and woodland caribou), roll up acres of muskeg, drain entire wetlands, and reroute rivers. Next, for each barrel, workers must scoop up two tons of sand and wash the stuff in hot water. Even then the bitumen requires substantial upgrading to remove engine-clogging impurities. It costs more than 10 times as much to produce a flowing barrel of oil in this way than it does to produce a barrel of Saudi light oil. The entire process is fueled by natural gas, and the energy consumed is awesome: Every 24 hours the industry burns enough natural gas to heat four million American homes in order to produce one million barrels of oil.

Also: Check out The Dominion’s special issue on the tar sands here: http://www.dominionpaper.ca/issue/48

When you feel you are at a crossroads in your life the most difficult thing to do is be honest with yourself.

If you are are standing at a crossroads in your life then you realize deep inside that if you choose this new direction, your life will never be the same again. While the old familiar way is more comfortable, something deep inside you tugs at you to step forward into the unknown. Sometimes these major crossroads come in the form of a major life-style change, or sometimes they come in the form of an important person who mysteriously enters your life at a pivotal time.

Asking yourself some key questions can lead you to some amazing discoveries, and possibly motivate you to do what it takes to create the life you envision for yourself.Write down answers to the following questions:

1. What makes you happy at work?
2. What makes you happy at home?
3. What makes you happy with your friends and family?
4. What makes you happy when you’re by yourself?
5. What do you love to do?
6. What would you do with your life today if you weren’t afraid of failure?
7. What’s not working in your life?
8. What are you currently doing that prevents you from experiencing joy?
9. What’s working in your life?
10. Which relationships are working in your life?
11. Who’s not working in your life?
12. Who in your life is subtracting value from and adding misery to it?
13. Do you believe you should you let them go from your life?
14. What’s the single most important thing you’ve learned about yourself as a result of answering these questions?

You’ll find that by putting your answers down on paper, they’ll become clear more quickly and the actions you need to take more obvious and easier to initiate. The next steps to take are Goal Setting and following through.

Related blog posts:
Happiness is a decision made between the ears
Self Confidence Boosters
Being Happy No Matter What
Visualizing the Life You Desire