Over her lifetime the tiny single atom, Carrie Carbon, had literally seen the world.  Looking back, one of her proudest accomplishments was helping build a great forest where gigantic dinosaurs roamed.  That shining moment of glory ended when the towering tree she helped create crashed to the forest floor and was slowly subsumed into the earth.  There she lay dormant for millennia as a lump of coal.

            Carrie’s coal-ish coma was disturbed 200 years ago when she was dug up, ignited and POOF! Carrie joined with two friendly oxygen atoms and floated away as a carbon dioxide (CO2) molecule.

             Back then, she rarely saw other CO2 molecules.  Not surprising as there were only about 275 of them in every million molecules of air.  Now-a-days it’s much more common for her to bump into other CO2 friends.  Carrie wondered why.

           One day she happened to float into Ima Teechur’s classroom.  On the white board in bold letters were the words Carbon Cycle.  The lesson was about Carrie and her ever-changing life!  If molecules could blush, she was sure she’d be glowing rosy red.  Ms. Teechur explained how important carbon is to life on earth and the various ways it cycles from one form to another.  And Ima even answered Carrie’s question about bumping into more and more CO2 buddies.

            “Think of atmospheric carbon in terms of a bathtub with an open faucet and an open drain,” Ms. Teechur suggested.  “Since the dawn of humankind there has been a relatively stable amount of CO2 in that tub, about 275 parts per million (ppm).  But since the beginning of the Industrial Age humankind has been opening the tap more and more until today there are 415 ppm.  More atmospheric carbon is pouring into the tub while the drain size has remained the same.  It’s not hard to imagine what will eventually happen unless we either turn down the tap, widen the drain, or do both.  Next class we’ll look at some ways to do just that.”

            Carrie Carbon begged her two oxygen buddies to stay and learn more next time, and they agreed.  (Readers can too!)  She intuitively understood that maintaining a relatively stable carbon cycle will pay huge dividends for us all, so she was eager to find out how.   Because if we don’t take care of our planetary home where else would we live?  We’re all here forever… Earthbound.

         Lyndell and Tamika timed their visit perfectly.  Our friends from Mississippi arrived just as a riot of migrating song birds put on a show outside our windows.  Over thirty varieties performed in a springtime circus of color and chatter so delightful, it almost made us giggle to watch.

         Because Lyndell and Tamika come from extremely modest financial circumstances, I often think that these Mississippi folk imagine we middle-class white folks in Wisconsin are rich enough to buy just about anything we want.  Tamika reinforced that thought at breakfast the next morning.   She was so enthralled by the almost unbelievable variety and quantity of birds on display that she only half-jokingly asked, “Did you buy these birds?”  Well, of course we didn’t.  They come as a cost-free blessing courtesy of Mother Nature. 

         Our guests headed back home, but her question tickled my curiosity.  Just what would I be willing to pay to assure the continued health of our avian feathered friends?  It’s an especially pertinent question in light of two recent reports on environmental stability.

         The first is a United Nations report that found 1 million animal and plant species may become extinct because of shifts in the use of land and ocean resources, over harvesting, climate change, pollution, and invasive species (in that order).  The second comes from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.  It found that the current atmospheric CO2 level is 415 ppm (parts per million), way beyond the centuries-long average of about 275 ppm and higher than any time in human history.  Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major contributor to climate change.

         Given these huge environmental challenges, perhaps each of us should ask ourselves what costs we’d be willing to shoulder to “buy” a level of assurance that the bird populations we enjoy today will also delight our great grandchildren.

         Are we willing to minimize single-use conveniences of paper and plastic products?  Would it be too much to ask us to reduce our release of toxic pesticides and harsh cleaning and personal care products into the waste stream?  Can we lean toward eating lower on the food chain - more fruits, veggies, and whole grains?  Do we have the resolve to transition our fossil-fuel-based transportation, heating/cooling and electrical generation infrastructure to a clean renewable energy model? 

         Hard questions.  But what choice do we have?  Because this is our only home where we’re forever… Earthbound.