I caught the sneak preview of An Inconvenient Truth in Berkeley on Tuesday night a day before it opened. Given my true anal nature, I arrived over an hour early and was first in line. Maybe I’m a freak, but many people were turned away when they ran out of seats.

Al Gore did a great job in the film articulating the problem of climate change in a clear and articulate manner. Being enrolled in the Presidio School of Managements environmental MBA program, this was not new information for me, but the manner in which it was delivered was.

The charts, graphs, photos, and cartoons along with Al Gore’s surprising comfort and humor all served his purpose of educating people on the problem. I don’t think the film by itself will make people change their habits, as it takes more than a film to get people to change. But it will play a supporting role in helping people move one step further along the path.

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Today I launched a redisgn of my web site. I decided to switch over to Word Press blogging software to make the maintanence of the site and posting easier. This will allow me to keep the site more up to date. Special thanks go to Blue Host for providing Word Press as part of their hosting package, and to Patricia Muller who authored the Connections theme for Word Press. I’ve already made many cosmetic and functional changes, but it’s been a great theme to build from.

I also want to thank the author of the many plug-ins that I’m using throughout the site – there are too many to mention, but your work has made mine much easier. Thank you.

March 20th, Saturday morning, I rolled over sleepily unwilling to rouse myself from the comfort of bed. I had planed to attend the Peace March in San Francisco that morning, marking the one-year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, making clear my resistance to policies of preemptive action. Now that the time had come to act, I really didn’t feel like going. My friends Caroline and Andre had asked me to go hiking that afternoon – promises of single unattached women sparking my interest. It would be easier to lie in bed, do some reading and go hiking in the afternoon – why bother with the trek up to the city.I had never attended a public demonstration before, and I didn’t know what to expect. I recalled television news reports over the years, brief images and sound bites of angry people filling the streets. I felt strongly that our countries actions in Iraq were not just, but wasn’t sure I wanted to express my opinion in this way. The previous day I heard a radio report that the city was going to be a mad house due to the demonstrations, the announcer warned people to stay away.

I hadn’t planned to meet anyone at the march, so I was free to blow it off without letting anyone else down. I roused myself out of bed and wondered into the living room of Andre and Caroline’s house to check my email. My van was in the shop for repairs and I was staying with them for a few days while it was being fixed. I booted up my laptop and logged on.

One of the messages was from the Dennis Kucinich presidential campaign – I had voted for Dennis in the California primary. I agreed with his message and plans, happy that a candidate was taking an idealistic approach. I tried to stay in touch with the campaign through their email list; they usually sent so many that I never read them all, but I read this one. (more…)