This morning I left a book called Greenopia on one of the tables at my local coffee shop, in the hope that it might help one more person in Los Angeles live more sustainably. I thought about how I try to make a difference in my own life and started wondering if it helps at all. The result was a little poem – a bit of a Seussian eco-rant!

For years now, I’ve been very keen

To live a life that’s much more green

I re-use, recycle and reduce

But I sometimes wonder, “What’s the use?”

Even if I produce much less trash

Forces that are powered by cash

Cause greed and waste and devastation

And not just here in this great nation.

Trash, not fish, now fills our seas,

We make toilet paper from our trees.

Lions and elephants and rhinos,

Are disappearing like the dinos.

We’re fracking for gas and drilling for oil

And poisoning our rivers and our soil.

Greenhouses gases pollute our air

And plastic stuff is everywhere.

We say “Save our Planet!” but it’s idle chatter

When cars and cell phones are all that matter.

Bigger tvs and faster food –

These are what we believe are good.

But if more of us start wanting less

Maybe we can stop this mess.

It’s really time to make a fuss.

If we destroy nature, we destroy us.