What if #8

This post is an invitation to you to think about the word in the middle of life: IF (L-IF-E). Each week the Rivera Runs Through It blog will present a different "What If...?" question for you to explore. Some will be serious, some will be silly, some might be political, religious or historical.

You can either write a response of your own, or just tune in to see what everyone else has to say about it. At the bottom of this post will be a place for you to link up your own post about the question, so feel free to share. If you have arrived at this post and the inlinkz tool is closed, or you don't have a blog, then please leave your response (or link) in the comment section below using DISQUS.

Happy pondering to everyone...

What IF #8:

What if we were charged the "true" price of food and/or gas?

Money is tight right now for pretty much everyone, so no one wants to talk about paying more for anything, but what about the non-monetary costs of all that we consume from our planet? We do pay for some of the true costs of food and energy consumption through our taxes (here in the US) since certain things such as clean up costs and subsidies to these large industries, but what about the other costs? What if we could put a dollar amount on the environmental and wildlife damages caused by the food and energy industries? What if the health care costs resulting from certain food or energy choices could be accounted for?

How expensive would our food become? How much would it cost to fill up your car? Would these changes be enough for you to make new choices about your food and energy consumption? Do you think this "true" cost would be a good thing for society to embrace, or no?

This was a part of the conversation during last week's 24 Hours of Reality campaign by the Climate Reality Project. It is also something I've been thinking about for a long time. Now I'm wondering what you think! Link up or comment below!

For a list of all of the What if questions asked so far, 

see The What If Prompts

24 Hours of Reality

There she is. Isn't she beautiful? So big, so powerful, so full of life and so ready for humanity to take notice.

Look real close at this picture. Enlarge it if you like. Zoom in using whatever tools your technology allows. I promise you, you will not be able to see a human from this angle. We are that small. However, in a sick twist of fate, we are having an enormous affect on that beauty. We, in our masses, are changing the scope and landscape of our Mother Earth.

It is time to get real about the situation. It is time to STOP wondering after all of these natural disasters, Why is nature turning on US? and start figuring out How can WE stop ABUSING Nature.

Many of you are doing this already. Many recognize that every little thing each one of us does right is a step in the right direction, but tonight, there is a call to action for the MASSES. Tonight begins the 24 Hours of Reality:



Will you join me? It begins at 7PM Central Time there will be 24 different presenters in 13 different languages. Let's get real about this, let's not be victims of green washing anymore, let's heal our world together.

For more information on the event, see the Event Page at The Climate Reality Project.