I took action.

Today marked my first and only attempt at environmental activism.

I heard about a march in Milano in honor of 350 Day, which is basically to get world leaders to talk about climate change in Copenhagen at the summit. (350 refers to the parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is considered liveable for Earth; we are at 385 right now.)
I showed up in Piazza de' Mercanti to find that there was another demonstration happening as well; some people were handing out flyers and denouncing Berlusconi in the name of freedom of speech and of the press. Can you believe that in a so-called democracy, such a thing occurs? Maybe it's just the Canadian in me whose sensibilities are offended. I know that people live differently the world over, but Italy is a developed, European nation with a democratic government in place; yes it's a rightist government, but its people should still be able to express their opinions of said government. No?
Anyway, I saw a mass of bicycles behind them, all with people atop them sporting cloth signs saying "NO" to various things related to oil and greenhouse gases, and they all seemed to know each other. Needless to say, the activist community in Italy is small but mighty. I went up to a girl handing out cloth banner thingies and asked if there were people walking.
Girl: No. We're all riding our bikes. But there's a march on foot at Parco Sempione in a n hour.
Me: Oh. Thanks.
So, it woul dhave been really nice if the website told me where to go for which event. I saw them off, then wandered around downtown for a while before going to the pool and then coming home to sign up for an internet chat room as a volunteer ESL teacher. It's based in Afghanistan, which is only a three-hour time difference from Italy, and I'll be chatting with Afghan women in various stages of education and emancipation and providing ESL support, international perspective, and maybe just a friendly presence on sort of a part-time basis.
It's something I've been meaning to do, and I'm comfortable putting my efforts towards this type of cause. I've never been the type to get in your face with a megaphone about any cause; I am also a terrible fundraiser. I just don't like to make my personal opinions the immediate problem of anyone else, as I don't like it happening to me, even if I happen to agree. When my help is asked for, it's a different story. When I feel my efforts actually make a tangible difference to someone else, also a different story.
Though I didn't actually participate in 350 day, I am still impressed by the website today. Many photos and videos from all over the world have been uploaded and it's heartwarming to see the variety of events, settings, nationalities and languages represented. It makes me want an elementary school class of my very own for one split second because that's the type of group that's really interested in this type of activism. The feeling passes quickly, though.

Tomorrow is an Eco-Sabbath... we also turn our clocks back tonight. Good bye, dinners in the waning light of day!