Decisions

The Czechs have been burning the hedge and tree cuttings, probably because the nearest tip is half-an-hour away. The fire has been belching acrid smoke right at the courtyard and buildings. It caught at the back of my throat just crossing the courtyard, and my room smells of it. There is also a light rain of ash settling on cars and cobwebs.

The leak of caustic red sludge in Hungary gives perspective. But what on earth do we think we are doing when our industrial processes are so toxic and our management of them is so poor that they have potential to cause such problems? But still the coalition is in favour of restarting the nuclear industry! Each smaller decision is symptomatic of the greater. We take the easy way out by burning green material and creating pollution, instead of composting it. The greater decisions give 'permission' for the smaller, but taking one great decision isn't enough; living sustainably means taking myriads of smaller decisions day after day after day. And how are we going to learn to take difficult greater decisions in favour of sustainability if we don't start taking the difficult smaller decisions?