A couple of unrelated events occurred over the past couple of weeks that became quite tied together in my head. First, Bloomberg had Meredith Danluck and Thomas Morton in as part of BGREEN, its initiative in promoting environmental responsibility. Second, Amazon decided to let Prime members get access to all sorts of streaming media (movies and TV shows, namely) for free!

As a bit of an nerd, I am the proud owner of series like Planet Earth and Life. Plus, the sound of David Attenborough’s smooth voice can lull me into sleep like nobody’s business. I was pleased to find out that the Blue Planet series was available as part of the Amazon Instant Video collection, so I dove in and started watching it.

I continue to be amazed at how diverse and resilient life can be on this planet. Lakes, seas, and oceans can be teeming with life of great varieties, all being a part of complex ecosystems and food chains. Even at the greatest of depths, devoid of sunlight, organisms have found a way to thrive in shocking abundance. (I will say, however, that some of the animals at these depths are among the most hideous that I’ve ever seen; good thing they live in nearly complete darkness.)

Enter BGREEN. Meredith and Thomas were part of a crew that went out to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As part of a VBS documentary called TOXIC: Garbage Island, they set about witnessing and researching how industrious nations have affected the makeup of the ocean. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they found what they were seeking: “garbage island.”

Since I don’t want to spoil the documentary for any potential viewers reading this, I’ll stick to my reaction: I was disgusted to see what they saw. We have contaminated the planet in the places furthest away from civilization. Worse yet, there doesn’t appear to be much that we can do to clean up the mess that we have created.

When I looked into how I have contributed to the problem, I realized that it was mostly due to the attitude that I (and many others) have towards waste; once it is out of my immediate vicinity, it all but vanishes from my memory. Indeed, once the door of the compactor chute closes behind me as I walk back towards my apartment, anything I dropped off there ceases to exist.

And that’s the crux of the problem: we fire and forget. For the most part, I have thought very little about what happens to the disposables after they leave my hands for the last time. I often don’t think about how tons of garbage get hauled away towards who-knows-where, and how mountains of waste are being built on a daily basis. It doesn’t usually occur to me how contaminants can make their way into the water table, or how things that aren’t biodegradable can make their way into the oceans.

Now this post is starting to sound like doom and gloom, and the sad reality is that the situation is quite grim. As more and more human beings fill the planet, and as more capitalistic and consumerist societies pop up, the rate at which waste is generated will likely increase. And the number of places where we can put it will likely decrease. Yes, technology may play a big part in curbing the problem, but I am wary of depending on that.

So, just as it is with many challenges of our time, the solution lies in the hands of the individual. It always starts with one, it seems. What can I do to make a difference? Well, here are a few ideas that have come to mind:

• declining to take plastic bags and cutlery from places where I get groceries and food
• eating at restaurants as opposed to taking out
• bringing lunch to work
• using water bottles as opposed to disposable bottles of water
• asking you to do the same

The good news is that, in many places, it is easier than ever to do the little things that can add up to make big differences. Recycling facilities are becoming better and more accessible. Curbside sorting stations are popping up. Companies, like Bloomberg, have adopted measures to dramatically reduce waste while increasing the use of compostable materials. My church has started a recycling program during its services. So there’s hope. We just need to keep that hope in mind, and to do our small part.

There are many things that we should have two of each day: teeth-brushing sessions, 15-minute breaks at work, servings of four glasses of water, and so on. What would life be like if I only had two dollars to spend each day?

Such is the reality for millions upon millions of people around the world. The statistics are both staggering and depressing. In fact, 20% of the world lives on less than $1.25 a day. Oh, and did I say millions of people? I really meant to say billions. Scary, huh?

In the latest series at Forefront, Imagine, we were challenged to eat on $2.00 a day for a week. The point of this is not to make us suffer, but to experience a hint of the hunger, stress, and poverty that billions of less fortunate people have to endure on a daily basis. Maybe then, after identifying with them and participating in their reality, we can be invigorated to change their plight.

Despite this, though, I realized that living on $2 a day in New York is not *that* hard. In the land of Ramen noodles, PB&J, potatoes, popcorn, and other cheap foods, it’s pretty doable. Many of my friends at Forefront have been putting together some incredible recipes under these kinds of constraints. If, however, our consumption was limited to rice and other basic starches, I can imagine how quickly our bodies would start to deteriorate.

The other thing I realized is that we have the luxury of choice. This is something that members of the church are doing voluntarily, while the billions out there have no such liberties. I should fess up right now by saying that I am not participating in this challenge yet, but will do so after I have overcome an illness and have my dental issues addressed. So I’ll probably be attempting this towards the end of February on my own. I hope that I don’t ever take this ability to pick and choose for granted.

I, for one, will be exercising my freedom of choice and using part of my relatively abundant resources to make a difference. Even without direct participation in the challenge (yet!), I am moved by all of my friends who are doing it and really sacrificing. As someone who loves food, I can only imagine how difficult this is for them, and will be for me.

So there you have it. Two dollars a day. Coming to a hungry yet humble stomach near you.

In my last post, I neglected to mention something that happened to me at the end of 2010 that has very strongly influenced how 2011 started. The first night when I came back to Toronto, I went out with some of my friends from high school. As things were winding down and we were all on our way back home, I was inadvertently pushed from behind on the subway. In what felt like an instant, I shifted from standing by the doors to hunching over and clutching part of my front tooth; I had hit my mouth on plexiglass and almost half of a tooth chipped off.

This was one of those freakish accidents that we all think wouldn’t happen to us. More than anything, I was in shock; over and over, I just kept on thinking, “did that really just happen?” This happened in the wee hours of Christmas Eve, so finding a dentist at that time would prove challenging. When I woke up early that day, I started calling around and found a dentist who could fit me in at noon. There was no real discomfort so I was hoping that everything will somehow turn out fine.

X-rays of the tooth suggested otherwise; there was pulp exposure, which means that the area where the nerve is in the tooth was compromised. As there were no immediate sensitivity issues, the dentist cemented the chipped part back on and proceeded to offer no guarantees about any sort of recovery. The tooth may die. I may need a root canal. I can’t bite anything using my front teeth. The cement can break off.

Five weeks later, I went to see a dentist in New York to check if/how things had progressed. I didn’t feel any pain or anything, so I was optimistic that my little nerve hung in there and was on the road to recovery. But, again, x-rays suggested otherwise. It seemed that the tooth was, in fact, slowly dying. He proceeded to reiterate many of the things the dentist in Toronto had said.

It seems, then, that I have little choice: go on without biting and with the knowledge that, one day, the chip will fall off again and that I’d be back at square one, or get the root canal and put a crown in. The latter would mean that I could bite and be somewhat normal again, but I’d have to replace the crown every once in a while. Oh, and that I’d lose the nerve forever. It’s amazing how the most minor of events could have such lasting impacts.

Despite not being able to enjoy many of my favourite foods so far this year, there has been much to celebrate as well: an amazing snowboarding trip out to Killington, fun trips back to Canada, seeing many great friends in concert, being diligent at the gym, and generally having a good time in New York. There’s always a silver lining, huh?