In the shower yesterday, my husband and I got into an argument over the validity of climate change. Now me trying to wave the banner of sustainability and a green life has not exactly been a dealbreaker for our relationship, although 1) I'm not an extremist, nor even a purist, and 2) We don't necessarily share the same values across the board.

In our household, we allow each other to vote differently. We will even be allowing our children to choose their beliefs and religions, if they choose to affiliate.

I understand that to believe in something is to hold the burden of proving that belief. Or to believe by virtue of pure faith (and an inordinate amount of hope). I am excellent at this. I am also very good at holding contrasting beliefs, being consciously aware that my own persona is very accommodating to polarities.

Climate science: is something I have not personally studied. I acquired a few bytes of information here and there, mostly from reputable sources* such as The Sierra Club, or the Environmental Working Group. Of course for someone with a research background like me, I would prefer first-hand information. I don't exactly have the bandwidth to visit the polar icecaps, or the Amazon myself at this time, or speak with experts, so I would rely on these well-written* dialogue from said reputable sources*.

So, another new personal goal from now on is to learn the data behind climate change. When I say data - I mean as much as possible, raw, unprocessed, un-analyzed data. I figure, to install some sort of a datum for my studies, I would peg my inquiries to the year 1982: the year I was born.

I would try to figure out answers to questions such as:
1. How much (if any) have the polar icecaps melted since 1982?
2. If the Amazon is considered the lungs of the earth - how has it changed since 1982?
3. What was the population since 1982 - of humans, of various kinds of animals, of infants, of the elderly, of various kinds of plants?
4. Why are we considering the polar icecaps, or the Amazon, or carbon emissions when pondering climate change?

I am deliberately stealing, or misappropriating George Orwell's 1984 novel into my own 1982 Series. With this I hope to de-program, unlearn, and deconstruct what I know (or think I know) about climate science. Let's go back to the prime intelligence. There is an extraordinary amount of content out there. As well as noise. I need to quiet down these thoughts and revisit the most basic questions. Especially those that seem to evade us in our highly informed* state, but which we would otherwise regretfully miss. Watch me go!

If I try to think back and remember my conversion to being green, I could not remember it at all. Perhaps I was born green. Perhaps I always had the predisposition to be green.

Like most people of my generation, I grew up with toxic compounds around me. In my food, in my personal care products. In our household items, in the cutlery, dishes, and glasses that I used. I turned out alright. I think. I am praying that for the many coming years of my life I do not get diagnosed with a malignant disease that could have come from those chemicals.

But, the writing's on the wall for that.

What I know now, is that I should strive to keep my body as healthy as possible, and that includes trying to stay toxin-free.