Action. Now.

Last night, after work, I caught up with a very dear friend. One of my oldest friends. We're busy people and don't see as much of one another as we might like so when we do see one another, it is a wonderful time. The conversation is usually very political, very rigorous and very interesting.
He is a conservative. A real one.
And I, you may have noted, am a bit of a leftie.
I would never bag this friend of mine out, but I was very upset when I left him last night.
Debate about US politics or KRudd and Carpenter... these sorts of subjects have often delivered disagreement and sometimes agreement but always respect for the others opinion. If you have to ability to articulate your reasoning, and I can see your logic, I will always respect you.
Or so I thought.
Daniel has a new car. He calls it the Land Yacht. It is an Aurion or something. If it's named after a celestial body, you know it isn't small.
I pointed out the emissions a car of that size pumps out are unacceptable and suggested he might go carbon neutral.
He shot me down. He is very cynical about how it works. He thinks carbon taxes will make things too expensive. He thinks it is ridiculous that companies are trying to sell themselves as "green".
As far as I am concerned he could not be more wrong nor more out of step with where society is heading.
I've been through many of the issues here before so I won't go through them again now. He was so strident. So unrepentant.
I looked him in the eyes... and I was trying so hard no to cry... and I put it to him like this: When we are both old men Daniel, and I pray that we get there, sitting opposite one another in Jason recliners (yours will all the bells and whistles) I'll be able to look you in the eye and say, "I was right". And I don't want to be right, because it will be too late. You're going to leave kids to inherit this planet. I am not. Think about what you're leaving behind. At least offset your car's emissions.
It was a sad note to end the night on, for me. I hope Daniel went away and thought about it.
I did.
I came home and offset another year's worth of my carbon emissions.
And, slightly drunkenly, I told Thom I wanted to do something about this. If such a well-reasoned friend of mine can be so disinterested, disbelieving, then something MUST be done. I just have to work out what that is.