Forty per cent of Americans still don't accept the premise that human activity can lead to environmental degradation.  While there is truth in the adage "science is good only for proving your own point of view", factual data shows ecological upheaval is real and affects us all.
 
Ocean levels are rising, due to thermal expansion and polar ice melt brought on by increasing temperatures.  The resulting disruption of Pacific island cultures is ongoing -- as are the migration of many fish species to cooler northern waters, depletion of shrimp off the Louisiana coast, real likelihood of storm surge damage to New Orleans and New York City, and frequent inundation of coastal south Florida.  In fact, two and a half million Floridians now live less than four feet above ever-rising high tides.
 
Hopeful entrepreneurs dream of profit in aquatic resort schemes, but all concede that parts of south Florida may become uninhabitable.  The possibility is real, considering 2012 was the second-worse weather damage year in US history and a harbinger of more climate-related challenges to come.  The oceans are a vast "heat sink" and current trends will take decades or even centuries to reverse, assuming corrective strategies can even be agreed on and implemented.  We can expect a worsening scenario -- from our perch 570 feet above sea level, we'll no doubt see travel restrictions to ocean-coast areas, escalating prices and shortages of some food products, and more severe damage from near-perfect storms.
 

Tidbits of Information on Recycling and Disposal

Abitibi Bins (green and yellow in YMCA parking lot and around town)
Newspaper, junk mail, even shredded paper tightly tied in plastic bags can be put into the Abitibi bins. Phone books and cardboard are not accepted.

Shredding of confidential papers
SOCRRA (Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority) offers free paper shredding even if you are not a resident of Oakland County. Address: 995 Coolidge, Troy (between 14 Mile and Maple, across from Meijer). Paper Shredder Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 am – 3:30 pm and Saturday 8:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Bulldog Records Management is closer and will shred a box of documents for a reasonable fee, Address: 17000 15 Mile Rd, Fraser, MI 48026; Phone:(313) 343-9600

Wayne County Household Hazardous Waste Collection
For residents of Wayne County only. June 18, 8a.m.-2p.m., Henry Ford College 5101 Evergreen Rd. Dearborn, (just south of Ford Rd).

Light bulb recycling
CFL bulbs (curly ones) have a small amount of mercury in them and should be disposed of properly. They are accepted at local hardware stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, and Batteries + Bulbs locations.
Florescent tubes should be taken to Hazardous Waste Days.

Medication Disposal
Medication must be taken out of bottles to dispose at your local police station; you should black out any personal information on the label and recycle the container. Many pharmacies will also take medication for disposal. You may also bring the medication to the church office. If bringing to church it does not necessarily have to be removed from the bottle.

Can this be recycled?
Questions of how to recycle almost everything, visit http://earth911.com. or go to RecycleChicken on Facebook, very interesting.

· Unfortunately, DTE and Consumers Power have suspended their appliance-recycling program to safely dispose of appliances, if replacing them, ask the company to take and recycle them.

· By checking Earth 911 at http://www.earth911.com/recycling-guide/how-to-recycle-large-appliances/, you can find the best way to recycle almost everything.

· Take action by writing letters to the editor and to your local legislators, or by attending local government meetings. Elected officials and media outlets have the power to influence the climate conversation. As a community, encourage them to take action.

· What will you do with your old electronics? Try Amazon’s Trade-in Program, where Amazon will take your old electronics and issue you Amazon Gift Cards. Gazelle is another company that will buy your used electronics and if you still have E-waste, take it to Best Buy for proper recycling of the items.

Check out this NY Times article, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/technology/how-to-sell-or-recycle-old-electronics.html?emc=edit_ct_20151203&nl=personaltech&nlid=51136770&_r=0