This Thanksgiving we are thankful for many things including our family, friends and the knowledge that there are many people out there who also care about climate change and the environment. We are thankful for everyone who takes the time to read our blog and think about the things we write. Whether you agree with us or not, we appreciate that you are thinking about these issues and we love it when you comment on posts or on Facebook to let us know that you are reading and thinking about these things too.
Two of our children with their baby cousin this Thanksgiving
I am thankful to have a job that allows me to spend every day working on things that I am passionate about. Every day I work making buildings more energy efficient, influencing development in our community, advising residents, developing programs and influencing policy. I work for a Mayor that has a huge amount of influence in our city and in our state and he cares passionately about climate change, global warming and preserving the environment for future generations. Knowing that we are making a real difference keeps me going to work every day. I enjoyed working part-time for three years and spending a lot of time with my children and reducing our own carbon footprint. I was sad to give that up and switch to full-time in April, but that was the one requirement the Mayor asked of me when he offered me the position of Director of Energy & Environment for our City. This is also why I have been writing less over the past 8 months, I just haven’t had as much time.
Working full time has also meant that I’ve had to make compromises in some areas as well. I don’t have time to hang dry my laundry, pay as much attention to my garden or cook as much food from scratch. However, the additional income has allowed us to do other things like buy more organic food (we have a box of organic fruits and vegetables delivered every Friday) and to have our nanny come more hours and help with some of the housework in addition to watching our children.
Jon lead the effort to get solar installed at our church
We are thankful to belong to a church community that shares our environmental values. We came to them wanting to share our knowledge about climate change and environmental issues, and not only did they listen, our church worked with us to develop green programs and do major energy efficiency upgrades to the church property. We found that there was a large latent desire amoung the congregation to advance environmental programs. Additionally, the Episcopal Diocese gave Jonathan many opportunities to reach out to other congregations and help educate others about Caring for Creation. While this isn’t an area he’s written about much, he’s become quite the regional expert and advisor on greening houses of worship.
We are thankful that the two great candidates for US Senate that we supported, won. We are thankful that the Keystone XL pipeline has still not been built. We are thankful that raising the minimum wage is close to a reality in Massachusetts and has become a national discussion. We are thankful that the way Walmart treats its employees has become a discussion in the mainstream media and that people are taking action all over the country. We are thankful that Americans are becoming more aware of the economic inequalities in our country and thinking about what they can do about it.
Most of all we are thankful that our children understand what we are passionate about and why we spend so much time and energy working to make the world a better place. 
Happy Thanksgiving!
Alicia & Jon
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