MESSAGE FROM THE STAFF I guess it's up to us. If you've been reading our web pages or have kept up with environmental news from our nation's Capitol, it's painfully obvious making the positive changes necessary for our planet is up to us....yep....you and me. Fortunately, many are up to the task these days. Whether it's state legislation, towns pledging to buy clean energy, or the formation of local bike clubs, people across the U.S. have finally gotten the message...don't ask permission anymore, just do it. The CT Sierra Club has had an incredible time outside the movie theater lately with information on global warming and the actions everyone can take. While few sit and wait for our government to actually do something, those coming out of the film "An Inconvenient Truth," have taken on the job themselves. In any change, there are a number of things to consider. To get someplace we've never been or to be someone we've never been, we've got to start doing something we've never done. In the effort to heal our planet and ourselves, fear and uncertainty deserve no place. While we continue to look for leaders with the courage it takes to change, we ourselves must become the leaders. Many people are now showing that courage. Roughly translated, the word "courage" means your heart speaking. Courage is not the absence of fear but the will to move ahead in spite of the fear. There are many solutions to our current problems. Just like in our personal lives, our culture and economy have 10 solutions for every problem. The first 3 will be easy to come by; the next 7 might be like pulling teeth out of a tiger that's still awake...but the solutions are there. Organizations like the Sierra Club are here to present and model those solutions. But we mustn't get caught up in the "how-to's." As Dr. Robert Schuller once said, "make the decision first, then solve the problem." In the changes needed today, "getting ready" is a stalling tactic. So take the initiative. Find out how to save energy...how to live simply...and with a new sense of purpose. When you start moving in the direction of sustainability, invisible forces will come into play. Luck, friends, decisions, insight, even strangers will start coming out of the woodwork to help when we start taking actions. It's often amazing what comes from just asking. Will there be problems along the way? Of course, that's what life is. Do you want to see people without any problems? Visit your local cemetery. If we focus on the solutions, the problems will seem like mere speed bumps on the way to a more peaceful, sustainable, and healthy world. It will not happen by next week and it will take all of us. But it is possible, necessary, difficult, and worth it. It's time to lead....and time to make the leaders follow us. John D. Calandrelli State Program Director, CT Sierra Club     The Sierra Club is a non-profit member-supported, public interest organization that promotes conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy decisions--legislative, administrative, legal, and electoral. Sierra Club, 85 Second St., Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3441, USA. Telephone (415) 977-5500 (voice), (415) 977-5799 (FAX). Sierra Club® and One Earth, One Chance® are registered trademarks of the Sierra Club. This page created & maintained for the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club by RootGrafix Web Design. E-mail the webmaster at birchbark@rootgrafix.com with any site-related questions, updates, or needs. Last Update: April 28, 2004.