Something sad and maybe something to rejoice about...

My sister-in-law, Barbara Preston, widow of the late Aston Preston, former Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, died two days ago. She was a truly good woman, which is the highest compliment I can pay her. As my former headmistress, Sister Bernadette Little, RSM said of her in an e-mail to me, "She is a loss to a Jamaica that could do well with the finesse and charm she exuded, but heaven will be the richer for her presence." Amen, Sister B, Amen. I came across Zerofootprint on the Air Canada website, and thought again of my friend, Thomas. I'm hanging this up here, my fellow poet and writer, as a continuation of our conversation on these matters. Hopefully it's a step in the right direction. The quote comes from the Zerofootprint website. "Zerofootprint is a not-for-profit organization that has emerged as the industry standard for offsets. Our mandate is not only to help individuals and businesses become carbon neutral, but to develop the technology and communities that will help the world rise to the challenge of climate change. SNIP, SNIP... Every flight you take releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. When you offset your flight and contribute to certified environmentally friendly projects, you remove from the atmosphere an amount that corresponds to your share of CO2 generated by your flight." So here's a way for all the frequent fliers to compensate in some wise for the price the planet pays for each trip. It's not a perfect solution, but, God willing, it may help.