No such thing as a free lunch. (Tuesday May 14th 2013) Imagine a gigantic banquet. “Hundreds of millions of people come to eat. They eat and drink to their hearts’ content – eating food that is better and more abundant than at the finest tables in ancient Athens or Rome, or even in the palaces of medieval Europe. Then, one day, a man arrives, wearing a white dinner jacket. He says he is holding the bill. Not surprisingly, the diners are in shock. Some begin to deny that this is their bill. Others deny that there even is a bill. Still others deny that they partook of the meal. One diner suggests that the man is not really a waiter, but is only trying to get attention for himself or to raise money for his own project. Finally, the group concludes that if they simply ignore the waiter, he will go away”. This exert is from a book called The Merchants of Doubt (Bloomsbury). When I read it, I highlighted the passage because I think it is a great analogy to what is happening today in our world in regards to climate change. For the past 150 years we have been feeding on fossil fuels with no thought as to who is going to pay for our consumption. No thought as to the possibility that one day someone might have to actually pay the bill. Instead of taking responsibility and maybe splitting the bill or or doing the washing up to help pay, we are denying it is our bill, or we are questioning the waiter (as to his/her motives). We didn’t know it was a banquet, we didn’t know there was going to be a bill. It’s not fair. We weren’t even there for the first course. Well, we know now. Question is … what are we going to do? Slainte – Colleen