Six thousand tons of sunscreen wash into the ocean every year, exponentially encouraging the growth of viruses that attack coral reefs and other marine plant life. So, protecting your child’s tender parts as you romp on the beach is potentially contributing to the demise of flora half a world away. I’m not a “butterfly effect” believer--no wing flapping causes a tsunami--but a statistic like that makes you think. Call me an environmental wacko or whatever else means I care about the world I’m walking in and will leave behind, I know there is a cosmic connection between everything and everyone, and it is our job to protect it and our honor to be part of it. This notion of interconnectedness is, in large part, what led to my choice of vegetarianism. I couldn’t keep allowing other creatures to come to harm for my benefit. I thought of the direct link between actions and their impact during a moment of silence in observance of 9/11. My heart kept crying, “I’m sorry!” 
to all the souls of that day. Sorry for your suffering. Sorry for your death. Sorry for your life lived in chaos. Because of the ties that bind us, the human fabric tore, leaving ragged edges. But if we are united in tragedy, so, too, are we connected in joy. Debra Frasier’s On The Day You Were Born is a message to each little soul that the community of Earth anticipated their unique arrival with wonder. I like that idea.
http://www.amazon.com/Day-You-Were-Born/dp/0152579958
http://www.debrafrasier.com/
