What to do? What to do?

Hi neighbors. When I see people looking confused these days, I figure they are thinking about one of two things. What they are supposed to do and who they can ask to find out.

Whether they are wondering about who to vote for or what light bulbs to buy, inquiring people want to know who has the answers.

A lot of times you have to do massive amounts of research, or you can just ask the secretary.

Tuesday was Earth Day. Did you do your part? I wonder if people would get more concerned over the environment if we named it Human Survival Day instead.

It's hard to wrap our minds around the whole planet being in trouble...but being told that everyone around us might have to walk to work within a few years might shake people up and get their attention.

It's like someone telling you the barn needs fixed. If you never go out to the barn, or even look at it while going about your daily business, you would probably not put fixing the barn on the top of your "to do" list. Till one day you walk into the barn and it falls down on top of you.

There are lots of ways to conserve energy; recycle paper and plastic, convince people to use glass containers, take your own shopping bag to the grocery store, etc.

Just do a search on the Internet and you can get dozens of tips on how to help "green up" the Earth.

The simple truth is, unfortunately, that as long as we are dependent on fossil fuels, we will continue to pollute until the oil is gone or becomes too expensive to process.

I am talking about every nation, not just America.

We all hear how we can do a little to help, but until every person is convinced they have to do a lot -- soon, it will be difficult to see much improvement.

So what are the solutions? Wind power, water power, battery powered cars, more mass transit? Yes...and more.

Adjusting our lifestyles to stop consuming oil has to become a priority. We can't see recycling as something cute the children do in gradeschool. The change has to be big and it should be as soon as possible.

We complain about oil prices then shrug our shoulders as if saying, "well, what are we going to do? We have to have gas for our cars and heating fuel for our homes, don't we?" No, rethink that. We need to have transportation that is accessible, cheap and reliable. We need to have homes that are environmentally friendly, low-cost and comfortable.

With unemployment rampant and with so many people losing their homes from foreclosure, why doesn't the government start a work program aimed at building self-sufficient homes? There are houses that are built to remain at a comfortable temperature year round with little or no heating or air conditioning. These homes are made with recycled tires and include recycling water systems.

This technology is available now. The price of a starter home with this technology is around $20,000. Why can't these types of homes become the norm? Something needs to be done on a massive scale to address the problem, even while we continue to recycle, reuse and reduce our usage in our own small ways.

On a brighter note, Wednesday was Administrative Professionals Day in the middle of the Administrative Professionals Week.

Originally called National Secretaries Week when it started in 1952, the name was changed in 2000 to Administrative Professionals Week and Day.

The event is celebrated worldwide and often includes training seminars for those working in those fields. Oddly enough, the site for the International Association of Administrative Professionals, goes on to say that "there are more than 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States." So I guess if you have been lead to feel uncomfortable calling someone a secretary instead of an administrative assistant, you might ask them their title, or just hand them the flowers and slink away smiling.

Whatever title they wear, people in their positions are usually the backbone of any organization or business and the central hub of all information and activities other workers are involved in at all levels. They certainly deserve some special recognition.

Until the next time friends remember, when you don't know what to do or who to ask just stand still and listen. Your own common sense won't fail you.