See these must-visit spots before it's too late - Destinations- msnbc.com

It's heart wrenching to see an article that gives travel advice for the places and things to go see before they are gone. But it's important to know what's going on. And though many of us would have never visited some of the places mentioned in this article, if you ever wanted to, now may be the only time left.

This is why it is so nauseating that the knee jerk reaction to the "oil crises" is to find cheaper sources. Drilling within the US is not even a short term solution. Even if we do produce oil domestically, it will be sold on the global market. Oh yes, folks! Oil is still a for profit business, and if we step up the production of crude within the US, then you can bet your last gallon of gas, the oil companies will sell it on the world market for a higher price than they can sell it here!

But even if the pandering to our low gas price fantasy could be believed, by the time domestic oil production starting flowing and new refineries were built and producing gas 20 or more years down the road, we could have already solved our energy problems with clean renewable energy.

But make no mistake, alternative energy sources are only a part of the solution. There are many other changes that must be made. One of the biggest culprits of poisoning our planet and our population is corporate farming.

We need to address industrial farming, which is not only adding to the destruction of the environment, but is a main source of toxins and harmful chemicals in our food. Centralized production of meat and vegetables is an extremely unhealthy and costly endeavor. Filthy conditions in huge cattle and poultry ranches are for the most part unsuccessfully combated with strong chemicals. Animals are injected with hormones and antibiotics which are then ingested by people. Transportation is needed to move the product across the country. After several more stops along the way, the no longer fresh product is sold at our grocery stores. And what of the waste products? What isn't used in pet foods are either washed into our ground water or burned. And this is not even taking into consideration the inhumane treatment of animals.


And it get's worse! After corporations pushed out the majority of the small farms and became the primary source of food, they also became a cartel that controls the markets. This makes our food the object of speculators, just like our oil and housing industries. If you look at how fast the cost of fruit, vegetables and meat has risen after corporate farms took over, you can see what big business has done to us.

While not all of us can afford the prices of "organic" foods, we can support our local independent farms. The more folks that do this, the more we can fight corporations, and the healthier we will all be... including the polar bears!



See these must-visit spots before it's too late - Destinations- msnbc.com