For years, we all have heard predictions from scientists, pseudo-scientists, and folks who sort of read something about science, that the end is near. Climate change is changing the planet, and we must do something before it is too late.

They remind me of the children's tale: "Ducky Lucky told Henny Penny who told Chicken Little that the sky is falling."

While I understand their message, I don't want to think about climate change because, frankly, there is nothing I can do about it. It is a giant and highly complex problem, one that must be solved by our national leaders.

Sure, I get it. Fossil fuels are bad. When we burn them to power the family bus, giant power plants, or factories of all sorts, they generate carbon dioxide, which traps solar rays and heats our atmosphere.

So, according to these prophets of doom, we should stop using fossil fuels. We should padlock the coal, gas and other old industries, and all would be just fine.

But, there is a bit of a problem with that.

We would have to shut down all the coal-fired power plants and padlock all the coal mines. This would hit the kill switch at more than 500 electric plants, turn the lights off in most homes, factories, stores and schools, and torpedo the national electrical grid.

It would also turn off all the traffic lights, gas stations, and grocery stores, putting a real crimp in our lifestyle. It could also throw our economy into chaos.

I suppose the alternative would be to invest in nuclear energy, But, then we would have to deal with spent fuel like they do in Wiscasset. And lots of folks equate nuclear power with A-Bombs. Even the idea of having a nuke power plant in town scares the dickens out of a whole lot of people.

Now, I am a grandfather and a great-grandfather. I don't worry much about my life, as I know I am reaching my "sell by" date.

But, I believe the scientists, like our neighbors at the Bigelow Lab, are telling us the truth when they say the oceans are warming. Our fishermen report seeing new fish species moving in and others moving away. Tropical storms seem to be getting worse, and huge summer wildfires are the norm.

When we built our house, we decided not to include air conditioning because, well, we were in Maine, and who in Maine needs air conditioning. Right?

So, something is going on. But. what can I do about it, other than gripe? I understand we are in a long game and ought to do something. But what? Where to start?

A Chinese philosopher named Lao Tzu said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

Here is my idea, and it is not original, but it is something.

I think I will begin by replacing all the regular light bulbs in the house with LED lights. The U.S. Department of Energy says they use 75% less energy than the regular bulbs. And, get this, the LEDs last 25 times longer than the regular bulbs.

By 2027, according to the energy department, “widespread use of LEDs could save the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at today's electricity prices."

What else can I do? I could buy a new car, an electric car like a Tesla, but my 16-year-old car runs just fine, and I don't have a spare $50,000 for a new one.

I could install solar panels on the roof and, or put up a windmill to generate my electricity, but that probably is not in the cards.

But, I can change the light bulbs. And LEDs are in my price range. I know it is not a lot, but doing something is better than doing nothing. Right?

Oh, I just had another thought. By using less electricity, my CMP bill might go down a bit. Wouldn't that be a shame?

And now for something completely different

Last weekend, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon.

For those readers who are under 60 years old it wasn't a huge deal, just another headline on a story that popped up on your smartphone while you were listening to music or grooving on photos of cute kittens, or texting with your pal who is sitting right next to you.

But for the old-timers, like me, it was huge. I can remember being in the newsroom huddled around a TV set with a gaggle of editors who were waiting to write the top of a long story about the successful moon landing.

What about you, dear reader. Where were you? What were you doing? What do you remember about that event?