Please...Let it Rain.

I was watching Oprah today and one of her guests was Princess Fannie. If you watch Oprah you probably know who Princess Fannie is. If you don't, Princess Fannie is a favourite guest on Oprah's show. She lost her home during hurricane Katrina and for a time she lived in a van with 12 of her family members. She has appeared on Oprah numerous times over the last few years while we watch her struggle to finally recover from the devastation that the hurricane inflicted on New Orleans. On the episode that aired today Fannie finally moved back in to her home.

I started wondering how long it will take for the hundreds of families to reestablish themselves after the fires that are wreaking havoc in Victoria and New South Wales right now. My heart goes out to everyone in Australia who is dealing with this newest environmental devastation.

Please, please, let it rain. Let the winds stop.

I have read stories of men and women on their roof tops armed with only a few buckets of water while their children are inside, in a bath tub, covered with a blanket, hoping that they can hold the flames off for just a little bit longer. "Fighting Goliath, One Bucket at a Time" I heard of a man who had to jump in to his pool while flames jumped over his house, and a group of people who climbed in to a drain pipe and had to roll around in the stagnant water as flames licked at the entrance to the pipe. These are stories that should never be told. But they have been. So they should now be stories that we never forget.

The world has reached out. As we did after the tsunami and after Katrina the world has spoken up with donations and support. The Australian Red Cross has already received more than $15 million towards relief for families touched by this terrible tragedy. If you would like to donate you can do that HERE.

The people who have lost their homes and their families need our help and support. So does our planet. Some of these fires have been started by despicable people with no regard for human life, and those people should be punished, but they have been helped along by Mother Nature. The extreme drought and high winds have made these fires worse than anyone could imagine. Mother Nature needs some love. Let's think green, recycle, take the bus, ride a bike, turn off your lights...all these little things will add up to big change. Cheesy, I know, but it's true. If you need more ideas of what you can do to help our planet out try reducing your energy usage. HERE are some ideas. Find out what your carbon foot print is HERE and then reduce it. Let's all do our best. Reduce, reuse and recycle. It's cool. It's SEXY, and it is the best thing that you can do to help everyone around the world.

While we may be doing all we can, Australia still needs the rain. Please, let it rain.