Originally, I thought it might be a bad time for me to do this, to the extent that I'm supposed to write something uplifting. After all, I recently had a hissy fit about tigers in India, and I just spent this weekend photographing these:
Clearcuts.
So I was wondering, as I am wont to do when I get all maudlin, what good it would do to write another post about the environment.
And then I remembered that isn't the point. I didn't have the power to kill the earth all by myself, and there's no reason to expect myself to save it singlehandedly. You talk about it and write about it because you can't do otherwise -- not because you actually expect it to help anything. At least not in a world where the company that brought us a wildly popular hybrid is lobbying against tougher CAFE standards, anyway.
So, my suggestions? Enjoy it while it lasts. Here I am, back where I'm closer to the bears and the wolves, having climbed halfway up the mountain yesterday to look upon the valley below, and I suggest you all take some time to revel in something not created by a human hand. Whether it's a tamarack painted gold by the fall, a wilderness landscape, your cat or your kid, enjoy it now, unburdened by worry, guilt or urgency.
And then tomorrow, sign up for green power.*
*Believe it or not, my power company will not let me have green power because I made two late payments a couple of years ago. So I have to wait until they deem me worthy of the privilege of not befouling the earth to run my coffee maker. Bastards.
6 comments:
"Enjoy it while it lasts" - I agree, but we could all be a little more conscious of what we're personally doing to make things better or worse. I enjoy reading your thoughts on the environment, and a little indignation is definitely not out of line if we want our kids and grandkids to be able to enjoy it too.
You know, I used to hate clear-cuts too. I remember the first time I had a beloved bike trail blocked by timber equipment -- I remember that feeling of shock. They destroyed it!
But you know, when the timber companies go belly-up, the land is sold to developers -- and no forest recovers once houses are built. Believe it or not, I'm beginning to feel more kindly toward lumber co's.
Agreed. And I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from doing that. But sometimes, you get mired in the gloom and doom, and you need to watch some deer playing for awhile.
Jennifer and I cross-posted. My first response was to Kris.
I don't feel kindly to either entity, I guess. Here what they do is clearcut it -- something they call the real estate cut -- and then they sell it to developers whether they're belly up or not.
Well I live in Chicago so Just people throwing garbage in garbage cans instead of tossing it out of car windows would be an improvement. And Chicago had this whole Blue Bag thing that they had stopped! They actually make it hard to recycle. I would have to drive out to the suburbs to a place if we did not recycle at work. So basically I take my garbage to work to recycle.
But I see all kinds of garbage on the road. Those ring things that pop cans come in? If I see one lying on the sidewalk I will rip it apart and throw it away but people really are such slobs here. It makes me crazy. Just yesterday I walked into my Apartment building and there were cigarette butts put out by the stairs! Inside the building! I mean come on! So I think anything more would be a little too advanced. You want people to use energy efficient light bulbs when walking to the garbage can is too much of an effort.
But there is some type of energy you get from water. When I am depressed or going through a death or something I go sit by lake Michigan. I wish it were an ocean but at least the water meets the horizon and I can pretend. It does make me feel better.
Ugh. Sounds dreadful. Interestingly, though, Chicago has an incredible green building program.
I'm with you on the water thing.
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