scifiknitter

Very recently I said, "When we bought our land and built our home in the woods, I thought we were choosing a more ecologically sound way to live. I was wrong." I have been asked why. The answer is very simple: we are too far away from everything. In our early days here, we used to joke that we lived 20 miles from everything. Well, it's true, and the joke is very hollow now that I have lived what that means: many, many miles of driving. Between the two of us, we drive at least 40,000 miles a year. I alone drive nearly 10,000 miles a year to work and back. Robert's work takes him even further afield. Then there's the sailboat 70 miles away from our home, band gigs, and friends and family many miles away. Over 30 years, that's 1.2 million miles of driving and a hell of a lot of carbon dioxide, perhaps a million pounds. We could perhaps ameliorate that by being good stewards of our 137 acres of woods and beaver pond, but that is much harder than it seems. In 1998,...

Normally I am careful to preserve the fiction that I am writing for myself rather than an audience when I blog. Not today. This is a shout-out, urging you to read this essay: These Revolutionary Time s by Bill Vitek A bit about Bill: He teaches philosophy and ethics at Clarkson University, a school that specializes in engineering, science, and business. He is a wonderful jazz pianist. He collaborates with Dan Gagliardi, a stand-up bass player and mathematician who has been a mentor to my daughter. You can hear their music here: A Fine Line: UpNorth Music Project . When I was still attending church regularly at the UU in Canton, I heard him give a guest sermon. I think it was the best sermon I ever heard in that space. A bit about the essay: It talks about what lies ahead for us as a species in the near future. Very near in terms of the earth's clock. To me, it has the ring of truth. Please read it. Perhaps we could even have a conversation about Bill's thoughts.