the art of writing is discovering what you believe
From the archives: I held it together until about half way through. Then it gets good.:
I temporarily choose the side on which you are not, because of your choice.
Guess that’s one way to avoid actually thinking about the merits of an issue. Probably saves time…
Yeah, that’s about right. Much easier to argue than think of a solution.
AlterNet: Environment: Is This the Beginning of the End for Damming America’s Big Rivers?:
Currently there are 75,000 dams in the United States blocking 600,000 miles of river. In the West, over 100 salmon runs have gone extinct and 25 are listed as endangered.
That’s a lot of dammed water. Consider that are no natural lakes in some states (Georgia is reputed to be one) and ponder how much that alters the surrounding landscape.
Something I have been thinking about that strikes as jarring, almost like cognitive dissonance is the number of people who pursue outdoor activities that require technical equipment, much of which is made from artificial, ie man-made materials. If you make the logical assumption that a lot of these outdoorsy folks are environmentally sincere, how does that jibe with the use of polyester-based running attire, hiking gear, backbacks and tents, as well as plastic kayaks and canoes, paddles, and other gear.
I’m by no means saying we need to go back to canvas tents <shudder> but this has been percolating in my brain a bit lately. It kinda boiled over at the Wooden Boat Festival yesterday, looking at the beautiful wooden boats from amazing little Chris Craft runabouts, like Corvettes on water, to the majestic cruisers, some of which put my house to shame. The wood for those was harvested 40-60 years ago and the boat may last 50 more years. Contrast that with the fiberglass boats of today or the plastic kayaks: will they last as long and can they be maintained in the same way?
Granted they’re expensive, both to build and to own, but is that such a burden, versus owning a disposable version of the same thing that will never revert to it’s original composition?
The clothing is another thing again. I appreciate the convenience and comfort of modern technical fibers with their thermal transfer and insulation properties, their moisture wicking and sunscreen protection. But unless they made from recycled plastics, that brings up the strongest disconnect. If someone is running for their health or cycling to commute or reduce their carbon footprint, are they using materials that undermine that effort? I’ll have to look into how these things are made.
“If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things.”