I find myself at an age where I sometimes feel like making
later day assessments of my life. I
wonder how the good and the bad are stacking up against one another. Cutting right to the chase I think that the
good includes finding architecture, leaving the city, and living close to
nature. I think that the bad includes
acquiring an excessive amount of material possessions (which I seem to covet)
and not doing more to help preserve the natural world. A few words about these latter two…
Material Possessions
In truth many of my possessions are akin to saving things
that may have some future use. Things
like old Porsche engine parts, salvaged redwood lumber, and libraries of books
on architecture, art, nature, fishing, etc.
But there are also my three vehicles, two boats, three pieces of
property, a shop full of tools, collections of art, an exorbitant amount of
fishing related paraphernalia, etc. This
is way more than the average world citizen could possibly possess on a planet
with stable material and energy resources.
So what’s the answer? Usually I
just shrug my shoulders and begin the next day.
Natural World
I think of this as meaning all of the natural world, but
with particular emphasis on the other life forms that inhabit the planet. They are being cornered, diminished, and
exterminated while we increase our numbers, increase our material possessions,
and give little thought to where this is all leading. One likely result is a greatly increased
human population and a greatly decreased number of species and individual
populations with the species. I can’t
help but wonder what if I were one of those other species? What about “do unto others as you would have
others do unto you”? Can I bale cups of
water in the flood of the tsunami?
Organizations can be more effective, but I don’t see any organization
that actually looks to and addresses this` future. They only adhere to their own, temporal
interests – they being the Democrats, Republicans, CalGreen, LEED, AIA, X, Y,
Z, etc. In some ways some of these
groups may be bailing buckets, but out there beyond the horizon is the source,
and it is increasing much faster and more precipitously than token
environmental gestures like rationing water use, buying locally, or driving
electric cars. That doesn’t even equate
to the little toe on the human footprint.
I’m convinced that our human mindset will not change on its own. – it will
require governmental enforcement and a vision of what we wish earth’s long term
state of existence to be. What will that
population be? And why? To date the idea of where we are going is not
even in the conversation. I have a
vision, but don’t know what to do about it…this is my greatest disappointment.
