There was genuine shock on my face when my youngest sister, at just 11-years-old, accompanied me to a Starbucks on a weekend visit and very firmly told the barista that no, thank you, she did not need a straw. She had brought her own. My shock continued as she reached into her purse and pulled out a reusable metal straw. After she finished her drink, she then lovingly washed it out and put it away before we continued with our day. I’d like to say I taught her that, but unfortunately this is one I can’t take credit for. She informed me it was a trend among children her age right now, all of them buying reusable straws with the rallying cry of “save the turtles.”
In addition to the interview with Garfield (see the main article here), freelance journalist Sandor Slomovits contacted a few other people who have been associated with the Ecology Center in the past fifty years and asked them to discuss the history and accomplishments of the organization. To provide a multifaceted picture of the EC, he got in touch with people who worked at the EC during various points in its history, and who held different positions and served in a variety of capacities, from staff and leadership, to volunteers.
Is it important to you that your daily life reflects choices that care for the Earth, its people, and our future? If yes, then you are already one step closer to deeply living in the ways of an ecological culture design science called Permaculture.
Rupert let out a low hoot as he shifted his position on Master Falconer Craig Perdue’s wrist. “That hoot means he’s getting agitated. He doesn’t like everyone making a fuss about his prize.” Craig was referring to the lure in the bird’s talons. As if on cue, Rupert the Great-Horned Owl clutched it more tightly, letting out a high-pitched screech.
Drought, poverty, worker exploitation. The poisoning of the air, ground water, and soil. These are just a few of the crises facing our world today. We see them everywhere and they seem overwhelming. What can the average person — people like us — do to combat them? We can start with a decision we make every morning: what we choose to wear.
By Lenny Bass
For those of you who are ardent readers of The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal, you will recall an article published a couple years back written by a mad man who talked with a tree while sitting in a hot tub outside a cabin built by his wife’s family in the shadows of the Alleghany Mountains in upstate New York. Well, that mad man is back at it again. The gift of one week of solitude my wife and I afford to one another as our one and only holiday gift has come to pass, and once again I come to rest in this mystical spruce grove.
