Tag Archives: climate-change

Thoughtful Friday

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I recently discovered some of Doug Peacock‘s books, which are truly insightful in these challenging times. He was probably Edward Abbey’s best friend and was the inspiration for Hayduke. He is still fighting for the land, the animals, and the indigenous people all over the world. I would have loved to have that part of his life. He has traveled the globe studying and writing about things we forget about and are destroying. He has a large group of like-minded friends who have championed the cause to save the earth and its plants and animals. For example, he traveled with Tom Brokaw, who was his neighbor!He recently published stories from his life travels, and so many of them hit a home run. I encourage you to read this book!

From the book Was it Worth it? From the 2020 pandemic:
“The current pandemic will not be our last plague and it is a prime symptom that our center is not holding. Our smug assumptions of the primacy of our civilization are coming apart. Humans are not in control of the world we live in. We are not in charge.” [Emphasis mine.]
[Peacock, Doug. Was It Worth It? (p. 277). Patagonia. Kindle Edition.]

On his thoughts about climate change:
–“We have not told ourselves the truth. Because it was everyone’s job, it was no one’s job.”
–“There is so much beauty in the world; all we have to do is stick around to see it. For a father who loves the Earth and finds joy in defending wild landscapes, considering our demise as a species is not a pleasant exercise. But we need to see the truth, the raw, unvarnished truth. Science and journalism water down the severity of a changing climate and pull their punches. When we try to extract the most credible science from each, we find much of it filtered through caution and timidity. There are semantic arguments that optimism and hope will color a rosier world, but how we feel about it does not change that unpolished truth. What about temperatures too hot for life on Earth? Or habitats too impaired for survival?”
–“‘That which evolves does not persist without the conditions of its genesis’ is a sentence I’ve found myself repeating monotonously throughout the decades.” [Peacock, Doug. Was It Worth It? (p. 279). Patagonia. Kindle Edition.]

Considering the current administration’s push to expand development, mining, and deforestation, as well as its efforts to push human beings further into the unspoiled natural world, it makes me ponder why the destructive lies about climate change continue to lead us to destroy the very place we live today. Will the ones who care about the future be able to stop the greed and destruction? Will this current legacy be passed on to the next generation, or can the young ones stop it? Something to think about.

Finally, Peacock stated that we need to “peer into the abyss” and think about how we behave.
“There is great joy in doing the toil of the world, fighting for wild causes, saving pieces of the magnificent natural world. There’s plenty of work; do your job with decency and an open heart. Love your brothers and sisters in all actions, in all relationships. Speak the truth. Extend your innate empathy to distant tribes and strange animals. Arm yourself with friendship and love the Earth.” [Peacock, Doug. Was It Worth It? (p. 281). Patagonia. Kindle Edition.]

So, as we go about our daily existence, let’s all take a moment to consider what is happening to the planet. Let’s pull out those eco-warrior people that we were in the past and stop being complacent. Stand up to the farmers and ranchers, as well as the developers, and bring back the “Just Say No!” slogan and apply it to insane growth and expansion into our wildest areas. If you have funds, start buying up land to save it from development and put it in a trust for all future generations, just like Peacock’s buddies have done. Ensure that future generations understand that the land held in trust by your family should never be developed. Clean up the drilling sites to stop methane leakage. And keep those crazy, burping, and farting cows off of those lands! There are better ways to raise these animals, resulting in significantly reduced methane release. There are better ways, people! Just write your congressmen and women to make a change! Recognize that we can change if we desire it. Future generations will love and remember you if you fight the good fight.

Enough said. I love you all and will continue to ask you to step up every day that I am here on this planet. Enjoy your weekend!

Are You Thinking?

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Or: “We are what we think. All that we are, arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”—Buddha

We are short-term compared to the rest of the universe. People generally tend to think the future is a long way away. In reality, we should be thinking about our human impact on this planet long after we are dead. We should constantly be thinking about what we will be leaving for the future inhabitants of this planet. Alas, the passion for the get-rich schemes cloud many a crazy rich person who only want more for themselves. After all, seeking money and buying things are the American way of life, isn’t it? But having this as a priority in our uneducated lives, these ill-gotten gains, makes all those who don’t believe in this system suffer. These temporary gains, the boom or bust environment, especially in the wild, wild west have all been taken at the expense of what we hold dear. We are a dry land that is getting warmer and more populated over the years. Vegetation doesn’t grow back, and if you take the water away, there is nothing to replace it.

When David Gessner was writing All the Wild that Remains he visited Arches in Moab, to track down Edward Abbey’s haunts. He visited Abbey’s friend, Ken Sleight, now eighty-three-years-old. He was a former river rafter and horseman. Sleight was the inspiration for Seldom Seen Smith, the adventurous and laconic “Jack Mormon” who co-starred in Abbey’s best-known novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang. Abbey met him and stayed with him while he was at Arches. Sleight talked about Abbey and how his essays and books influenced so many people.

Sleight talked about the people who visit the wild places especially out in the west. He stated: “‘Are they thinking?’ That’s what he [Abbey] would always say. What he [Abbey] wanted to know is ‘Are they really thinking?’ Regardless of what they think of me, I want them to think.” The best times with Abbey, he added, were by the campfire while on the river. Abbey was an incredible spokesman and people listened to him. [Gessner, David. All The Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West (p. 98). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition].

These wise words rang true to my heart when I visited my old haunts in Utah last year. When I see what has happened to the once beautiful places, I despair that it can only get worse. It’s hard to be in the minority of thinkers who understand that there will always be global consequences for all of our current actions. It’s hard let harsh feelings go for those that who just want to take the money and run and are not given any consequences for their actions, particularly the oil and gas industry. The boom or bust has both made and broke small towns and the wild places are getting fewer and fewer. People in the lush, green east coast towns don’t understand what is happening out here. However, westerners persevere throughout these trying times. Easterners are now dealing with weather as well, but with the abundance of water, not the lack thereof. Environmental catastrophes are happening whether we want to accept it or not. We must look within to save the wild places and the people who live there.

It seems that human suffering is okay to those who are in power and we have to keep trying to change the mind of those in power. Gessner also stated that “Largeness of thought does not come naturally to most of us. It isn’t easy to see the big picture. Many don’t even try.” [Gessner, David. All The Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West (p. 122). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition].

So today I am asking you to read or re-read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey and Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, by Wallace Stegner. I am asking all of you to think about what we have done in the past and how we can start to make a change for the future. It’s heady reading but worth it. We can only focus on one thing at a time and the billionaires aren’t going to change their way of doing business, so maybe small towns can really think about what it means to take their money. Maybe they can negotiate contracts that make more sense before these companies take everything out of the land and run away. When all is said and done and the fruits of their labor are carted off to Texas and other places, the towns will go bust if they don’t have a long-term plan. The land will not recover quickly and no one will help clean up their messes in the end. It’s a sad situation but little towns have to think about what they will accomplish in the long run with short-term gains, that only benefit the rich and powerful (and other states!). Just sayin’.

I love you all and hope we live to see another clear day!