Short rainy days and long dark nights lead to a lot of time spent indoors thinking for me. I'm just happy this is the darkest it gets, and that while the cold is just beginning, it keeps getting lighter after this! Happy solstice, everyone!
I've been thinking a lot, lately, about what I'm going to do in the future. I am home/unschooling Mike for the rest of the school year, and I'd like to get at least a small food garden growing this april, if only for the experience. Beyond that, I'm not tied down to any one thing, and I wouldn't want to be either. I would love to continue unschooling my brother until he is 16. I want to take him to see Dancing Rabbit next summer. So I fantasize about living there with my brother, start on growing the beginnings of a big forest I'll live in, having that as a homebase, and still travelling around the country with my bro as long as bus fares remain reasonable to see what there is to see and learn what there is to learn, maybe do some wwoofing along the way (and when there's no organic farms around, maybe some impromtu camping/hunting and gathering in some national forests).
That's still looking only into the somewhat intermediate short term future. Which is really all the farther I feel the need to look. I suppose in my fanasy there is the implication that I'll settle down eventually at DR. From a practical standpoint, the only thing I'm sure of is that I want to become community-sufficient in procuring all the necessities of life. As I learn skills to head in that direction, I suppose I plan to spend my energy learning and practicing whatever is the most fun. Right now, I'm really into the magic of growing things. This only manifests itself in reality at the moment with my sprouting of wheat berries in a jar on the countertop, but I find it so amazing - captivating - to play with life! And death (that is, eating, in this case).
Reading Ted over the last couple months, there were points where, when he brought up parallels between his own body type and those of certain primitive peoples, that I realized that my body is really not adapted to any environment that I know of. I'm tall and skinny, so I would theoretically do well in very hot environments (and not so much in cold ones), but I'm also incredibly pale. And where there is heat, there is also generally a lot of UV rays to burn the skin when it's not blocked by melanin. So damn, where can I live? Someplace temperate and cloudy? I figure the climate will be changing so much within my lifetime (and unpredictably, too), I might as well stay where I am (meaning missouri) unless/until it forces me to move someplace else. Well, with global warming, the height/skinniness should come in handy, and maybe if that continues in combination with global dimming, I'll have the perfect body type for where I live! If only. . .
Particulate pollution has declined dramatically in the US, Canada, and Europe since the 1970s. The US actually led the world in environmental reform in the 1960s-70s. This is what causes global dimming, acid rain, smog, and inhalation health hazards. Those living in STL know about the efforts in controlling car pollution. This is good. Municiplaities can and are leading when entities such as the federal government resist for whatever reasons. There was also some groundbreaking work in STL on urban effects on weather and climate in the 1970s. Global warming -- to whatever degree there is anthropogenic influence, there is some and it's not insignificant -- is from C02 and other greenhouse gases which have not been curbed yet, and the US is lagging. Both particulates and GHGs will very likely be produced in very large quantitites by developing Asia and other areas.
ReplyDeleteWinter as we knew it is absent anymore, save surges of about a week duration or so. Cherry trees are blooming in NYC right now, what is very near the coldest period of the year climatologically; there is also unheardof blooming in the UK and Netherlands. Nature will adjust, but it will and is causing major damage, which will only increase, and at some point if it continues and worsens, will have grave consequences for human society. The warm winters and geese might be nice now, but it's a signal of change which will not be so benign if it progresses substantially. UK/NL have a cool, maritime temperate climate, at least right now, perhaps Tom could live there ;-). The Netherlands faces major flooding problems if sea levels rise much.
Best of luck in discovering more of yourself and the world, and with growing things at home. When growing up I lived in areas where there was room to grow various gardens and it's something I really enjoyed and developed some skills. My profession/area of study is atmospheric science...perhaps not surprising given the majority of this post.