Today I am finishing my western cedar tables and preparing materials for tomorrow's classes. I would like to take a moment to look up from all the technological red herrings, thrown up in cyberspace that provide the illusion that we can manage environmental change through continued advancement of technology. The ideas are rampant. We'll go solar, we'll go wind, hydrogen fuels mined from coal will do it. No, we must go back to Nukes! And fusion is looming on the horizon. We'll harness the power of the sun in our own kitchens to activate our electric cheese graters! We want all our modern conveniences and the entertainment and comfort they provide. Apparently the unsophisticated billions of people in the third world want the same things. And the technologies offered to correct things are still in the developmental stage with unintended consequences yet to be revealed. People don't talk much about conservation. That would take money out of corporate hands and lead to a possible reduction in the economy.

Very few are talking about the kinds of solutions that matter. The highest concern for most is preservation of the economy and not the preservation of the planet. There are some very simple things we can all do right now that address the issues. When I was traveling by ferry from Turku, Finland to Stockholm, the group at the table next to mine was engaged in a discussion of America. One had an American brother-in-law who like so many Americans was obsessed about the size of his home and the number of cars he could fit in the garage, attitudes which were hard for the Swedes and Finns to comprehend. There is a saying, live simply that others may simply live. Reduction in home sizes, curtailing of spending on poorly made consumer products, choosing to live and make your livelihoods in old neighborhoods and small communities, investing yourself in friendships and nourishing those friendships over years and years, learning to make the things you need, fixing things that break, taking pride in making do or doing without... I can go on and on. And the most interesting thing is that all these suggestions lift and nourish each person and our communities. These things can't be measured in the Gross National Product, but are the true markings of sustainable community and culture.

So, listen closely this election season as you listen to political greenspeak. When people are talking about finding warmth, not from coal, but from each other, you will know we are beginning to find the right track.

The photo above shows drilling the top of a small rustic table for large dowels to secure the top to the base. It is a bit different from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It can be done in your own shop and it is much more fun.