...with similar sensibilities for future reference. Christina Seely's class at the CCA seems to be building a new sensibility simply be piecing together scraps from artists, thinkers, designers and engineers on the blog Metro Nature. The result is an aesthetic that is fascinated with nature and more than willing to dabble in awe, but not romantic - and at the same time relying on science without resorting to the rationalist tropes.
Then there's this travel blog, Uprooted, which I find interesting mostly because it's author describes herself as, "post-hippie: dedicated to sustaining and improving the condition of our planetary systems, but not particularly excited about drum circles." Which is a lot like what I'm trying to get at (I may be more extreme - the idea of drum circles just makes be feel sad and tired - with top notes of nausea). The question Uprooted seems to have at it's core is: How does this generation go out and make meaning of the world without ending up resorting to cheap, shallow meaning - something that turns out to be our own version of drum circles? Both the author (Jessica Reeder), and I come to this search by way of our childhood indoctrination: we were given clear evidence that the earth needed saving but no feasible methods for dong anything about it. Jessica is from "Nevada City, California where hugging trees was part of my classroom curriculum." So am I. We were in the same second-grade class.
Really enjoyed Jessica's blog. I am puzzled by your comment that you weren't given means to sustain the Earth. Wasn't Jill big on recycling? I am amazed that between Waste Management's free recycling program (which they claim saves zillions of trees every year)and our modest composting that what he send to the trash heap has been cut about 60%. And part of the impetus for that was a small boy bugging us. bj
ReplyDeleteCertainly - lots of recycling, composting, buying less stuff - that's all good. But all that simply reduces impact. It doesn't make our way of life sustainable - or turn it into a net positive. We can recycle all we want, that doesn't change the pace at which the Amazon burns, it doesn't pull carbon out of the atmosphere, it doesn't slow the rate of extinction. My point is that our parents and teachers were very good and instilling a desire to "save the earth" but no body actually had any idea how to do it (or what that meant).
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