When I first log in to this blog, I generally review the posts that have been accessed in the past seven days, just to give me a glimpse of which of my thoughts have been recently read. Usually the most hits are for those I have recently posted, or referenced in those recent posts.
But sometimes a post appears that I haven't thought about recently, or, frankly, do not remember writing. Considering that I am approaching 600 posts since I began this blog in 2010, I interpret that admission, not as a reflection of my advancing age and slightly diminishing memory, but as an acknowledgement of just how many different topics I have touched upon. A point of pride, if you will.
Anyway, the more interesting aspect of this concept is that I was intending to post about the book I just finished, a book called "Leave No Footprints" by Conor Knighton, to which I referenced in my last post. What is interesting is that as I was thinking about this post and the book, I planned on commenting at some point about how Americans value our wonderful national park system, and about how all Americans seem to share that admiration, regardless of political affiliation.
And then I saw that the following post was read by someone, somewhere.
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2014/09/conservatives-and-conservationists.html
Now, to be clear, I know many people who vote Republican, many people who who label themselves conservative (as opposed to liberal), who have traveled extensively throughout America to our various national parks, state parks, or other such "protected" areas. They are just as amazed and humbled by the magnificent natural wonders that are on display at these places as I have been, and are just as adamant that they should be maintained so that future generations can enjoy them as much as they have, and will continue to do.
If you were to read Knighton's book, you will gain an even more profound appreciation for these places, as he has masterfully related, not just his personal experience of visiting all of our national parks in one calendar year, but the history behind some of those parks, how they were "discovered", who advocated for them, and how they are maintained.
And how fragile they are in terms of the struggle for funding, and their vulnerability to the existential threat posed by climate change.
This past week, there was a story circulating in the news about a meeting between the Republican Presidential candidate and the various CEO's of the fossil fuel industry. It was reported that a request was made by the candidate for $1 billion in support for his candidacy in exchange for expanding their ability to drill in federally owned lands, reversing the current push for electric vehicles, and eliminating various environmental standards which make it harder for the fossil fuel industry to extract oil and gas.
Now, while I am sure that no one present at that meeting was advocating for drilling in Yosemite or Yellowstone, there was certainly the option of opening up more extraction projects in other federal land that is less protected from exploitation.
While the thought itself is abhorrent to conservationists, it is just another transactional approach by the ultimate transactional politician whose only yardstick is what can do the most for him.
This is the essence of what bothers me the most about my friends and family who vote Republican yet wax poetic about their visits to our national parks or other such natural wonders. They are sincere in relating the wonderful experiences they have had, are awed by the extent of how blessed we are to live in a country with so many wondrous outdoor places to see, yet continue to vote for people who have very little concern about conserving those very same places.
There is a chapter in Knighton's book called God (other chapters are labelled such things as Water, Sound, Mountains, Food) in which the author connects the beauty of a few of the national parks with the awesome power of creation, and the ability of being in nature to connect one to the force which created everything.
The best way to explain it is by comparing the power and humility and respect that some people feel towards their god while in church. For the author, who admits to not being a very religious person, being in nature provides that same feeling for him, and for many people whom he refers to in the book, people like John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt, among many, many others, who also experienced such awe and worship for nature but then went the next step and helped preserve those places that inspired them.
While most of us may never achieve the distinction of being responsible for helping to create a national park, we can all do our part by voting for people who hold a similar respect for nature.
One of the major issues facing our country is the all-or-nothing approach we see exhibited in discussions of our problems. The my-way-or-the-highway approach that eschews compromise or finding common ground.
For a country that claims to be the greatest in history, the ability to provide the necessary energy to maintain our standard of living while also protecting our natural wonders from exploitation should be possible. It is not a zero sum game. We can do both, but first we have to acknowledge that both can be possible.
When it was determined that burning coal was spewing all kinds of contaminants into the air, scrubbers were required to reduce such pollution. And, while it was true that these scrubbers cost money, and that some of those costs were passed down to the consumers, well, what price should we place on clear air?
Frankly, considering that the fossil fuel industry makes billions in profits while also receiving subsidies from our tax money, I would prefer that those companies be required to absorb the costs of their degradation of our environment, as the cost of doing business, but I am willing to compromise that each of us, producers as well as consumers, should shoulder some cost so as to keep our air breathable.
A similar argument can be made for those businesses who pollute our water.
Again, isn't worth a few extra dollars a month to know that your children can go outside without a mask? Or can drink out of the tap in the kitchen without worrying about lead or arsenic in the water?
In a recent post called One Head, Two Thoughts, I commented on the seeming lack of ability for Americans to have two contradictory thoughts in our heads at once. In the post I was referring to the ability to condemn both the October 7th Hamas atrocity and the current slaughter of Palestinian women and children. Condemning both does not reveal anything more insidious than the fact that one believes that murdering people is not a good thing.
I have my own personal problem with balancing two particular thoughts in my head at once, those thoughts being that I feel we have already passed the tipping point on the eventual demise of our democracy, and our environment, and the belief in humanity's ability to rouse itself from its complacency and address our common problems as a unified world.
I hold both of these thoughts at once, express each over the other at certain times through my social commentaries and stories.
Sometimes I am happy that I have less time alive in front of me than behind, so I don't see the ramifications of our shortsightedness, and the suffering that our choices will create.
At other times, I regret that I won't be around when the next greatest generation figures it all out as I detailed in the following story.
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-next-greatest-generation.html
Regardless of how it all turns out, in the short run I recommend reading "Leave Only Footprints", or better yet, read it as you embark on your own tour of our national parks.
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