tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287344792024-03-23T14:16:04.621-04:00The Influence Machine. (defunct)Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-75068780426841246662008-02-10T17:16:00.001-05:002008-02-10T17:24:05.132-05:00I was wrong.It was bound to happen sooner or later. Though I had concluded that I had no time for writing, I've discovered that this assessment was simply wrong. To remedy this error, I've assembled some kindred spirits- bloggers who value writing based upon reason and passion- to explore some of the issues I pursued with you, the reader, here on The Influence Machine.<br />Please join us as we embark on a new project, <a href="http://blueislandalmanack.blogspot.com">Blue Island Almanack</a>.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-8560651102898628682007-09-17T13:05:00.000-04:002007-09-17T13:38:07.475-04:00Hello, I must be goingThe blog world seems to be falling apart, perhaps devoured by The Nothing from The Neverending Story. I read others repeating this sentiment, and I see it manifest in the storied former Blogs of Note that go without updates for days, sometimes weeks at a time. Alas, the departed will shortly be joined by The Influence Machine.<br />Sadly, I can nolonger make time for this blog. I’m stretched thin with a renewed job-hunt, grad school, serving on my city’s environmental commission, volunteering for community groups, and come March, raising my first child. I'm "a bit of butter, spread over too much bread," as it were.<br />To those who have read and especially to those who have commented, you’ve made this experience rewarding. You’ve educated me about a great deal. I hope I’ve done a little of the same for you. I plan to keep reading others' blogs, though I may or may not keep using the name "E.R. Dunhill" when I comment. Perhaps ERD will be back in the future.<br />I encourage everyone to keep reading, keep writing (whether that's anything to do with blogs, or not), and keep an open mind.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmM7gJwLTNWY_P4tQR8gNsdskrK0u24QXRdsh72UN2dodx11An88V5EtT8OiikIpQTAa-1HLnu7VXYPrVO2CHDlVD89brq4Ytf2DR2WuIZoGCpbx27VuL-H5W5oGC9Q7WxlBgsqQ/s1600-h/greyhavens.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmM7gJwLTNWY_P4tQR8gNsdskrK0u24QXRdsh72UN2dodx11An88V5EtT8OiikIpQTAa-1HLnu7VXYPrVO2CHDlVD89brq4Ytf2DR2WuIZoGCpbx27VuL-H5W5oGC9Q7WxlBgsqQ/s400/greyhavens.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111166877686430754" /></a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-90103458190491979972007-09-10T08:38:00.000-04:002008-02-22T12:06:11.747-05:00On certaintySome questions to the reader:<br />Can science prove human causation of global climate change? If so why are we still arguing about it? If not, is there any scenario in which we can accept some degree of scientific uncertainty? Has the bulk of scientific opinion been wrong before? If so, does this make science unreliable? Is it somehow foolish or ethically wrong to accept benefits from science without question, but shun science’s warnings?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-79544537249376803072007-09-09T20:01:00.000-04:002007-09-10T13:57:01.142-04:00Rudbeckia hirta<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhmC_woF1bLoE0D1mFF2GGtXTbORzqpWojfsoVLnCQzPqO9Trbr27ptD70g9PFWTv90xdsT6M_kHLBU7OHNvuW4mz1Ues1Vm4HBftYOjPqu74qmKtuobq4_zTRVWPnX6689bmPw/s1600-h/umd-r.hirta.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108559866312409010" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="164" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhmC_woF1bLoE0D1mFF2GGtXTbORzqpWojfsoVLnCQzPqO9Trbr27ptD70g9PFWTv90xdsT6M_kHLBU7OHNvuW4mz1Ues1Vm4HBftYOjPqu74qmKtuobq4_zTRVWPnX6689bmPw/s320/umd-r.hirta.jpg" width="256" border="0" /></a>Black-eyed Susan <em>(R. hirta)</em><br />General Botanical Characteristics: Black-eyed Susan is a native, warm-season, annual, biennial or short-lived perennial forb. It has one to a few stems 12 to 40 inches (0.3-1.0 m) tall, which are erect and sometimes sparingly branched. The lower leaves are 2 to 6 inches (5-15 cm) long, alternate and petioled. The upper leaves are mostly sessile. The inflorescences are few to many flower heads on peduncles 2 to 8 inches (5-20 cm) long. The fruit is an achene 0.06 inches (1.5 mm) long; there is no pappus. Black-eyed Susan has a taproot or a cluster of fibrous roots. It is a mycorrhizal species.<br />Sometimes flower stalks will appear in the first summer, but typically black-eyed Susan blooms from June to September of the second year. After flowering and seed maturation, the plants die. The seed is very small (1,746,000 per pound) and black, about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm in diameter.<br />Adaptation and Distribution: Black-eyed Susan is naturalized in most of the states east of Kansas and the bordering areas of Canada. It is adapted throughout the Northeast on soils with a drainage classification range from well-drained to somewhat poorly drained. It will perform acceptably on droughty soils during years with average or above rainfall, but best growth is achieved on sandy, well drained sites. It is winter hardy in areas where low temperatures are between -30 ° and -20 °F.<br />Uses: Erosion control: Black-eyed Susan is an important component in critical area treatment plantings along with grasses, legumes, and other forbs when used along road cuts, hillsides, and other areas subject to erosion.<br />Wildlife: This plant offers protection and food to several song and game birds.<br /><br />Sources and further reading:<br /><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RUHI2">USDA</a><br /><a href="http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/rudhir/all.html">USDA Forest Service</a><br /><a href="http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/pbio/slides8/8791a.jpg">University of Maryland, College Park (image source)</a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-24569337299805451272007-09-06T12:31:00.000-04:002007-09-07T10:41:19.128-04:00On the value and onus of educationSome questions to the reader:<br />What is the value of education? Is it economic? Social? Spiritual? Something else? Is there worth in studying something that has no commercial or career value? Do people have a responsibility to be educated? Does the state have a responsibility to ensure that people are educated? Does education have to come from a school?<br /><br /><em>Thanks to Sociological Stew for <a href="http://suesstew.blogspot.com/2007/08/future-of-education.html">a recent post</a> that inspired these questions</em>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-12241157153338813522007-09-06T08:31:00.000-04:002007-09-06T14:32:55.395-04:00Il silenzio<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZTWMgM3yyNLrl7s3jp7JcF3SQR__RswTCYG8g6Ge-FGKrBkTsS88zwiqKQ4esYX1kNc_kHayuR1tH99lzOpJCjjhmdoYbuOwb58nwW7coUwChhIAIagTI9QTiP6fMeO_Kf4Oig/s1600-h/pavarotti-ut.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZTWMgM3yyNLrl7s3jp7JcF3SQR__RswTCYG8g6Ge-FGKrBkTsS88zwiqKQ4esYX1kNc_kHayuR1tH99lzOpJCjjhmdoYbuOwb58nwW7coUwChhIAIagTI9QTiP6fMeO_Kf4Oig/s400/pavarotti-ut.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107160840845279138" /></a><br />The world has lost an artistic treasure. Luciano Pavarotti, icon of 20th century opera, passed away today at the age of 71. <br />For my own part (and with Puccini’s dated stereotypes aside), I think Pavarotti’s performances of Turadot with Joan Sutherland are among the greatest music ever recorded. The tenor’s power and grace made the genre of opera once again approachable. He will be missed.<br /><br /><br /><em>Image source: <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/opa/pubs/oncampus/99oc_issues/oc990212/oc_opera.html">University of Texas</a></em>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-5444321372383595962007-09-04T12:32:00.000-04:002007-09-04T14:30:56.988-04:00Seeds<a href="http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectId=45884"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6csvn2C2muuo3QQH8c9qguI4eSelC37-f9eeJBJmwT4CAjYBxCEc70y5HtrDW0neszQCd3emgKg_dGfoLP6Rbh6fRwoGZgdt9GEk2GFUc92nCndUnO7j3lh1KCW4wpLX7_Mhuw/s320/si-fs-shitao+pine_trees.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5106402865016881026" /></a><br />I spent a good bit of my Labor Day weekend walking my dogs around a couple of large parks in suburban Maryland. There, I spotted a small army of flowering dogwoods (<em>Cornus florida</em>), several black walnuts (<em>Juglans nigra</em>), and stand after stand of trees that my untrained eye cannot identify past “oak” (<em>Quercus consult-the-field-guide</em>). I spent time in the butterfly garden above a clear lake that provides drinking water to thousands, and woods that seem too wild to be 10 miles from DC.<br />In a few weeks, there will be a group of geography students gathered at one of these parks to collect seeds from the places that mowers would otherwise cut them down. Those indigenous seeds will be handed-over to a partnership of nonprofits and state agencies to be sprouted and ultimately planted around the watershed. The new trees will grow to produce clean water, create food and habitat for wildlife, and build the biological bank of indigenous plants.<br />Collecting seeds will serve as a great opportunity to work directly toward a sustainable community, while providing a venue to address the concept of sustainability more broadly. Students will get their hands dirty and learn something in the process. These opportunities exist in every community, and it’s not necessary to be a scientist, an entrepreneur, or an activist to make lasting, positive changes. Sometimes, all it takes is gathering seeds to plant them where they might grow.<br /><br /><em>Image: Portrait of Shitao Supervising the Planting of Pine Trees: after Zhu Henian's Copy of Shitao's Self-portrait; Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.</em>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-868312273970331072007-08-28T08:43:00.000-04:002007-08-30T11:59:43.367-04:00On carrying capacitySome questions to the reader:<br />How many humans do you think the Earth can support? Can the current population size be supported forever, given our current resource demands? Can the current population size be supported forever, if all (or most) humans adopt an industrialized lifestyle? If the population must stop growing or shrink, whose responsibility is it to make sure that happens? Is anyone capable of wielding that authority over someone else? How should they ensure that it happens?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-44829381528226785952007-08-27T12:32:00.000-04:002007-08-28T12:41:48.009-04:00Corylus americana<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8loqtUWnWg9zcXcQhfMn1fOTdj6IPOmrbtKIgoUhBt0zeXXNoSa1s7QotRVo8R0sTe9ecSB6bCJrHDvC3VAbE_8MuG45jvNYqCmnAKgRAOu1HD4_Ae-8tbe-zE4xzBGZPg-xdA/s1600-h/CORAME_.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8loqtUWnWg9zcXcQhfMn1fOTdj6IPOmrbtKIgoUhBt0zeXXNoSa1s7QotRVo8R0sTe9ecSB6bCJrHDvC3VAbE_8MuG45jvNYqCmnAKgRAOu1HD4_Ae-8tbe-zE4xzBGZPg-xdA/s200/CORAME_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102266841575604050" /></a>American hazel <em>(C. americana)</em><br />Form: Small shrub, often in clumps reaching 12 feet in height.<br />Fruit: Edible brown nuts (1/2 inch diameter) enclosed in a hairy, leaf-like husk with ragged edges; initially green, ripening to a brown in late summer.<br />Leaf: Alternate, simple, with a doubly serrated margin, broadly oval with a heart-shaped or rounded base, dark green above and paler below, 2 1/2 to 5 inches in length, petiole with stiff, glandular hairs. <br />Flower: Monoecious; males are light brown catkins (1 to 3 inch long) in clusters of two or three near branch tips, opening before leaves; females are inconspicuous with only bright red stigma and styles protruding from the otherwise gray-brown buds, appearing as short, thin, red threads, early spring. <br />Bark: Light grayish brown and smooth, later develops a mild criss-cross netted pattern.<br /><br />Sources and further reading:<br /><a href="http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=208">Virginia Tech dendrology factsheet</a><br /><a href="http://recipes.epicurean.com/asc_results.jsp?title=Hazelnut">Hazelnut recipes</a><br /><a href="http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=CORAME">University of Wisconsin plants database (image source)</a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-24128526041115851912007-08-23T12:20:00.000-04:002007-08-27T09:32:58.236-04:00And some things that should not have been forgotten were lostThere was a time when parents, aunts, grandfathers, and the occasional sage taught the little ones the names, habits, uses, and character of every discernable living thing. We learned with wide eyes that coyote is unpredictable, a trickster; that the river horse will kill without hesitation when defending her calf; and how much hemlock can safely be given as a sedative. Then, we turned around and handed this knowledge with personal amendment to the next generation. We were nodes in a massively parallel, massively redundant living database.<br />After a few generations of moving into towns and cities, and a couple of generations of just being too busy, we’ve fractured the system. We no longer recognize that it is a bad sign that <em>Flavoparmelia caperata</em> no longer paints many trees. We are blind to the fact that the Bay once ran clear, because of all of its oysters, and because of stands of chestnuts a hundred miles away. We have done no wrong but have simply lost this understanding.<br />We have become so ignorant of these things, that we often dismiss them as primitive, trivial, useless. But this intimate knowledge of living things and natural systems is valuable. Many species can serve as the proverbial canary in the coalmine, their ill-health alerting us to potentially serious problems. Others can offer insight into how people live and work. What COO wouldn’t want her company to reuse waste products as effectively as a healthy desert ecosystem? Japanese companies have used process analogies, including natural analogies, to improve manufacturing and R&D efforts for years.<br /><a href="http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/main.cfm"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102260699772370754" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="225" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulYCZPWgmPxF_OpySPpPq6cbgPHUWcfC_i5awpIBDBNZy0EcCPVQ20gMk19a6rV_o8SyYl9dngpKx_-OpnR80dRyZb5ucljHH3GTuUCcyo4NymspxGkhhCD2c6l6v_Ro5aHYWZw/s320/nmnh-arcims.jpg" width="260" border="0" /></a>While there’s no substitute for experiencing wildlife firsthand, whether that’s living out of a pack for a few days in <a href="http://www.nps.gov/">a national park</a>, or exploring one’s own neighborhood, there are other ways to start relearning this old knowledge. Field guides* offer answers to the basic “What is that called?” and “How does it live?” questions. Check one out from your local library. The National Museum of Natural History also offers <a href="http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/main.cfm">a great website</a> (including a very hip GIS-based tool) that covers many of these questions for North American mammals.<br />This is the world we live in. Learn it.<br /><br /><em>*E.R. Dunhill is partial to Peterson’s field guides for biological groupings (Fishes, Mammals, &c.) and Audubon’s field guides for geographical groupings (Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States, &c.)</em>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-19778025514899356932007-08-20T08:33:00.000-04:002007-08-20T09:19:07.296-04:00On accountability and pollutionSome questions to the reader:<br />Should individuals and corporations be held accountable for the pollution they produce? Does accountability apply equally to pollution on private and public land? Should polluters be allowed to pay a fee to pollute more? If so, who should be paid? If not, how should pollution be controlled? Who should get to decide what counts as a pollutant, and how much is acceptable?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-42233964964868415712007-08-17T08:32:00.000-04:002007-08-17T14:00:23.969-04:00Echinacea purpurea<a href="http://biology.missouristate.edu/Herbarium/Plants%20of%20the%20Interior%20Highlands/photographs_of_flowering_plants_E.htm"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdJCJqfYh9uKERkLwM9il-suB5wbIm1FkoLhJY6IsWp7GDwVX1n31Ah6b3wsHJqX0ArYeqE98K6ufaxbENohBml7PUEvSR0CSU098o0DjdnqmShHEoBSAe9UWwBNX-zdrMNylfA/s200/Echinaceapurpurea.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099681692580788306" /></a>Purple Coneflower <em>(E. purpurea)</em><br />Height: 2-3 feet<br />Germination: 15-30 days<br />Optimum soil temperature for germination: 70F-75F<br />Sowing depth: 1/8"<br />Blooming period: June-October<br />Suggested use: Borders, meadows, mixtures, floral gardens.<br />Uses, Cautions, and Preparation: The aboveground parts of the plant and roots of echinacea are used fresh or dried to make teas, squeezed (expressed) juice, extracts, or preparations for external use.<br />Echinacea has traditionally been used to treat or prevent colds, flu, and other infections. Echinacea is believed to stimulate the immune system to help fight infections. Less commonly, echinacea has been used for wounds and skin problems, such as acne or boils. <br />Studies indicate that echinacea does not appear to prevent colds or other infections. Other studies have shown that echinacea may be beneficial in treating upper respiratory infections.<br />When taken by mouth, echinacea usually does not cause side effects. However, some people experience allergic reactions, including rashes, increased asthma, and anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic reaction). In clinical trials, gastrointestinal side effects were most common. It is important to consult your health care providers about any herb or dietary you are using, including echinacea. This helps to ensure safe and coordinated care. <br />Miscellaneous: <em>E. purpurea </em>is indigenous to the SE and Midwestern United States. An excellent variety for cut flower arrangements with a vase life of 5 to 7 days. Propagation from root cuttings is reliable if performed in the fall.<br /><br />Sources and further reading:<br /><a href=" http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Wildseed/purpleconeflower.html">Texas A&M University</a><br /><a href="http://nccam.nih.gov/health/echinacea/">National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine</a><br /><a href="http://biology.missouristate.edu/Herbarium/Plants%20of%20the%20Interior%20Highlands/photographs_of_flowering_plants_E.htm">Missouri State University (image source)</a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-55044820677549980802007-08-14T12:02:00.000-04:002007-08-17T15:13:21.596-04:00Continuum<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrovalva_(M._C._Escher)"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFs-3dXED3dirgvVZW3TeTl3fgB08Hms5t7LZNZFcTpE8hyphenhyphenxMBmCfNMcMEiHfVJdagOxihEZLig5if7JF66R_siJY2gh2eadO-EDSmKgX3q5PLjUSTVd3JUtXaV3IgxY_GgT9MPg/s320/Castrovalva.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098601572862497746" /></a>I’ve written quite a bit in the last few weeks about waning resources, changing values, and current and potential problems. The common threads among many of these discussions have been ethics, economy, and environment. I see these lines of inquiry as inseparable.<br />Having devoted much effort to challenges and questions, I’d like to focus briefly on solutions and answers. I believe that the only solution that will address ethics, economy, and environment with due weight is that of sustainability. For readers who are unfamiliar with this concept, sustainability seeks to create systems that can continue ostensibly forever. Such systems find a balance between inputs and outputs, resources and waste. These systems often rely on efficiency and repurposing waste products. This idea is not new; many human cultures have lived in sustainable equilibrium with their surroundings, making use of their environment without disrupting it. Many modern avenues of sustainability advocate lifeways that are far more similar to what you and I understand than to traditional sustainable lifeways.<br />I should qualify this by making it clear that I see sustainability as an ideal that people should approach through continuous improvement. Anyone, regardless of the magnitude of their ecological footprint, regardless of convictions about ethics or the economy, can move toward a more sustainable lifeway. For many people, such changes will save time and money.<br />One could write a book on sustainability (and many have), but there are some core concepts that have some hope of fitting in this space. To achieve a sustainable world, I see the central shifts in thinking and practice as awareness, an evolution of values, the realization of common wealth, and mass-localization/community development. There are plenty of outcomes and caveats that are worthy of discussion, but this is a place to start:<br /><br /><em>Awareness:</em> The first and possibly the most important step is for the public to understand our economy, our lifeway, and how these bear upon the natural world. This does not mean that everyone needs to drop what they’re doing and go earn a PhD in ecology or natural resource economics. Instead, we need to follow in a grand human tradition of genuinely understanding how we make a living, and teaching this knowledge to our children.<br />The initial pieces of this puzzle, as I see them, are to understand where your food and energy come from; “the grocery store” and “the light switch” are insufficient answers to these questions. <br />It’s very important to understand your household’s relationship with water. How much do you consume? Where does it come from? Where does it go when it goes down the drain, or runs down the end of the driveway? Who else and what else uses it?<br />Likewise, it’s important to understand what happens when you throw something away. Where does it go? What happens to it physically?<br />These pathways of understanding lead to the critical question, “Is there a better way?”<br /><br /><em>Evolution of values:</em> We must realize the inherent worth of the other members of our human family. We all need to take steps to eliminate poverty and injustice. It is commendable to volunteer one’s time and resources for such causes, but it would be better still if we obviated the need for such reactions by adopting a lifeway that mitigates or eliminates them.<br />We must also recognize the value of nonhuman species and natural systems. If we choose not to honor these with innate worth, we must at least recognize that they are of enduring value to humans. Natural systems provide water to drink and the air that supports us and the crops we need for food, clothing, shelter, and energy. Disrupting these systems is short-sighted. Similarly, we have no idea what plants and animals may one day be of practical use to us. Preserving biodiversity is a tangible investment in our own future.<br />Recent research has again demonstrated that money does not buy happiness. Having enough to live comfortably, having friends, family, a community, and a purpose bring happiness. <br /><br /><em>Realization of common wealth: </em>Many countries (and other political divisions, like states, parishes, provinces, prefectures, counties, cantons, cities, &c.) own useful resources, like forests, minerals, and waterways. These publicly held resources belong to the citizens of those various places, and their use should directly benefit the citizenry. For instance, if a corporation wants to cut timber in a state forest, rather than the process existing as a giveaway of public resources to the timber company, the company would have to compensate the citizens for the right to log. This money could be distributed to the citizens in a model similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund, or could be held in trust and provided to citizens as money for healthcare expenses, college tuition, and other broadly useful endeavors.<br />With some level of organization, globally held resources, like the atmosphere, or Antarctica’s existing and future resources could provide benefit to some universal human fund. This would realize a democratic stream of wealth for everyone and recognize each person’s ownership of public goods.<br /><br /><em>Mass-localization and community development:</em> We need to produce energy and goods more efficiently. Rather than mining coal in Ohio, shipping it to a power plant in Maryland, burning it to create heat to generate electricity, transmitting that electricity over miles of cable back in the same direction the coal traveled from, and using that electricity to heat a coil in a hot water heater, we need to focus on generating and managing energy in situ. Energy is used in mining and transporting the coal. Energy is wasted in converting the chemical energy in the coal into heat, into mechanical energy, into electrical energy, and back into heat. Instead we could generate both electricity and heat for hot water on our own roofs. Likewise, office buildings and shopping centers could be covered in photovoltaic cells and produce electricity for a profit. Why shouldn’t a sprawling shopping mall be covered in wind mills?<br />We must strive to save resources by growing more of our own food, by shopping in local businesses, and using commonly held resources, like libraries and parks.<br />We need to invest our time and interest in the institutions of community. Participating in local government, engaging in neighborhood and local school/college events, and actively joining a community of faith cultivate values and strengthen your community.<br /><br />A sustainable lifeway may be a long way off, perhaps generations. Or maybe we can realize such a vision in our own lifetimes. Either way, each person has the potential and the power to begin moving in this direction.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-73811250552240060682007-08-10T08:35:00.000-04:002007-08-10T14:59:24.175-04:00Heavier things<a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~ari2102/Homepage/homepage.htm"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3eCF8JsRKqsehUeoZ_AUW6bIIDFlItwYUs8k2aR10e9KyUrKIGhEufedS19FBo5teWpGgaNJ7MyOslZqv4PoA9lHd1yeWX8y4P5HS4FqkeP1UdFIHFBAcz_bA1SekVFXRhgz9g/s320/AK_oil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096788907685024706" /></a>There is a finite amount of petroleum in the world. Much of this oil, possibly half of it, is locked-up in the ground in such a way that there will not be a cheap way to extract it in the foreseeable future. The US Geological Survey and the Energy Information Administration conducted a study, described in <a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/feature_articles/2004/worldoilsupply/oilsupply04.html">a 2004 EIA report</a>, to assess and forecast world petroleum supply and demand. The study found that there is likely something like 3 trillion barrels of recoverable oil in the world. This sounds like a very big number- indeed it is a <i>huge</i> number- except when compared to the rate at which oil is consumed. The study further concluded that global oil production may well peak in 30 years, and fall-off sharply, so that humans are unable to produce petroleum <em>at current levels</em> within about 40 years.<br />Again, this study predicts that oil production will likely peak around 2037 and then decline, sharply. Obviously, other capacity studies abound. Some of them are more urgent, some of them are less so. The USGS / EIA study purports to be impartial and was completed in consultation with geologists and economists from both the US government and from the petroleum industry. Regardless of <i>when</i> the reader may personally believe oil will run out, the fact remains that there is a limited amount of oil in the world, and humans are using huge quantities every day.<br /><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/feature_articles/2004/worldoilsupply/oilsupply04.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWD55ituQt6d648OAWS0ypKCF1gPTUJUnnAjg5m6I0TFjZ6m87c8wZSojZ_u1PUt260YOWYrYCOK-fTgMubFVO-BOld2xUSvo7jRHGGqUmWPueaLJZB_e7-YWb2Q3n7p-GZyPng/s400/figure2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5095689297273000866" /></a><br />Given that petroleum is the basis of our present economy, and perhaps more so the basis of an American lifeway, this resource-sunset is a mandate for deep change. The current administration previously asserted "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy."<br />It's time to move beyond myopathy and greed and step into reality. This generation faces a problem, and like it or not, it's ours to fix. Many will ignore the problem. However, the rational solution- the one that will work in the real world- is to work toward sustainable lifeways and a sustainable economy. This means understanding where our energy, food, and other resources come from, and recognizing that financial costs are not the only costs we need to consider. This means making better choices, starting today.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-34172787177613756382007-08-09T09:08:00.000-04:002007-08-09T15:48:59.117-04:00Room for squares<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFmbiZbn2WvdzM_ptLKqR1BJuy68_-FBWMRg1XwxnAKbqOnGVrjldwF_z54oFcribhnVBFZa6exhyphenhyphenRvTEYIU3mNLnfp3YBqIYcPtZrf-fwe7J3DJrIZd2iJu0NWuD8jlWhRLaBw/s1600-h/nerds2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFmbiZbn2WvdzM_ptLKqR1BJuy68_-FBWMRg1XwxnAKbqOnGVrjldwF_z54oFcribhnVBFZa6exhyphenhyphenRvTEYIU3mNLnfp3YBqIYcPtZrf-fwe7J3DJrIZd2iJu0NWuD8jlWhRLaBw/s320/nerds2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096703867332563890" /></a><br />The Congress is moving ahead with a federal budget that would reverse the Bush administration's recent history of cutting funding for research in science and engineering. This money will ensure a place for many scientists and engineers in both the federal government and academia, and provide them with the resources they need to work.<br />The sciences should not be treated as extraneous trivia. They improve human health, investigate the causes and implications of climate change, and create new sources of energy, while extending those we already have. The application of science into various technologies forms the basis for much of our modern economy. Moreover, these disciplines are uniquely suited to exploring a sustainable way of life.<br />As the President threatens to veto any spending bill that exceeds his request, make your voice heard: <a href="http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2007/0807budget.shtml">Learn more</a> and blog. Talk to friends and family. Contact your <a href="http://www.house.gov/">Representative</a> and your <a href="http://www.senate.gov/">Senators</a> and let them know that you value this investment.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-9296913126540237492007-08-06T12:31:00.000-04:002007-08-17T13:59:34.521-04:00On finite resources and povertyOver the last couple of weeks, as I was plowing through <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">journal articles</a>, <a href="http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/">CRS reports</a>, and endless data from <a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/">the EIA</a> and others, I started asking readers to share their thoughts on ethics, the environment, and the war in Iraq. Readers posted many thoughtful comments, and the lurkers (who are always welcome to comment) were out in force to follow these discussions. There was such a positive reaction, that I thought I'd bring up a few more points for discussion, and may begin to include such questions as a regular feature on The Influence Machine. I'll be more timely and thorough in my responses.<br /><br /><blockquote>Can an economy (the global economy, regional economies, local economies) grow forever? Can infinite value be derived from finite resources? Does one country's (or individual’s, or group’s) increasing wealth necessarily mean that another becomes poorer? Can existing markets or regulatory environments (global, national, regional, &c) solve the problem of poverty? If so, should they? What would an end to poverty look like?</blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-6656373853724032382007-08-02T12:02:00.000-04:002007-08-03T14:35:58.901-04:00An inconvenient truth about biofuelsIn 2005, the US consumed about 140,407,470,000 gallons of gasoline. On average, that’s around 1.25 gallons of gasoline per day, for each man, woman, and child in the country. We use it without realizing it: the oranges we buy in February traveled a very long distance; all of those cheap clothes are only inexpensive because they were produced somewhere far enough away to have a tiny cost of labor; and of course we love to drive ourselves to work, dash to the supermarket to grab this, then later to the hardware store for that, all the while complaining about traffic and gas prices.<br />W has laudably suggested reducing gasoline consumption by 20% by 2017. Business interests are encouraging people to "Go Yellow". And Chevrolet is greenwashing a fleet of gas-guzzlers under the pretense that buying a flex-fuel car is in and of itself good for the environment.<br />Unfortunately, domestic corn-based ethanol and soybean or WVO biodiesel do not now offer, nor are they likely to offer in the foreseeable future, a tenable solution to the problem of transportation fuels. While it's true that production of biofuels has accelerated rapidly in recent years, there simply isn't enough feedstock to replace a meaningful fraction of petrofuels. Replacing the rough equivalent of 2% of the gasoline we use currently requires about 20% of our corn crop. If we stopped eating corn and feeding it to livestock- mildly absurd hypothetical actions- we'd still only cover about 10% of our current gasoline demand. Cellulosic ethanol fuel does nothing for us now, and there's no telling how long it will be until economically feasible methods of production are available. Moreover, there are a host of concerns over the cultivation of large amounts of switchgrass and genetically-modified fast-growing trees.<br />Research remains important; horizon technologies have a way of becoming household words in the blink of an eye. Likewise, incrementally greater production of biofuels does achieve some benefit, although it would make more sense to exploit some of the other benefits of biofuels. Rather than spreading a very thin mix of blended fuels around a large region, we should use high biofuel blends for special applications: biofuels for school buses to reduce the exposure of children to particulate pollution; biofuels for government fleet-vehicles and buses in Clean Air Act nonattainment areas; biofuels for watercraft to minimize sulfur, particulate, and synthetic-volatile pollution in waterways.<br />Given the finite lifespan of oil and the lack of a meaningful or reliable supply of a direct replacement, we have to consider conservation in a new way. We need to rethink communities, values, and lifeways. We need to act on this new thinking.<br />It grows dim in our national memory, but a little over six decades ago, a generation of Americans fought and won a massive war, and in so doing reinvented their economy and that of the world. Why can't ending a myopic addiction to oil and creating a sustainable economy be this generation's legacy?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-86868731773635425742007-07-30T07:33:00.000-04:002007-08-17T13:59:34.522-04:00Blog-o-mat: Continuing continuing serviceTo the reader,<br />I'm pleased and impressed by the responses I've read to previous questions. I'm glad to see such heart-felt and articulate comments. Since I'm still up to my eyeballs in journal articles and CRS reports, I'll throw out a few more questions on ethics and environment:<br /><br /><strong>Do we have any responsibility for the well-being of future generations of humans? Is such a responsibility dependent upon whether or not we have children of our own? Do we have any responsibility for the well-being of non-human species? Does the aesthetic quality of nature have any tangible value? Does the spiritual or metaphysical quality of nature have such value? Who or what should get to determine what those values are?</strong>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-28482884671610777592007-07-27T08:48:00.000-04:002007-08-17T13:59:34.525-04:00Blog-o-mat: Continuing serviceAnother series of questions to the reader:<br /><br /><strong>Does religion (or a particular religion, perhaps your own) mandate service to other people? How about people outside the faith? Does protecting or improving the natural environment honor such an ethic? Does knowingly harming the environment violate that ethic?</strong>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-6466478047184215082007-07-26T08:59:00.000-04:002007-08-17T13:59:34.527-04:00Introducing the Blog-o-mat: Some questions for the readerAs I near the end of an engaging but tough course on environmental law and policy, I’ve regrettably let the weeds grow up around The Influence Machine. Rather than yet another post of <a href="http://erdunhill.blogspot.com/2007/07/apollo-11-flight-plan-38-years-after.html">accidental art</a> or what amounts to <a href="http://erdunhill.blogspot.com/2007/07/term-paper-continues.html">a "Will return in…" sign</a>, I’ll turn intellectual control of the blog over to the reader for a while. I am well-aware that this is analogous to when banks got rid of most of their tellers, installed ATMs, but still charged everyone the same fees (or more) for self-service. To the reader, whether well-read and opinionated or casual and curious, I pose these questions and ask for comment:<br /><br /><strong>Can the United States win the war in Iraq? If so, how do you define victory? How do you think the US can achieve that? What happens to the Iraqis and the region if the US withraws in the immediate future?</strong>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-64778170153801998922007-07-25T11:57:00.000-04:002007-07-25T11:59:45.397-04:00The term-paper continues...<a href="http://www.toutfait.com/issues/volume2/issue_4/articles/bailey/popup_23.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vpB0xX8TQowLyiQsX-4hMXcN-uKp2WPEmrSgYMQTsEluL8-5KErFJzAeYq18tHi_JJHcHnB-Pg7P6tN3gksHpnrpDENvpDVLdVJe8M0jhIg1A7hMAAD0y9IWh83AVjBZ1MsFZQ/s320/s_of_a-detail.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091164622241108882" /></a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-78795386068218562662007-07-20T12:45:00.000-04:002007-07-25T12:00:05.277-04:00Apollo 11 flight plan, 38 years after<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_9STegNvOD7SGDyYEqH5D9sY3gqHcWMCXonEUpsx_ZyLOpvnZrV6vqJQt19wQnGTGbv1tS-ElLL1LE1FDWnOExgeC2USoSfPifmyyCs99fk6zxyuV3rpnRvsBQ6CAcLI8oFkig/s1600-h/apollo-11-flight-plan-l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_9STegNvOD7SGDyYEqH5D9sY3gqHcWMCXonEUpsx_ZyLOpvnZrV6vqJQt19wQnGTGbv1tS-ElLL1LE1FDWnOExgeC2USoSfPifmyyCs99fk6zxyuV3rpnRvsBQ6CAcLI8oFkig/s400/apollo-11-flight-plan-l.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089337057595981330" /></a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-50824254051319991012007-07-18T16:30:00.000-04:002007-07-25T12:00:05.279-04:00Term-paper cynicism, or a Thoreauvian asideAs I dig through Congressional Research Service briefs, I hear Thoreau in the back of my mind:<br />"No man with a genius for legislation has appeared in America. They are rare in the history of the world. There are orators, politicians, and eloquent men, by the thousand; but the speaker has not yet opened his mouth to speak who is capable of settling the much-vexed questions of the day. We love eloquence for its own sake, and not for any truth which it may utter, or any heroism it may inspire. Our legislators have not yet learned the comparative value of free trade and of freedom, of union, and of rectitude, to a nation. They have no genius or talent for comparatively humble questions of taxation and finance, commerce and manufactures and agriculture. If we were left solely to the wordy wit of legislators in Congress for our guidance, uncorrected by the seasonable experience and the effectual complaints of the people, America would not long retain her rank among the nations. For eighteen hundred years, though perchance I have no right to say it, the New Testament has been written; yet where is the legislator who has wisdom and practical talent enough to avail himself of the light which it sheds on the science of legislation."Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-56608897947064506472007-07-13T13:27:00.000-04:002007-07-14T15:07:15.037-04:00All this useless beauty<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQv5uegNDdB45MtLB2gXO_zTiVZFFZtulSgUr7Tdb0EVB3R0byoSLHVR_LctaXtBIT6oIJCTi5KvkhrnJM4ED297iMT7sPYXTRulDbchxr40ceaOhuH4QsXLd3LKp0dWANetGag/s1600-h/2007_0709Prague20070080-cropped-reduced.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQv5uegNDdB45MtLB2gXO_zTiVZFFZtulSgUr7Tdb0EVB3R0byoSLHVR_LctaXtBIT6oIJCTi5KvkhrnJM4ED297iMT7sPYXTRulDbchxr40ceaOhuH4QsXLd3LKp0dWANetGag/s400/2007_0709Prague20070080-cropped-reduced.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087130273334525442" /></a><br />Prague is not so much a city full of art as one expansive, living work. Cobbled streets wind through a thicket of old shops and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2RCvSM0_A7BXkJvJ1gvQQa8XtdnN1TRU-d5E-2a8953YUq-jgSDMT06E9M-TKFDv7SK4WU7LeDrV2RZTw_qOpgQlUbSvnxHsVuHNVym2UyIVpqIyDYnDACqbvXQUB8iQNCR7-w/s1600-h/2007_0709Prague20070049-reduced.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087124170185997762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="260" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2RCvSM0_A7BXkJvJ1gvQQa8XtdnN1TRU-d5E-2a8953YUq-jgSDMT06E9M-TKFDv7SK4WU7LeDrV2RZTw_qOpgQlUbSvnxHsVuHNVym2UyIVpqIyDYnDACqbvXQUB8iQNCR7-w/s320/2007_0709Prague20070049-reduced.jpg" width="195" border="0" /></a>homes with terra cotta roofs, and places of worship so ancient that they almost defy understanding- here a synagogue from the 12th century, there a basilica from the 10th. Tycho Brahe lies interred in one grand church, Wenceslas in another. Art has so long been the way of life in this city in Bohemia, that it becomes immediately obvious why the word "bohemian" has come to be affixed to creative types. It's hard to return from my week there without some remnant of that gothic and baroque drama.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUCfenSENkz-2QjUVhyphenhyphens16TuTY1CDN8B0E2GN7LrHqGXIy9vGykWT45_OXo5bSH3iNM8TdGo98U2L0vWKXe484lNHctcByT9WkL38vn7ZSg9WvbeBR7G-s-p08Go_UzPqIKe70Q/s1600-h/2007_0709Prague20070014-reduced.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087124775776386514" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="260" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUCfenSENkz-2QjUVhyphenhyphens16TuTY1CDN8B0E2GN7LrHqGXIy9vGykWT45_OXo5bSH3iNM8TdGo98U2L0vWKXe484lNHctcByT9WkL38vn7ZSg9WvbeBR7G-s-p08Go_UzPqIKe70Q/s320/2007_0709Prague20070014-reduced.jpg" width="195" border="0" /></a>A former student of astronomy and a former professional cartographer, I was most enamored of the Pražský Orloj, the Prague Astronomical Clock, in the Old Town plaza. This device measures time of day, the positions of the sun and moon, dawn and dusk, time of year, and other quantities useful to astronomy and astrology, all using clockwork and kindred technologies characteristic of the middle of the last millennium. It displays several pieces of moving sculpture that ring bells and deliver blessings on the hour. The clock embodies Pirsig's ideas of both classical and romantic beauty.<br />Praguers seem to appreciate all of this art and its (and their own) relationship with the natural world. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqX8Z-rnatE6vTHOfII0A2Yp4u_Jn89OIiM0MWiD2gvwP5JPPVZQSIT6jejIayKxo29nwdcJUXRI8k3OVsAlXLkCYaOibw9vieweb9AINNfmrKmQW32znm5jIYHil54MnbzvM_g/s1600-h/2007_0709Prague20070188-reduced.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087125548870499810" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="195" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqX8Z-rnatE6vTHOfII0A2Yp4u_Jn89OIiM0MWiD2gvwP5JPPVZQSIT6jejIayKxo29nwdcJUXRI8k3OVsAlXLkCYaOibw9vieweb9AINNfmrKmQW32znm5jIYHil54MnbzvM_g/s320/2007_0709Prague20070188-reduced.jpg" width="260" border="0" /></a>So far north, the city enjoys and suffers the fickle economy of long summer days and unrelenting winter nights. Tucked so far from the sea and so close to mountains and hills, weather is even more protean. Owing to this physiography, Praguers seem to understand the value of every moment of sun and warm air; as soon as the clouds part, they are reading in public greens or having coffee or pilsner at sidewalk cafes. Conversely, clouds and rain mandate trips to museums and galleries and seem to tap the kegs that serve friends philosophizing in cellar pubs.<br />"What shall we do, what shall we do..."Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28734479.post-91890163789828274712007-07-03T09:30:00.000-04:002007-07-03T11:18:37.637-04:00If you've never stared off in the distance<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje82AGhX8lS6xeAz10q2eRTeJPF6uFmqDgTZZ95MZ0JhV28uYbg4QksijNXBnroY4WnYBOANVo7aE1dzarAULaD87EgffCnxf5JPnkwoGiUdPwKWvgKs5oZIuFdJ2rVfVp6XHRhw/s1600-h/Sugarloaf-North_Peaks-Facing_West-reduced.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078919206205547458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="195" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje82AGhX8lS6xeAz10q2eRTeJPF6uFmqDgTZZ95MZ0JhV28uYbg4QksijNXBnroY4WnYBOANVo7aE1dzarAULaD87EgffCnxf5JPnkwoGiUdPwKWvgKs5oZIuFdJ2rVfVp6XHRhw/s320/Sugarloaf-North_Peaks-Facing_West-reduced.jpg" width="260" border="0" /></a>The hounds and I hike five miles and in this travel run across a fawn, hiding among the ferns. We find a good quarter-acre of wild blueberry, though there is not a ripe berry to be found.<br />The mountain is a living thing, its trees, its lichens, its millipedes breathing in and out. Loose stones and water relaxing toward the Potomac speak on its behalf. The sound of my own voice, reciting <i>Flavoparmelia caperata</i> and <i>Punctelia rudecta</i> for the benefit of the dogs’ education, seems trivial for a moment, but in the end I see is no less a part of the mountain. I consider for a moment that both "psyche" and "chi" come from words that mean breath.<br />I ruminate on Emerson:<br />"These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most requests is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs."<br />In the next few days, make some time for walking, for woodland pools, spring holes and ditches, for the solace of open spaces.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.com2