I've been thinking about Ecology in that way that we considered it in the 1970's when I was a kid. The word has a retro-tree hugging feel these days, but actually just means "the study of the environment."
When I think about Ecology though, I think about saving things for the future. In this way, I think of conservation in the same way I think about sunscreen. I am 43 years old, not ancient, but the number is not a "young" number. I have been using sunscreen regularly my entire life and specifically on my face every day since I was 25 or so. I have saved my skin for the future, my future. It hasn’t been a hardship on me not to "waste" my skin.
I look at environmental conservation the same way. I LOVE to swim in a clear, cold lake. When I was a kid we sailed up to Princess Louisa Inlet in Canada. There is a lake there that inspired my mom to skinny dip. I haven't been back, but I like to think it is still pristine. I hope it is.
We also sailed to the South Pacific. For a year, my family and me were in the Marquesas, the Tuamotus, Tahaiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora and finally Hawaii. We didn't have an outboard engine on our Avon dingy then. When we anchored out in the bay, we rowed to shore in every weather and sea condition.
We carried our own water in 25-gallon jugs and poured it into tanks on the boat. A few times during the trip we were able to use a hose at a dock, but mostly just us and the rowing. When I think about water and wasting it, I have to consider whether I would want to row it against an incoming tide in a dingy with five people and 100 gallons of water. It just makes sense to save it~
Look for my new listing coming soon!
www.3748virden.com
Labels: Carbon Footprint, Conservation, Ecology, Oakland Community, Oakland Real Estate, Water Conservation
