Dear VV,
A few thoughts regarding your conservation issue:
I think a lot of Valley folk are what I would call
"environmental conservatives", without
necessarily being social or fiscal conservatives.
I
have also noticed an ethic of self-reliance; witness the
success of the "Local Hero" campaign to buy
local food.
There
is also a kind of vague folk-memory of town-supported
farms (and private poor farms), brought to attention
again in an excellent series on regional poverty the
Recorder did last year.
Of
course, these issues are all related. They can take
modern form as organic, community-supported agriculture,
or they can be generalized as community productivity and
social services. But they are all aspects of a
consciously conceived, reflective community in the
context of a rich natural environment. The
question is, how can we use this consciousness and these
local resources to disengage from the destructive
aspects of the broader economy while making a transition
to a sustainable society?
One
starting point would be for towns to sponsor organic
farms dedicated to feeding the local hungry, the program
administered through the schools, perhaps, where kids
could learn gardening and farming skills as well as
engaging in community service.
Yours,
Tom Hutcheson
(Back
to Simply Living)
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