permaculture

[John Schinnerer <John-Schinnerer@data-dimensions.com>]

Aloha,

Another perspective...

A good friend of mine was co-organizer of some youth environmental summits
in Colorado a number of years back.  One of the people they wanted to come
and speak was Wendell Barry.  In response to their invitation, he responded
with a very polite and thoughtful handwritten letter in which he said he no
longer traveled to conferences and such, and preferred that people consider
staying close to where they were and "putting down roots."

This has come back around, as my friend was just invited to a similar youth
summit this summer to speak on "environmental justice" - and, thanks in part
to Barry's letter of years ago, is acutely aware of the contradictions and
irony inherent in flying halfway across the country and back to spend two
hours presenting on this topic.

Now, if everyone walked or biked to the convergence...carrying placards and
banners and literature to sell along the way... ;-)

John Schinnerer