NANFA-- Harper's article

Jay DeLong (thirdwind_at_att.net)
Tue, 20 Feb 2001 21:20:15 -0800

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There's a thoughtful essay in the Feb 2001 Harper's Magazine called One
Acre, by Joy Williams. She reflects on land developers in Florida around
her property she bought in 1969. She allowed her land to grow somewhat
wild while everything around experienced development and nearly complete
habitat destruction. She invokes the ideas of Aldo Leopold (whom she
laments "has had about as much affect on the American conscience as a
snowflake"), and she contrasts his ideas with modern society's ideas (e.g.,
how ecosystems get defined as land, which is then converted into parcels
and sold as commodities.) Seven thousand acres are lost each day to
development in the US, she says. I enjoyed this article, and if it's easy
for you to get ahold of, and if you have an environmental view that goes
beyond personal gain, you might too.

Then I turned on PBS and watched a great show called Let the Rivers Run by
the now deceased David Brower, first executive director of the Sierra Club
(1952-1969). It included interviews with him and truly great photographs
and more. Perhaps it will be on again and I think it's worth watching if
you're so inclined.

And I spent the afternoon kayaking down the Nisqually River and through the
Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It was a spectacular day with great weather and
lots of waterfowl, herons, bald eagles, inquisitive harbor seals and more.

--
Jay DeLong
Olympia, WA




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