It's not really "warm" (high 52 degrees yesterday), but the blue skies and sunshine are just too irresistible, and we had to spend some time outdoors in this nature lovers paradise. So we leashed up the dog and hiked the part of the Eastside Overland Trail that goes to the camping area with pond and lean-to's. Being the non-athletic one in the family, I thought I would die when the first half mile of the trail was uphill. Tom and the dog put on their teflon suits and ignored my whining. Finally the trail leveled out and, with me having survived the climb, the rest of the adventure turned out to be quite enjoyable. The woods are beautiful even after most of the leaves have fallen.
Studies seem to confirm that being close to nature has a positive effect on both physical and mental health, and I anecdotally concur. Modern technology provides us with illusions that we have transcended the animal kingdom and now control our world, but Mother Nature smiles (and sometimes glares or snarls) knowingly.
Not that technology isn't useful. Bill McKibben makes clear that the kind of community he envisions for our future includes not only the folks on the block, but the ones we reach via the internet. The sharing of ideas is so vital to our success in navigating our changing world.
I love, love the internet --not only because I'm an information junkie and cherish being able to find the answer to almost any question right here on my computer screen. This wonderful invention has also enabled me to know people I would otherwise never have met. Even more importantly, it helps me keep in touch with friends and family members who live at a distance, much better than letters and phone calls. I was able to chat on Facebook almost daily with my son during his year in Iraq, which made the whole experience slightly more bearable. I can keep up with daily lives via photos posted online or emailed to me. And last night, thanks to Skype, we had a face to face video conversation with our little grandson in Boston! When you can see them in real time, somehow they don't seem quite so far away.
I would be sad if we lost the internet in our powered-down future, or (more likely) if it became restricted so that only powerful elites were given access to it. It could happen. But it's a small problem in the grand scheme of things.
Worse is the looming specter of our planet becoming unfit for human habitation because we think we can outsmart nature.
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