I’ve spent time down at the Capitol Square on summer mornings this year. The square is long the home to the famous Farmers’ Market. There is, also, a troop of organizations who have information tables across the sidewalk from these local farmers. They attempt to pass along their various messages to the crowd. In our case, it’s the climate change action agendas of 350.org. Science, politics, petitions.
Admittedly, these tables are sometimes just wallpaper for the counter-clockwise conveyor belt of market goers. Folks are, after all, on the mission of vegetables and honey and pasteries. A glance and a smile our way is the norm. So I get the chance to really watch people as they slowly stream by. It occurred to me on my recent visit that one demographic really stood out in this crowd...toddlers.
Toddlers on Dads’ shoulders. Toddlers under one arm. Toddlers walking independently behind parents. Toddlers falling in Capitol Square flower beds. And, it’s stroller mania. Strollers and double strollers. Sibs in strollers. Strollers full of market produce being pushed by toddlers and Mom.
NASA scientist James Hansen has long been the leading public voice on climate disturbances and their cultural reprecussions. But his voice has added a very personal tone in past years as his two grandchildren were born. Along with his science, Hansen is focused on how the younger generation today will be handed failing systems and harsh climates that might have been forstalled by an earlier generation. His recent book on climate change issues is titled Storms Of My Grandchildren. He would agree that parents of toddlers today need to be, themselves, active agents for a resilient society as well as the nurturers of their children.