Teaching 2020 Foresight

There are so many ways to respond to the Deepwater Gulf spill debacle and we still get clogged up with blame #1, #2, and #3.  We (comfortable Americans) still look for linear solutions instead of the bigger picture.  The problem in the Gulf is not that there was drilling at 5,000 ft.  The problem is the complicated and addictive need for oil in our society.  

Zenobia Barlow and the Center for Ecoliteracy are right on target with what I believe to be a decisive pathway through this murky time.  Teachers; education training programs; enlightened children.  


Do we have 20/20 hindsight; or 2020 foresight?

Education System Will Benefit from Nature’s Course

Zenobia Barlow (Ecological Literacy Fellow)

“Aboard a boat in the Gulf of Mexico this week, Vernon Asper, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Southern Mississippi, told NPR: ‘The very best thing probably is to let nature take its course.’

“He was not, of course, alone in his response (in this case, referring to the deep-water microbes that decompose oil.) In the face of the daunting Gulf of Mexico oil spill—still spilling, one month after the explosion—it is tempting to resort, on rational or spiritual grounds, to thoughts about the healing powers of nature. We poor humans, after all, don’t yet even know how much oil has spilled, or how to stop it.

“But how might things have turned out differently if more of us had understood the course of nature—and acted on that understanding—before this crisis hit? Would we have better estimated nature’s capacity to compensate for human mistakes and limited ourselves to actions and technologies whose consequences we could manage? Would we have learned to calculate and live within an energy budget that doesn’t require dangerous extraction practices?

“If there is any good at all to come of the latest Gulf disaster, it is that more people might recognize the very real need for schools to accept responsibility for nurturing a new kind of understanding and caring, which has been variously called ecoliteracy, ecological intelligence, and education for sustainable living.

“We urgently need schools to prepare young people for a world marked by climate change, water shortages, and significant threats to food security—and then share the teaching and learning experiences that inspire them to develop more creative, sustainable ways of living.

“Education for sustainable living recognizes that the skills and wisdom that were once sufficient for our survival as a species are no longer adequate for modern life. It reveals the hidden web of connections between human activities and nature’s systems and our impact on the planet, health, and social systems. And it points young people in the direction of better, more sustainable ways of living.

“Surely, it’s a better than hoping that nature will bail us out of our messes.”

Zenobia Barlow is cofounder and executive director of the Center for Ecoliteracy and a Post Carbon Institute fellow. More at www.ecoliteracy.org

Modifying Behaviors One Blue Moon At A Time

We finished this year with a blue moon. I watched this full moon rise into clear cold skies while driving from Chicago to Madison on New Year’s Eve. The snowy fields below glowed.  

The blue moon has a number of symbolisms. The most popular defines it as the second full moon within a calendar month. Our lunar months, of course, roll past in 28 day cycles. So it is rare when a second full moon sneaks itself in - every 33 months or so. 


I believe it auspicious that we had this blue moon on a New Year’s Eve, a time for resolutions and thoughts about the coming year. And because “once in a blue moon” implies a longer time period - longer than your typical New Year’s resolution- it’s timing gives us a chance to think even further ahead on our global citizenly responsibilities.

Ecologically, what would we like to have personally accomplished three years from now? How will we have reduced our carbon footprint or use of natural 

resources? What would we like to be able to report to our students in 33 months about changes we have made to become a better steward of Earth?  What will we model?


I'm not referring to the simpler green actions such as switching out light bulbs or turning off the tap while brushing teeth or using our own mug at coffee shops. These are, for sure, all necessary parts of the range of small acts that point us collectively to resiliency.  

However, we need to begin changing our behaviors at a higher plain. That is the level where it takes more thought and personal re-tooling to achieve results.  It takes some life-style changes over time- maybe even up to the next blue moon.

For instance:

*  EcoDriving:

 Regardless of the car we drive we save fuel, cut emissions and feel more relaxed by driving easy.  It involves, among other techniques, slow accelerations, anticipating lights, feathering the gas pedal on grades, and planning a little more time to reach destinations.  This takes quite a change in driving habits. Simply driving the posted speed is a huge start.  Driving easy may often be frustrating as others roar on around us as if perpetually late. Be patient.

* Composting:  

Throwing kitchen scraps into a compost bin in the back yard yields lots of rich soil supplements and decreases the power and water needed to run our garbage disposal. Old habits die hard on this one. It’s so easy to throw egg shells and lemon rinds and slimy vegetables from the fridge “down the drain.” Yes, we need to have a container on the counter that fills with waste. Yes, we need to frequently -including winter - take this container outdoors to the bin. But the composting habit will reward us with recycled organics and savings in resources.

 * Water Harvesting:  

It is amazing how much water rolls off the roof during a storm.  Fifty-five gallon barrels fill quickly when the gutters and downspouts do their jobs as feeders.  Free, clean water.  Ready to be used on the garden, washing the car and filling the bird bath.   

True, using tap water and the hose is convenient, but this is expensive and precious water.  It has been pumped and purified and pumped again by the city to get to your tap.  Using rain barrels to catch roof run-off preserves ground water resources and the expenses necessary for delivery.  

If we commit to ever greater resilient behaviors in our own lives we'll be better prepared to pass them along to the kids who will need them in the coming decades.

One blue moon at a time.