I was thinking myself about that shift, of thinking of oneself as a mentor, an elder, of when to shift roles and how to honor and lead others who are coming into the world as adults. I love your thoughtfulness behind that so much--and I think the practice of noticing, listening, and writing about it is so important. I've learned much from the lens you write from and am grateful for it--if only we could find ways to erase the word exclude from the vocabulary of policy and 'progress.' Noticing, listening, and writing alongside you John. 💜
I like both your focus and the mindset behind it. There are roles to play at every stage of life and I appreciate your thoughtfulness in rethinking your role and setting intentions for the coming year. That’s a beneficial endeavor for all of us.
Hola , Me Gusta Que Escribas Sobre El Agua , En Mí Ciudad ( Valencia ) , Estos Últimos Días , El Gobierno De Derechas PP Y Su Socio De Gobierno El Partido De Ultra Derecha VOX , Han Decido Ampliar Una Vez Más El Puerto De Valencia , La Primeras Consecuencias Pueden Ser El Fin Del Parque Natural De La Albufera Y Sus Miles De Hectáreas De Campos De Arroz , Y La Segunda Consecuencia Pude Ser El Fin De Las Playas , Por Culpa De Los Espigones Y Su Cambio En Él Oleaje De Las Olas. Cómo Ves Hay Un Montón De Problemas Derivados Del Agua En Todas Partes. Un Saludo.
As always I’m grateful to have read this post, John. A local issue for me re water quality and availability is the purchase of water rights in NE Florida by Nestle’s. Knowing the likely incipient failures of small farmers (crops and livestock), the purchases were for scant dollars. This region is critical to the aquifer that provides water to central Florida.
By drilling high volume capacity wells throughout their holdings (waters of the state?!) Nestle’s has lowered the levels of the aquifer in that area. Private wells have failed. The State of Florida has shown little interest in even acknowledging reports of same. Revenue stream?
Water quality? Contaminants from South Georgia agricultural pollutants (nitrogen, insecticides, herbicides) make their way to these very aquifers from which Nestle’s draws their “natural spring water.”
Who does this affect you asked. The hard scrabble farmers whose wells are now dry, not Archer-Daniels- Midlands. What is the best trajectory to bring about awareness in the minds of average consumers? As I’m far from having extra disposable income, what role can I play? I own a decent laptop, so is putting Florida’s R legislators on blast meaningful? Or our Governor?
Thanks for all you do! I’ll be looking for you early next year.
John, you covered everything that’s on my year end state of mind. I’m questioning whether I’m sufficiently outraged about the Sackett/Supreme court wetland debacle to pursue Rights of Nature. I’m leaning toward keeping my day job and writing Matters of Kinship. I spent every spare hour of the 4th quarter in committee meetings covering the politics, the legal, and the social. Yes, unfortunately “exclusion” ranks high in my county along with the inability to see rivers as living beings.
Leaning into kinship. Gratitude for you and all kin.🌱
Not so long ago I was serving on boards, attending non-stop community meetings, writing testimony to legislators, researching, and facilitating. Covid switched things around in terms of public meetings, but as soon as it let up a bit, we were back in those rooms. I'm your age, and I don't have the energy to drive the distances it takes to attend public meetings, so I rely on notifying my contact network of issues to be addressed, providing a model for written testimony, and of course sending my own. I'm still committed to saving heritage forests and shorelines around here, and recently celebrated incredible successes with hundreds of others doing the same - and prevailing in saving thousands of acres and miles of shorelines on Dabob Bay, along with wetlands and streams. Rivers are also being restored and our Land Trust is doing incredible things. I don't have the stamina to be out there physically, much less on the highways to "get there," but the pen or laptop remain. In other aspects of life, I continue to mentor younger people - younger now meaning in their forties rather than twenties. Thanks for being such a great role model, John.
It did not escape me that you mentioned exclusion in this piece John. I am glad you pointed that out and as I was reading it, I thought about it from the perspectives of product development too.
I respect your decision to become an advisor, and I wish more of us had the will to defeat their ego and make that decision. I look forward to reading more of your writing.
I deeply respect the work you are doing here John. These concerns that you raised are not singular in nature but the maturity and wisdom that you attack these problems with are indelible tools of experience that someone of your age and generation would have developed. I am really thankful for your courage and determination. Water issue remains in dire condition as we roll over to 2024. Here in Karnataka we are almost halfway through the decade and yet here we are still arguing about which state (Karnataka or Tamil Nadu) get more water from the Kaveri river which has caused several feuds and riots in our city already.
I hope I could learn something from your important work and help people understand and deal with similar problems in our part of the world! Cheers to you John. Stay blessed and keep showing us the way. 💜🌼
Reading the "excluded" quote in this context is very powerful, John. I'm glad that story has resonated with you. It's going to stick with me.
I'm spending my week reading James Welch's novels, and as I'm almost finished with Fools Crow, your thoughts here lead me to think of what's lost when we have no solid community, elders, identity, leaders in the true sense of the word, to help us make these kinds of decisions. What to do with our skills, gifts, time, and resources; and when to make life changes. I know many people struggle with these questions and how to co-create community around them, and around humans' responsibilities to life. It's heartening to know that that's out there, and among us. 🧡
I was thinking myself about that shift, of thinking of oneself as a mentor, an elder, of when to shift roles and how to honor and lead others who are coming into the world as adults. I love your thoughtfulness behind that so much--and I think the practice of noticing, listening, and writing about it is so important. I've learned much from the lens you write from and am grateful for it--if only we could find ways to erase the word exclude from the vocabulary of policy and 'progress.' Noticing, listening, and writing alongside you John. 💜
Thank you, Freya, it's good to have you alongside.
I like both your focus and the mindset behind it. There are roles to play at every stage of life and I appreciate your thoughtfulness in rethinking your role and setting intentions for the coming year. That’s a beneficial endeavor for all of us.
Hola , Me Gusta Que Escribas Sobre El Agua , En Mí Ciudad ( Valencia ) , Estos Últimos Días , El Gobierno De Derechas PP Y Su Socio De Gobierno El Partido De Ultra Derecha VOX , Han Decido Ampliar Una Vez Más El Puerto De Valencia , La Primeras Consecuencias Pueden Ser El Fin Del Parque Natural De La Albufera Y Sus Miles De Hectáreas De Campos De Arroz , Y La Segunda Consecuencia Pude Ser El Fin De Las Playas , Por Culpa De Los Espigones Y Su Cambio En Él Oleaje De Las Olas. Cómo Ves Hay Un Montón De Problemas Derivados Del Agua En Todas Partes. Un Saludo.
As always I’m grateful to have read this post, John. A local issue for me re water quality and availability is the purchase of water rights in NE Florida by Nestle’s. Knowing the likely incipient failures of small farmers (crops and livestock), the purchases were for scant dollars. This region is critical to the aquifer that provides water to central Florida.
By drilling high volume capacity wells throughout their holdings (waters of the state?!) Nestle’s has lowered the levels of the aquifer in that area. Private wells have failed. The State of Florida has shown little interest in even acknowledging reports of same. Revenue stream?
Water quality? Contaminants from South Georgia agricultural pollutants (nitrogen, insecticides, herbicides) make their way to these very aquifers from which Nestle’s draws their “natural spring water.”
Who does this affect you asked. The hard scrabble farmers whose wells are now dry, not Archer-Daniels- Midlands. What is the best trajectory to bring about awareness in the minds of average consumers? As I’m far from having extra disposable income, what role can I play? I own a decent laptop, so is putting Florida’s R legislators on blast meaningful? Or our Governor?
Thanks for all you do! I’ll be looking for you early next year.
John, you covered everything that’s on my year end state of mind. I’m questioning whether I’m sufficiently outraged about the Sackett/Supreme court wetland debacle to pursue Rights of Nature. I’m leaning toward keeping my day job and writing Matters of Kinship. I spent every spare hour of the 4th quarter in committee meetings covering the politics, the legal, and the social. Yes, unfortunately “exclusion” ranks high in my county along with the inability to see rivers as living beings.
Leaning into kinship. Gratitude for you and all kin.🌱
Not so long ago I was serving on boards, attending non-stop community meetings, writing testimony to legislators, researching, and facilitating. Covid switched things around in terms of public meetings, but as soon as it let up a bit, we were back in those rooms. I'm your age, and I don't have the energy to drive the distances it takes to attend public meetings, so I rely on notifying my contact network of issues to be addressed, providing a model for written testimony, and of course sending my own. I'm still committed to saving heritage forests and shorelines around here, and recently celebrated incredible successes with hundreds of others doing the same - and prevailing in saving thousands of acres and miles of shorelines on Dabob Bay, along with wetlands and streams. Rivers are also being restored and our Land Trust is doing incredible things. I don't have the stamina to be out there physically, much less on the highways to "get there," but the pen or laptop remain. In other aspects of life, I continue to mentor younger people - younger now meaning in their forties rather than twenties. Thanks for being such a great role model, John.
And thank you for all you're doing there, Kirie. It takes a collection of villages!
It did not escape me that you mentioned exclusion in this piece John. I am glad you pointed that out and as I was reading it, I thought about it from the perspectives of product development too.
Thanks, it's become quite a theme in my writing! It's everywhere.
For a great reason!
I respect your decision to become an advisor, and I wish more of us had the will to defeat their ego and make that decision. I look forward to reading more of your writing.
Thanks Thomas. It seems to be working so far!
I deeply respect the work you are doing here John. These concerns that you raised are not singular in nature but the maturity and wisdom that you attack these problems with are indelible tools of experience that someone of your age and generation would have developed. I am really thankful for your courage and determination. Water issue remains in dire condition as we roll over to 2024. Here in Karnataka we are almost halfway through the decade and yet here we are still arguing about which state (Karnataka or Tamil Nadu) get more water from the Kaveri river which has caused several feuds and riots in our city already.
I hope I could learn something from your important work and help people understand and deal with similar problems in our part of the world! Cheers to you John. Stay blessed and keep showing us the way. 💜🌼
Thank you, Swarna. Water is a worldwide problem, and inextricably tied to justice issues.
I would love to know more about your local water situation. Please send me any links that might educate me.
Yes John, I feel very deeply concerned regarding the water crisis of India and the world in general. The lack of awareness of water treatment, pollution and disposal makes things even more complex considering India’s massive population. This paper discusses in detail the issues I pointed above: https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10454/2893/Paper3;jsessionid=2D0D0F116E246A381A61F31618444A3A?sequence=1
Thank you, Swarna.
A really thoughtful post John, thank you. In the UK we have a few issues with water, too: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/08/business/thames-water-uk-industry-crisis/index.html It's amazing how we just forget about the basics.
Thanks Jeffrey,
Yes, Thames is the poster child for the ills of privatization of water.
Reading the "excluded" quote in this context is very powerful, John. I'm glad that story has resonated with you. It's going to stick with me.
I'm spending my week reading James Welch's novels, and as I'm almost finished with Fools Crow, your thoughts here lead me to think of what's lost when we have no solid community, elders, identity, leaders in the true sense of the word, to help us make these kinds of decisions. What to do with our skills, gifts, time, and resources; and when to make life changes. I know many people struggle with these questions and how to co-create community around them, and around humans' responsibilities to life. It's heartening to know that that's out there, and among us. 🧡
That quote hasn't let me go. In putting this together, I realized how much it runs alongside water through all my work. It felt OK now to honor it.
Thanks for all you noted here.