Overwhelmed

There's so many things I'd like to write about here, they are popping into my head on a regular basis all day. It seems that the wheels are finally so far into motion that ordinary folks are starting to sit up and take notice. Global warming is a dinner table word, the "R" word (recession) has finally been said (and dark mutters of the "D" word - Depression - have been spoken in the press), food rationing is in place in many major stores, our local Costco is only allowing purchase of one bag of rice, and gas is topping $4 a gallon. Although the writing has been on the wall in gigantic graffiti-sized letters, it seems as if it's finally being read.

I remember writing on a message board a couple of years ago that I thought the government should boost gas to $4 a gallon and immediately invest the difference (at that point, about $1.50 a gallon) in public transportation and bicycle and pedestrian support. I was immediately shouted down, with folks exclaiming that $4 per gallon for gas would ruin ordinary families, that they couldn't afford their commutes, etc. etc. and I said we would see those prices soon anyways, why not use it now and offset everyone's future pain. Well guess what, gas is now approaching (or over, in some places) $4 a gallon and we are NO CLOSER to solutions for the average American. Now that people are actually trying to ride the bus, the subway, their bikes, etc. the infrastructure is either not in place (in many towns, public transport is too expensive, too infrequent, too sporadic, or non-existant) or it is not adequate to the increasing demand. In Atlanta last weekend, we almost couldn't board the subway that we needed to use to get to the airport because it was literally stuffed with people. I had the same experience in D.C. a few weeks back (in this photo above, not even taken at the peak of rush hour). Since I don't live in either city, I'm not sure if this represents an increase in ridership or if these subways have been this crowded for a long time, but either way it seems clear that an increase in available public transport is a necessity.

Leaving On a Jet Plane

So here I am on my urban farm sustainability blog writing to tell you that my family and I will be climbing on a gigantic fuel-sucking monster to fly across the country so that my kids can run robots around on tables in the Georgia Dome. When you put it like that, it sounds kind of absurd from an environmental standpoint, yet therein lies the rub and one of the stickiest parts of being an environmentalist: how far do you push your values on your kids? Sure, we could tell them that we refuse to go - just because their robotics team made it to the World Festival is no reason to be wasteful of resources. But could you really imagine doing that? Me neither. So off we go.

As with so many day-to-day decisions, we have to balance what is right for our principles vs. what is right for our children. In many ways, our values become second nature for our kids, the "HTF" (a phrase that my mom developed in days of water rationing for "Hold the Flush", and turn lights off when they leave the room. They hang up laundry, vegetable garden, gather chicken eggs, walk and bike around town. But while I will cheerily suit up in my Goretex gear and pedal off to work in a downpour, I don't ever force the kids to bike in inclement weather. Yep, we drive. Of course, we are usually carpooling and try to minimize car miles and maximize the usage when we do take a gas-powered vehicle, but there are many times when having my daughter make it to a dance recital with hair, make-up, and costume intact trumps my tree-hugging values. And this weekend is one of those times, for sure.

So we're off for five days of fun at the World Robotics Festival. Blue skies are in the making as the weather in Atlanta promises to be lovely, and I'm sure the kids will have one of the most memorable experiences of their young lives.