Editorial

Ten thousand years ago as the glaciers melted and receded, the gouges they left behind became the Great Lakes, the bulges and protrusions--the land masses. Recently, I was talking to Andy, one of my "inn-mates", about this phenomenon because he is studying the early formation of the land forms in this area in his college geography class.

Since it was a beautiful warm day and Bowers Harbor was flat-calm, I decided I needed to ponder this glacial effect from the perspective of my kayak. Once I'd paddled out, I sat still and floated, taking in the still of the lake with the sky and shoreline reflected in it, the hills of the harbor ablaze with fall colors. I tried to picture the glaciers covering over everything, and gradually disappearing as they carved out what has become the Old Mission Peninsula, Bowers Harbor, and Neahtawanta Point. In places I could see through the reflected clouds to the bottom of the lake. There used to be much more diversity in the aquatic life here; but now that the zebra mussels have taken over, it looks like an underwater wasteland--an unintentional effect of international shipping that brought this non-indigenous species thousands of miles from its original home.

The sounds of Nature--a sea gull, a few crows, some distant crickets--mingled with human and machine noises--a chainsaw, a motorboat, someone shouting from across the harbor, a leaf blower, and, of course, the noise of cars. Suddenly, the sound of a gun cracked through the air, first the initial report, then an echo that followed the shoreline of the harborÉthen three more. I thought about how the forces of Nature and human activity both affect the way the Earth is evolving. There is a growing awareness that we need to learn how to live in ways that don't adversely impact the balance of Nature. We must become conscious of the interdependence of all life, and take responsibility for the effects our living has on the other members of the web of life, as well as on the system as a whole. These ideas are encompassed in the word "sustainability".

This issue of Synapse is the first in a series of issues that will focus on different aspects of building sustainable communities. The main article is a report by Center Board Members Ruth Carey and Jim Crowfoot on the summer campfire salons that were held at the Neahtawanta Inn this past summer. The discussions for the five salons focused on specific areas of sustainable living. We will be continuing this theme with monthly salons beginning on October 27th at the Inn. Anyone who is interested is invited to attend. For those of you who use the Internet, Jim has also written an article which suggests some interesting sites for information on sustainable communities.

Nuclear power, an example of unsustainable living, is addressed in the account of the shut-down of the Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant, which I wrote. We can celebrate the closing; but the problems relating to nuclear power will be with us for a long time.

As part of the 10 year anniversary of the Neahtawanta Center, we are looking at ways in which we, as individuals, and as an organization, can sustain ourselves for the long-run. We have been evaluating our past workshops, our personal energy, our effectiveness, and doing some financial planning. We have included a synopsis of our 10th celebration, and a summary of our most recent Center board meeting. We invite your comments and feedback.

Because one of our goals here at the Center is to bring people from the community together to share ideas and enjoy each other's company, we are offering a new discount to our members who come and stay at the Inn during the low season. We hope some of you will take advantage of this and come out for fellowship, sauna, library browsing, woods walking and personal rejuvenation.

And, for locals, don't forget the Halfway to Earth Day fundraiser/party on October 24th--a good chance to find out what area groups are doing to protect the environment.

--Sally Van Vleck

Return to the Index of Synapse 41, Fall 1997