Health and Diet Scottish Recipes Ferret for Ferrets


Re: [pf] Our common beliefs
by David MacClement
01 December 2000 18:09 UTC

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At 08:22 1/12/2000 -0800, Diane wrote:
>I have been participating in our city's greenbelt task force, which 
>is trying to set up a system of open spaces and trails in our city. 
>The turn-out hasn't been overwhelming ... but the comments have been 
>helpful and re-assuring.  Common themes have been:
>
>-- Protect our old trees from commercial development ...
>-- We want trails ... for recreation and for transportation ...
>-- We want a walking path that crosses the interstate ...
>-- We want protection of our wildlife and water supply
>
>The difficult part ...  Do you use carrots or sticks to 
>get a developer to do "right" landscaping?
>But it gives our greenbelt task force new motivation to continue ... 
>

· It's great to see real action, eventually showing results on-the-ground,
towards the goal (as I see it) of sustainable living. Getting into the
nitty-gritty of local social and political action /is/ where we ordinary
people can have some effect. It's good for us to tell ourselves that we're
"the wave of the future", "cultural creatives", "the people with the
broader view" and so on - it keeps our spirits up and our social activities
going - but that's all in one's mind. 

· Getting involved is hard. It's too hard for me; it's my wife who's "on
the job" in her spare time, going to meetings, being a Greens policy
networker and so on; making a difference "on-the-ground".

· So I very much admire people like Diane who are actually guiding local
social and political events, however hard she finds the doing-of-it is.

· All I can provide is support and perhaps an opportunity to compare some
of the choices with the long-term goal; putting them into context.

David.
(David MacClement) davd@ihug.co.nz