Thanks, Kathleen. Your story of mutualism in the face of the storm’s aftermath will stay with me for a long time. And guide me as I consider how and when I can behave more like lichen!
I'm surprised Freeport did not have a designated warming spot. Brunswick opened its Rec Center where folks could get power and even a hot shower.
Though I see the pragmatism of the ubiquitous generator, I miss the days when a power outage quieted the neighborhood. Today, I am surrounded by no fewer than 7 loud fossil fuel burning generators that roar on through the day and night. Three of them in homes that are not even occupied.
Kathleen, I love the metaphor! (the corny punster in me so badly wanted to word it slightly differently) I was immediately reminded of a CEBE presentation last year by paleoecologist Dr. Jacquelyn Gill of UMaine’s Climate Change Institute, “On Being A Climate Musk Ox and Fighting Defeatism With Ice Age Resilience”. Gill spotlighted the musk ox because it is the only large mammal to survive the ice age, and it did so because it adapted to climate “busts and booms”, declining in populations, gradually replacing its numbers until the next climate crisis, and repeated the pattern: resilience! And additional plus to this metaphor: musk ox primarily survive on roots, moss, and — wait for it— lichen! If we need a grounding for our religion, it should be nature. Solidarity
Thanks, Kathleen. Your story of mutualism in the face of the storm’s aftermath will stay with me for a long time. And guide me as I consider how and when I can behave more like lichen!
I'm surprised Freeport did not have a designated warming spot. Brunswick opened its Rec Center where folks could get power and even a hot shower.
Though I see the pragmatism of the ubiquitous generator, I miss the days when a power outage quieted the neighborhood. Today, I am surrounded by no fewer than 7 loud fossil fuel burning generators that roar on through the day and night. Three of them in homes that are not even occupied.
Kathleen, I love the metaphor! (the corny punster in me so badly wanted to word it slightly differently) I was immediately reminded of a CEBE presentation last year by paleoecologist Dr. Jacquelyn Gill of UMaine’s Climate Change Institute, “On Being A Climate Musk Ox and Fighting Defeatism With Ice Age Resilience”. Gill spotlighted the musk ox because it is the only large mammal to survive the ice age, and it did so because it adapted to climate “busts and booms”, declining in populations, gradually replacing its numbers until the next climate crisis, and repeated the pattern: resilience! And additional plus to this metaphor: musk ox primarily survive on roots, moss, and — wait for it— lichen! If we need a grounding for our religion, it should be nature. Solidarity
The storms will get worse I think, but you suggest that mutualism is Life's response to such challenges! A wonderful insight. I love your ideas here!