In the next breath he was telling us about a beautiful forest in Potter Valley that he thought was in jeopardy.
"Headwaters is nothing compared to the Trout Creek watershed, and it's right here, in our own backyard", he said. "Why aren't you doing something about this?" he scolded.
One of us was quite familiar with the area and engaged in conversation with this fellow about their shared experience of the area. At one point when he talked about the giant trees and ferns, his hostility dropped away, and he said wistfully "It's like being in another world", and I knew we'd found our common ground.
That connection reaffirmed the importance of nature to all of us, of places that take us to another world. It also exemplified what many of us are seeing; that a broader spectrum of the population is speaking up about the destruction of our Earth and how that is effecting us, and that more people are recognizing value that goes beyond money.
Just a few days before one of us was talking with a store clerk who was known for some time in the casual type of acquaintance one has with store clerks, and considered this woman to be on the conservative side. But when the topic of breast cancer came up in their passing conversation, the clerk became visibility emotional, and said there was something dreadfully wrong that our Earth is being poisoned with all the chemical toxins used around us.
This is a conversation we have at the MEC in one form or another almost every day. It is both encouraging and alarming to have these conversations with people who we assume are not of the same mind; encouraging because it is building toward critical mass, and alarming because the environmental situation is so much more obviously deteriorating. The question is, will the awareness and response be soon enough and sufficient to turn the tide.
Here at the MEC, we proceed with great hope for the future and faith that we do, and will continue to, make a difference with our work. Won't you join us?
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2000
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited