June 2008

My place in the world

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning in Madison, Wisconsin. The recent storms that brought flooding and tornadoes to other parts of the state made for us only a leaking roof and the dilemma of rainwater abatement. The shade garden I planted has five or more unique species of under story hostas and three varieties of New Guinea impatiens just to add a little color. The lush green leaves of these succulent plants will absorb water from the ground that falls for sky, keeping it from our basement. And hopefully will serve to sequester at least a little of the greenhouse gas CO2 that threatens to warm the planet irreparably changing it’s climate.

The rain fell yesterday just as I placed the last bag of mulch on the landscape modifications I made to our front l lawn. Smooth river stones now line our driveway and embank a new flowerbed that will soon be home to still more annual and perennial plants that thrive well in the shade of four massive maple trees that corner our property.

Standing at the patio door in yoga pants and flip flops I review my previous day’s work. Over the rim of my morning coffee I survey this little corner of the world, my world. Through the rising tendrils of stream in the early damp chill I see there remains much to do before my time on this planet is over.

I’m neither so foolish nor ambitious to presume that I will change the world. As an individual in the collective community of humankind I am but one person whose thoughts and actions alter very little the course of life on Earth for good or ill. But I take great comfort in my efforts to contribute less to its destruction. I am also pleased to do what I can to facilitate a dialog between like-minded individuals who share my faith in a world where people live in peaceful coexistence with each other and the environment that sustains them.

For the moment my place in the world is defined by my work as a journalist. It is my privilege to share stories of good work in our community that both corrects the imbalance of the privileged and fortunate as well as inspires others to act with simple compassion. In recent weeks I’ve reported on a number of individuals who have taken it upon them selves to look after the welfare of others.

In the monthly column Good Works in the Capital Region Business Journal introduced readers to John Briggs. In addition to caring for his aged father and delivering meals on wheels John works to teach people in the Madison area the importance of roof run-off control. His business called The Guttersmiths advises homeowners on the proper installation of rain gutter systems that include rain barrel storage. By properly managing the water shed during each rain event, as much or more than 1,000 gallons, John is helping to maintain safe drinking water aquifers as well as sparing nearby lakes from run-off pollution.

For the SNEWS Live podcast produced three new stories. Two are directly related to influx of high gas prices and how they are impacting the lives of people who enjoy outdoor recreation. In the first I connected with a number of consumers and retailers how shared with me how they plan to spend the summer driving season. You may be surprised by their solution to problem. Most plan to continue their pursuit of outdoor activities while on vacation. But they plan to stay closer to home. The concept of the Staycation is taking off and more Americans are taking direct action to curb their fuel costs by driving less.

But for some cutting down on the number of road trips is not an option. The independent sales rep must continue to travel 20,000 to 30,000 miles a year, all by car, to service their customers. These road warriors still to need to make sales calls and conduct product training clinics to drive their business and keep their brands squarely in the minds of retail buyers. Several sales reps shared their impression of the current situation and offered up their thoughts on how they plan to handle it.

The third podcast in recent weeks begins a new series. Professionals in the outdoor business have decades of experience acquired through their careers. What they have learned creates a wealth of information that can be considered nothing short of wisdom. Hoping record and discuss some these stories of life in the outdoor industry I’ll be speaking to a number of veteran personalities. In the first edition of this series I spoke to professional Climber Conrad Anker. Since he first started as a mountaineer 20 years ago he said much has changed in his life, including his perspective on the true role of exploration.

I hope you’ll have an opportunity to give my recent work a read or a listen. My purpose is to entertain, inform and inspire. This is my gift to the world at large so I hope you enjoy it. Please share your comments and suggestions for how I might improve what I’ve produced to date or better still what you might like to see in the future. Let me hear from you. This exchange should be more conversation than monolog.
I look forward to hearing from you. Until then, take care.

James Mills