Ember

Being Frank: Hope

I was recently asked to sum up my aspirations for the new year in a single word. For me, the word is hope. If I could give everyone a single gift, it would be hope, because it is the spawning ground of all worthy achievement and the source of light on our trail ahead. It is the primary source of human energy, and to be without it is worse than death. I’m not referring to the trail our country has been on for the past six years—years of corporate self-indulgence at the expense of environmental investment. The achievements I speak of have nothing to do with drilling more oil wells or erecting taller buildings to further pad the wallets of the super rich.

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Being Frank: Help Save Turtle Island

The defeat of Initiative 933 and other results of the recent election instilled some new hope in me. Hope that there might be some public inclination, after all, to turn the tide of apathy. Hope that more of us might finally realize the most important things we can pass along to their children are pure water, clean air and abundant fish and wildlife. Now I know that much hope is a bit of pie in the sky. I don’t expect a raging fire of public discontent to suddenly flare up and demand that actions be taken to save the planet from degradation and pollution. I don’t expect to suddenly see all the dams removed, solar panels sprout on every house, and urban sprawl to stop dead in its tracks. But maybe, just maybe, the election results will fan an ember—a spark of understanding that could generate momentum toward our goal to sustain Turtle Island in a way our descendants will be able to continue.

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