Two articles placed next to each other on Energy Bulletin today really resonated with me.  http://www.energybulletin.net/21676.html

The first is about David Suzuki.  He's calling it quits trying to get the message out about the environmental problem.  This is someone who's perhaps done as much as anyone else in history, and done it very eloquently with lots of funding and the best use of major media, to help people not commit mass suicide and take a good chunk of the biosphere along with them.  

Well, he's decided people just haven't listened, so he's done talking. Going to go out to the forest and fish and carve wood. 

I've only really been at this a few years (publically trying to convince people that a problem exists, and that the response involves changing behavior) but I already understand his frustration.  It doesn't matter how many people thank me for my work, etc.  I am looking for behavioral change, on individual, and most importantly, collective scales.  All the nice rhetoric means almost zero to me.  I've heard plenty of it and it doesn't seem to match what people actually do.  

The other was about a whole lot of scientists and activists and how they are coping with so much bad news.  William Rees of University of British Colombia struck me.  He says he doesn't want optimism.  Sappy, uplifting stories of hope have not seemed to get people to do anything substantial.  More realism is what is needed from the media he says.  

That comment reminds me of a something John Jeavons said.  He gave a talk to WELL and it was pretty grim.  All sorts of statistics about how the population is about to outgrow its food supply followed by "What do you think will happen next?" rhetorical questions.  Some people got upset by the "doom and gloom" but John later said that he used to give talks he thought were highly motivational, emphasizing all the great things people could do to solve the food crisis.  Then he realized that almost nobody he spoke to actually did anything.  They went home thinking, "This is great, somebody is solving the food crisis, I can go on with my normal life!"  So he changed tactics, hoping a few people would at least be frightened enough to get their lazy asses in gear!

Which bring me to...

Breakfast 

Oct 27 Breakfast

Tea with Petaluma milk and Willits honey. Bagels from Garberville with Petaluma butter and Willits honey.  A local melon.

Lunch 

This was really nice.

Oct 27 Lunch

The last of the lamb stew.  The stew has a really mellow, savory and mildly sweet flavor.  I had some mildly sharp goat cheese from Lakeport that complimented the stew perfectly.  And the tart pickled vegetables did so too.  The beans, galic and onions are from our garden, I bought the carrots and celery from the farmer's market.  More of the melon from breakfast.  Local tap water.

I had snacked on some walnuts from St. Helena before lunch.  

Dinner 

Jaynie of Briar Patch Farm gave me a London Broil this morning!  I left it out to melt all day and it was ready to cook by 6 pm.  

London Broil is the flank of the cow.  This is lean meat, so shouldn't be over done.  I went out to the yard and harvested some parsnips and jerusalem artichokes.  Combined these with small potatoes and garlic, salted it all, poured some olive oil on it (probably not local enough) and stuck in the very hot oven for half an hour.  Right at the end I put the meat in the broiler and gave it 5-6 minutes per side.  Also got some lettuce from the garden and found a ripe tomato and sweet pepper from harvest last week in a basket in the house.  A salad was born.  

Before Serving

Just look at that slab of beef on top of those rooty veggies!  Man-o-man was this good.

Oct 27 Dinner

A perfect medium rare.  Sour cream and ground black pepper are over the root crops.  I put a dash of pomegranate champagne vinegar from "The Wine Country" out of Santa Rose on the salad.  Crossing my fingers the ingredients are local.  Drank more beer and grape juice too.  

Sorry Kristin wasn't home for supper. She's on call and the hospital sounds busy.  The call service and the nursing home have phoned, which means I might not see her tonight.   But given her vegetarian leanings, this meal may have been a tough one to swallow. 

It was pretty rare flesh.  I even think I heard it moo a few times while chewing.

Tomorrow I want to comment on the "sustainable tourism" promotion happening in Mendocino County...all to "support our local economy."  Boy do I feel co-opted.