This week, most of the United States celebrates Thanksgiving. As we think about the things we are grateful for - family, food, football, dogs etc. - we don’t often remember to recognize energy’s role in enabling all this. In this brief video, I reflect on all the things which abundant and cheap energy provide for us, especially in the United States, that we often take for granted. The opposite of energy blindness might be ‘energy gratitude’, so being more aware of all the magic we are surrounded by everyday is perhaps a first step in conserving it and planning for a less energy intensive future.
Imagine a Neanderthal family in a typical U.S. grocery store! Throw down those stone tools and just dig in, but what's with the metal cylinders with the pictures on them? I remember being a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya where I pretty much lived on school-hen eggs, fresh farm milk (part of my salary), beans, corn, collard greens, potatoes, white flour, corn meal, tropical fruits, and well, splurge...Cadbury chocolate bars! I had all I needed. I made my own bread and taught others and they taught me how to cook ugali, githeri, and sukuma weeki, and roast goat and stew lamb. I was totally happy with my basic but diverse enough diet and even figured out how to make all kinds of the junk that I ate in the USA like pizza and chocolate chip cookies. Made my own cheese, found a store with yeast, ...(of course now you can anything in Nairobi, but I was living way out in the sticks). When I returned to the USA I was overwhelmed by the choices and the quantity - way too much. Still, I'd be sad to see food choices and cultural diversity in food prep get too simple, and I don't think they will given that we can all grow and trade. Save your seeds and enhance your soil. Send us some chicken manure, Nate - ha ha.
Thanks for your thoughts and energy to share them! Happy Thanksgiving, Nate. We are staying home, cooking fairly low on the food chain including from our garden, and enjoying a warm northern Florida day. Went canoeing on the lake. Best wishes, Dusti & Tony
Imagine a Neanderthal family in a typical U.S. grocery store! Throw down those stone tools and just dig in, but what's with the metal cylinders with the pictures on them? I remember being a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya where I pretty much lived on school-hen eggs, fresh farm milk (part of my salary), beans, corn, collard greens, potatoes, white flour, corn meal, tropical fruits, and well, splurge...Cadbury chocolate bars! I had all I needed. I made my own bread and taught others and they taught me how to cook ugali, githeri, and sukuma weeki, and roast goat and stew lamb. I was totally happy with my basic but diverse enough diet and even figured out how to make all kinds of the junk that I ate in the USA like pizza and chocolate chip cookies. Made my own cheese, found a store with yeast, ...(of course now you can anything in Nairobi, but I was living way out in the sticks). When I returned to the USA I was overwhelmed by the choices and the quantity - way too much. Still, I'd be sad to see food choices and cultural diversity in food prep get too simple, and I don't think they will given that we can all grow and trade. Save your seeds and enhance your soil. Send us some chicken manure, Nate - ha ha.
Thanks for your thoughts and energy to share them! Happy Thanksgiving, Nate. We are staying home, cooking fairly low on the food chain including from our garden, and enjoying a warm northern Florida day. Went canoeing on the lake. Best wishes, Dusti & Tony