Presented by The Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design in partnership with The Land Institute and The Berry Center
http://www.cooper.edu/events-and-exhibitions/events/nature-measure
Check out glopez twitters. He also has the first hour on his flip video. I can’t find anything on line yet.
The talk was nice for me. I like to hear from wise people who have 60 years experience on which to look back. They felt the difficulties, the decisions, the outcomes, they can see the patterns, made the various attempts at improving quality of life. I look for kernels of guidance. maybe it’s one word.. like “ignoramus” that stands out.. that itself can inspire others. They are 80? and pounding the pavement for a better food system. I think we didn’t need a moderator. I would have like to just watch them chat and moderate them selves. It would have been even more fun maybe. I used to like making eldermentaries. I would only document people over 80. There is something more special about that age.. they are awesome people those octogenarian!
How to spend quality time with 500 people sitting there with you — that was fun.
OH, I save the last for the best.. the best for the last I mean. I love the fact that so many people from the NYC urban food movement came out!!! Yay, I got to meet new people and finally meet faces of names and hug old friends. Super yay. Let’s do that again! Thanks Land Institute and Cooper, Edible Manhattan, Buckminster Fuller Institute and all the other sponsors. Then we went to Jimmy’s No 43 for drinks to continue — but the music got really loud. I do not think it sells more beer — if that is the purpose. Remind me to ask them to turn the music down so I can hear people. If you like loud music, scream talking, high alcohol craft beers to help you speaking loudly and local food– it is a fun place. You may also meet people in the bioregional food movement.
I found a video to introduce the W&W to you. Check out more of them. http://youtu.be/5AlPw0KpUmo
Video comments on this video are interesting. I like the video comment “sounds like coming home to OUR humanity and OUR highest potential expression , harmoniously …”
VIDEO Comment that “fundamentally flawed because it (the video) is centered on clustering people into cities.” Does everything have to be in every video? That aside, I appreciate being reminded some people do not want to live in the city. Living in the country could be energy independent and off grid and produce amazing organic food for the region. For country living to be more attractive to me — a pedestrian village center biking distance. with small parking areas under trees. The sidewalks are becoming more jam packed around Union Square in NYC so I would like to see country living increase its quality of life — by producing less carbon, plastic and chemical pollution that is draining into the nourishing watershed and food producing soils.
Another video comment is that “consolidation” was a trend in schools which ruined village culture. I like this observation too: a small town loses it’s identity when we consolidate –we also lose the town and now the big box is loosing and no town to support the people — like Rocky Mount, NC. The entire world has lost a lot of identity as we mass-produced everything. We see now that is killing us. This commenter also thinks the schools are the center of community. Does that leave anyone out? .. yes, I think so.. elders, young adults. So perhaps the grocery stores are the center of community? Does that leave anyone out? Yes.. so what is the center of community? Can it be the plaza, the village square or circle?
The plaza is the center I think, with the large open play space, climbing structures, fountain and the benches for the seniors, the senior homes near by, the grocery store, the community center, and maybe a school or 2 and various spiritual meeting spaces. How many pedestrian village centers can you walk too? With the consolidation of schools, shopping, agriculture we have lost the village and people move to the city.
The video commenter says, “The “bigger is better” attitude all across the USA `including in agriculture. Unfortunately, it has produced a nation of dummies.” - see video’s YouTube comment. This statement reminds me of Wes and Wendell’s conference called the Ignoramus …. or something like that. Anyone know about this ??
