Ecomunicipality.com

Living in this part of Wisconsin, it is evident how far we have strayed from a sustainable way of life. There are cars, trucks, planes, buses--all run on fossil fuels--along with the whole agricultural economy, not to mention the recreational world of snowmobiles and ATVs.  Garbage trucks come home full every day.  We get our power from coal plants and here and there are ethanol production sites, belching steam and ruining watersheds.

Yet, only decades ago, this area was a rich, self-sustaining, locally oriented economy which produced its own food, products and energy. The know-how was among the people, from medicine to mushrooms, tinctures to trains, cabinetry to composting. They didn't need a lot of government, or corporations, or extensive educational facilities. 

They had in-tact, integral communities. They fed themselves, cared for their own, and lived good lives close to the land, values and people they loved.

The truth is, that way of life is not so distant, not in years, not in ancestry, and not in know-how. In fact, the technology and science available to us today is light-years ahead of what was available in the "old days", and, in theory, should contribute to a lifestyle that is even more fulfilling, efficient and effective than days of old.

The Olson Brothers down the road, original Norwegian bachelor farmers, plowed and harvested with horses until 1947. They are still around, and still living as frugally and sustainably as ever.

We are not that far off from being able to get the spirit of that way of life to be the norm again in this part of the world.

As for the rest of the world, who knows?

All we can do is to live simply and mindfully wherever we find ourselves. The rest of the world is at least that capable. In any case, our power and our reach extends only so far--and thank goodness.