Bellingham, Washington

A circuitous route south of the Canadian border along the Washington coast took us through Semiahmoo State Park, a lovely little spit into Semiahmoo Bay with restoration of salt grasses, protected seabird habitat (loons and egrets along the shore), and a view of Blaine WA to the north. Farther south, as we headed toward Bellingham, a huge oil refinery loomed. Partially hidden by rows of deciduous trees planted by BP to screen the reality of an industry known to be polluting air and water, there was no way to hide the stacks, including two sending orange dragon-breath bursts into the atmosphere. This is the price we pay to tool around Washington. Across the highway, BP guys and their vehicles were up to something in the wetlands, obviously mitigating the presence of this massive facility. Maybe they were helping create a wetland equal in size to the one they'd killed.

At Western Washington University, in a class visit, I was asked whether stories in the book that rank lower on the sustainability scale were so because they still had serious equity gaps. Excellent question. What I can say is that unless the gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged are narrowed, the journey toward sustainability will be forestalled. This is a problem on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and in Chattanooga where significant proportions of African Americans continue to fall behind. People were also curious about how to lessen the carbon footprint of a book tour like this. The concept of carbon offsets seemed fresh to some, as was the provider of such credits---Native Energy. I had no time, or perhaps did not have the wits, to say: "Hey folks, don't do what I do. Better you not leave a big footprint than to have to mitigate it. But if you must, never leave home without those carbon credits. Our hosts at Western, Professors Grace Wang and Bill Dietrich, were ever so generous to allow their students to beta-test the Earth Week lecture. (It still needs work.) Thanks too to Duane Jager and Christine Gibb, transplanted Ohioans, who generously accommodated us in Bellingham and showed us their progressive city. Their work here on behalf of Bellingham's civic culture and poverty alleviation is heartening. Smart, dedicated, inspiring people are at work everywhere we roam. Maybe we're witnessing Paul Hawken's "blessed unrest," a movement of ordinary folk who are finding ways toward a soft landing in these post-peak times.