The Maine Woods

A Publication of the Forest Ecology Network

 Volume Five     Number One                           Late Winter 2001

 The Passage of David Brower

by Jonathan Carter

The environmental activist community lost a true hero last November when David Brower passed away at age 88. David was a friend of everything wild. His no compromise efforts were a model for aspiring activists. His passionate advocacy resulted in the formation of numerous national parks and wilderness areas. I had the fortunate opportunity of spending time with David when he came to Maine in 1996 to campaign for the Ban Clearcutting referendum. As we took him around to meet with editorial boards and to speak at various functions, his firm resolve and contagious enthusiasm changed minds and hearts. His message for Global CPR - Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration resonated with audiences.

Enviromentalist David Brower, 1912-2000.

Last summer, I was gratified to be able to introduce my son, Jared, to David in Colorado. Although wheelchair bound, the flame of conviction was as strong as ever. I, along with several thousand other folks from all over the globe, travelled to Berkeley for his memorial celebration. Trees were passed out to be planted in David's honor. I will be planting a spruce in his memory at my farm. Like the ripples spreading out from a stone thrown into a pond, the reverberations of David's life will be heard and felt for a long time to come. The Archdruid lives on in all of us. Thank you David Brower.

 

DAVID BROWER'S CREDO

There is but one ocean though its coves
have many names; a single sea of atmosphere
with no coves at all; the miracle of soil,
alive and giving life, lying thin on the only Earth,
for which there is no spare.

We seek a renewed stirring of love for the Earth.
We plead that we are capable of doing
to it if often what we ought not to do.
We urge that all people now determine that an
untrammeled wildness shall remain here to testify
that this generation had love for the next.

We would celebrate a new renaissance.
The old one found a way to exploit.
The new one has discovered the Earth's limits.
knowing them, we may learn anew
what compassion and beauty are, and pause
to listen to the Earth,s music.

We may see that progress is not the
accelerating speed with which we multiply
and subdue the Earth nor the growing number
of things we possess and cling to.
It is a way along which to search for truth,
to find serenity and love and reverence for life,
to be part of an enduring harmony,
celebrating the wildness within us.

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