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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. 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.
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 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. 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. 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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