Sustaining Life on Earth

Stewart Udall, a former Arizona congressman and secretary of the interior from 1961-1969, spoke to students at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, circa 1984. Steve was a wildlife biologist at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge then, and he had the opportunity to take Udall on a tour of the refuge, where they did a little bird watching and pipe smoking. Even today Steve calls Udall "one of the best secretaries ever."

On March 31, 2008, Udall wrote an essay for High Country News, "A Message to Our Grandchildren," an excerpt of which follows here:

Foster a consciousness that puts a premium on the common good and the protection of the environment. Give your unstinting support to all lasting, fruitful technological innovations. Be steadfast enemies of waste. The lifetime crusade of your days must be to develop a new energy ethic to sustain life on earth.

Be steadfast enemies of waste. This, more than anything, resonates as we fill our landfills with cell phones simply because they're dated. (I've taken a lot of ribbing over my own cell phone, which is so old it's now "retro." I've refused to buy a new one, because this one still works...even if it means my friends and family abandon me each time I pull it out.)

I want to continue to strive to be a better steward of our land, which means I've got to do a better job in areas where my commitment is lacking: continue to reduce my use of plastic; take shorter showers and shallower baths; and eat the lettuce in the vegetable bin before it turns to mush.