Response to an invitation from a reader/listener, to visit their rural land “if you’re wanting a little time to yourself in the Wild”:
Thank you for the invitation. I’m not big on solo venturing into the wild these days, and also I’m not likely to make it out there unless the public-transportation infrastructure changes radically. But I appreciate your kind hospitable offer just the same.
It would be nice if rural areas in Florida felt a bit safer for people on foot and bicycle, but they really don’t.
Also, maybe Amtrak or Greyhound would consider adding a stop in {tiny rural Florida town on a river}. However, the trend seems to be in the reverse direction these days, as many towns are losing their stops.
Even St. Augustine, a sizable city and tourist destination, lost its Greyhound stop at some point while I wasn’t looking. Very disheartening. Maybe if more of our fellow environmentalists over the years had supported public transportation instead of accepting the relentless creep of suburbanization and car-dominance, we wouldn’t be in such dire straits.
We don’t have a time machine at our disposal, alas, but we can all use our influence to de-normalize the idea that everyone must own a private car that they can just casually hop into and drive anywhere.
Energy-intensive transport is a huge part of what’s heating up the planet. During the Covid shutdown, as I mentioned in my talk, we saw noticeable improvements in various planetary indices.
The “Ramble On” film on WaterBear is very inspiring. I love that these British everyday people pushed so hard to gain the right to walk freely around the countryside, across private land. I love that they so value walking in their own bioregion. I also love that they can take the bus from the city out to the country to do their walks.
PS. Thanks for this conversation! Conversation ongoing, and I will let you know if I get enough interest to set up a zoom chat. So we can all cross-pollinate ideas and resources.
(Photo: Urban meadow mini-wilderness about 10 minutes’ walk from my house.)