We're running this piece from 2010 again in celebration of the upcoming Halloween. One of my worst parenting memories happened when I took my daughters trick-or-treating on the vaunted Lawn of the University of Virginia campus one year. The girls were about six and four at the time, and the picturesque associations of the annual UVa. Halloween tradition conjured up … [Read more...]
La vie en verte (a life in green)
At the 80th Academy Award ceremony in 2008, the nominations for Best Actress included Cate Blanchett, Julie Christie, Laura Linney, and Ellen Page; all actresses that American audiences were relatively familiar with. But when Forest Whitaker tore open the famous white envelope and called out “And the Oscar goes to...Marion Cotillard!” many viewers at home likely hesitated … [Read more...]
Small world
Today Transition Voice introduces a new feature, Small World, devoted to coverage by and for kids on the issues of peak oil, climate change, the new economy and the Transition movement. Our first essay, "Peak oil is no bed of roses," an article on gardening in small spaces, is by Chloë Cook, 14, of Staunton, Va. It helps that Chloë is my daughter and that I could ply her … [Read more...]
Peak oil is no bed of roses
As I gaze out my window through the dogwood tree and tulips to the small greenhouse across the street, I can’t help but imagine what it would be like living there. It would be a dream to curl my toes in the soft, springy grass, pick some flowers before I set the table, or play with my two matching black-and-white cats Chester and Piper in the shade of the trees. All for … [Read more...]