Latest in a series of posts on the environment
Sustainable Lehigh Valley
About the cover drawing – ‘Fragile Beauty’, by artist Tara Zrinski:
“The gentle entanglement of vines and grass form an image that is both beautiful and fragile. At any moment, a single strand could be pulled to unravel what has been crafted and crowned with and silenced by a single rose. Yet, if you look long enough and the features of the intense stare, a delicate nose and strong jaw line subtly reveal thevulnerability of beauty.” —Tara Zrinski
As we prepare this edition, the world continues to face several inter-related existential challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc throughout the world, and
has killed over 250,000 people in the United States alone, revealing many serious weaknesses and inequities in our country’s healthcare system. Throughout the spring and summer, we also saw examples of institutionalized racism and police brutality in one city after another, including the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Climate change and environmental degradation continue unchecked. While less dramatic than the pandemic, climate change will actually have a much higher death toll; unfortunately, too many powerful people continue to deny or disregard the disastrous outcomes on people and ecosystems. As is true in so many situations, these challenges are complicated by the fact that solutions to one problem also affect the others. In Tara Zrinski’s note on the cover drawing, she pointed out that ‘The gentle entanglement . . . is both beautiful and fragile’—and the same can be said for the naturally-interwoven and interdependent strands of sustainability! A key step in addressing these problems is to recognize the devastating impact on individuals and to take the time to learn about them and become inspired to take action. We hope the ideas and ideals expressed in this booklet provide some inspiration to at least partially offset the existential crises that threaten us and future generations. the Editors
