When someone asked a few years ago what my next big project would be and I talked about the commons, private property, and ownership, they asked me why I would go write about something so completely unrelated when my whole thing, for many years now, has been walking.
My little country road, which I would love to walk but don't dare because of gigantic pickup traffic, is going to be further overrun by dump trucks given the TWO gravel pit mines that are seeking permits. Walking (and bicycling) and the Commons have everything to do with each other. It's very frustrating.
It drives me NUTS. The way we expect to use our world (most of us anyway) makes it so hard to be a human being, much less a human walking or biking.
Do you think the mines will get permitted? An asphalt plant permit next to an existing gravel pit just got turned down here -- surprisingly because I don't expect that kind of thinking from our particular county commissioners.
My cynical tendency is inclined to think that yes, they will be permitted provided the applicants meet all the requirements. There is work to be done on that front, but these people are nothing if not persistent. What gets me is these things just scoot along under the radar with no real engagement with the people who live around these potential sites. I hate it.
I'm with you. I hate it, too, and it seems like the scales are always weighted in favor of those who want to extract and profit, over those who just want to live.
My little country road, which I would love to walk but don't dare because of gigantic pickup traffic, is going to be further overrun by dump trucks given the TWO gravel pit mines that are seeking permits. Walking (and bicycling) and the Commons have everything to do with each other. It's very frustrating.
It drives me NUTS. The way we expect to use our world (most of us anyway) makes it so hard to be a human being, much less a human walking or biking.
Do you think the mines will get permitted? An asphalt plant permit next to an existing gravel pit just got turned down here -- surprisingly because I don't expect that kind of thinking from our particular county commissioners.
My cynical tendency is inclined to think that yes, they will be permitted provided the applicants meet all the requirements. There is work to be done on that front, but these people are nothing if not persistent. What gets me is these things just scoot along under the radar with no real engagement with the people who live around these potential sites. I hate it.
I'm with you. I hate it, too, and it seems like the scales are always weighted in favor of those who want to extract and profit, over those who just want to live.