Sunday, January 20, 2008

The Future Is

The Discovery Channel put out a series called "Addicted To Oil." I'm posting a bit of it here. Thomas Friedman is the reporter on the piece -- he is a hero of mine. The series works hard to look at what can be done and what can be changed.

William McDonough is an architect working for sustainable construction. Everything should go back into the earth or back into the factory for reuse. He makes bricks out of earth and biodegradable chairs. We need to eliminate waste, he says. He says,

"We have to find a way to speak about the future in the present tense."

Yesterday I said there are moments when the future feels foregone. I don't think this statement is that different... Where is the connection between the present and the future -- how do the two collapse and become one... I said the future is impending -- but when he says "present," there is power in the statement -- hope. What we do now effects the future. We can act as the future is what we want it to be. That the changes we have not yet been able to create are possible -- and we can act as if that future is just as inevitable.

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