Day in the life of... activist subject "A"

Philadelphia, PA--This last month here at ActionPA and traveling has truly been a test of my ability to operate outside of a routine. Normally, I manage to establish some type of routine, however nominal, to regulate my necessary needs (things that go beyond brushing my teeth and showering). Here at the "office," there are very few cues beyond the rise and fall of the sun, that help me decide where in the day or the week I am. It's not atypical for me to work right through a weekend. While working on the weekend isn't out of the ordinary, not even knowing it's the weekend is. Fortunately, I've had quite a few events over the last month that have allowed me to break out of trance music-like stupor of work-play-plan.

A few weeks back, while at Lafayette for a weekend of Hillel, I realized that the cycle of learning, applying one's learning, and reaching one's limits in knowledge and expertise has made a full spin. I can credit Lafayette for preparing me for many things beyond Economics, German, and researching... but I honestly can say that I've been humbled by the people around me and the non-academic yet academic skills they have mastered. Geoff, who works behind me, self-taught himself like 5 code languages and is responsible for what seems like half the youth activist web-design on the internet. Now he's taking on the nuclear power industry by running the website of the Nuclear Resource Information Service (NIRS). Mike and Traci, my bosses have immeasurable skill in managing, directing, and processing huge amounts of activism-related communication. Their abilities to organize and synthesize an entire world of landfill battles, incinerator pollutants, permit violations, community groups, and the latest scientific news is mighty impressive, not to mention extremely valuable... and yet cannot, by nature, be taught in school.

This last weekend involved a mammoth trip to northern Vermont for the Climate Campaign conference. The drive was 8 hours, the last 5 of which I drove, fascinated by the technology on the hybrid Honda Civic I was driving, and trying to navigate the treacherous and windy roads of upstate New York and northern Vermont. I was happy when we finally pulled into Burlington and met up with a person I would elevate to hero status -- Mr. Michael Connett of Fluoride Alert, an incredibly comprehensive resource guide to help people battle water fluoridation and other fluoride-related issues. He runs the website by day, skis by night, and enjoys the beautiful liberalism of Burlington. I had a good beer with him and the rest of the crew (Mike and Geoff) before sliding over to the University of Vermont to meet up with the conference goers. When we arrived, it was at the tail end of the first evening, and a jazz band was playing while people danced and socialized. The set-up looked familiar -- tables filled with information on renewable energy, healthy living, activist apparel, campus initiatives, and the like. I met up with the Lafayette contingency, consisting of Mike Werner, Erica, Stephanie, Chris, Ben Doremus, Kaydence, and Jess Majewski... and we ended up crashing at a nice boy named Joe's place. Our bodies covered his entire downstairs floor. All I can remember from later that evening is explaining to people at least 3 times why fluoride in your water is a big sham.

The rest of the conference was filled with lots of beautiful solidarity events -- songs and keynote speeches --, workshops--some good some bad--, and lots of networking with other activists. I was especially inspired by a character named Jim Merkel, who gave up his job engineering and selling weapons systems to foreign governments to live off $5,000 a year and has worked his way down to a 3 acre ecological footprint (most Americans are stomping out 24 acres, second to the United Arab Emirates). The conference ended in an almost hysteric euphoria, because everyone became revved up about an epic upcoming biodiesel roadtrip to Detroit this summer, that will culminate in lots of Ford/GM/Chrysler demands.

On the way back, we stopped in to ex Representative Bob Maddox of Connecticut's house/farm. He has a house that utilizes 200 kwh per month (most houses do at least 700), complete with an Australian two-button toilet, solar panels, efficient lighting, low-flow shower heads, etc etc. And his farm is organic. Needless to say, the food and hospitality were great... especially after an exhausting conference. After getting my head bashed on by a trunk door and fish-tailing our way home through the newly fallen snow, we made it back to Philadelphia... where hopefully I can recoup and visit with Asher for a bit. Adios!