This summer, I visited my favorite place, The Chautauqua Institution, on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern NYS. The Institution was founded in 1874 by inventor Lewis Miller and Methodist Bishop John Heyl Vincent as a teaching camp for Sunday school teachers. It has evolved into a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities that take place over the course of nine weeks in the summer.
I visited the first week in August. The theme for the week was “Ethics”. I heard several lectures from amazing speakers like Duke University Professor Dan Ariely, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll B. Davis, Jr. and Theresa Sullivan, President of the University of Virginia. The speaker that affected me the most was Dr. David W. Orr, the Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College. His compelling speech titled, “Creating Cultures of Honor and Integrity in a Hotter Time” focused on the issue of global climate change. He asked the audience, “Can we build a civilization that works in the boundaries of nature? The answer is yes!”
We have the science; we just need the will to get it done. But we need to start now and everyone needs to do their part. We must all act with honor and integrity so that future generations will enjoy the same beautiful earth that has nurtured us. So, I am now re-examining my energy consumption, food choices, purchases and life style with a focus on reducing, reusing, recycling and doing without. I do it happily, so that the generations that follow me will look back and say that I acted ethically. You can read more about this in Dr. Orr’s book “Down to the Wire”, available at the library.
