MIRACLE OF LIGHT

A volunteer in the pot with my Korean Dogwood
starter. Maybe it's a weed ...

For several weeks green tips have been pushing up through dark soil, straining toward sun’s light and reaching thirstily for rain drops. Unlike my deck plants which have been feeling each day’s increasing light since winter solstice, we humans often require a reminder such as the beginning or ending of ‘daylight savings time’.

NATURE IS OUR GUIDE

Governed by Mother Nature and her rhythms, humans have always been migrants whose ramblings were tied to sources of food.

Like perennials, the first hominids in Africa oriented themselves to light and moisture as we/they developed human brains capable of speech and reason. Understanding in every fiber of their being that they were part of nature, rooted and connected to all its dimensions, they followed the fish they needed for nourishment, going steadily eastward from Africa to the coasts of present-day Arabia, Iran, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, etc.

A perennial Hydrangea shares space
with a volunteer Cedar start.

Likewise, when the Saharan desert was a vast grassland, our hominid ancestors followed birds and animals north into what we know as the Iberian Peninsula on the western side of the Mediterranean Sea. On the sea’s eastern shore, bound to both fish and animals, hominids and Homo sapiens moved steadily through the Ancient Near East before following the Caucasus mountains into the Scandinavian countries, Russia and Siberia.

OUR FRIEND THE SUN

The sun is once again our friend. As in the long distant past, we humans are realizing that despite and because of all the marvels our brains have concocted, we are bound to nature for sustenance. Sun, wind, and water now power devices we use throughout day and night. Each in its own way is knitting humanity together in new and exciting mosaics.

When farms in Northern California, a primary breadbasket for North America,  encountered a short supply of water from the Colorado River, innovators began placing solar arrays over canals and drying land. 

Over canals, solar panels reduced water’s evaporation while providing a vast new source of electricity for homes and industry. 

Similarly, solar arrays placed over former vegetable fields now help hold moisture in the soil, making it both arable for crops and/or providing grassland for sheep and goats. Enormous solar arrays are producing electricity, replacing the toxicity of coal, gas and oil. 

Reaching for the light.

Areas in eastern Oregon and Washington, denuded of their once voluptuous forests and pristine waters, are finding new sources of income with large solar arrays. Similarly, small and medium sized solar arrays are bringing new life to rural areas of Africa once emptied out as people fled in search of jobs in urban developed areas. 

A small landowner, often female or elderly, can have a solar array that keeps enough moisture in the soil to grow food while also producing extra energy to sell to their neighbors. As knowledge of Agrivoltaics spreads around the world, we can expect out-migration to stabilize in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and South America.

SISTERS WIND & WATER

I’m not as familiar with windmills as I am with solar energy, but I have read that when placed offshore their underwater bases are providing places for new coral reefs to take hold. A food source and breeding ground for fish, coral reefs have become endangered around the world. 

Shoreside, windmills on land subject to intense winds are producing energy while partially stabilizing the soil. And no, they don’t kill any more birds than airplanes as their homing instincts have developed to search for stable places aloft for building their nests. 

Whereas we have depended upon dams to control water flow and produce electrical power, now it is possible to remove dams and allow fish and wildlife to thrive. While out in the ocean, desalination creates drinking water and wave power is producing energy.

Anticipating more light and warmth.

REFRESHED FROM WINTER’S DARKNESS

As we set our clocks an hour forwards this weekend, let us appreciate the early hours of morning darkness when thoughts flow like gentle rain. Awakening from REM sleep, pay attention to fresh mind-maps, your unique breeding ground for poems and creativity.