"I left the state when it was in drought and on fire, so I absolutely love the rain". And seriously. I mean it.
My favorite link right now is the weather in Seattle. It's an El Nino year not seen since 1997, and I am so excited I just can't hide it. Halfway through December has already had more precipitation than average. Bless.
The more I think about living up here in the PNW (that's the way only Californians like me refer to the Pacific Northwest), the more sustainable it really is. I take a long, hot, guilt-free shower without turning it on/off navy-style in the way that just was never thinkable in California. Which leads me to my theory....
I went to the Net Impact conference which was hosted here in Seattle in early November. One of the keynotes was both the leader of Starbucks and the leader of REI. And in the leadup to the keynote, the moderator noted how impossible it would be to have a company like Starbucks and a co-op like REI be born anywhere else. Living here now, I believe them.
Everyone wants to point to the spotted owls and the forests, and maybe that's the reason. But there's *is* something intangible here that means eco underlies it all. It's in the ethos. Environmental values are a part of everyday life in a way I've never experienced before. Not in Berkeley, not in the progressive westside of LA either.
My current theory is it's all about the rain. Lots of rain and lots of waterways. Nature is all around and in its splendor. Impossible to feel that disconnected or develop nature deficit disorder around here. Bless.