A Traffic Jam in Pinecraft, oil on canvas on ACP, 14 by 22 inches, completed January 2023.

Here I sit in Florida, breathing the smoke from fires in western Canada, struggling not to dissolve into a pool of eco-anxiety.  The world is heating up.  Twenty-thirty is the point of no return.  We have less than seven years to get our act together, and we can't even agree on whether or not this is all happening!  Is there any group of people out there who are practicing anything even resembling a sustainable life style?

The answer, suprisingly, is yes; and as I sit stalled in traffic I see them pedal by.  The Mennonites/Amish have been quietly practicing loving our planet right under our noses.  Turns out they don't reject technology outright, they are just very careful about what technology they allow.  Their lens of interest is the family and the community.  If it doesn't benefit the family, it isn't allowed.

Years ago the Mennonite resort community of Pinecraft was engulfed by Sarasota's real estate sprawl.  Engulfed, yes, absorbed, no!  They practice their simpler life style; earning the respect of outsiders.  When I think 'Mennonite' I think hard-working, conscientous, thrifty, wholesome food, and a whole lot more.  When did you ever see a homeless Mennonite?  Ever been panhandled by one?  Been swindled by one?  Had to take their children into foster care?  Driven one to a rehab facility?  Visited one in jail?  I could go on and on.

But the topic is climate change, so let's end this with a question:  If American society adopted just one Mennonite practice--selective adoption of new technology--would there be a climate crisis?