I haven’t counted the stairs at
1001 Steps, but walking down felt like there were 500 and climbing back up felt closer to 2001. At the bottom, a beach of countless stones made each step awkward. Nearby, a train hauled U.S. coal alongside Canadian shores to barges heading for China where it will fuel power plants and be used in furnaces to produce steel, adding hugely to carbon emissions. Though China seems to embrace wind and solar, it's no easy shift. All countries face the grip of immediate needs versus the long-term health of the planet. The
glacier collapse in Nepal is a reminder that we’re on a one-way escalator moving too fast to step off. The
Poet’s and Storytellers United prompt “numbers” to me says environmental disasters are too many to tally.
The train passed by and so did my focus on troubles and challenges. Later at Crescent Beach, a butterfly kite swirled and a dancer joyfully whirled to the delight of onlookers.
