It’d be a nifty, tidy bit of deflective rationalization on my part to characterize my accumulation and retention of stuff as an extension of my environmental sensibilities, borne out of a reluctance to throw stuff out, and of an intent to make sure all possible use is extracted and employed. Fact of the matter is I’m a bit of a hoarder.
Thankfully, cats are not involved. But I have, for example, been a writing implement freak for as long as I can recall, complete with current drawer full of sharpies.
Magazines figure into this dynamic, too, very much in spite of my proclaimed paper use sensitivity. There are a few personal favorites, and I have to fight myself (and my less-than-fully-rational need to keep them for possible future reference) to get old issues into recycling. Good Magazine, ReadyMade, and sibling publications Craft and Make are recent arrivals to my must read (must hoard) periodicals list.
Until this week, Esquire has almost never come to mind. This is a publication I mostly associate with my uncle’s coffee table in the 1970s. It’s only rarely come into my clutches over the past 25 years; sadly, I totally missed out on Dorothy Parker’s book reviews in the 1950s.
I may choose to be a bit more attentive to Esquire though, as I have just become aware of their current reporting on environmental and energy matters. I think it’s even more significant (during the broader, happy news drought we may be said to be experiencing), that the content and tone are forward looking, optimistic and celebratory. Brief discussions of ingenious responses to potable water shortages and of the potential for algae to figure into a new energy mix were welcome attention grabbers this week.
Being a once-upon-a-time freshwater professional, and one who really appreciates the tips-of-hat given to water delivery technologies right here at Tonic News, the first of these was especially resonant. Appropriate, accessible technologies crafted to access and purify water where it’s so badly needed is some very good and very important stuff. And while the limits of my biological sciences knowledge leaves me short on the hows and whys, I’m seeing algae-as-energy-source pop up with greater frequency in environmental reporting. It’s a nutty, surprising, and exciting development, and I can’t wait to see how this may unfold over the very near future.
Good stuff. Good news. I was grateful to have it cross my path, and — for better or worse — I have yet another publication to keep an eye on. Wish me luck, as I’m going to do my best to stick to the digital version.
I could do without adding to my existing periodical pile; there are already too many issues I’m tripping over.