Much has happened, last Earth Day I was approached by the Catalina Island Conservancy to work with them, and what was part time turned full time as we investigate how to create a more sustainable island community. While my time is no longer my own, it is thrilling to see how how positive change can be realized on a measurable scale.

Perhaps it is living on an island, providing a finite boundary, that gives me a strong sense of solitude and possibility. Of course, there are the challenges associated with living in a town of only 4,000 people... everyone knows your business, being squished into only two square miles people can get a little stir crazy and resources are limited. So far this year we have had a meager 2 inches of rain and are careening towards water rationing. The simple act of washing your car too frequently (if at all) can turn into a town grudge match. But I prefer to see the opportunities that our unique conditions provide us.

Both major land owners on the island (the Conservancy holding 88% and the Catalina Island Company holding ~11%) as well as the City of Avalon are interested in exploring the possibility of becoming a model sustainable community. Our annual tourism of over 1 million visitors would give sustainable living great exposure.

So what is the first step? Creating greater awareness of the issues at hand and engaging the community and stake-holders in a dialogue. While this is going on at several levels, this past winter I was having dinner with a few friends who live in the rural interior of the island and afterwards we sat down to watch An Inconvenient Truth in the comfort of their living-room. As the end credits were rolling we looked at each other and said "The town should see this." Considering Avalon only has a one screen, one movie a week theatre AIT never made it here during its normal release cycle. With the help of the Theatre canceling its regular show and donating the facilities for the evening, on February 13th we were able to bring An Inconvenient Truth to the community for free, and many of the over 400 attendees stayed afterwards for a lively discussion on how global warming could impact our little island. I remember the look on one audience member's face when the proverbial light-bulb went on and she said "So this means most of Avalon may end up underwater?" Talk about motivation.

So why write about this today almost two months later? Well, I woke up to an email this morning containing an article published half a world away, in England's newspaper The Independent, about our screening of AIT and the challenges we face. Sometimes, conversations held in the quiet of your home really do make ripples that spread further than you can anticipate.

You can find the article here.

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