40 Queries and a Mall
Is there a way to combine a radical critique with a constructive program of action?
At first glance the following questions appear to present a moral position on how to conduct yourself in the world, whereas the Sky Mall catalog offers a ready target for critique of suburban consumer trends. A more probing and objective reading reveals that neither offers anything truly necessary for the basic sustenance and daily survival of the individual.
Consider the two together, formulate your response and construct its manifestation.
Some Questions to Elevate Your Awareness (and Literacy) of the Greater Place in which You Live:
Adapted from Kevin Kelly
1) Point north.
2) What time is sunset today?
3) Trace the water you drink from rainfall to your tap.
4) When you flush, where do the solids go? What happens to the waste water?
5) How many feet above sea level are you?
6) What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom here?
7) How far do you have to travel before you reach a different watershed? Can you draw the boundaries of yours?
8) Is the solid under your feet, more clay, sand, rock, or silt?
9) Before your tribe lived here, what did the previous inhabitants eat and how did they sustain themselves?
10) Name five native edible plants in your neighborhood and the season(s) they are available.
11) From what direction do storms generally come?
12) Where does your garbage go?
13) How many people live in your watershed?
14) Who uses the paper/plastic you recycle from your neighborhood?
15) Point to where the sun sets on the equinox. How about sunrise on the summer solstice?
16) Where is the nearest earthquake fault? When did it last move?
17) Right here, how deep do you have to drill before you reach water?
18) Which (if any) geological features in your watershed are, or were, especially respected by your community, or considered sacred, now or in the past?
19) How many days is the growing season here (from frost to frost)?
20) Name five birds that live here. Which are migratory and which stay put?
21) What was the total rainfall here last year?
22) Where does the pollution in your air come from?
23) If you live near the ocean, when is high tide today?
24) What primary geological processes or events shaped the land here?
25) Name three wild species that were not found here 500 years ago. Name on exotic species that has appeared in the last 5 years.
26) What minerals are found in the ground here that are (or were) economically valuable?
27) Where does your electric power come from and how is it generated?
28) After the rain runs off your roof, where does it go?
29) Where is the nearest wilderness? When was the last time a fire burned through it?
30) How many days till the moon is full?
Bonus Questions:
31) What species once found here are known to have gone extinct?
32) What other cities or landscape features on the planet share your latitude:
33) What was the dominant land cover plant here 10,000 years ago?
34) Name two places on different continents that have similar sunshine/rainfall/wind and temperature patterns to here.
35) Name two places in this country that have similar socio-economic histories and patterns. Compare and contrast the current trajectories of each.
