Breaking away…..
A vocal contingent of Ecotopians in Mendocino County are completely convinced that the top leadership of the United States engineered the 9/11 attacks in order to justify a restriction of our liberties (through the Patriot Act) and to set the stage for attacks on Near East nations presumably with an agenda related to the oil flowing from that region. Even though they represent a minority point of view here, they unreservedly give voice to this notion almost with the same fervor that old Israeli prophets exhibited. (One of the primary stages where this is given voice is a county email discussion listserv.)
The growing prevalence of paranoiac and deluded conspiracy theories is something being seen across this continent, as fear grows over destabilizing events worldwide and profound economic uncertainty. In this and other regions of the continent there are unusually strong signs of a desire to breakaway from the current political order. As observed in the first dispatch from Ecotopia, there is a growing impulse to de centralize the sources of economic and political power.
The best chronicling of happenings in Ecotopia occurs in the pages of
the weekly Anderson Valley Advertiser and in today’s edition I noticed a much more positive break away sign emerging. From editor Bruce Anderson’s Off the Record news column:
“Dave Smith, owner of Mulligan Books in Ukiah writes, ‘We need a zillion new family farms and gardens in this country, and we need to fill the Ukiah Valley with them to come through the challenging times ahead. It all starts with seeds. Sadly, one of the dirty little secrets of the organic seed trade, and the seed trade in general, is that many organic seeds now being offered to gardeners are grown by
giant transnational corporations in China and India. Mulligan Books and Seeds in Ukiah is partnering with Sustainable Seed Company in Covelo, Laughing Frog Farm in Laytonville and other seed growers to
localize seed breeding, growing, saving, and trading in Mendocino County with seeds adapted to our particular soils and climate, saving you money and providing a more secure local food program……As one of the very few counties in the US [okay, Ecotopia is till formally a part of US] that has banned GMO plants, our seeds will be cleaner, safer, and cheaper as we localize their production….'”
Community blog hosted by Dave Smith:
http://ukiahcommunityblog.wordpress.com
Bruce Anderson and the Anderson Valley Advertiser:
Notes from Twenty Twelve 