Seems like some folks think they’re just passing through during their time on Earth.  These might be folks who, for example, toss their fast food trash or beer cans out the window once they’re empty. “What’s the problem?”  Then with a tip of the hat to Mother Earth, “Jest passin’ through ma’am.  Here you go.”  Kerplunk!

        Others take a different point of view and consider one’s time on Earth as simply the current manifestation of a long family of folks who have come before and of those yet to come.  That notion would imply that each of us is not so much a “one-off,” but that we’re one link of a larger web of human life.

        Nudge that notion a bit farther, and we can imagine ourselves not only within the web of human life.  Don’t our relationships extend to Fido and Fluffy, and to the birds at the feeder we keep stocked, and even to that bluegill we caught last week at the lake?  Stretch that notion a bit more and consider those veggies you grew this summer.  They wouldn’t have flourished without your care.  Then they, in turn, nourished you.  And what about the fungi and microorganisms on the roots of those veggies and the very soil itself that cradled those plants and promoted their growth?   Seems like each one of us is actually part of a much more diverse and expansive web of life here on Earth.

        It’s a comforting notion to recognize that I’m not “just passin’ through” like some lonely wanderer traipsing about ON the Earth.  Instead, I’m part OF (intertwined with) a vast web of life.  That mindset tempers my relationship with every living thing and with the Earthly resources supporting them.  Being OF the Earth suggests the need to have a certain level of compassion for oneself and others.  It further implies the obligation to prudently use our collective resources and to hold ourselves responsible for any damage we may cause.
  
        Just passin’ through?  I don’t think so.  We’re all OF this planet.  It provides us with endless opportunities and also with the obligation to help build a nurturing world for ourselves and for those who follow.  After all, this is the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound. 

       Shafts of moonlight pierced through the craggy oak forest.  Maeby and Ima huddled closer together after hearing an owl’s eerie call.  “Kinda creepy out here,” Maeby whispered. “As a kid, I loved getting spooked.  Not so fun anymore now.”  

       “When I was young,” said Ima, “I was scared that either the Soviet Union or the pesticide DDT would surely be the end of us.  Glad we dodged those!  But I’ll tell you what frightens me now.  It’s the aging nuclear power plants that are still operating.  I get chills, thinking about the radiation contamination from the meltdowns at Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island.  We just shouldn’t be messing with this nuclear stuff,” Ima Frayed concluded.

       “Yup, that’s scary stuff!” Maeby agreed. “But funny you should mention it; I’ve recently learned a bit about the current state of the nuclear industry.  Those old-design reactors required active cooling systems that failed in those three cases causing their meltdowns.  Huge plants like those generate hundreds of megawatts (MW) of electricity.
 
       “We now have what’s known as small modular reactors (SMR) that generate just 1-25 MW; these are a good fit for modern distributed energy systems.  They circulate water to cool the core without the need for pumps, AC or DC power, human/computer intervention, or external water.  The smallest, like the one engineering students at UW Madison operate on campus, can be delivered on a truck.   Similar reactors are on our submarines where 100 sailors depend on them to power the vessel and clean the air they breathe.

       “I agree; radioactive waste is a big problem, but nuclear energy is actually one of the safest ways to generate electricity.  The coal and oil industries cause far more deaths.  And speaking of big problems, burning fossil fuels is a huge one.  It pollutes the air and contributes to the climate disasters that take lives and wreak havoc costing us billions.  California’s mopping up another oil spill right now!

       “Thankfully, clean wind and solar electrical generation is expanding rapidly as are energy efficiency and battery storage technologies.  Experts say that effectively combining these could take care of 80% of our energy needs. 

       “But what to do about that pesky goblin, the final 20%?” Maeby Wegotta wondered.  “Perhaps it’s time to give more consideration to SMRs because ya know, this is our only home.  We’re all forever… Earthbound.”