One Square Inch of Silence

Beside my bed I have a stack of books. Books I have taken an interest in or been recommended, all of which are waiting for my attention. But as I have this stack, when I am looking for a new read I often read the first chunk of one or two before settling on one to really dive into. ch is how I ended up reading One Square Inch of Silence by Gordon Hempton & John Grossmann.

One Square Inch of Silence was lent to me by a very dear friend who I'm due to see on Thursday - and as such I very much hope to finish the book so I can give it back to her (she hadn't read it yet). It's a phenomenal non-fiction book about the loss of natural silence in today's world (specifically in the US) by an acoustic ecologist (Gordon Hempton) and the story of his journey across the US seeking out the last few remaining places of silence (defined by him as no audible interference from any man-made activity). It has had a very powerful impact on me, just in the reading of it. I've started becoming much more attuned to the sounds around me - both natural and man-made - and am spending a lot more time without music on, which used to be my default. One of the most contentious interferences, particularly in very remote areas, is that of flight paths. I'm still getting my head around it, but such interferences, seemingly "low level background noise" still make an impact both on our auditory perception and on those of animals. And yet I find myself coming back to the fact that to make this journey across the US, the author is travelling in an old VW camper van - which itself will be belting out a fair few decibels. (And don't even start on decibels - good ol' exponential measuring systems.)

What the VW highlights to me is the continual, and sometimes agonising, battle within me of the purist and the realist - or, not even the realist, but the "live-ist". In my own world, part of me would love to live a very low-impact life style, growing my own food, really getting to know the natural resources available to me and living with what is there. However, my life is a significant distance from that, and I really enjoy my life - I am very much a consumer, I travel (and now I travel under my own steam in a car which, had I not bought it and were I not driving it, would not be consuming that fuel at all), I enjoy modern day comforts like central heating, electricity and a whole array of technology and my food comes from shops, not direct from plants I have grown and nurtured. The reality of my life is the "live-ist" - the live-ist decided that I would really benefit from a holiday and so am driving myself  to Cornwall to stay in a hotel and learn (hopefully!) how to surf. But the purist wonders if I'm doing enough to minimise my own impact and create ways that others can too, as well as making those ways attractive versus the status quo. It's my own internal battle and one that comes to the fore, as do many things, when I have some quiet (ah ha) moments to reflect. And my resolution for the time being is that I am far from perfect, but am doing things that nourish me and my life - and with any luck, aren't too destructive of the planet overall. Time will tell.

In other news, this morning's fritters (kiwi fritters) were an interesting exploration but ultimately I don't think as successful as the berry fritters (strawberry is still top of the charts, methinks). This may, however, have been down to the *very* ripe nature of the kiwis before they got cooked. Must Remember Fresh Fruit & Veg In The Bottom Of My Fridge.