Abbey was a lovable, prickly, exasperating, imperfect, provocative, flawed, bluntly honest, highly intelligent and insightful, articulate to the point of being poetic lover of the outdoors and many other things. Almost always entertaining regardless of the subject.
Sounds a lot like some of the folks around here! Ha!
"If we want to create a long term civilization here in the west, or North America, I think eventually we're going to have to rely on renewable resources, like sunlight...and grass, and trees, surface water,....running water. But I realize that this is utopian kind of thinking. Most people in Arizona, or the United States for that matter don't take it seriously. The people that run this country assume that technology and science will rescue us each time, from our own...foolishness. And so far it might appear that they've been right. However we burn up the planet, then I suppose we'll try to export the human species into outer space. Space colonies, colonize the Moon, Venus, Mars.... That's what I would call real crackpot thinking." Edward Abbey, 1982
"I find nuclear power very unappealing. First of all because it's undemocratic. It centralizes control. It puts our lives and livelihoods in the hands of a very few people, probably one big utility, one big public agency, over which the public has very little control."
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
Edward Abbey
My favorite author by far. I have read all of his books, many multiple times. If only we lived in the world Abbey wanted for us. I didn't know it was his bday today, awesome!
One of my college professors found his grave with his other friend. I think I was the only student he ever told that, probably because most kids would have been like "you walked through the desert for days to find some dead authors grave? WTF?." But I was really psyched when he told me. Anyways, I encourage everyone to pick up their monkey wrench gang and do some reading!
Let us know!