Admit it- you enjoyed the ice storm

“The wilderness is calling” – 740 words

Published by the Raleigh News and Observer in a modified form as “ Now that we’re back in touch” on December 14, 2002.

Admit it- you enjoyed the ice storm. Yes, I’m referring to you, one of the thousands of Triangle residents who actually had a great time while the power was out. Obviously, not everyone had fun, given the fires, carbon monoxide poisonings, traffic accidents, and property damage that occurred. All told, however, I would wager that most people had a pretty good time during the storm, and not just due to the lack of work and school for a few days. Two elements in particular defined the positive ice storm experience: challenge and fellowship.

We faced the challenge of surviving without electricity for almost a week, and most of us were up to the task. The storm forced us to become ingenious, to relearn to cook on our camp stoves, to bundle up against the cold, and to find shelter and warmth in a freezing world. Just like after Hurricane Fran, we discovered we could handle the challenges Mother Nature throws at us, and the resulting confidence feels good, doesn’t it? Our ordinary lives are so comfortable and boring now because we have been so adaptable and clever and hard working in the past. Without the occasional natural disaster to remind us, it would be far too easy to forget the joys of rustic problem solving, and to lose track of how much we value modern technology and electricity.

Also, just as Fran did a few years before, the ice storm delivered to our divisive communities a unifying force to struggle against. With families crowding together into the generous hospitality of those who had heat, we rediscovered fellowship: the fun of neighbors eating together and living together, appreciating the pleasure of other human beings’ company. Ice storms and hurricanes allow us to forget the competition and isolationism that otherwise define the American Economic Growth Machine existence. Thanks to the storms, we can put productivity on the shelf for the moment and just focus on meeting nature’s challenges and getting to know our neighbors and friends. As a result, I am quite confident that the psychic benefits of the storms outweigh the economic costs. Actually, until someone improves upon the way the GDP is calculated, disasters will continue to add to our economic growth, not subtract from it, since we lack a real indicator of standing prosperity.

Fortunately, we do not need to sign up for the Weather Channel’s frequent disaster plan in order to receive regular doses of challenge and fellowship. Instead, the wilderness beckons! Even here in North Carolina, there still remain deep, dark woods where the power is never on, and where groups of brave people can still venture forth to learn to live together in peace and harmony around a campfire. If the ice storm was enough of a cold, physical jolt to your otherwise virtual reality to inspire you to seek more of the real and tangible, more of the wild and beautiful, then please don’t resist the urge. Keep those camp stoves and sleeping bags down from the attic and plan a trip with a group of friends, neighbors, or co-workers. Once you’ve visited Joyce Kilmer, Linville Gorge, Shining Rock, Cape Lookout, or Bear Island, you will understand the enormous value of wilderness preservation. And once you’ve seen the stampeding crowds on a pretty weekend, you will know firsthand how rare and precious wild untrammeled nature has become.

Ironically, at a time when we have more off-road vehicles and gore-tex jackets than ever before, at a time when the Triangle’s second REI is on its way to Durham, we have less and less wilderness each day. Our supply of public natural lands has hardly kept up with North Carolina’s meteoric increases in population over the last twenty years, and as a result, fewer and fewer people are able to seek true wilderness experiences. If we are going to reverse the trend of declining per capita wilderness, we must now dedicate ourselves to protecting and restoring significant acreage of wildlands each year. Remember the Million Acres of Open Space goal? Let’s make it happen in grand style! Imagine the creation of several new 100,000 acre wilderness state parks. We can easily afford such gems if we turn off our machines long enough to hear nature’s call. The ice storms and hurricanes have served as powerful reminders: we need wilderness areas in North Carolina more than we ever have before, as havens for challenging adventures and peaceful fellowship.