Letters to the Editor

• Pourquoi?

  [Read the article: For some reason I feel I must move to France]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  As an American who always had the idea of moving to France while in my twenties, but then ended up in Japan and Germany for 10 years instead, I often wonder what it is about France that makes Americans get so misty-eyed and filled with longing. Is it the films? Is the accent? Most of us haven't really had 'real' French food in the US, so it can't be that. Is the that France, somehow, seems permeated with sophistication and we hope that be going there, some of it will rub off?

  Leaving everything behind and moving to a new country with nothing more than high hopes and a credit card, which is more or less what the LW describes, does have a deeper meaning that has nothing to do with France itself. The 'new life' aspect of this decision is the foundation and structure of the matter, the choice of country is just the shading of what the ideal form of that 'new life' or 'new me' might take.

  I went to Germany with a German boyfriend, planning to stay for three months. And in classic expat fashion, I stayed in Germany for nine years. Until we got married five years into that stay, each and every year was filled with visits to the immigration authorities, agencies for foreigners, and so on, trying to justify my reason for hanging around for so long. I flattered, I wheedled, I begged, and became very resourceful in finding ways of staying legal and avoiding deportation. And I speak very good German.

  And then, finally, we moved to France, where we have been for over ten years. Don't have to wheedle anymore, since I'm married to an EU national. But not all of the paperwork has gone away, and even though my French is okay, there's nothing quite like bureaucratic French to remind you why the word 'bureacracy' is based on a French word. I love living here, wouldn't trade it for anything but maybe my native California coast line in the 1960's, we get along just fine with the neighbors and so on - but some days can still be an uphill battle of crossed cultural expectations. Check out Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French by Jean-Benoit Nadeau, Julie Barlow for a sort of historical, thoughtful examination of how different we are.

  The LW needs to be clear on what his/her goals are in leaving the old life behind for new frontiers, and what the real assumptions/expectations behind that move might be. I agree that the best way to go about moving to another country is not to just pull up stakes and move there - test the waters for longer than a couple of weeks or months, really try to get along 'as if' you were living there. The reality of foreign life doesn't really start setting in until six months have passed - and you realize that you aren't just there for a visit.

  You can take yourself away from home, but you still take home along with you for the ride. Remember, even if you leave everything behind: Wherever you go, there you are.

  Permalink Thursday, March 30, 2006 01:28 AM

• Words matter

  [Read the article: How clean is "cleantech"?]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Stuart said: "If we are going to support a world population in this range, we can't really quibble about distinctions like "clean" vs. "renewable." "

  Terms like 'clean', 'renewable', 'environmentally-friendly', 'green', 'organic', and so on are not randomly interchangeable just because the issues of energy shortage, pollution and climate change those terms address are overwhelming and frightening. They all mean different things, and often, the terms have little to do with one another. 'Clean' energy is a perfect example: Both coal and nuclear-driven power are considered 'clean' forms because of their ability in certain circumstances to be used with relatively low emissions when compared to other energy sources. Does that mean you want a 'clean' nuclear power station in your backyard?

  'Renewable' just means energy derived from crops or sources we can grow ourselves. Does it mean that all the pesticides and fertilizers used to grow those crops are 'clean', 'green' or 'environmentally-friendly'? What about clear-cutting rainforest so we can plant highly efficient 'renewable' energy crops like palm oil? Is that 'clean', 'renewable' and 'green'?

  Laziness in the use of these terms only serves to lull people into the sense that things are being taken care of, while protecting those in whose interest it is to utilize the next best resource without really going the extra mile to find energy that can genuinely fit all those pleasant definitions.

  Inattentiveness to the consequences of our choices is what got us where we are in the first place. Now is not the time to get sloppy.

  Permalink Saturday, April 15, 2006 04:50 AM