We've Only Just Begun
Las Vegas is absurd. It also brilliantly and clearly defines and achieves its purpose. By the time I headed to the airport after my 36hr stay on The Strip, my senses were saturated, and I was ready to leave. The city is the epitome of intention and design, and energy consumption, that keeps visitors distracted, fed, entertained, and spending. Trying to locate a suitable place to work is nearly futile. It's not built for that (nor for walking very far). I left annoyed and impressed by the ingenuity involved in creating and continuing to expand and reinvent such a place in such an otherwise inhospitable environment. If we are going to adequately address climate change, a similar effort will be required, although much more massive, and with a much different intention. We have only started to dance around these edges, unable to fully fathom the extent of infrastructure and change required. Vegas is a vision that continues to thrive, driven by a balance of unbridled greed and an insatiable desire to escape. Flying out Monday evening, the Strip shone like a beacon, attracting, repelling, consuming, declaring the epitome that it is. I try to imagine its dusty, small-town beginnings, now buried beneath layers. Driving toward its outskirts, I felt like I got a glimpse of such relative and rugged modesty. Make no mistake: that is where we are in our sustainability journey, as well as a reminder of the ghost town that even Vegas could become should our collective vision not more profoundly shift.
