The Beginning

green
1. abounding in or covered with green growth or foliage
2. made with green or leafy vegetables
3. characterized by mild or temperate weather
4. youthful; vigorous
5. brand-new; fresh
6. beneficial to the environment
7. favoring or supporting environmentalism
8. pleasantly alluring
9. concerned with or in conformity with the political principles of the Green Party

prudence
1. the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason
2. sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs
3. skill and good judgment in the use of resources
4. caution or circumspection as to danger or risk

All good things must begin somewhere. Green Prudence begins with definitions, a profile, and interests. Before moving forward, one needs to know where they stand and a vision of where they want to go. The purpose of this blog is to inform, educate, enlighten, illuminate, cultivate... or, to borrow from a pyramid learned in my introductory course to GIS, to use data to provide information to develop knowledge to cultivate wisdom. My hope is that it will make a difference in this world, so much in need of a guiding light. Its beginnings are humble, as I try to be. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And the earth needs good stewards to bring it back to the Eden it was meant to be.

I would like to credit a few of the people who helped me reach this point. My parents brought me into the world with an appreciation of nature, science, hard work, education, moral values, travel. My grandparents, long deceased, left me with an appreciation of land, simplicity, conservation, farming, freedom, home. My older siblings expanded on my parents' love of travel with even more travel and enough backpacking to eventually lead me onto the Appalachian Trail. My friend Yamin brought computers and the internet into my life nearly a decade ago. My wife started me on the path to blogging a few months ago.

Of course there are countless others who have influenced me over the many years that I've been on this path less traveled. It took me a long time to fully realize that I couldn't survive as an island. I developed myself into the ultimate independent, self-sufficient, isolated rock that thru-hiked the AT in 1989. But afterward I couldn't reconcile the two different worlds on my own and I gradually became lost on the land I grew up adoring. Reaching out to others brought me back. Ithaca became the perfect location to reach out and become a part of a community. The culmination of my realization that I am ultimately not in control of my destiny was a near-fatal car accident less than two years ago. Nothing could have prepared me for it and nothing I did could have prevented it. My wife has been by my side since that day to help me recover and to lead me forward in pursuing the spirituality that I've been seeking my whole life.

So, it's with that background and an undiminished ambition to both explore the world and cultivate it that I embark on this project. I can't see the future but I can envision a better future for all of God's children who are willing to follow. I'll try to do my small part to lead the way.

Peace, and good luck.

~Kurt