Editor's Letter

Dear Reader,

From the theater seats at a reading by writer David Sedaris, an audience member raised her hand and asked what, if anything, Sedaris could do to boost our collective spirits about climate change. Sedaris laughed, stumbling a little as he struggled uncharacteristically to find the right words. “I mean, I..well, I’m glad I’m 66!” he said. The audience laughed, but I’m certain that it wasn’t the type of joke we were hoping for—as humans, we’re hardwired to desire the response that reassures us that we will persevere. What Sedaris served up was a joke about the end of the world.

It could have all felt very hopeless, but even desperation doesn’t feel so bleak in the dim lights of the Egyptian with a talented writer willing to shrug it off. And so, in this issue of IdaHome, we’re perhaps doing a version of the same thing, although I can’t promise the same amount of laughs. Instead, we bring you some stories (and introduce you to some new IdaHome writers!) that will satisfy your desire for optimism, even as we face an inevitably changing climate.

April Neale interviewed cinematographer Bob Poole about his latest project—the wildly moving National Geographic special, Secrets of the Elephants. Poole, who grew up in Kenya, has made his home in the west—also home to a diverse population of farmers and ranchers, which, as we learn from writer Kurt Orzek, includes many women who work tirelessly to preserve the land.

The west is also home to so many lush forests struggling under climate change. Jodie Nicotra interviews University of Idaho researchers and the director of the Idaho Forests Products Commission who tell us what we should already know—the key is collaboration, something our neighbors in Minidoka are trying to achieve too. There, locals are fighting against a project that would bring 400 wind turbines to the area because of what they call ‘disregard for the community,’ although many support clean energy in other ways, as reported by Arianna Creteau.

These discussions are complicated. So complicated, actually, that writer Harper Crabtree visited Idaho National Laboratory to learn about nuclear fusion, a clean energy source that doesn’t create radioactive byproducts, a fascinating concept many of us have never heard of.

If you need a reminder of what we’re fighting for, check out Chris Langrill’s story on some of the most beautiful—and underappreciated—parks in our great state or hear the roar of Idaho rapids as we explore whitewater near and far.

I also had the chance to interview the folks at Northwest Association for Blind Athletes, who are out enjoying the outdoors too, striving to create a community that cares for the environment and one another, as is the Idaho way. Cherie Buckner-Webb shares a little about some spots that mean something to her, and reminds us why we should all strive to protect the state we love.

Finally, if you’d like a look at the sort of dystopia we’re up against if we stop caring, believing, working—Charles Pineda talks to Alan Heathcock about his new book, which offers a cautionary tale of a future impacted by climate change. But he’s hopeful, and I am too.

In Optimism,

Heather Hamilton-Post

Editor in Chief