2026 Theme: Garden/Volunteers for Sustainable Development

In the cold spell that usually falls around New Year's Day, I am delighted to get emails (and maybe catalogues) from garden companies. They know their audience! It's cold and gray, but the promise of beautiful flowers can be had immediately. Bluestone Perennials makes a point that its plants come in sustainable pots with no styrofoam. So I may have to talk a bit about sustainability, especially since it is the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY). These are two of my favorite topics. 

In my lifetime, bees and butterflies have gone from copious to scarce. As children, my brothers and I caught a myriad of butterflies and pinned them to cardboard. I can't undo my ignorance from that era, but I have been blessed with a friend who taught me how to raise monarchs. In addition, my love for flowers has attracted bees, birds, and even hummingbirds. 

Sustainability became a buzzword years ago. I have a book written by a man who taught a class at the Clearing about sustainability. I have yet to read it, but I have read about the topic every chance I get and will continue to do so. Of course, it's going to take volunteers, because our governments are more concerned with their own survival than that of our species and other species. But consider what volunteers have done since the first Earth Day in 1970. I have a neighbor who does not recycle. I don't expect her to change, but I had a new appreciation of the three beautiful human beings I had the honor to raise. They have always recycled and probably don't think about it at all. It's the little things that make a huge difference in the world, but only if they are done on a huge scale. 

Have a great year. We little or no control over the government as a single person, but we can make a huge difference in government policy if we make our opinions known. Here's to a healthy future for all species.

Rumors

 I heard a rumor today that AI could write better than a human, and the person who tried it believed it was better. Then I told him that the resume he sent to an employer could be put through an AI detector. His chances of getting that job might be harmed rather than improved. So many rumors abound about AI that I don't want to even begin to discuss them. However, in another conversation, a dear friend said she didn't want to have anything to do with AI. I told her it was here to stay, and she insisted she would have nothing to do with it. I told her that ship had sailed, but she really believed she could keep it out of her life. 

How do we go about informing the public about what they need to know? When I became unemployed in 1978, computer science had just begun to transform our civilization. People I knew and respected didn't want to spend the time to learn it. They called me when they needed help. Today's children have grown up with it, and are light-years ahead of me.

Shortly after I wrote this, in October, a friend sent me a barrage of articles about the harm AI is causing or may cause. It caused a blockage because I didn't have the time to read them all immediately, and I didn't really want to read them. So much for my impartiality!

I'd like to finish with a summary from Snopes, soon to be outdated.

(1) Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of technology that focuses on developing machines and systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. This includes tasks such as learning, problem-solving, perception, and language understanding. AI is achieved through the use of algorithms and computational models that enable machines to analyze data, make decisions, and improve over time. AI has applications in various fields, including healthcare, finance, transportation, and more. According to the Snopes Archives, AI has environmental costs, such as energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, but it also offers potential benefits in mitigating climate change and improving efficiency. Additionally, AI-generated content, such as images and text, is becoming increasingly sophisticated and realistic, raising questions about authenticity and the potential for misinformation. It is important to stay informed about the advancements and implications of AI through reliable sources like the Snopes Archives.

(1) https://www.snopes.com/factbot/?query=AI%3F, accessed October 13, 2025