Date:         Tue, 1 Nov 1994 19:19:10 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         John Ritchie <ritchiej@ucs.orst.edu>
Subject:      generators vs. camping (long and tiresome)


I know this thread is getting a little far from VWs but this is a topic
that, as Pete says, hits a nerve.

First of all, let me say that this is by no means meant as a slam to
Pete or anybody else that uses generators or other noise-machines in the
woods.  This is my opinion on a topic that I really care about and I
don't expect everybody to see it my way (good thing, too!) :)

I completely agree with David Garth when he writes:

	Nothing ruins the peace and quiet of camping more often than
	generators. Noise that would be acceptable IMO in a city is
	unacceptable out in the woods.

In my opinion, the outdoors is a place to escape from the
population-induced pressures of the city, the rubbing-together of
humans.  I'm not an anti-social person and enjoy living in and
vacationing in cities, but I also enjoy the solitude and peace of the
outdoors.  I greatly resent things that intrude on that sense of peace,
things that remind me of the presence of all the humans around me.
Things like power generators, dirt bikes, loud parties and, on a
star-gazing night, the bright glare of somebody's lantern.

Pete Sellers writes a message explaining how running a generator is
important to his familial dynamics, allowing his various younger family
members to bring their (electrically-driven) interests into the woods
with him and be part of the group.  Although I respect Pete and
understand his motivations for bringing and running a generator in the
woods his reasons are, in essence, selfish ones.  Selfish in the sense
that his considerations for the comfort of his family outweigh his
considerations for the people around him.  I quote:

	I sometimes feel a bit guilty when we're in campsite(s) and the
	generator is running and I look at our neighbors and sense that
	they'd rather the generator be turned off (I get it turned off
	as much as possible and during the quiet hours)!!  I adjust my
	feelings by considering the following ...

Pete goes on to describe how running the generator adds to the cohesion
of his family.

Although I can respect these motives I think this is an illustration of
one of the key problems in the woods, and in our society today; that of
lack of consideration of how our actions impinge on others and lack of
respect for other peoples' privacy and feelings.  Too many people are
too wrapped up in what they're doing or are too inconsiderate in general
to see that what they're doing is having a big negative effect on those
around them.  I'm not saying that Pete, specifically, is an inconsiderate 
person (he does feel guilty anyway), I'm just using this to illustrate 
my point.

A major part of the problem is increasing population.  There are
ever-greater numbers of people swarming into the woods every year; it's
becoming ever harder to find solitude and peace in the wilderness with
every year.  This means a couple things:  1) people who are there in
search of solitude are having a harder time getting it and are feeling
increasingly critical of their (too-close) neighbors, and 2) activities
that weren't a problem 10 years ago are a problem now.  When there were
1/10nth the number of people in the woods who cared if somebody made
noise, you could just go over the next ridge and be away from them.
Now, you go over the next ridge and there are 12 more people there.

Newsweek magazine had a big article on this topic a few months ago
(Sorry, I read it at a friend's house so can't give issue/date nor
accurate quotes).  The article discussed the increasing numbers of
people flooding into the National Parks every year seeking solitude and
"the outdoor experience."  The question was raised: at what point does
the wilderness experience lose its wilderness aspect?  Is it when you
can no longer find a place where you can't see/hear other people within
5 miles? 1 mile? 100 yards?

Well, this discussion is way off VW topic and is long-winded to boot,
two list-serve faux pas in one.  Sorry about that, and I apologize, too,
if I offended anybody accidentally but I really feel strongly that, if
we're going to preserve any sense of wilderness as our populations
increase we're going to have to learn to be more sensitive to other
people and "act smaller" when in the woods.

John "the Ranter" Ritchie