Back in the early 1980s I realized that most people don't think about electricity the way I do. For the most part they just flip the switch and take it for granted that the power will flow. They don't see the carbon footprint of the act. They aren't aware of what a remarkable feat of cooperation makes that possible. It's baffling to me what it would take to change that.

Back in the 1990s I started thinking about how pictures connect us. It started when I was at a California Communities Against Toxics event. One of the activists was showing off her photo album, and there was a Picture of Bill Clinton with her daughter. She said "he does as much of that kind of thing as possible, because he gets a lot of good publicity from the way the pictures ripple through communities." At the time pictures meant nothing to me. Then during my AOL days  I read a story about how having a picture in your office of you with The President of the United States was a good career move even in China.

Being a grass roots activist with no desire for that kind of power I've collected pictures of people with MEND YOUR FUELISH WAYS stickers for many years. I figure that the power of good citizenship is a lasting force that I can work with, and using less fuel is part of making our world more sustainable. Sometimes when I take those pictures I tell people "you will be able to find yourself in cyberspace once I put it up." Scattered around this website are many such pictures. I have no idea how many of them have been found by the people in them, but I know for a fact at least a few thoughtful individuals have.

Not that long ago my email buddy in New Zealand told me that an old friend of hers, fellow Green Party member Celia Wade-Brown, had been elected Mayor of Wellington. She said that Celia is an avid bicyclist, and commutes that way every day. I asked my friend if she could get the Mayor to put one of my stickers on her bike, since I consider that kind of thing to be "the ultimate product placement." I was pleasantly surprised to find this picture in my email.

I feel quite honored.

I took this picture during the same time frame when I received the above picture. I have friends that don't remember when the area code here (Mountain View, California) was 415. The price of gas being $4.159 is a much more recent experience for me.