“Vision” for “Natural Portland”

Here are the proposed Vision Statements for Natural Portland:

• Protection and restoration of the natural environment is integrated into every aspect of civic life, guiding all decisions and policy.

• All Portlanders have equitable access to public resources such as public transportation, bike paths, community gardens and access to locally grown, healthy food.

• This access allows each of us, regardlesss of location, to choose environmentally sustainable lifestyles.

• Our healthy streams, rivers and forests support a diversity of native plants and wildlife.

• Greenspaces and parks are plentiful all over our city and a vibrant Willamette River is a hub of community activity.

• We are a global leader in sustainability and through this lens, we proactively address key issues including transportation, development and energy use.

Yes, all very nice. I see we have “hub” even in the Natural section. Obviously the Word of the Month for Vision Month. Please be sure to sprinkle it into your vocabulary at the grocery store, dinner table, and when meeting with your boss. Oh, good, “global leader” is in there again, too. Let’s see, so far we want to be global leaders in transportation, public art, architecture, and design, education and higher education, and now sustainability. That should help narrow down the choices when the Council considers the budget each time. Not.

OK, so I was rather expecting to see the words “Clean air” and “Clean water” in there somewhere. The word “trees”, too. “Fish”, perhaps, and “swim”. Maybe it’s just me, but none of the words they chose grabs my heart like being outdoors in Portland does. “Beauty” would have been a good word to have in there, somewhere. “Sense of awe, wonder, and rich blessing”. The words they chose sound all scientific and whatnot, but lose the magic and glorious thoughts that talking about Portland’s flowers, fish, and forests should conjure up. When I think of a Vision for experiencing the Pacific Northwest in all its splendor in 2030, “We are a global leader in sustainability and through this lens, we proactively address key issues including transportation, development and energy use” aren’t the words that spring to mind. This is the one goal area where letting loose with warm fuzzy language would have been appropriate…. instead, we have “environmentally sustainable lifestyles”.

Sign me up for one of those. I’ll be breathing crisp, clean, fragrant air in the shade of magnificent ancient trees if you need me. Or I will be, as soon as I return home from the UK, where ancient trees are few and far between.