Resolute Windiness - Steady as She Blows
Maddening Methane and the Kiss of Kerosene in the Anthropocene
Sophia: Friends, we gather amidst an age where the earth itself seems to rebel: methane rising, fuels burning, and time slipping faster than ever. Elizabeth, you once declared, “All my possessions for a moment of time.” How do we weigh material wealth against the fleeting immediacy of our environmental moment?
Elizabeth I: Sophia, in my day, power and possessions measured influence, yet I always sensed the greater value of decisive action in crucial moments. A single hour could alter destiny. So too now: the climate, like a mercurial court, waits for no one. We must act before the moment passes.
All my possessions for a moment of time.
— Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
Faulkner: Indeed. And yet, human endurance persists. I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail. History is a testament to the resilience of human will — even in the face of folly and devastation. But prevailing requires wisdom, foresight, and humility before forces far larger than ourselves.
Sophia: So we are reminded that while possessions and power are fleeting, time is absolute. The Anthropocene demands that we prioritize immediate, decisive stewardship over accumulation. Endurance alone is not enough; we must act to prevail, to restore balance where human activity has endangered it.
I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail.
— William Faulkner's (1897-1962)
Elizabeth I: Then let us value moments of decisive intervention above the comfort of wealth. One timely choice can avert catastrophe, while centuries of accumulation may avail nothing.
Faulkner: And let us remember that prevailing does not mean domination over nature, but coexistence — recognizing its rhythms, respecting its limits, and harnessing human ingenuity to restore what is threatened.
Sophia: Precisely. In the face of maddening methane and the kiss of kerosene, wisdom demands we act swiftly, decisively, and humbly. Material possession is trivial; the moment — and the planet — is everything.
They stand on a windswept hill, inhaling the acrid air, aware that the true currency of the Anthropocene is not gold or oil, but time, courage, and deliberate action.
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