Talkin' Bout the "7th Generation"

This morning before classes started, my colleagues and I were talking shop when someone asked me about my having (actually, I guess "officially" its my wife's as she drives it) a Toyota Prius.

It was then that I recalled something I had read while in college about "the seventh generation" idea put forth by some Native American tribes. To paraphrase, I believe it "said" something to the effect that we, as inhabitants of this planet, should behave in an ecologically responsible way so that any actions would not have a negative impact on our environment--We should behave in a way that seven generations from now would not be at a deficit due to out behavior.

Being an Upstate New Yorker, it makes sense that, with a little research, I found that the idea had originated from the Iroquois and can be surmised thusly:
"In every deliberation we must consider
the impact on the seventh generation...
even if it requires having skin
as thick as the bark of a pine."
~The 7th Generation Precept of the Six Nations of Iroquois Confederacy
I was pretty close with my "definition" above, and the modern way in which the seventh generation ideal is defines is as a form sustainability; an ecological concept that admonishes the current generation of humans to be working for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future.

I reckon that's something any good hearted, granola eatin', Prius drivin' (well, actually my wife drives the Prius), nature-lovin' kind-of-guy can stand behind pretty easily!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!