​The earth's population is approaching 8 billion. People are moving to and concentrating in the world's cities. So it absolutely bumfuzzles me that loneliness is a modern-day problem, among all age groups. We find ourselves starving for what we really need amid a sea of plenty and too-muchness.

Too-muchness invades every minute of our days with the ever presence of the cell phone, burping and chirping for instant attention from our sea of "friends." Too-muchness invades our workdays, where quality of life, enoughness, and human scale bow to the corporate mantra of "more."

I am wary of the new wave of articles warning us that loneliness  and social isolation are the new "tobacco" as far as our health is concerned. They tell us that if we want to be healthy and live long, we'd better get out there amongst 'em. Really? Fucking really? Couldn't we all be just a little bit hungry for some quiet time?!

My life span began in the age of analog, but I was one of the first of my friends to have a computer--an IBM-compatible 336. I know, the Stone Age, but I and my computers have evolved through the years and, even without a cell phone, I am right here with you in our digital world (after all, I'm writing this on my MacBook Pro). 

So way back in analog time, people spent many hours in their homes "disconnected" from the outside world. If you had a home phone, you shared it with the whole family and ofttimes with other families in the form of a party line. Each household had it's own combination of long and short rings so you would know when to answer and when to ignore it. When you were at home alone, you were at home alone! 

As kids, if we wanted to communicate with someone, we simply went outside. I had no choice about this really--my mother, like other Ozzie & Harriet generation parents, sent us outside early in the morning and warned us not to come back and show our faces until called in for a meal. When we went outdoors, we always found other kids--even in the country. (After all, there was nothing more interesting going on inside our houses--what with the only screen being a black-and-white, 3-channel TV, which our mothers had commandeered to watch General Hospital.) Outside was always more interesting, and I don't ever remember feeling lonely as a child. 

For a time, I characterized my need for human contact based on my level of introversion. Popular wisdom is that extroverts recharge their batteries by being around others and that introverts need solitude to recharge. Bolderdash! (Translation, Bullshit!) There are people who can suck the life out of even the most extroverted person, and other blessed souls who can infused life into even the most introverted. It's about quality, not quantity. But some of us do thrive on a bigger quantity of quality and others do prefer a little quality and then just savor the marrow out of it. Viva la difference! 

Modern life floods us with quantity and starves us for quality.

In my research, I've come across two interesting bits of information. One is from studies that point out that the more time that "smart" people spend with their friends, the unhappier they are. Intriguing but a bit elitist?

The other bit of information comes from scientist E.O. Wilson, who said, "If the benefit from group membership falls below that from solitary life, evolution will favor departure." Ok, let's go with that one--it's not so elitist. And it just might explain the direction we are headed.

Guest article by reader Neil Stawski

While climate change may be a hotly debated issue in our government, we can take it upon ourselves to help preserve the planet by making simple, environmentally friendly changes in our homes and communities. Here are some actions you and your family can take to slow the course of climate change.

Begin by making your home more energy-efficient. The good news is that this can save you money, and that’s an idea you can share with your neighbors, too! There are a number of things we can change in our homes to accomplish that. 

Efficiency Indoors 
Begin by making sure you have proper insulation and air flow. Green Home Guide recommends ensuring that your walls and attics have effective insulation that slows heat flow out of the home in the winter and blocks it from coming inside in the summer. If your windows are old, they might not seal properly, and that can leave gaps that let in air. You can replace these with energy-efficient models or take steps to update them so they seal properly. 

Next, take stock of sinks and appliances. Install low-flow sinks, showers, and toilets to save water. You can also put a timer in your shower to keep your family from using up too much water while showering. Try to avoid taking baths, which waste much more water than showers. 

Buy all energy- and water-efficient appliances. To determine which energy-efficient appliances are best, check out Energy Star’s post on the most efficient appliances. 

You should also switch to CFL or LED lights and light bulbs. Traditional incandescent light bulbs use about three times more energy than a CFL bulb, and LED bulbs can have five times the lifespan of incandescent bulbs. Even though they are more expensive, you’ll compensate with energy savings. 

Efficiency Outside Your Home 
Use gardening and landscaping as a way to green your home. We don’t often think of our gardens in this way, but strategic planting can provide shade, both indoors and out, and protection for our bee populations. 

If you have a garden, consider composting. This is a great way to help the environment and creates nutrient-rich soil for your plants. Learn more about the process at Rodale’s Organic Life. 

Consider installing solar panels. Solar energy is cost-effective and can even increase the value of your home. Today, there are lots of options for financing this upgrade. Use a solar water heater to help save on your monthly heating bills. The investment will pay off in the long run with energy savings. You can either install an active system to completely replace your current water heater or a passive system, which requires you to keep it as a backup. 

Greening Everyday Tasks 
You can make small changes in your regular routines, too. Give your kids waste-free lunches. Exchange paper lunch bags and products for lunch sacks, canvas napkins, and a bottle to make your child’s lunch waste-free. Many companies make environmentally friendly, plastic-free versions of these products. 

Eliminate plastic bags and paper towels. While we can’t eliminate every product in our homes, we can start with the basics. Find a good reusable cloth for the kitchen rather than paper towels. Do your shopping with reusable grocery bags. 

Changes in Your Community 
Changes begin in your home, but you can also spread these ideas to your community. In addition to encouraging friends and neighbors on how to save money with environmentally friendly home updates, you can also effect change on a larger scale. 

• Support local conservation efforts with donations and volunteering. For example, local farms may have workdays where you can help out. You can also shop at organic and sustainable farms and farmers markets. 
• Find like-minded friends and neighbors and organize community cleanups. You can also participate in or organize an e-cycling event in your neighborhood. This allows you to collect unused technology, such as discarded computers and smartphones, and donate them to schools and other places. The EPA has a list of places to donate them. This can even turn into a fun, community-building event! 
•  Support businesses that embrace or are certified in green and sustainable practices. 
• If possible, bike ride, carpool, or take public transportation rather than driving. Consider buying a more fuel-efficient car or hybrid the next time you shop for a car. 
• Vote for local candidates who support environmentally friendly policies, just as you would on a national level, such as school boards. 
• Encourage your child’s school to become more environmentally friendly. This can take many forms, such as making a presentation to the school on reducing waste, encouraging them to create gardens as a teaching tool, or implementing more recycling ideas. This will require involvement and works best if a group of parents supports these initiatives. 

Our communities work best when we all pitch in. Do a little more in your home each week to save energy, and consider getting involved to make changes in your community. Every action you take has a positive impact on the planet

Less than a third of the red oak still stands, pushing up from a gnarled and buttressed base. If two of me were to lie end to end, we might span its diameter. Most of the base is only a stump now, but the living part of the tree still stands tall above her surrounding progeny of red oaks. 

A friend who knows these things says this tree may be 400 years old! Four hundred years old?! If so, it would have sprouted around the same time Charles Charleville built Fort Lick, later to become Nashville, where he traded furs with the local tribes. This tree would have presided over a part of this state's prehistory and over its entire history as Tennessee!

Early on I was advised to cull this and other old trees on my land--to make use of the wood and so that surrounding trees would have room to thrive. Isn't that what we do with our elderly? Remove them to make way for new generations? Don't they just take up space and resources that others could make better use of?

Maybe not. What we learn in The Secret Life of Trees, a book by Colin Tudge, is that these grand old trees send out a massive underground root system that feeds and is fed by other trees in the forest. The other trees live in symbiosis with these old growth trees, exchanging nutrients unseen below the soil line even when the older trees are but stumps. Not only this, they continue to sequester carbon, give off oxygen, and to support the structure of the surrounding soils. These old trees are literally feeding the forest and keeping it healthy as they slowly age in place and fade away--full of purpose until the end.

I feel as if I am becoming an old tree sometimes. I absorb so much angst and poison from the air around me, buffering and sequestering, trying to turn it into breathable air and nutrients, trying to protect and feed others as my own limbs become more withered and gnarled. On good days, I realize and appreciate how deep my roots go, tunneling unseen through the world to nourish those who've come after me and for whom I care so deeply. That bond and watching them grow and prosper nourishes me in return. These old trees show me that even when parts of me begin to fall away and I am left a mere stump of myself, I will have purpose. With that I'll be a happy stump!