A small group of students camped out at the Bulkhead--the granite outcrop on the east shoulder of Ragged Mountain--Wednesday night. They captured a dramatic Earth Day sunrise.

Attendance was required at Wednesday evening's showing of An Inconvenient Truth. The political nature of this documentary reveals a tension within the concept of "liberalism." Until a few decades ago, the term "liberal" connoted open-minded, free thought unbounded by orthodoxy. With its heritage of humanistic Unitarianism, Proctor certainly comes from this classically liberal tradition. Here's a brisk breakfast at the Bulkhead:

In recent decades, "liberal" has come to mean something much more focused: a specific political inclination. An Inconvenient Truth is considered by many to be a politically liberal documentary. If attendance at its showing is required, does this represent free, open, scientific education, or liberal bias? Is the debate purely over the validity of the data presented?

The state's pre-eminent sheep farmer, Jeff Jordan, teaches shearing to a couple of students during a workshop in the barn.

Different topic. Earth Day began in the late sixties, when we were burning leaded fuel and detonating nuclear bombs in Nevada. Today's teenagers, however, have been educated in school systems that introduced environmental science and recycling in Kindergarden. The notion that adults have superior environmental ethics that we have to teach to teenagers may or may not have validity.

These students are constructing picnic tables out of Proctor-grown pine:

Adults can be tempted to generalize that students are used to wasteful practices due to privilege. Yet, when we observe and listen carefully, we see many students and their families advancing sustainable practices, while we adults consume with various levels of abandon. More table construction:

We have every reason to be proud of our tradition of free, empirical thought, and openness to intellectual diversity. Our core values are truly noble. Yesterday's service projects revealed the depth of commitment young people bring to local action and ethical responsibility, and we can all learn from their actions.