This article would be so much better if the author did not keep pausing to editorialize and interpret the opinions and perspective of her subjects. Trust the reader to draw their own conclusions. This style of writing insults our intelligence. All the worse because the approach and topic are quite good.
This is one of the few things that annoys me about HN, this exact comment is almost always here if the article makes any attempt at creative writing or storytelling. Insulting? Give me a break.
Writing is an art not a science. Good writing should convey emotion. That's not an easy thing to do. That's why I loved this piece. It captured many of my own feelings, feelings I hadn't found a way to communicate even though I've been involved in sustainability for some years now. I associated the characters with people I know in my personal life, I related to the author, and I learned a few things too.
This paragraph is probably my favorite:
> "We work, and at the end of the day, if we think at all, all we have time to think about is that we are cowards, or, before the thought comes, to escape it. Raise your hand if you have never hoped you will die before you have to thoroughly disrupt your own life for the lives of those who will live after you are dead. I do not mean to yell at anyone. Every day, I ask myself, what are you willing to do? And sometimes I feel righteous and strong, but mostly what I feel is fear, and a drive towards self preservation. I can laugh at the prettily arranged soap, or the privately-viewed sunsets, or the Jet Skis, because those are not my drugs..."
I read the article as half editorial and half Tom Wolfe -esque fictional narrative - and while I know that may not have been the author’s intention, I quite enjoyed it as such.
