I’m signing off this blog until September.

Sightline’s board has awarded me a three-month sabbatical, and I’m seizing this rare opportunity to travel with my family to parts of Cascadia I’ve yet to visit: the Wallawas, Hells Canyon, northern British Columbia, the coast of California’s far north, and parts of Alaska. My first stop will be the Nez Perce National Historic Trail. Maybe the time away will bring some fresh perspectives; it will certainly be a welcome respite from my usual hectic pace.

Over the summer, I would greatly appreciate all blog readers’ best thinking on something I’ve been working on since February: the “Fundamentals of Sustainability.”

The idea is to hone a short, compelling statement of the core values of sustainability and to articulate the principles of sustainable solutions. The resulting statement, once it’s finalized later this year, will become a compass for Sightline’s internal decisions and a framework for our research and communications. If the exercise is successful, it may even become a meme that catches on with others.

To facilitate this discussion, we’ve set up a site just for the draft fundamentals and your comments. It’s here. Sightline staffer Parke Burgess will be moderating the discussion there in my absence.

Thanks for your help and see you in September!