An Inconvenient Truth

If you have not yet seen Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, get there soon. http://www.climatecrisis.net.

Gore put together the information in a way that everyone can grasp the science. But more importantly, the consequences we face if we do not act now to sharply drop greenhouse gas admissions are straight-forward. The film does not use fear tactics. Rather, it is based on the assumption that intelligent people are watching the film and can grasp the meaning without it being hammered into their heads.

Few people realize how much their energy use at home impacts the environment. The average home produces twice as much greenhouse gas pollution as the average car, or about 22,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. Compare this to the typical automobile that produces 10,000 pounds of CO2 per year.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, replacing incandescent lighting with
compact fluorescent lighting will not only save considerable money, but can cut the amount of energy you use by 100%!

The DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network offers a clearinghouse of energy-efficiency information at http://www.eere.energy.gov/

Here is a great site to bookmark for dependable information and updates on how we are doing meeting the challenges of climate change: http://www.pewclimate.org/

Here's a site for kids: http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/difference.html

As I listened and watched Gore, it was like a miracle: finally, we have a leader who is talking about the greatest threat to national security we have ever faced.

Finally, someone is respectfully but firmly bringing reality home. We have responsibilities to the children in our midst and to peoples the world over.

It burns me that we have lost so much time. Earth changes are in full swing already but if we act together we might be able to slow it down before we reach a threshold.

We can no longer expect or trust our government to lead us. It's up to us, until we can bring on leaders who can see farther than Captitol Hill.

The advent of An Inconvenient Truth playing on movie screens nationally is a historical marker. From here on out, we cannot say we did not understand or know what to do.

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead

See if you can walk, bike or carpool one day this week. Start a revolution.

Peace,

Susan

Win some, lose some

The state of Florida continues in its long tradition of raping Mother Earth wherever and whenever it gets the chance: read Carl Hiaasen's article about the manatee's new status as threatened, no longer endangered. This opens the door for development to proceed as usual.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/14782935.htm

I recently finished reading The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida and the Politics of Paradise by Michael Grunwald. It is a thorough, gut-wrenching chronicle of powerful men driven by greed and a twisted version of "for the greater good" that, like no other book I have read illustrates the misdirected values of our present economic system. Read a the New York Times review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/books/review/09martin.html?ex=1302235200&en=305f880b59bad761&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Just the quality of life and its continuance on Earth are at stake.

Sobered,
Susan

Mother Earth Scores on the Hill - Finally!

The Ocean Conservancy reported today:

"Today, President George W. Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument, making it the largest marine reserve on the planet. The action will protect one of the last intact marine ecosystems in the world, one that is home to sharks, whales, extensive coral reefs and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. The marine reserve would be free from commercial and extractive activities, allowing the entire marine ecosystem to continue to thrive for future generations." Read the full press release.

"The Ocean Conservancy released a scientific report on October 24, 2005, showing that even the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are not immune from the dangers of overfishing. The report — based on government data — reveals that some key fish populations in the area are in a steady decline due to fishing pressure.

Most of us have never been to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, an archipelago of islands and atolls located northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands that stretch for more than one thousand miles. There are no resorts, no restaurants, and no surfing beaches.

And that’s the point. This area is so remote that we humans have hardly made a mark on it. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ocean ecosystem is home to extensive and massive reef colonies and thousands of marine species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. It stands apart as an oceanic gem at a time in which large fish are disappearing from the oceans and ecosystems around the world are in decline.

Fewer than a dozen commercial fishing boats currently make the long journey to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands’ waters. But, as our report illustrates, the ecosystem cannot remain healthy if any commercial fishing continues in the region.

On October 25, 2005, Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher of NOAA rejected an effort by WESPAC* to allow ecologically damaging fishing in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. By doing so, he has helped to preserve the natural character of this truly magnificent, globally important ecological treasure."

For more information on the role of The Ocean Conservancy in creating the chance for this positive action on behalf of one of the few remaining natural treasures on Earth: http://www.oceanconservancy.org

In his seminal work, the Diversity of Life, Edward O. Wilson (long regarded as one of the preeminent biologists living today) made this statement about the role of government in saving the last great reserves of biodiversity on this planet:

"The government's moral responsibility in the conservation of biodiversity is similar to that in public health and military defense. The preservation of species across generations is beyond the capactiy of individuals or even powerful private institutions. Insofar as biodiversity is deemed an irreplaceable public resource, its protection should be bound into the legal canon." (pg 342)

The role of The Ocean Conservancy was a critical piece in accomplishing this marvelous act. We need much more of this kind of cooperative action - and fast!

To learn more about hot spots of biodiversity that need to be protected go to:
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots

Onward...and upward...!

Susan

Sacred Spaces

At my house
Sacred datura and moonstone rose,
Two friends,
One native, one immigrant
Share this space
With me.

It rained this
morning early.
Datura opened
its white throat
and rose a petal,
and me a possibility.

Sacred datura is a native plant of the Sonoran Desert. http://www.oneworldjourneys.com/sonoran/index2.html It is more commonly known as Jimson weed. It's large, dark green foilage is amazing in light of the hot, dry conditions of the summer in this desert. At dusk it opens its large, flute shaped flowers, frequented by bees and moths. The large tuberous root looks almost like a limb.

All parts of this beautiful plant are poisonous. Shamans traditionally have used the seed for its hallucinagenic properties. Only experienced practitioners should use it however;many have died trying to enter dream states. Read The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castenada for a first-hand description of Sacred datura's powerful toxic alkaloids and its impact on the human mind and body. http://www.prismagems.com/castaneda/

Every place on Earth is imbued with these sacred places and mysteries. Our everyday drugs are derived from plants, minerals and animals. Aspirin for example is derived from the bark of willows. Long ago our ancestors used the pharmacopoeia of the landscape to increase health, prevent pregnancy, cure disease. These direct ties to plants, minerals or animals that promote the well-being and survival of human beings have largely been forgotten in modern culture.

How would our attitude toward the land around us change if we understood where that bottle of cold medicine in our medicine cabinet really came from? It just so happens that Sacred datura (Datura wrightii) produces scopolamine an alkaloid that is a common ingredient in cold and nausea remedies.

Go to this link for the National Tropical Botanical Garden to learn about conservation of one of the world's greatest sinks of plant biodiversity: http://www.ntbg.org. Visit this link to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson to learn about the amazing diversity of life in our desert: http://www.desertmuseum.org.

And next time you are near a plant, give thanks to it for the exchange of gasses (oxygen released into the air by plants/carbon dioxide exhaled by humans) that is one of the most essential relationships among the great kingdoms of life on Earth.

Information about Sacred datura came from The Natural History of the Sonoran Desert in an article by Mark Dimmitt.

Keep loving the Earth,

Susan