I hadn’t known, had I not gone on the internet, that the United Nations declared a World Environment Day of June 5th. Fabulous that there is a designated day to be aware of the environment.
On World Environment Day, and every day, we should all be thinking creatively about how to accommodate wildlife in our own lives. Trees, bushes, waterways, clean air and water, highway animal bridges and tunnels, bee highways with plants attracting pollinators, with a consciousness Promoting Smarter Wildlife Management.
World Environment Day June 5th
I’d like to point out what I learned, walking around in neighborhoods that I love, because of their fabulous properties of trees and beautiful adornment of living plants, that naturally attract and welcome living animals.
To me, nothing, nothing is more spectacular than the natural world. And the properties with old money on this hill adjacent to where i live demonstrate their wisdom, in adorning and conserving as much nature as possible. You hear birds, see rabbits and other life hopping about.
This property with the yellow circle around it, is a disgrace. They wiped out thickly forested lot, to build a sprawling mansion, with not one tree left behind. I’d spray paint my feelings, except that it won’t bring the trees or life back that the owners destroyed, in order to build their outrageous sprawl, a desolate prison, with no life to regard.
It is an example of unethical behavior.
An ethical consumer looks for products which are both friendly to the environment and for the people who produce them.
The ecological footprint measures human demand on nature, i.e., the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy.
“An ‘ethical consumer’ looks for products which, above all, are both friendly to the environment and also the people who produce them. An ethical consumer is therefore aware of the consequences of production, consumption and disposal.”
Let the pictures do the talking. I avoid going down this street because i feel annoyance at the nouveau riche lack of heart and insight and sadness, knowing that all of these lovely trees were wiped out, affecting so many different creatures. An elderly man whom I chatted with one evening 5 months or so ago, told me when I mentioned this reckless building, that the property had several hundred year old trees on it, in fact, from the looks of googlemaps before it was updated, dozens of trees.
I discovered recently with delight this property within a frisbee throw, catecornered across the street. As one approaches from several angles, all you see is a mini forest.
thickly forested green plot, before picture
And what they did to the once forested property. This home could have been a third the size, and maintained a profoundly beautiful plot that their children could play in an that invites wonder and habitation by many species.
unethical_building_trees gone
This builder, knocked down, gutted, every single tree, every single one of them, to make this sprawling property with a tiny bit of lawn and a lot of asphalt to accommodate their cars. It is revolting. And the property across the street with the green ring, as you approach you only see, feel and hear the silence of a forest with birds. It is breathtakingly beautiful. So that the actual construction is engulfed, ringed by trees, except in the front. And the new building in the yellow, is what the builders created, destroying all life that was there, and making sure none of it will come back. They did not even plant bushes – very necessary for cover and a humane yard – and other plants with the intention to accommodate birds and animals – a Humane Backyard.
ethical_vs_unethical_building
All life that had been there or could walk or fly by, has no place to go, no life, no green, no water source, no tree for life, no butterfly or pollinator by-way, nothing. Just me, me, me and my big property that is hollow of life and nature’s delight.
Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition
The PayPal donation button functions in Safari and Firefox, however is broken in Chrome.
brilliantly articulated as usual, George Monbiot‘s works Need to Be Spread like Wildfire.
I think Monbiot should be translated into 17 languages…What I just thought of in response: if we could just do “One less”: eat one less chicken, one less burger, one less shower, one less international flight, one less purchase of an article of clothing, one less car, have one less child… His blogs are relevant to both the United States and England and are a mirror of the Western Occidental World as it has come to be.
environmental impact of poultry industry
Environmental Impact of the Poultry Industry
“To people of Mr Cram’s mindset, rainforests and ancient woodlands, coral reefs and wild rivers, local markets and lively communities, civic life and public space are nothing but unrealised opportunities for development. Where we see the presence of beauty, tranquillity and wonder, they see the absence of palm oil plantations and soybean deserts, container ports and mega dams, shopping malls and 12-lane highways. For them, there is no point of arrival, just an endless escalation of transit.
Nowhere is a place in its own right: everywhere is a resource waiting to be exploited. No one is a person in their own right; everyone is a worker, consumer or debtor whose potential for profit generation has yet to be realised. Satiety, well-being, peace: these are antithetical to globalised growth, which demands constant erasure and replacement. If you are happy, you are an impediment to trade. Your self-possession must be extinguished.”
Rather than continuing with our current trend of the last centuries of anthropocentrism, as we learn that health, happiness and quality of life is woven into the fabric of health and quality for all networks of life on our planet, we can embrace this work and regard our behavior from the point of view of one of our fellow earthlings.
Fabulous that more than 2,000 years ago, humans had the foresight, love and empathy to consider the right to a good quality of life for all sentient beings.
The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity: An Illustrated 10th Century Iraqi Ecological Fable Paperback – Illustrated, April 1, 2005
In this interfaith and multicultural fable, eloquent representatives of all members of the animal kingdom & from horses to bees & come before the respected Spirit King to complain of the dreadful treatment they have suffered at the hands of humankind. During the ensuing trial, where both humans and animals testify before the King, both sides argue their points ingeniously, deftly illustrating the validity of both sides of the ecology debate. The ancient antecedents of this tale are thought to have originated in India, with the first written version penned in Arabic sometime before the 10th century in what is now Iraq. Much later, this version of the story was translated into Hebrew in 14th century France and was popular in European Jewish communities into the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This exquisite English translation, illustrated with 12 original color illumination plates, is useful in introducing young and old alike to environmental and animal rights issues.
Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition
The PayPal donation button functions in Safari and Firefox, however is broken in Chrome.
Manifesto of the many projects which could manifest the Green New Deal. What would you choose to be involved in?
In a more recent evolution of house searching posts, I suggested an ‘artist residency’ ‘in your home’, in which both the artist and proprietor are involved. If the artists doesn’t produce according to the agreed timeline, they lose the room. Win/Win. A humanitarian tax investment, coupled with the motivation-propulsion by the artist to deliver, to maintain the residence. Then I was thinking, this could be part of the Green New Deal, a takeoff on FDR’s ‘New Deal’ which involved the (NRA) ‘National Recovery Act‘.
Within a year of the 1929 stock market crash, 50% of the population was unemployed. The (WPA) Works Progress Administration concept was to employ mandatory structural works, with everyone involved in rebuilding; to put the entire country ‘to work’ – from local to regional – improving their own territories and their quality of life. Among these, the (TVA) Tennessee Valley Authority (which stretched beyond the borders of Tennessee) involved the entire community in constructing a hydroelectric dam, who previously had no electricity whatsoever. In the process, the stones they excavated were used to build homes.
The (CCC) Civilian Conservation Corps also involved restoring, beautifying, repurposing places around the country. The concentration was on re-building the infrastructure of the US, ‘Making it Great Again’, after Wall Street devastated the country with the economic crash that lead the trajectory to the Great Depression.
Does this not give huge perks to the idea of instead, putting the local resources and commodities into the hands and protection of the people?
Establishing local ‘Commons’, in which all the members of the community share ownership and responsibility – as proprietors of their own wealth of resources – to protect: land, water, forests, rivers and air. So that rather than private industries having a right of passage to purchase, privatize and reap rewards and profits for themselves, the community who maintain their resources, have profits recycled back into the community for further enrichment. I remember walking in East Providence, Rhode Island, and looking down at the sidewalk and seeing that this was achieved through the WPA.
Different communities could have their own commons, in addition to creating virtual collective ‘round table’ commons in which information and ideas are exchanged transparently, benefiting all. Meetings of minds to exchange ideas for super efficient and inexpensive ways to manage resources, build sustainable transportation infrastructure and produce energy locally.
My current 77 year old housemate just told me that with the CCC, artists, musicians, writers, performers, actors were all put to work: painting, playing music, entertaining, doing theatre. To make their environment more beautiful and rich with activities. What could possibly be distasteful about being matched to a project that suits one’s interests and capabilities?
I was talking with my sister about how treacherous it is to lose the majestic forests of tall and elegant Pine trees here in Georgia. With awareness of the risk of losing a treasure, we could all be put to work in coming up with ideas that are environmentally ethical and sustainable alternatives. Regardless of the standard for centuries, we know that our planet has finite space and resources. Presently, with an abundance of waste products, there are innumerable ways to employ trash that can be recycled and repurposed. Work that involves brainstorming and design, research and development; encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in all of us, each involved in their own way.
Repurpose waste materials, combined with products that are abundant. Design and construct things repurposing plastic, glass bottles, cans, rubber from tires, etc. I recently walked on the cushioned surface of pedestrian paths created by Georgia Southern university made from tire rubber, meshed together with other materials. It looks like wood chips, but tightly woven, smooth and resilient. World Wildlife Fund stresses that we need to love nature, or lose it.
Energy, transportation could be redesigned. Instead of paying a private utility company, involve the community in the design, research and development and maintenance of their own energy. If the mentality was changed to complete transparency with an intent on conservation, preservation, health and beauty, involvement in decision making about areas where one has more of a relationship, they would want to take more responsibility and have pride in what their individual contributions to the community manifested in their own region, country or municipality.
Anyway, can you imagine, being able to almost effortlessly, drift towards work that you’d love to participate in, which is completely connected to an area you’d like to invest your time and talent, education and energy into? OK, say the Green New Deal work is mandatory, obligatory and enforced, yet people are given multiple options to match themselves in projects they have interested in, because they enjoy it and are subsequently good at it. Did you hear that correctly? People expressing themselves while participating in assignments in which they have interest. Climate Mandate A Time to Heal.
For some, it may be municipal works in which they are rejuvenating the streets of their town, greening walkways, creating parks and gardens to create pedestrian areas, greening buildings (growing vertical gardens on buildings sides and greening and/or solar rooftops), cleaning up and beautifying a places, restoring, planting trees, establishing neighborhood community vegetable gardens, developing public transportation and local energy systems.
Others may want to apply their participation in the Green New Deal Works by venturing on trains and sailboats to far reaches of the planet, to clean up, collect and separate the massive, ubiquitous plastic trash. One could work together with others with the same intention. Perhaps cleaning up rivers in India, beaches in Southeast Asia, helping countries to restore equilibrium and to balance their environmental impact. Or traveling to remote islands to monitor marine life, land animals and birds, to join E.O. Wilson’s ‘Half-Earth Project’, joining millions to protect half of the earth and sea, for wildlife. Contributing information about local flora and fauna, observing, documenting, identifying sources of pollutants, assessing the more biodiverse regions, in order to incorporate these into the protected earth.
Or joining a crew in the middle of an ocean (via train and sailboat) to clear the islands of plastic that have accumulated in every ocean. Debris swept with the currents of gyres to deposit plastic mounds, which like ice burgs, have much which has accumulated beneath the surface. People could collect and sift the microplastics throughout oceans and beaches. Some could make jewelry, others collect the microplastics to be mixed with others materials like mud, or the fibers of hemp or bamboo (both fast growing), to replace concrete, for walls, roads, sidewalks. paths. The volumes of rubber from dead tires can be mixed with fibers as buildingmaterials.
What if part of the Green New Deal for people of any age, scientists, entrepreneurs and thinkers, participated in working out NikolaTesla’s original experimentation with Zero-Point energy. John Searl points out that an enormous amount of energy is perpetually present all around us, because all matter (which is energy), is in constant motion. Our earth, solar system, galaxy, are all in continuous spiraling motion. At the quantum level, all is continuously moving. Searl talks of capturing this energy that is everywhere around us, through a pretty simple device – using magnets – that perpetuate a continuous flow of energy, with no friction. Clean and quiet.
Others may want to participate in brainstorming ways to develop energy and other processes that are sustainable; that do not involve harming habitats or diminishing natural resources. Taking down telephone poles and electric wires. and instead of silicon or mining rare minerals used in the production of our telecommunications technology, adapting the implementation of graphene: 1-atom thick wafers of carbon. Graphene is extremely conductive, and sourced from carbon, the most abundant material around.
Or one may prefer helping locally in a community garden, planting trees along every street, or doing physical work like creating bamboo or hemp woven with plastic sidewalks, that have the durability of concrete but more flexibility to allow tree roots to breath and grow naturally, without cracking, planting bee highways. Why bee highways? Because everything in nature is connected and interdependent. It’s all about biodiversity. Here’s an explanation of ecoliteracy from Nature’s Web of LIfe.
Jobs would re-create a massive eco alternative, to the current industrial and digital. Because we need less new construction and more imagining of green alternatives and acknowledgment of the habitats of other creatures, we can learn new methods of living harmoniously with the other species inhabiting the planet.
Each can contribute something, with a pencil, paint brush, tool or shovel..Cleaning up, clearing out, repurposing and transforming areas. Planting trees to transform barren, dusty areas or humid regions prone to landslides, to restore them.
Every city mapping out car-free, pedestrian-friendly areas. Creating clean and efficient public transportation options.
With an increasing population of elderly, immigrants – children and adults – could be given education and placement as companions and helpers to the elderly. They could assist, clean, maintain, help with transportation, make meals, learn how to monitor basic vital signs and administer medication, listen to stories, learn the language of their host country and exchange stories. Housing in exchange for services and companionship. Without having the insurance industry having a choke hold on who can be let into your home.
Recently, observing from back roads in Georgia, I noticed less and less tall pines along the road and well, what about the boars? Shall we begin to entirely ‘think differently and rethink together? What building materials, types of vehicles, types of energy that we have used traditionally, to recreate sustainable means everywhere? Not just to be implemented in the Northern Hemisphere.
Prohibit housing and development from spreading like a virus, prohibit expansion of box store franchises, and create more and more green spaces.
Reformulate all factories, mines, yeah, even off-shore oil wells, etc. to create housing, establish reefs…
Repurpose agricultural fields or crops grown to feed animals for the meat industry, into hemp, bamboo, plants which humans eat, plant trees. Undoubtedly, the more minds who are engaged in conjuring up clever ideas, to re-think designs, materials and energy to create sustainable solutions, the more rewarding and fascinating this process will be. Might as well attempt incentivizing people towards better health by encouraging vegetarian diets and informing people about the facts of how unsustainable and wasteful it is to devote land to raising animals; they require more land and water than what the land could be used for to feed humans. Eco education is a must. Green New Deal Projects involving growing food together and learning about nutrition and cooking would be invaluable for young people. Break up pavement and replace it with sustainable ones. Plant trees, EVERYWHERE. Nurture the wilderness. As George Monbiot states, we need to ‘rewild the world’.
There are so many ways the Green New Deal could be a fantastic luxury: putting talent and natural incentive to task. Employing simple fungi to clean up toxic spills, and generate biological life. If we would all be incentivized to clean up plastic all over the world, this could be repurposed with bamboo or hemp, to create building material. We could have a decade and a half of clearing out the trash that humanity has deposited all over the planet, and repurposing it to designs that replace using trees.
What if news channels, delivered by those who own them, were transformed into venues of participatory global commons, in which counties, municipalities, states and federal domains would maintain a global commons channel, for communities to exchange ideas about energy and transportation infrastructure.
Does this sound insanely idealistic? Radically off the cuff, stream-of-consciousness babble? Or am I making a point for ‘socialism’, community shared intention and commitment, to full-out re-appropriation and repurposing of space and industry. With training and education matched with interest and desire to task. Channels streamlined for the purpose of actively sharing ideas at digital round tables – rather than passively listening to news that is dictated by those who wish you to passively attend to that subject. What if everyone was engaged in thinking of ideas, finding teams to draw them up and design, then manifest them?
There would be plenty of ‘work’, to create effective animal bridges and tunnels, to nurture the habitats and migratory nature of animals. With an emphasis on community, not driven by profit or anthropomorphism, but with genuine appreciation and wonder of the natural world. Education can focus on ‘ecoliteracy’. Awareness of the interconnected nature of life and the need to protect habitats and maintain biodiversity, will translate into a population of caring and proactive youths. products, re-appropriate factories and dirty industries.
How would you want to contribute? What would you like to involve yourself in? Where’s the money coming from? Well, all the billionaires, of course.
The little black boars I saw were all running in the same direction as me….and then I passed them. whew!
I was incredibly delighted to encounter the wild boars scrambling and grunting along the tree-lined highway to the left of me as I bicycled by them not long after midnight. It was exhilarating, particularly when I realized that I was now moving beyond them and they hadn’t charged me. Oh My Dog!
I had arrived in Georgia just several weeks earlier. After other options fell away, I decided to drive a rental car there with the 2-day voucher I had. I plotted my trip by scouting distances along various segments along route 40. I also compared local weather patterns to calculate the driest times en route to rent the car.
I used the internet to plot the various segments, distances, local weather to plot out when each segment was dry. I was also researching Savannah local transportation.
As I was entering the state of Georgia after driving most of the night, as I looked in the darkness at the trees along the highway, I was stunned at their height. I thought I was hallucinating. They can’t be that tall. Thought that it was a reflection superimposed on the windshield from the dash board. It wasn’t.
I was planning my arrival in Georgia while still in NM. Transportation from the airport, what downtown Savannah looked like on a map, where the stops from the airport bus were in relation to the ‘historic district’. After again and again finding no buses between the two cities, I googled ‘shuttle‘ and one popped up; connecting the two Georgia Southern campuses. One in Statesboro, the apartments where I was moving to were next to the campus, and the other in South Savannah. A live human being answered the phone. A young woman confirmed that there are no buses: no local, no greyhound, but that the shuttle which doesn’t check ID’s. I had to drop off the car by 9am Sunday morning at the Savannah airport, the shuttle was Monday morning. The airport information office hadn’t offered the information that there was a public bus from the airport, until I inquired. The bus driver from the airport told me to catch the 14 bus to get to the campus south of town where I needed to go the following morning. He pointed out the road and where the stops were.
I resolved to stay up all night, which I’ve voluntarily done plenty of times, at airports, when visiting a city and having no accommodation. She said the only alternative is an über or lyft, $60 – $70. When you are employed and making $20 + an hour, no hesitation. However, I didn’t even want my housemate (who offered) to pay this. Already sleep deprived after driving across the country, I decided to go for it. Stay the night and map out how to get to the Savannah campus of the university by the morning. I had the schedule. Must say that when one does not have a cell phone contract (I don’t) enabling 24/7 internet access, everything, including the lack of GPS, involved a lot more planning. I decided to hang in Savannah all day and stay up all night. Even CouchSurfing is ‘Covided Out’. They’ve suffered enough to now demand payment for the previously free to join, surf or host. Now one can’t even open their own account, much less contact people.
I strolled to the river front, promptly found a tourist office with a man who handed me a map and pointed out that in the historic district, there are 20 parks, 2 square miles. Wow, cool. After wandering along the waterfront looking at the barges and ships, walking along cobblestone streets lined with quaint gift shops, I headed to meander around the historic district. Gorgeous. Super inviting to pedestrians to walk around and bicycle friendly!
I approached a young woman holding a sketch pad and commented on her drawing and told her I like to do draw too. I was asking her where there’s a local grocery store. She offered the information to check out Forsyth park 12 blocks away. When I arrived there as dusk approached, there was a live band playing good music, outside. for free. People with toddlers meandering around. I was stoked. The mild weather was cozy. The drooping moss off many of the trees downtown, enchanting. It became chilly, but I was on solid ground, alive, well. I could endure.
I managed to catch that the following morning, get to the campus, find my way to the location of this shuttle stop which I also mapped out ahead of time, then saw two other female students also waiting for the same shuttle. I boarded quietly. The driver yelled out ‘hello’ but hadn’t asked for ID. I did it. And was on my way.
Then on the morning of February 1st, several weeks after my arrival in the town of ‘Statesboro Blues’, I was asked to move out. That day. 1st of the month. I decided not to call his bluff. And since I was enchanted with Savannah from the start, I decided that it was a synchronistic timing and an opportunity. Several days earlier I had begun investigating housing in Savannah online. I found a number of super reasonably priced ‘house shares’, that I then realized were each scams. I found that there was indeed a local savannah ultimate frisbee pickup games group page, joined them and inquired about housing suggestions.
Friends in my Providence Rhode Island Alliance Français (now zoom) french conversation group, informed me that there’s a college of art there, that I could find bulletin boards in various departments to look for housing. What first popped up was the Savannah Academy, a K-8/Magnet/Charter school, then the Savannah College or Art and Design. The day before I found a link to the various SCAD departments, with the intention of mapping out the campus, plotting out the best buildings to visit to look for postings, and bringing already created and photocopied tutoring signs to post for language, music, arts. I’d begun the process of applying through a 3rd party for substitute teaching jobs at the Savannah Academy of Art Magnet school, thinking that this is where I could also market my book. I was going to make this trip in a few days, but when on the morning of Feb. 1st I was awoken super early (for me) by my housemate’s computer several feet from my door, I opened the door and complained about the noise. My housemate who is typically very kind and gentle, demonstrated a bit of a temper.
Now, thinking quickly, I resolved that if I want to move to Savannah, I’ll be more likely to negotiate housing and work, if I am there. I decided that I therefore had to make a move there, today. I’d catch the same free shuttle, take the bus to downtown Savannah from the south side. Now I found a rental car place online. My plan: to to Savannah to pick up a rental car, drive to Statesboro an hour to pick up my stuff, drive back and somehow find a place (apartments/hotel) in Savannah, to move, by 5pm the following day. I discovered the morning of the 1st, online that the entry to the SCAD buildings, was Covided Out. No entry, without a student ID card. No point stopping there to read or post signs. I had mapped out by now its location. I even was going to google a copy shop somewhere, to make signs.
I was planning all this, having mapped out different places to go and screen grabbing the pic (no WiFi contract, no GPS). Now I looked at the time that I wasn’t going to catch the 1:30 shuttle, unless I bicycle there. The adventure begins. if I am to get to the downtown rental car place before it closes at 5pm, I must take this one. I raced. I have made a point of remembering its location. The bus was still there. I asked the driver if I could bring my bicycle on. No rack, Only two other girl passengers, and me. Now the questions came: do you have a student ID? No. No, I’m not a student. I had to convince him. Said I’m going to pick up a rental car..He was skeptical, an unusual request. Then he got up, walked around the front of the bus and said, “Don’t make me regret this.” I had arrived there within 2 minutes of his departure. I thanked him profusely as I got off at the other end and gave him my card, with Paul Chappell and “The Peace Paradigm” written on the back. hehe.
A New Peace Paradigm: Understanding Our Human Need
Ok, he’s like a preacher a bit, but he has a very interesting lens (distance in time, which magnifies the present).
After the shuttle arrived an hour later at the Savannah campus, I inquired in a student housing office about alternative websites to the scam breeding ground of craigslist. There were none, Facebook suggested. A girl in the office below gave me a map with innumerable resources printed on it, among them apartments and housing. Once I found the bus stop to downtown, which arrived within 5 minutes for an hour duration, I looked over the map, ready to make phone calls, and realized I had no cell phone reception south of the city. T-Mobile, can you hear me now?
The local public bus, unlike NYC closing in on $3 or so, are $1.50. Huh? They have bike racks. I arrived downtown (another hour long ride), realized I was blocks from the address of the rental car place, who never answered the phone, but twice was switched to a Mexican operator, never the local office. I arrived there 15 min. before closing. Everything was perfect, car available, $65/day, regardless of whether you return it in 2 hours or keep it for 24 hours. Then, I went to pay, and had not (consciously or subconsciously) brought my credit card. I couldn’t get the car. Two hours to get there, timing was perfect. No debit, not cash, no card, no car. It was now 5pm. In another hour the last shuttle would depart from the campus south of town. I raced to the transportation depot, found my bus was there to go the hour south of town to the campus, departing in 4 minutes. I put my bicycle on and phoned my housemate (while I was downtown with reception) to ask for an extension of a day.
It turns out that both the lack of cell phone reception and my ‘error’ of not bringing my cc, were both the blessings in disguise. My housemate’s voice changed. He said, we’ll have to have a ‘talk’, but that I can still live there’. Relieved, now that I could arrange this move in a steady and methodical manner. Now I knew that I wasn’t going to return with my stuff thrown out. (In fact, after he expressed his objection to me having raised my voice, then listening to my desire to move to Savannah, he himself kindly offered to let me pay weekly (accommodating and being more than reasonable). I had to phone him while I still had reception! Meanwhile on the downtown 14 bus, the drivers changed, cutting out precious time. When we arrived an hour + later at the campus, the last shuttle had already departed 15 minutes earlier.
A one hour drive is approximately a 4 hour (minimum) bike ride.
I don’t have a ‘road’ bike with skinny tires, that roll faster with less resistance and friction.. I had paid attention to where the shuttle had turned in this town, Pem(something). He drove on a ‘back’ road, not an interstate. I found two gas stations across the street from one another. I asked people, looked at maps, found cardboard at one station, made a sign (no magic marker). I strolled back and forth to both gas station on either side of the highway, but no one was going that way. I was actually asking the wrong question; not if they’re going to the closer town, but to the further one.
I decided to ride. Problem # 1, it’s an interstate bi-pass on the south end of the city, leading to the non-interstate roads. I rode along the shoulder, facing traffic, until I came to a place at a bridge. Abruptly, the shoulder ended, with absolutely no pedestrian place to cross the bridge. I studied oncoming headlights to gauge how much time they took to arrive to the bridge.
The flow of traffic was consistent. Looking along where I’d have to bicycle along a wall with cars and trucks screaming by, was horrifying. I had to make it across this stretch for several hundred yards. I thought of how I had recently expressed appreciation to each of my sisters…and thought, was this a premonition? After the third or fourth time of approaching, studying the traffic and walking away, I decided that I was not going to unfold the story of my fatality, so I gave up, and walked back to the gas station. There, I spotted a pizza delivery car, a hatchback. I approached the young African American guy filling up his tank and asked if he was going towards this town. “Yes, but I can’t take passengers.” I explained that I just needed to get beyond this point a hundred yards away where I couldn’t cross the bridge. Without saying anything, he then proceeded to take the domino or whatever lit pizza sign off the top of his car, laid it inside, walked around and opened the hatch back, and told me to put the bike in. It was filled with debris, I managed to squeeze it in, pull it above the top of the mound of stuff. I had to trust. He said,”The cashier girl might tell on me, sayin’ that a delivery guy picked up a hitchhiker.” He was a bit nervous about that. When I said that I was moving, he mentioned that “My sister moves, all the time. Now she’s in Atlanta. Ya gotta just stay in the same place.” He did me a huge favor taking me 5 miles. He mentioned NOT to take highway 17 (which had been in my mind) because that will take me back to Savannah.
I asked him, so where do I have to go? He gestured, just go up that on-ramp over there. At this point the traffic was much less dense. Monday night, close to 11pm. As I bicycled up the ramp, I saw high walls on either side of the freeway, which seemed to approach another narrow bridge section. I then saw a guard rail next to the wall and a tiny walking space within. Score! I lifted the bike and stepped over it, into this narrow walkway. I was feeling safe and proud of myself. And then, it ended at a wall. This google earth photo is the same bridge, but the metal awning running along the length of the bottom edge wasn’t yet added to the bridge when the photo was taken.
So this awning, with a slightly concave slant, allowed space to walk with the bicycle, stretching across a gap between the lower lip of the wall and the ledge.
Choice # 1. go back. # 2. Step onto the road, and hope I can make the stretch with few vehicles driving by. 3. I spotted a ledge about 5 feet above the ground next to the wall. It was wide enough to walk, double the width of a curb (inches/meters). There was a sheet of a metal awning stretching along its base, and angling up a few feet to the wall, closing the gap between them. I went with number 3. I lifted the bike up to the ledge, resting against the wall. Spotted a hand-hold, a gap with a metal strip. I had gloves on. I reached to grab this and pulled myself up next to the bike. It was wide enough to allow me to walk with the bicycle to the right of me, rolling along on the slightly slanted awning. I began slowly. If anyone had spotted me, surely the absurdity of seeing someone up there walking with a bicycle could have itself caused an accident.
I continue LOL ever since, only because it was exhilarating and it had a happy ending. I managed to cross and to where the ledge suddenly ended, however I was now on the other side, because below once again a guard rail. I lowered the bike down to the highway, then lifted it over the rail, this side even a narrower, and walked the rest of the way. Eventually there was adequate space along the roadside to ride. After I came to and passed yet another freeway entrance, traffic thinned to only an occasional car.
I rode on the oncoming traffic lane, in the middle, in order to immediately spot headlights from afar. When a vehicle comes, I cross the road to the other side. (No longer a divided interstate). I hadn’t planned this ride and had left my bike head and rear lights at home. The clouds mostly blocked the recent full moon. Once in a while my path was illuminated. However, I felt that I was better off without lights, because I was going through a rural area. As I sat on the shuttle earlier, I saw quite a number of double-trailer homes, properties with junk. There are a lot of jacked up pick-up trucks with loud engines around here. I decided that it was NOT in my favor to announce to cars that there was a bicycle. Didn’t want to give them the time to manifest any premeditated acts of hostility. My method: ‘see and avoid’. Whereas on a bicycle path with other riders, it is ‘see and be seen’. So, I cross the road to get as far away from any passing vehicle, then go back to the center of the lane of oncoming traffic. There was only one place (later in the morning) when there were two vehicles passing me at the same time. I was attending to the one approaching and for a few seconds hadn’t looked behind me, when as the truck approaching flashed his headlights. I responded by immediately moving off the road, and within two seconds, a car sped by. This person saw this and warned me.Thank you, whoever you were.
I was alone on the road in silence, with tall trees to the left of me and quiet stillness, when suddenly, I heard grunting. Huh? A lot of it. I swept my eyes to the side of the road to the left of me, and 30 yards or less away, in front of the wall of trees in this thick forested area, were a pack of not 10, not 20, more like 30 or more, little round black bodies grunting. Wild boars! WHAT? I hadn’t considered the potential of ‘non-human’ predators. I continued to pedal, alert to watching what direction they were running, not knowing where I’d go if they’d start embarking onto the road towards me. I didn’t slow down, realized they were running in the same direction as me, and then, I was beyond them. They may have been really startled by my presence, and were that were scrambling to get away, almost falling over each other, snorting very loudly in unison. That was ‘fo sho’ the highlight of my adventure, only because it didn’t become a misadventure. Wow, exHILarating.
Later, cycling along within an hour of the boar incident, having only dented the 52 mile ride , I noticed an absence of these grand trees. Empty lots, then some places along the highway with a thin row of trees in the front and an obviously hollowed area beyond. In one area I saw a few remaining straggly trees. Lone ones which looked awkward and sickly, as if crippled by being left standing after their entire community was wiped out. I noticed a number of acres with juvenile trees, replaced after loggers cleared the area.. That’s great to replenish, necessary, yet a young tree will not conceivably replace a majestic ancient one, with all of the life surrounding it that coexisted and creates a web of biodiversity. It’s incomprehensible that humans don’t see the bigger picture, beyond profit. One can not replace a forest that has evolved over centuries. These forests are worth much more alive, than dead. Go ask a wild boar.
At one place, I looked over and saw a gazebo, 2am or so. I wandered over, stepped under a rope to hang out there. The national park by a canal had a sign saying they close at 5pm. The wind was strong. Trees creaked, I’d hear a noise and quickly dart my eyes in that direction and scan the surroundings. There were very occasional cars. I was getting spooked at this point (after the wild boars). Every time i heard ANY sound (even that of the fabric of my jacket or something) that was different, I was alerted, then laugh. I walked over to read their sign for guests to the canal walk:
Remember, you are a visitor here, this is their home.
Wow, I wish that ‘observing and being considerate of nature’ was part of the fabric of education in our world. But this isn’t the standard in schools. From the political standpoint in our world of o\economics, ‘jobs’ are what people want and need. The argument, it spells out ‘money’, however with little concern for the source of the labor. So that working in lumber, mining, oil, fracking, dirty, destructive industries, building more Walmarts and CVS’s and parking lots to accommodate them, means more destruction and pollution. The discussion of jobs, overriding any sense or concern for even a second, about what that job entails and what harm it may cause to habitats of other creatures or what it is doing to spoil our earth, our home, is seldom part of the equation.
I finally arrived to the town where I needed to make my right turn at the light, recognizing the signs I’d scanned from the shuttle when we made that turn. I rode this first 25 miles, it was about 3:30am. Stood for a bit in a lit area before a sign to see if a pick-up truck might come by, but there was only one car. I had only 24 miles to go. Went to buy a beer at a gas station, state law, no beer sold after midnight. I had very little water, as I had not planned this. However I had long underwear, layers and gloves, and was fairly warm. I had seemed to be heading into the wind going west, but when I turned on the road heading north west, I realized that now, I was indeed heading into the wind.
We can create sustainable work. People can be trained in sustainable energy industries. We just need to reformulate what our priorities are and recognize that a healthy earth, means healthy and pleasant environments. And adapting to accommodate other species on the planet, can also be included in the R&D; research and development, of an alternative. However, continued construction, which in fact is destruction, air, water and soil pollution, will not only destroy all the habitats, but will also lead to our own extinction. We can not continue at this pace; leaving only tiny strips of old growths, a facade of trees.
Might as well have electronic billboards that show what majestic trees, rivers and hills once lived here.
As we kill off all the other creatures’ habitats, we will eventually be left with only concrete and dust bowls, with the climate catastrophe and heating planet leading to more fires, floods, longer and stronger hurricanes, earthquakes where there’s been fracking…until the planet, with rising temperatures and more prevalence of viruses and insect destruction of what forests are left, will no longer support human life. We have to work together on this. We can not let politics divide and fracture our consciousness of what is happening. As billionaires and traders get richer, and gaps in wealth become deeper, and the GDP grows greater, as they bank on the losses of everyone else. Let’s do this together.
Now that our swamp of denial is going to be drained and replenished in the White House with a semblance of normality that instead promotes honesty and directed effort, we can also establish an epic new road as citizens; of participation in the health of the globe and its inhabitants. The opposite of nationalism, of waving a flag that shows limited devotion, to only a particular, familiar place, we can extend our love and caring to the world. Not just love to our immediate family, a 30 mile radius of our town or county, but actually showing interest in the health of the planet and every creature that happens to be share this space on our globe, before they are all wiped out. Godliness is not worshiping in a building on Sundays, yet feeling and extending empathy, caring and love to the fate of our entire earth. We have had an economy driven by a defined and relegated promise of security through ‘jobs’ and ‘finance’. Yet this means NOTHING, if the planet and all of the species around our ‘Garden of Eden’ are dead or diseased. We can not eat money. If soil is dead and full of chemicals, our food is non-nutritional as well.
Listen to the pure intuitive instinct of a young unjaded girl. Greta connected the dots of information and saw the complete and brutal denial that the citizens of the world have been swept into. A lopsided prioritization of ‘work and earning money’, that actually contributes to the destruction of the earth and spoiling of its habitats.
Published Jan. 6, 2021/Updated Jan. 14, 2021. As a journalist, he journeyed to personally spend time with the 2 last remaining White Rhino’s. He came to love them. And in the process of spending time with them and contemplating their fate, he realized that the cornerstone of the problem of mass extinction – besides habitat loss, pollution of air, water, soil, the heating globe, wars, poaching (rhino horns worth more than gold)…is the human capacity to love. ‘Love among humans seems to have a range of thirty (30) yards. People love and cherish their own families, who or what they come into contact with personally, yet don’t seem to have the imagination or abstract thinking to extend ‘love’ and empathy to something at a distance. Therefore, humanity will never feel the love to act with the collective urgency that is required to stop the massive climate disruption and mass extinction. In the USA, we don’t even seem to be able to grasp when we are robbed by the government and laws are passed to give charity to billionaires and corporations, that this is our right and obligation to be in charge of our own destinies. As long as we are distracted by busily ‘working’ to pay exorbitant rents and complacently focused on consuming our entertainment through our devices, we simply don’t want to bother to care, because the ‘issue’ is too remote. Nobody seems to be paying attention.
Top scientists warn of ‘ghastly future of mass extinction‘ and climate disruption. Sobering new report says world is failing to grasp the extent of threats posed by biodiversity loss and the climate crisis.
I sit in a new apartment, having driven across the country after searching where I may be able to afford to live. The tap water smells and is toxic, the apt cockroach infested and a housemate smokes inside. The area is a ‘food desert’; Walmart has the monopoly on grocery stores. However, I can not presently afford to live anywhere else. I cringe, as a person who is extremely focused on cleanliness and fresh air, yet I need to creatively solve through action, all that I can, with an effort to endure. Why, because I can not as an artist, writer and intellect who cares deeply about the fate of all of the creatures of the world, and the laziness and incognizance of humans to how their actions affect everything, everywhere, do anything but continue to do what I believe is right and just.
I have just been humbled into tears after posting this. And this last sentence above I will leave there, as a clear reflection on the attitude I have been carrying and projecting. I have a blaming tone often. I am not a selfless Mother Teresa, but an ego-driven person directing my anger at what I perceive as injustices and ignorance, abounding everywhere. I have been taking the wrong tact. I have been playing the victim card, and putting ‘money’ into a category of ‘bad’. And so I remain in my carriage of entitled and underprivileged, instead of creatively monetizing and creating a much greater umbrella, through which to share wisdom or resources.
An hour ago I went to a place with the intent to ‘get my money reimbursed’. I was impatient with having to print out a long pdf document and feeling penalized for an error I did not commit. I showed anger and impatience, that was over-the-top to the woman at the desk, who was merely following orders of the higher institution. I was obnoxious enough to have the girl go to the manager. The director did not insult me, but scolded me with wisdom and gentle truths.
He spoke of the fact that regardless of any aims I may have, if I’m not kind to other people, I’m feeding the fire of the same injustices that I’m speaking of. I mentioned that I was dealing with a lot of things that impacted me emotionally, yet he said that one has to be capable of separating oneself from that which is not relevant to the context. (Don’t bring your own baggage into the scenario). One can say anything about what one is capable of doing, yet if one is not kind and gentle to other people, then saving the world is a puff of smoke. I can’t reiterate precisely at the moment all the tidbits of wisdom he included. He does art and writing and cares deeply about nature, like me, however he has created a multi-million dollar institution that is educating the public. If my writing or creative pursuits with art and music are not hardly reaching anyone, then perhaps by not framing ‘money’ into a category of ‘bad’, but using it as a resource to reach more people, is a ‘good’ thing. He mentioned that to be able to reach people and import wisdom, people need to trust you. I am absolutely guilty of impatience and hostility at the ‘world’, and blame people for what I perceive as laziness or willful ignorance. He mentioned that one can not condemn someone for what they do not know. So, I apologize, to anyone I have insulted. I will try to wear a hat of love and patience, instead of directing anger and intolerance towards ‘the other’; the idlers, the Repugs, the lifers. It is so easy to throw ‘an-other’ into a box. And by despising the ‘message’, one need not lash out at the messenger. Be guided and accurate in where to state your case; not gonna affect change to the system and aggravation with the bureaucracy by raising one’s voice to the receptionist.
Misdirected anger or blame will get me (or anyone), no where.
Having the capability of letting go of things not in my control, and not creating an even larger divide and attack, by disregarding the feelings and human ness of the person with whom I am dealing, is the first lesson. He advised me about being able to separate the little aggravations from the real problems, and not drag them into the scene. Also about not becoming the thing which I am against. In order to guide and inspire people, I must gently pull them in, from a place of trust, through enticing them with how lovable all of ‘creation’ is. He said that people need to have trust, in order to listen to what you are saying. And that learning, is not through tough discipline or pointing out mistakes, but by reinforcing positive behavior. I am humbled.
I just visited with my Pennsylvania hometown friend Chris Erb in Taos, New Mexico over Christmas. One thing Chris mentioned was that we’re in the age, according to Hindus, of the “Kali Yuga”. Among all that glistens, we are in a sort of dark ages, that lasts for uh, 432,000 years, from 3102 BCE. That’s reassuring. Not!
And though I’m not Hindu, and sort of identify with Buddhism more than Christianity, I feel that all religious doctrines carry truths as well as stories and metaphors from which to learn and for guidance. I do feel that what is expressed in the bullet points below, from the Mahabharata, seems to be pretty right-on target.
Perhaps the more we become ‘enlightened’ through acknowledging this larger picture and recognizing the trends, we can begin to release ourselves and begin new habits.
Hindus believe that human civilization degenerates spiritually during the Kali Yuga, Well, this text is basically from one someone contributed to Wikipedia on the subject.
“The “Kali” of Kali Yuga means “strife”, “discord”, “quarrel” or “contention” and Kali Yuga is associated with the demon Kali (not to be confused with the goddess Kālī).”
“A discourse by Markandeya in the Mahabharata identifies some of the attributes of Kali Yuga.
In relation to rulers, it lists:
Rulers will become unreasonable: they will levy taxes unfairly.
Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects: they will become a danger to the world.
“At the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher varnas (guna or temperament) and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam
With regard to human relationships, Markandeya’s discourse says:
Avarice and wrath will be common. Humans will openly display animosity towards each other. Ignorance of dharma will occur.
People will have thoughts of murder with no justification and will see nothing wrong in that.
Lust will be viewed as socially acceptable and sexual intercourse will be seen as the central requirement of life.
Sin will increase exponentially, while virtue will fade and cease to flourish.
People will become addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs.
Gurus will no longer be respected and their students will attempt to injure them. Their teachings will be insulted, and followers of Kama will wrest control of the mind from all human beings.
All the human beings will declare themselves as gods or boon given by gods and make it as a business instead of teachings. <<< Trump popped into my head reading this one>>>
People will no longer get married and live with each other just for sexual pleasure.
Weather and environment will degrade with time and frequent and unpredictable rainfalls will happen.
Maximum age of humans will be 50 years by the end of Kali Yuga.
Many fake ideologies will spread throughout the world.
The powerful people will dominate the poor people.
Many diseases will spread.
At the end of Kali Yuga, lord Vishnu will take birth on earth to wipe out the sinners.”
Getting back to the natural world and recognizing that our earth and universe is extraordinary, I took this picture of the rising ‘almost’ full moon in the high desert of New Mexico in the SouthWest of the United States.
Gosh, well, like overcoming an addiction, the first step to releasing oneself from it, is to recognize that it is an addiction in the first place. Knowledge will set you free. And listening to your own heart’s wisdom will guide you.
Abbbaddeee, abbbaaaddeeee, abbbadddeee, that’s all folks.
In local time, as my German friend pointed out on FB, we’re leaving the Year of the Rat.
“Character traits: Oxen are usually patient, fair-minded and trustworthy. They are dependable, industrious and hard workers. They have strong staying power, are cautious and don’t jump into making decisions. An ox rarely regrets the decisions they’ve made.
Oxen can also be stubborn and poor communicators. Due to their traditionalist nature, they can be overly authoritative over others.”
Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook & music composition.
Because of how completely surprised and delighted I am with the content of these two people’s talks and writing, I felt the need to hastily put these out on both blogs simultaneously, to broadcast this information. I certainly hope that people who do not speak English as a native language, can find someone to translate.
Breathtakingly insightful, with a rich history of experience, Dr. Zach Bush has a great deal of wisdom to share.
Seeing images of people from the 1930’s through to the present of wasted bodies, limp and diminished spirits, people emotionally wasted, like zoo animals surrounded by concrete. I was moved to hear the producer talk of the difficulty of putting this out to the public, because of the ‘shame’ he and his family and many other families felt because of the tarnished interpretation of emotional, mental health disorders.
What this discloses is that many, many of the homeless people in the streets of the USA and in the prison system, are there because of their own mental health issues. and that in fact when dumped into this environment in which there are no programs to rehabilitate and create a nurturing environment towards their improvement, they are instead institutionalized.
Thing is, there are some who declare that institutions are the problem, and that all people should have the ‘right’ to not go into an institution. However, as I discovered when I saw a double amputee – probably Vietnam Veteran – fall from his wheel chair in San Francisco, which was already on the rise to being one of the most expensive cities in the country, with a huge abscess the size of a basketball in his back. I had been bicycling by on Market street, and saw this aghast, wondering how this could possibly happen right next to so much wealth. One person informed me that the Reagan era ‘reformed’ things in a way as to declare that people have the right to ‘freedom’. Yet what if they really don’t have the faculties to make the best decisions for themselves? It provoked me to write an article Cultural Abscess. However because recently my computer ceased, I temporarily don’t have access to the HD.
Many people could be rejuvenated or at least have a much better quality of life and feeling, if they were living in a caring environment among kind people, and not criminalized because of their decision impairment. I feel that this is a very important documentary to expose these truths and re align our values. Just as climate and war refugees whose lives are fragmented and who must flee their homeland, should be fully embraced and helped, since the northern hemisphere wealthy western countries who have been living phat and comfortable lives as our consumption of energy for our material comforts and energy and transportation needs, have been literally wiping out habitats, killing species of birds, insects and animals at an alarming rate – as much due to habitat loss as global warming. The citizens of the world must be informed of how their habits have affected wildlife and the natural world internationally, and come together to work together in an unprecedented manner, and do everything that we can to help the stream of refugees which will be increasing dramatically as they lose their homes.
I bring these topics together, because I believe that many physical and emotional illnesses are contextual. I believe that if people have a comfort and security and models of kindness and caring around them, they will develop habits that improve their own health and attitude, which will naturally ripple to extending their caring and kindness to others.
Health, car free, health care, kindness, caring, build bridges not walls, empathy, caring, quality of life, emotional and physical health contextual
Already there are dozens of cities around the world where there are no cars. Regardless of the terrain and topography, any environment or city could be dramatically improved and beautified by clearing out the cars and planting more trees and gardens.
My sister who is presently in Nice, informed me that the city extended their tram system which was already quite extensive, with a multitude of inexpensive public transportation options, has now eliminated benching buses. We could be subsidizing train and clean energy and public transportation to lure people out of their cars and create jobs to massively produce clean sustainable energy and transportation. It could become hip and fun to take the train, as well as affordable. If people could own and be part of the transition into clean energy, improving the quality of the air and water and life, they could circulate the money back into the community and feel directly involved in maintaining this as a right, as well as protecting public lands and waterways and natural habitats. Train and safe infrastructure for pedestrian and bicycle transportation could increasingly transform public spaces into beautiful ones that draw people to congregate and interact in public places with one another. The community of people could at the same time choose to design with thoughtfulness about other creatures: insects, pollinators, birds and mammals, to live with them and allow them to live.
What would you choose? A job with excellent pay (such as new highway, new bank or box store, nuclear power plant, fracking, oil drilling or pipeline or massive agricultural spread…) that will destroy a beautiful place and wildlife habitat,
just to get that promise of good pay?
Pretending somehow that the money is the essential thing, the GDP and one’s paycheck more important than anything else?
Indigenous native Americans historically thought hard before making any decisions about how it may impact the NEXT SEVEN (7) GENERATIONS.
Or will you recognize that more destruction and dismantling and razing of nature, or purchase that involves destroying nature on the other side of the globe, is your responsibility, and see that there is and can be a completely different approach to what is considered progress, that values nature above everything, and will utilize your best effort and skills and allow you to do what you love and work together with others in revitalizing nature and empowering you and your sense of community at the same time?
These are choices we all need to make. Yet it’s very difficult if people are completely blinded by the incentive to make another buck.
We can choose to educate ourselves, listen to scientists and knowledgeable people who know that there is a better way, and as we talk with one another and support one another in our awareness, we can make these changes.
It is our choice. Helping to support all life and empowering other life with respect and love, while empowering one’s own spirit with the joy of empathy, or somehow only considering oneself and one’s immediate family, and not giving a fuck about anyone or any creature outside of your own immediate walls.
We need to set aside nature, specifically areas which are populated with biodiversity and focus on repairing the slices and ruptures within habitats presently, to repair and regenerate them.
Woonasquatucket River Greenway
Captivating autumn colors, primarily captured along the Woonasquatucket River Greenway.
Providence, Rhode Island, autumn leaves, four seasons
I’ve written about EO Wilson’s Half-Earth project in both blogs, which can take place through the contribution of everyone around the world, yet which Yale University students are helping to research and catalogue.
EO Wilson’s Half-Earth Project protecting half the land and sea for wildlife systems
This Is What Extinction Sounds Like
Bernie Krause has spent a lifetime recording the sounds of nature. It’s getting quieter every day.
Bernie Krause Interview
what extinction sounds like Bernie Krause huffpost
That’s because the beauty of the earth and preservation of habitats of all of its creatures is true wealth, whose value needs to be incorporated into human culture and economy on all levels.
“The emphasis is on restoring and regenerating human communities together with restoring and preserving ecosystems; the emphasis on diversity and living systems.We’ll share an economy that is restorative and regenerative, that preserves ecosystems and increases their return over time, that creates prosperity, and that fuels growth by capturing more value from existing infrastructure and products.”
We can focus on what all human populations can do through intentionally restructuring the economy from a hierarchical to a circular one, which focuses on human, earthling and environmental justice.
Deceased prolific writer Rudolph Joseph Rummel who wrote Death by Government was a professor of political science who taught at the Indiana University, Yale University and University of Hawaii. He spent his career studying data on collective violence and war with a view toward helping their resolution or elimination. His research reveals that Democide – megamurders by governments – typically occurs when a leader develops too much unchecked power. ““The more constrained the power of governments, the more power is diffused, checked, and balanced, the less it will aggress on others and commit democide. At the extremes of power, totalitarian communist governments slaughter their people by the tens of millions.”
Rather than continuing with our current trend of the last centuries of anthropocentrism, as we learn that health, happiness and quality of life is woven into the fabric of health and quality for all networks of life on our planet, we can embrace this work and regard our behavior from the point of view of […]
Manifesto of the many projects which could manifest the Green New Deal. What would you choose to be involved in? In a more recent evolution of house searching posts, I suggested an ‘artist residency’ ‘in your home’, in which both the artist and proprietor are involved. If the artists doesn’t produce according to the agreed […]
I was incredibly delighted to encounter the wild boars scrambling and grunting along the tree-lined highway to the left of me as I bicycled by them not long after midnight. It was exhilarating, particularly when I realized that I was now moving beyond them and they hadn’t charged me. Oh My Dog! I had arrived […]
The Earth is Warming the Earth. Series of five short films. Now that our swamp of denial is going to be drained and replenished in the White House with a semblance of normality that instead promotes honesty and directed effort, we can also establish an epic new road as citizens; of participation in the health […]
Well, the water coming from the tap in the town I just moved to, smells ‘funny’. Not humorous nor a joke. It smells noxious in the apt complex where I just moved in Statesboro, Georgia, USA. It has a sulfur smell. I googled Statesboro’s water quality and found this article which talks about some serious […]
I just visited with my Pennsylvania hometown friend Chris Erb in Taos, New Mexico over Christmas. One thing Chris mentioned was that we’re in the age, according to Hindus, of the “Kali Yuga”. Among all that glistens, we are in a sort of dark ages, that lasts for uh, 432,000 years, from 3102 BCE. That’s […]
The dream of EO Wilson can only be realized through the participation of humans. He strives to protect the most biodiverse places on the earth and seas, to circumvent mass extinction – which is already taking place – by safeguarding the habitats of half of the earth. See how you can become involved! Be a […]
I spontaneously decided to sign up for a Move-On live #PowerInAction: Winning With Our People online national organizing livestream. Tuesday, at 8 p.m. ET (7 CT/6 MT/5 PT). I hadn’t realized what a treat was in store. I listened to most of the live Nov. 17th webcast of various speakers presented by articulate Move-On hosts. It […]
I am profoundly moved and awakened, each time that I’ve listened to Arundhati Roy’s ‘Come September’ speech which she boldy presented at the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe, New Mexico 2002, in which she states “Nuclear weapons are stockpiled, to make the world a safer place.” Roy quotes Thomas Friedman talking about the US policy […]
I’m in. Hope you join in also! Thank you Jane Goodall for a lifetime of risk and effort to help the living creatures of the world and to save their habitats. Thank you for continually reaching out to people of the world to educate and encourage other humans to recognize the beauty and intelligence of […]
Rather than continuing with our current trend of the last centuries of anthropocentrism, as we learn that health, happiness and quality of life is woven into the fabric of health and quality for all networks of life on our planet, we can embrace this work and regard our behavior from the point of view of […]
12 Steps to Climate Sobriety by Erik Molvar 12/17/15 “The nations of the world have unanimously agreed, 195 to zero, that climate change is a major problem, that human activities are a major cause and that it’s high time to do something about it. Those debates are now over globally, although some American politicians have […]
Manifesto of the multiple projects that could manifest the Green New Deal. What would you choose to be involved in? The Green New Deal is a takeoff on FDR’s ‘New Deal’ which involved the (NRA) ‘National Recovery Act’. Within a year of the 1929 stock market crash, 50% of the population was unemployed. The (WPA) […]
Eyes Wide Open. Only in the last 48 hours have I learned of and listened to each of these gentlemen. Their messages are amazingly fresh and definitely have expanded my perspective. Paul Chappell’s talk “The Peace Paradigm”. At approximately this cue in the video 15:54, Chappell states “If you threaten someone’s worldview, it is almost […]
The Earth is Warming the Earth. Series of five short films. Now that our swamp of denial is going to be drained and replenished in the White House with a semblance of normality that instead promotes honesty and directed effort, we can also establish an epic new road as citizens to participate in the health […]
Basically, I looked at Naomi Klein’s facebook page posts, and decided to share the information. Shamelessly, judiciously; regarding fascism, racism and environmental injustice. The text below accompanying the article on the need to abolish fascism, I was unable to select/copy/past the text on Chrome or Safari on my iPad, so I typed it in order […]
I hadn’t realized having just moved to Albuquerque for the first time on December 1st, and living a quarter mile (several hundred yards) from the Rio Grande, that the birds that I became so fascinated with that I bicycled every evening before sunset to hang out at a number of different spots on the river […]
Starting from scratch in a new place without furniture and the first use of my new used kitchenware that I acquired through a local online buyers and sellers market http://offerup.com I was able to obtain these minimal pots and pans in reasonably good condition – for $20 bucks – to cook my first meal. What […]
The Bell pepper was the first option, before I had a pan. After borrowing a shallow baking pan, I halved an acorn squash, scooped out the seeds, put it face down on a slightly oiled (olive oil) pan, and halved an onion, and plucked a few garlic cloves, leaving their skin on to retain moisture. […]
Posting a ‘job/home/community relocation’ info ad for myself! I, Carol Keiter, blogger, writer, musician, composer, environmental and nature enthusiast and animal activist need to relocate within weeks. I need to hone into> the right location, community and sources for work that will fulfill the job description which has evolved, as I’ve been writing this! I […]
Here’s the audio podcast of last night’s meal: a Spanish tortilla tapas spinoff I went through the whole process of making a Spanish tortilla, except without the added egg & milk mixture at the end. I ate it instead in bites together with pasta. I added to the sliced potatoes, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, (ground […]
