Whole Earth Care

The Narratives - Sanctuary

2010-02-07T17:02:00.019-05:00

This week, Marina delights us with the story of how she and her family have realized their dream to live on the land. It's a story of mighty perseverance, hard work and tenacity, of never giving up on your dream, of courage and right action. It's a love story.

You may have noticed that I am a lover of poetry. Poetry, for me, is the language that the soul and heart share. With grace and ease, it takes us to a knowing of that which is full of mystery. It quickens the heart and nourishes the soul in a conversation that is like no other. And so, I use poetry in Whole Earth Care to help us connect and reconnect with the stuff we innately know deep in our very beingness, but may not be able to voice. Here’s one for you.

Messenger

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
Mary Oliver
(Thirst)

SANCTUARY

Our small log home on Townline can no longer be seen from the road. Rows of spruce and cedar and some autumn olive shrubs shield it from dust and from the few pairs of eyes that pass each day. Even along the lengthy curving driveway, what greets your eyes first are a mixed conifer and hardwood plantation, a wind-row to the east, a creek and stocked pond, five acres of garden and fruit trees, and finally another wind-row. Hidden behind these are a large barn and a low cottage, both red-roofed but otherwise unobtrusive within the landscape and rambling flower gardens.

It wasn’t always so. When we moved to the fifty acre farm near Canfield, Ontario in 1974 with our eleven month old son, four year old cat, and a one hundred-and-fifty-pound Great Pyrenees dog, everyone thought we were daft. There were only the creek, overgrown fields, a three-acre tree line, and twenty more acres of bush and wetland at the back of the farm.

"How could you move to such a god-forsaken wind-swept place? How will your children find friends? How will you manage to commute to work for the next thirty-five years?” These were the general questions. But we knew that we loved the country, having rented a ramshackle old house on an organic farm near Jerseyville over the prior four years, and we figured that all would fall into place over time.

We moved before there was a house, setting up our family in a canvas tent around which we delineated a play space bounded by logs. Our little guy wasn’t inclined to wander, and happily played here even when excavation began or when I was busy on the house.

The deal was this: my husband and a friend would erect the log structure, put in windows and roof, etc., and I would do everything else. As it turned out, that included hauling several ten-ton truckloads of gravel by wheelbarrow to our weeping tile bed and throughout the sub-floor of the basement; brushing the house and trim inside and out with three coats of stain and final finish; caulking the logs; and designing and finishing of a kitchen. What I didn’t know was that it also included stripping the outside of the house fifteen years later, and coating it with three more layers of a newer weather and UVL resistant finish. Fortunately by then, son number one was sixteen, and we took a summer to do the job together.

The shell of the house was up by November of the first year, and we moved into the basement. Finances had run out, however, so we didn’t have plumbing or heat until January. An outdoor hole-in-the ground sufficed, and baby wore five sets of flannel rompers to bed. Subsequent children grew up in a wood-heated house, but it was five years before I finished all the coats of primer and urethane and caulking indoors (that was before we knew about dangers of exposure). Fortunately, I did these things in the summers when windows could be opened.

In 1975, my husband built the barn, and over the years we have added to it and built several smaller out-buildings. Now that our children have started to deposit furniture, a half-restored Alpha Romeo and various bits of junk, we have decided not to add any more space.

From 1975 on, we planted and re-planted at least five hundred trees per year, mostly evergreens, which there were few of in Southern Ontario. More recently, we have been planting mixed forest species and trees specifically native to the Carolinian forests, but we still love our conifers, as we love the Northern tree-lined lakes and rocks.

Fifteen years ago, we had a large kidney-shaped pond dug, and it has gradually naturalized. In the interim we frolicked and swam in it with our teenagers, but the snapping turtles and creepy-crawlies have taken over since. Redbud, dogwood, pin cherries, hackberries, wildflowers, a few volunteer willows and a couple of benches grace the circumference now.

The flower gardens have grown exponentially in size and shape since my first little 2 by 8 foot strip, and we additionally have an organic vegetable garden by the pond and a small greenhouse and herb garden south of the barn. Rows of peas, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are shared with the birds and with our newest addition, a young short-haired pointer pup who rolls back his lips and picks with the best of us. Now that we are able to provide our growing adult family, neighbors and friends with all the vegetables and fruit they can use, I have made a firm commitment not to add another square inch to the gardens.

Every year since we moved here, the bird populations in our back yard have increased, and we have many species both nesting and using our feeders. They flit along new hedge-rows and through our wildflower meadow and, along with myriad dragonflies and butterflies and a few nightly bats, they scoop up insects over the pond. In the winters, the ground beneath the feeders is frequented by possums, rabbits, and – to our regret – some pesky raccoons and several beautifully cloaked skunks.

We find it hard now to leave our little haven, even to go on holidays or canoeing in the north. When we go, we miss the ever-changing flowers, the first flight of young phoebes nesting above our kitchen window, the beautifully striped caterpillar of a monarch butterfly munching on milkweed leaves. We also miss morning laps around the pond with the dog and two cats, coffees in hand, which, since our retirement, we have been spiking on weekends with shots of Irish Cream to help us distinguish Saturdays and Sundays from weekdays.

Marina Martin

Thank you so much for this, Marina. Because of your wonderful descriptions, I can picture and almost smell your home and the gifts of your labour and love for the land. I am in awe of you.

What could be better than Marina’s story to prepare us for Valentine's Day coming up next weekend on Sunday, February 14th?

If It Is Not Too Dark

Go for a walk, if it is not too dark.
Get some fresh air, try to smile.
Say something kind
To a safe-looking stranger, if one happens by.

Always exercise your heart's knowing.

You might as well attempt something real
Along this path:

Take your spouse or lover into your arms
The way you did when you first met.
Let tenderness pour from your eyes
The way the Sun gazes warmly on the earth.

Play a game with some children.
Extend yourself to a friend.
Sing a few ribald songs to your pets and plants -
Why not let them get drunk and wild!

Let's toast
Every rung we've climbed on Evolution's ladder.
Whisper, "I love you! I love you!"
To the whole mad world.

Let's stop reading about God -
We will never understand Him.

Jump to your feet, wave your fists,
Threaten and warn the whole Universe

That your heart can no longer live
Without real love!
Hafiz
(I Heard God Laughing - Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/If_It_Is_Not_Too_Dark.html

Sunday, February 14th, 2010 is also Chinese New Year, the beginning of a 15-day holiday, the most important of all Chinese holidays. It is celebrated with family, fireworks and gift giving. This year is the Year of the Tiger. The Tiger represents courage, bravery and good luck. Happy New Year!

This week, Ann wrote, “I enjoyed the Blog and went to this website, http://www.freerice.com/index.php. I had a lot of fun with the Free Rice Game and through correct answers donated 120 grains of rice to the World Food Programme to help end hunger.

You can join Ann in this game by going to the left sidebar of the Whole Earth Care Blog, scrolling down to Interactive Sites and clicking onto Free Rice Game. I warn you – it can be addictive.

Earth Family First
maureen
(Photos from personal albums)

Ev is Back with Greek in the Round

2010-02-01T20:25:00.015-05:00

Well, the plans we make! Over the holidays (I can barely remember them), I spent time planning this year’s Blog postings. It looked wonderful on the calendar. I felt organized and ready to go. What are the sayings…, “Laugh, fool, laugh” and, “The plans of mice and men”? Well, I’m laughing. I hope you are, too.

I was called away to Montreal and most likely will be gone again in the near future. Blog postings will be sporadic until things settle down. I am just so grateful to the wonderful and generous people who send me articles, narratives, information, websites, and interesting tidbits to follow up on. This Whole Earth Care Blog is yours to create. Thank you.

Ev Rilett is one of those wonderful people and she is back with Greek in the Round.

So many people told me how Ev single-handedly had them looking up into the skies and marveling at what they saw up there. With her help and enthusiasm, we all discovered Taurus, Aldebaran and the Pleiades. This week, Ev introduces us to myth of Orion.

GREEK IN THE ROUND

In ancient times although the constellations in the sky were not named proper, the figures were nevertheless prominent in the sky world wide. These stories have been handed down since the time of the ancients, Greeks and Romans. Stories (not written by a select group of screenplay writers) were told by soaring imaginations, believed and handed down from generation to generation. Each culture had its own variations and names, but it is surprising how many stories were similar and how their lives were affected, particularly in the agricultural aspects.

In 150 AD., Claudius Ptolemy named 48 northern constellations and incorporated most of the European lore surrounding them. Starlore is a very important facet of astronomy. It is almost impossible to reference stars or constellations, and some of the naked eye objects without finding out some of this lore. Mythology has a very important influence on our lives because much of our culture and heritage is based upon the myths of these times. Unfortunately, with today’s media (mainly internet, television and radio) we find ourselves in a world where our imaginations are not often called upon to entertain ourselves.

Light pollution has seriously curbed the curiosities of the heavens. Fear of the night has limited the time we allow ourselves the beauty of the quiescent blackness of night. We have grown away from starlore in the sense that many of the stories have become fragmented and we now regard them as only fascinating stories. However, we hopefully retain as much of the legends as possible and the insights of our ancient ancestors. We will continue to pass them on to future generations to be enjoyed and cherished.

In this series of articles, or rather the stories of our ancient ancestors, I hope to rekindle some of the marvel, beauty and to a great degree the beliefs and superstitions that shrouded the intricacy of their daily lives.

So without further ado, try to imagine yourself in their time. As your day comes to a close and you sit resting outside, feel the brisk evening and look up to greet the setting Vega and rising Capella gracing the dusk sky. As it gets darker the “Greek in the Round sky-theatre” curtain rises, the stage is set, and your imagination takes hold.

I will begin the series with ORION, the Hunter. Looking at the constellation, you can imagine him - very tall with broad shoulders and his sword at his side. You will find him prominent from November through March along the equator in the south east to south west skies. The belt stars are close to 0 RA. and 0 DEC.

It is said that Orion was the most handsome and tallest of all men and also a great hunter. When very young, he married Side (whom Sidereal Time is named for), who died young but gave him three daughters. Orion had many affairs after Side, notably Eos, goddess of Dawn, the Pleiades sisters (whom Zeus saved by turning them into doves that flew to heaven, and whom Orion now chases across the heavens), and eventually Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, who was just as keen a hunter as Orion himself.

Artemis (renowned as a beautiful icy deity) had finally found someone worthy of falling in love with. Orion gave himself up to the delights of hunting with Artemis and soon their affair attracted notice.

Artemis' brother was Apollo, chariot-driver for the Sun. Apollo saw that Artemis was so taken with Orion, she was neglecting her duties and had let weeks pass without once carrying the Moon across the sky. Arguing with her got him nowhere, so Apollo concocted a plan to get rid of Orion.

One day while Artemis was away, Apollo spoke to the Earth Goddess, who sent a gigantic scorpion from out of the ground to challenge Orion. Being extremely vain of his hunting skills, Orion was delighted to fight the scorpion. Back and forth the battle raged yet neither was able to deliver a decisive blow.

Unfortunately, Orion was mortal and eventually grew tired, while the creature came on and on. Finally Orion had to run for his life. He raced to the shore, dove in, and began to swim powerfully out to sea. Soon he was only a distant speck, among the wave tops.

At this point Apollo unfolded the second half of his plan. Calling his sister's attention to the unrecognizable black dot far away, he tauntingly told her that although she was good with her bow, even she had her limits, and it was unlikely that she could hit the little target. Stung to the quick, Artemis promptly fitted an arrow to her silver bow, drew to full reach, and sent the arrow flying. Her aim was perfect. Pierced through the head, Orion died instantly.

When his body washed up on shore, Artemis was horrified to discover what she'd done, and wept bitterly. Hastily, she took the body to Aesclepius the doctor, and begged him to restore Orion to life. Before Aesclepius could perform the miracle however, a reluctant thunderbolt from Zeus destroyed him. Accepting at last that Orion was gone forever, the heart-broken goddess set her lover among the stars. But, not just anywhere.

In bitter tribute to the creature that started the fateful chain of events, Artemis carefully placed Orion in the winter sky - where half the heavens lay between him and his nemesis, the Scorpion.
Ev Rilett

(If you click twice onto the photos, they will enlarge)

Thank you, Ev. Be assured that we will be out there greeting Orion on these clear nights.

Video:

The following video is from The Rubin Museum in New York City via KarmaTube.

This museum has a great website. Go to: http://www.rmanyc.org/events/load/373

The video is spell bounding. It is worth every second of the six minutes and one half minutes of your time. Really!

The Known Universe http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1834

We are still looking for a Naturalist to help us better understand the world around us. It would require very little time. The pay may not be great, but our Virtual Community is great to work for. If you are interested or know of someone, please contact me for more information at: moczero@sympatico.ca

More narratives and short articles and/or essays will be happily received. I think we are due for one from Tom, don’t you think?

And, send in those Ecology questions you have for Katie, The Answer Lady.

Also wanted are your photos for the Rogues’ Gallery

The Whole Earth Care Virtual Community is growing. We received a lovely comment from someone who wrote their message in Chinese. Unfortunately, the characters refused to show up on our Whole Earth Care Blog, but Vicky translated the message for us. In reference to the last Whole Earth Care posting on Haiti, the message was, “Romantic love is blind, but marriage recovers the power to see.” Worth a ponder.

And it's Groundhog Day - Tuesday, February 2nd. Here's a poem from Joe Riley at Panhala. Panhala is a really good way to greet each day.

Groundhog Day

Celebrate this unlikely oracle,
this ball of fat and fur,
whom we so mysteriously endow
with the power to predict spring.
Let's hear it for the improbable heroes who,
frightened at their own shadows,
nonetheless unwittingly work miracles.
Why shouldn't we believe
this peculiar rodent holds power
over sun and seasons in his stubby paw?
Who says that God is all grandeur and glory?

Unnoticed in the earth, worms
are busily, brainlessly, tilling the soil.
Field mice, all unthinking, have scattered
seeds that will take root and grow.
Grape hyacinths, against all reason,
have been holding up green shoots beneath the snow.
How do you think spring arrives?
There is nothing quieter, nothing
more secret, miraculous, mundane.
Do you want to play your part
in bringing it to birth? Nothing simpler.
Find a spot not too far from the ground
and wait.
Lynn Ungar
(Blessing the Bread)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Groundhog_Day.html

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos from Google Images and personal albums)

Staying with Hope – The Beginning of Year 2010

2010-01-17T21:58:00.015-05:00

It has been a little over a month since I last wrote. I have missed you all. This is true – I have missed you. You help me to stay honest. You help me stay connected. You help me to return to the practice of mindfulness, over and over again.

It always amazes me how the stuff of daily life, (be it dealing with a holiday and all the demands I attach to it, the flu, busyness at work or my household must-do lists), often gets in the way of my living well. By living well I mean being mindful of my relationships with our Earth Family and responding to these relationships in a creative, generous and compassionate manner. The “stuff” is often important enough, but, for me, it’s often a challenge not to give it priority.

And then, the unimaginable and catastrophic tragedy of Haiti happens.

“The invitation is about participation, not mere observation. We are not journeying in the universe but with the universe. We are not concerned about living in an evolving world but co-evolving with our world. We are parts of a whole, much greater than the sum of its parts, and yet within each part we are interconnected with the whole.” Diarmuid O'Murchu

We are all being made aware of the present situation in Haiti by the media. But, do we understand the state of affairs in Haiti, before the earthquake? I knew very little. I thought I would share with you what I found out in my search to comprehend the suffering of the people of Haiti.

The Republic of Haiti

The Land:

The Republic of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometers in size and situated on the eastern one- third of the large island of Hispaniola in the West Indies Archipelago in the Carribean sea. The Dominican Republic takes up the other two-thirds of the island. The small islands of La Gonave, La Tortuga, Les Cayemites and Ile a Vache to the north and south also belong to Haiti.

The capital of Haiti is Port au Prince with Carrefour, Demas, Cap-Haitien and Peteon-Ville as the other major cities of the country.

The country has five mountain chains and, of its many large rivers, Artibonte is the only one that is navigable. Most of the forests have been deforested for the wood, leaving only small areas of pine forests and impassable mango groves. Because of the many changes made in Haiti’s natural environment by industrial and farming practices, little wildlife remains and the coral reefs offshore are endangered.

Haiti has a tropical climate, vulnerable to hurricanes and with an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius in the lowlands and 16 degrees in the mountains.

The History:

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with a long history of ongoing political unrest.

The French colonial slavers brought kidnapped peoples from many parts of Africa to work the farms in Haiti. In 1791, the slaves rebelled, overthrew their captures and in 1804, established the world’s first ever black republic.

The two main languages are Haitian Creole and French.

The People:

As of 2007, the population of Haiti was 7,656, 166 of which 95% are of African descent from the slave trade.

42.20% of the population are under the age of 14, 54.10% are between the ages of 15 and 64 and 3.70% are over 65. The median age in Haiti is 20.

50% of all Haitian children are enrolled in primary school and adult literacy is at 62%.

Agriculture is the largest employer with tourism and manufacturers being the two next largest employers.

40% of the population is urbanized.

Some Facts We Need to Know:

55% of the population lives below the International Poverty Line of $1.25 US per day with the average annual rate of inflation at 18%.

The infant mortality rate per 1,000 births is 79. Life expectancy is 61.

Only 26% of births are attended by a health professional.

49% of the population is undernurished.

58% of the population is without sustainable access to clean water sources.

50% of the workforce is unemployed, with unemployment and underemployment affecting 85% of the workforce.

(Information from: http://www.mapsoftheworld.com/ , http://www.travellinghaiti.com/ , http://www.unicef.org/ , and www.canadiancontent.net/)

What Can We Do?

Simply – donate money if you can. There are many organizations asking for our help. Two such organizations are:

The International Red Cross http://www.icrc.org/eng

Medecins sans Frontieres http://www.msf.org/

Haitians are part of our Family, as are all the people of our Earth. What happens to them affects our lives. As single human beings, we are helpless in facing the tragedies in our world. Together, we are strong. Together, we can make a difference for the people of Haiti and for our whole Earth Family. I truly believe this.

______________________________________

For the start of this new year, I would like to share the two following videos with you. Both are very powerful and, I find, amazingly beautiful and hopeful. The first, Riski Business, is about beginnings. Our friend, Carole, sends this to us.

The second, Children Full of Life, is the first of five videos, presented by Karma Tube. There’s lots of learning in these videos of a teacher and his class of 10 year olds for each one of us to take through this year.

Riski Business
http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/656611/d1dfcfee/live_olifant_geboorte_tv.html

Children Full of Life To see the other videos in this series, simply go to the right of your screen and click.
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1720

This year, together we will make a difference.

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos by Google Images)

Beaching on Greece - Carole Writes To Us

2009-12-07T15:22:00.011-05:00

Aware of the great need that the meetings in Copenhagen bring about a united global action to seriously address Climate Change, this week, Whole Earth Care posts an article by Caroles and a call to unite with a Earth Family-friendly demonstration in Copenhagen next Saturday, December 12th.

We care. We are united. We can be effective.

Carole has written us from Greece. Her article is an important read. By simply telling us her story, we are touched by a reality that is disturbing and sad. It’s not easy an easy read.

Yes, it's a Greek Mediterranean issue, but still, what I write about is probably a worldwide problem.

We love beaching, preferably non-beaches: seaside coves, inlets, baylets. Living in Greece, with its extensive coastline, that's not too hard to do, and we live about 15 minutes from many possible sites.

Real beaches are cleaned... it’s up to us to clean our beaches.

That's a lot of work. However, I refuse to sit in refuse, and I want the world that my gorgeous grandkids are inheriting to be as clean as my hands and back will allow me to leave it for them.

The sources of our beach garbage are invariably visitors who don’t think, or possibly do think, but don’t care. Perhaps, they think there's room service or maid service!!!

Boaters are also distinct suspects. One of the trash items I truly hate is fishing lines, all tangled up, heavy-duty plastic line, which can kill fish if they try to ingest it. Fish also often die entangled in these little traps.

Well, our maid service always has a bag for garbage and another for recycling, and we never sit or swim until our area is cleared and virgin again, or until the bags are full of plastic water bottles, beer cans and plastic bags.

Bags. Bags are the most common findings, although, years ago i did, just once, find a 5,000 drachma note! A tip for the maid. :-)

Recently, while picking up beach garbage, I began trying to pick up small bits of plastic mingled and knitted into the seaweed, thrown up by the edge of the water. I realized I simply could not extract all the pieces of plastic bits. So, I hauled the line of washed-up seaweed further inland, hoping it might not wash back out to sea with the next waves.

Was I supposed to recycle this seaweed batch?

I may have told you I have snorkeled and seen this snowy scene of plastic bits, on windy, wavy days. They are easily VISIBLE flowing with the water.

Fish are eating tinier bits of this plastic…and then, in turn we ingest the fish... and are SO happy when our kids or grandkids learn to eat fish - the CLEAN protein food.

So many years of plastic abuse. So many pairs of ears yet to hear the message, and hearts to be touched into caring for our Earth, for her fish, for the little mouths we want to feed Purity to. For their eyes, as well - to see the beauty we find in scenes now being sullied with our thoughtless, easy, wasteful ways.

What have we done to our Earth?????!

Plastic Choking the Environment
Environmentalists warned yesterday that years of uncontrolled dumping of plastic along the country’s coastlines and in illegal landfills has resulted in a new and insidious form of pollution: millions of tiny plastic fibers that are tainting beaches and even ending up in the food chain of fish and other marine life. (taken from Ekathimerini newspaper)

For the full article, please read:
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100021_13/06/2009_108063

Caroles from Greece
Thank you, Caroles

The Real Work

It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.
Wendell Berry
(Collected Poems)
web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/The_Real_Work.html

Let’s all be more conscious of how pervasive plastic is in our lives.

Let’s ask ourselves a few questions:
What did we use before plastic?
Can we use less plastic?
Do we recycle plastic adequately, and if so, at what cost to the environment?

When we see plastic in our environments, let’s pick it up, bring it home and put into a secure recycling bin, making sure it is not washed into sewers, ingested or allowed to strangle other members of our Earth Family.

Climate Change Meetings in Copenhagen

And finally, this message that was sent to me for circulation. PLEASE READ it and consider signing and passing it on before this coming Saturday, December 12th. I really don't believe I am being overly dramatic when I say our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren depend upon the effectivemness of the talks in Copenhagen.

Hi Everyone,

A HUGE demonstration is being planned for December 12th in Copenhagen. Please consider adding your organization to the global list of groups who stand in solidarity with them. Email info@12dec09.dk. Let’s grow the show of support from Canada!

Find out more at http://12dec09.dk/content/english/

Circulate this email to other organizations. Go to http://12dec09.dk/content/english/links-english to find links to the Facebook event (short link: http://12dec09.dk/l/fb).

Join and invite friends to join.

Use the list of short links for SMS and Twitter messages: http://12dec09.dk/l/sc.

Thanks!
************
March at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen

On Saturday 12th of December, midway through the UNFCCC Climate Talks 2009, we invite you and your organisation to join us in bringing to the negotiators in Copenhagen a massive, loud and visible demonstration of the world’s will to act.

We Are

Climate and green organisations and networks, trade unions, peace, solidarity and human relief organisations and movements, political and other civil society organisations and individuals.

What and When

We are preparing a broad based, popular and family friendly demonstration going from central Copenhagen at 13.00 to the summit venue at the Bella Center.

1:00 pm: Assembly event at Christiansborg Slotsplads ( Parliament Square )
2:00 pm: March from Christiansborg Slotsplads to Bella Center (Site of UN Climate Conference)
4:30-6:00 pm: Assembly event at Bella Center
A giant canvas of climate messages and images will be created at Christiansborg and carried to Bella Center by the March. Come add your message and then help to deliver it!

Join our mailing list and make sure you are updated about the demonstration.

*********
Manifestation Copenhague, 12 déc. 09

Samedi 12 décembre à mi parcours des pourparlers sur le climat de la CCNUCC (Convention Cadre des Nations Unies sur les Changements Climatiques), nous vous invitons vous et vos organisations de vous joindre à nous en amenant aux négociateurs à Copenhague la démonstration visible et bruyante que le monde veut agir.

Nous sommes

Des organisations et réseaux sur le climat et verts, syndicats, mouvements pacifiques et de solidarité, églises, organisations politiques et autres de la société civile et des individus.

Quand et quoi

Nous préparons une manifestation à base large, populaire et familiale partant du centre de Copenhague à 13H00 pour aboutir au Bella Center lieu du Sommet.

Joignez vous

Nous vous invitons avec vos organisations à soutenir cet appel. Envoyez vos emails de soutien à info@12dec09.dk.

Liste de diffusion e-mail

Inscrivez-vous à notre liste de diffusion internationale (en anglais) afin d'être tenu au courant quant à la manifestation.

Merci!
Ruth Edwards
KYOTOplus Outreach Coordinator
613-241-1410
ruth@kyotoplus.ca
http://www.kyotoplus.ca/

Act now for the future
Questions? Email ruth@kyotoplus.ca

To post to this group, send email to kyotoplus@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/kyotoplus?hl=en?hl=en

Ring The Bells for Climate Justice

Don't forget to have your Faith Community ring their bells on Sunday, December 13th at 3:00 p.m. no matter where you are in the world. Why not get out there with your friends and neighbours and ring your own bells if you don't have a faith community.

For information, go to: http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/ecojustice/climate-change/copenhagen-2009/ and click onto Climate Justice just below Ring Your Bells in red type.

Now is the time to act for our Earth Family,
maureen
Photos from personal albums

Tuesday, December 1st - World AIDS Day

2009-11-29T22:56:00.010-05:00

On November 18th, I attended an educational day entitled, Innovations in Palliative Care, “And Justice For All? The Jury is Out.”, put on by the McMaster University Health Sciences’ Department of Family Medicine, Division of Palliative Care. As always, these days are excellent learning opportunities. One of the speakers that day was Dr. Elizabeth Latimer, a Palliative Care Consultant Physician and Professor in Palliative Care.

Dr. Latimer offered this meditation,

“I will seek to know who you are,
I will support your sorrow,
I will strive to ease your pain,
I will walk with you.”
Elizabeth Latimer

Dr. Latimer is a very compassionate healer and her words are wise. And I find this meditation of hers particularly poignant considering it is World AIDS Day this coming Tuesday, December 1st.

Since 1988, World AIDS Day has been an international day of HIV/AIDS awareness around the world.

This Week’s Suggestion:

Let us sit quietly for a few moments each day of this week with Dr. Latimer’s meditation and consider who that “you” in her meditation is for each one of us. How can we seek to know, support, walk with and strive to ease the pain of that Earth Family member before us?

Getting To Know Our Neighbours:

It is the grandmothers and great-grandmothers who are caring for the 15 million children in sub-Saharan Africa, orphaned by AIDS.

Stephen Lewis says they are the ones, “holding the continent together” as they parent, single handedly, as many as 10 to 15 grandchildren in their simple and often inadequate homes.

Through the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign and other relief programs around the world, grandmothers (and want-to-be grandmothers) worldwide support these courageous and indomitable women in their mission to support their parentless grandchildren.

A Fact or Two:

Every day, more than 6,500 people are infected with HIV – that’s about 50 people every minute.

Every hour, 40 children die of AIDS.

Presently, 33 million people are living with HIV

There were 2.5 million new HIV infections in 2007.

There were 2.1 million deaths due to HIV/AIDS in 2007 – 330,000 of these were children.

In 2007, 4 million people with HIV were treated for the infection. That was a 46% increase from 2006.

Most people with HIV/AIDS will die within 3 years if they are denied care.

Women account for 50% of all HIV/AIDS cases in the world. In Africa, that percentage is as high as 70%.

Sub-Saharan Africa is hardest hit by this pandemic – 22.5 million people, the majority of these are females between the ages of 15 and 24 years.

It is estimated that by 2010, 40 million children will be orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

As a result, a large number of orphans are parented by siblings, some no older than 9 or 10 years of age.

Grandmothers are most often the caregivers of their orphaned grandchildren.
(Information from Oh Africa, Medecins sans Frontieres, Stephen Louis Foundation, William Clinton Foundation and Engendered Health)

What Can We Do?

1.
Wear a red ribbon on World AIDS Day to show your support.
“The red ribbon is worn as a sign of support for people living with HIV. Wearing a red ribbon for World AIDS Day is a simple and powerful way to show support and challenge the stigma and prejudice surrounding HIV and AIDS that prevents us from tackling HIV […] internationally.” (http://www.worldaidsday.org/)

2.
Donate Aeroplan Miles on December 1st
On December 1st (this day only) Aeroplan will match every mile donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation through the Beyond Miles program.
2.5 million miles are needed to support the upcoming Swaziland African Grandmothers Gathering in March 2010. This Gathering is a chance for African grandmothers to meet, share, network, tell stories, plan strategies and support each other in their ongoing challenge to support their grandchildren.
To have your Aeroplan miles double in value, donate to:
www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/aeroplan
or go to
http://www.aeroplan.com/use_your_miles/donate_miles/charity.do?donationsAE=917989352

3.
A small amount goes a long way.
Consider a holiday gift to Oh Africa, (http://www.ohafrica.ca/), an organization that runs a HIV/AIDS program in Lesotho. Almost 24% of all adults in Lesotho, between the ages of 15 and 49 years, are infected with the virus.
Since Oh Africa began five years ago, 11,000 HIV patients have been registered and cared for at the Tsepong Clinic in that country by Canadian health care professionals working with their Basotho collegues.
See the Websites for some other organizations that run HIV/AIDS programs.

Media:

Websites:

Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders
http://www.msf.org/

OH Africa
http://www.ohafrica.ca/

Stephen Lewis Foundation
http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/

Video:

Aylinne and her 60 Children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFIdq8rnLXM

Marie da Silva and the Jacaranda Foundation
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3916

Half Life

We walk through half our life
as if it were a fever dream

barely touching the ground

our eyes half open
our heart half closed.

Not half knowing who we are
we watch the ghost of us drift
from room to room
through friends and lovers
never quite as real as advertised.

Not saying half we mean
or meaning half we say
we dream ourselves
from birth to birth
seeking some true self.

Until the fever breaks
and the heart can not abide
a moment longer
as the rest of us awakens,
summoned from the dream,
not half caring for anything but love.
Stephen Levine
(Breaking the Drought)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Half_life.html

Earth Family First,
maureen
Photos by Google Images

The Narratives - Rondo Beach

2009-11-19T22:25:00.012-05:00

Open Yourself Up to Compassion

The practice of compassion means letting experience in. A Japanese poet, a woman named Izumi who lived in the tenth century, wrote: “Watching the moon at dawn, solitary, mid-sky, I knew myself completely. No part left out.” When we can open to all parts of ourselves and to others in the world, something quite extraordinary happens. We begin to connect with one another.

Joseph Goldstein, from “Heart Touching Heart,” Tricycle, Winter 2007

As the poet, Izumi points out, the practice of compassion can be extended not just towards other people and ourselves, but to all of our Earth Family. When we take the time to do just that, we discover more and more layers of our true selves. We discover just how beautiful we truly are. We discover oneness. We discover we belong to something much bigger. We discover we are part of the Essential We of Life.

The Narratives is a Whole Earth Care posting about people and the places or experiences in the natural world that say, "Yes, you are loved and you are lovely." We all have a special place or remember an experience like that. Let me introduce you to Angela and her narrative of Rondo Beach in Washington State.

"Just outside the window, across the way, the bunnies are looking for breakfast. Multiple varieties of birds are playing their flight games across a sky that is blue instead of the anticipated gray. Traffic, ground and air, moves steadily to destinations of work...or, perhaps early morning play.

Life moves all around me as I visit here in the house of my Washington family. No matter the family chatter, the inter-play of characters, the ebb and flow of emotions, always, in my conscious being I am aware that just down the road awaits a place of my heart.

If I was alone and had some choice about how to pass the time spent here, no minutes would be wasted within the walls of this home, no matter how treasured. Redondo calls to me, every moment that I am here.

It's just a small beach, bound by mostly small, nondescript houses, although the wealth and indulgence of our society is changing that with the growing presence of seaside estates.

But those fortunate people who live in the houses on Redondo Beach Rd... they have the world. Facing the water, the peninsula, the mountains and the setting sun, they have the world, separated only by a pane of glass.

The beauty of the crystalline, turquoise waters of the tropics is not painted into this picture. Instead, the water is grey with cold, veiling the untold stories....of treachery, of life, of the power of nature. It calls to me. It captivates me... like a lover who lights the way and fills my soul... deep, consuming, addictive.

Coming to this place, I am pulled to the ground, attached as I am to no other space. When we are moving away from the beach, I quietly mourn the loss, a growing weight on my heart. When we are driving and nearing the beach, my heart begins to race, as it would if I were meeting a long-lost lover.

At the beach today, I watched as a young family performed their pre-dinner ritual of skipping stones across that gray expanse. How lucky are they? I wonder if they know and appreciate their good fortune and the value of their choice to be at the water instead of at the mall.

Sometimes when I read a great book, one that I love and can identify with for one reason or another, I moderate my reading, sometimes reading only one page at a time, prolonging the inevitable... reaching the end of a wonderful, possibly life-altering experience.

Coming to this place, knowing that the end is near, makes my heart catch. I would like to be able to put the book down to prolong this time and feeling. I wish I could capture it in a picture or a song to carry in my head and my heart until I return... as I know I will. I have come to realize that being in this place is the only thing that I think I have ever really wanted.

We are leaving tomorrow, returning to our home in Ontario... thinking about it hurts my heart."
Angela

Thank you, Angela, for sharing this with us. It’s such a gift. You help the rest of us pause a moment and remember the place or experience where we and the natural world were not strangers.

Would you like to share an experience or a special place with our Whole Earth Care Virtuual Community? Send it along to: moczero@sympatico.ca

Earth Verse

Wide enough to keep you looking

Open enough to keep you moving

Dry enough to keep you honest

Prickly enough to make you tough

Green enough to go on living

Old enough to give you dreams
Gary Snyder
(Mountains and Rivers Without End: Poem)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Earth_Verse.html

Tom wrote, “The new astronomy contribution is beauty--fullllll!
Show this video to THE STAR LADY....I am sure it will inspire her to greater INNER AND OUTER spaces... (This video is quiet wonderful and very exciting... WOW! The wonder of it.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg&feature=player_embedded

Some of you have written to me re: trouble getting onto the Whole Earth Care Blog in the last few weeks. Carole was one. Last week , Carole wrote, “I was using Google Chrome as my explorer in recent months. Yesterday, I restarted using IE, and all your links now work. :)”

Hopefully, this might be of some help.

Carole also wrote, “Ev is quite a read!! Thanks for the new tangent.”

Video:

Have you heard about the Fun Theory? Here's an example. The Musical Stairs

http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3914

Fran, from Quebec, has sent us her lovely photos of November on Riviere des Prairies. These photos were taken from her backyard. Go to The Rogues' Gallery on the right sidebar to view them.

Thank you, Fran, for sharing these quiet moments at your home with our Virtual Community.

Don't forget to check out the Interactive Sites on the right sidebar of the Whole Earth Care Blog. There's fun to be had and some very good learning.

Earth Family First,

maureen

Photos by Goggle Images, Angela and Fran

Greek In The Round by Ev Rilett

2009-11-14T19:20:00.015-05:00

I am so excited. This Whole Earth Care Blog posting is the start of Greek in The Round by Ev Rilett.

Ev has generously offered to be our astronomer “in residence”. She will encourage us to get out into the night and look up, introduce us to the wonders of the night sky, teach us the stories of the gods and goddesses that reside above us and help us train our eyes to recognize the phases of the moon, the rotating planets of our little galaxy and the seasonal constellations.

Welcome Ev. What a delight!

Looking Up to the Sky

Taurus is well suited for viewing this month. You’ll find it in the south eastern sky around 10.00 pm. You can identify it by the V shape of 6 fairly bright stars. This represents the head of the bull.

The bull's brightest star, Aldebaran, is orange in colour and closest to Orion's belt which is just below and to the east of Taurus. Close to and above Aldebaran is a grouping of small stars called the Hyades. And, above the Hyades is a cluster of stars that at first glance may appear to be a tiny cloud. On closer inspection, you should be able to distinguish the six tiny stars of the Pleiades.

TAURUS - Perhaps the most famous of Zeus' relations with earthly maidens was his affair with Europa. Europa went out one morning with other maidens to gather flowers in their favourite meadow by the sea. She caught sight of a mighty but beautiful form - a bull like none other she had ever seen.

Some say his colour was snow-white, others chestnut; but all agree that his coat glistened with beauty in the sun. His horns were the shape of the crescent Moon, and though he looked powerful, his demeanour seemed so gentle that Europa and the other maidens drew nearer to admire the creature.

Europa thought to herself that the bull seemed more like a man than an animal. When he lay down at her feet, it seemed like an invitation to mount him and she accepted that invitation. The mighty bull leaped to his feet and raced to the open sea. Her terror blended with amazement when she opened her eyes and saw that his heavy galloping hooves were airborne upon the tops of the waves. All around her, sea-gods on dolphins (even Poseidon himself) sprang up and accompanied the pair.

She was, of course, carried off by the king of the gods, Zeus, in the guise of a bull. After a 600-mile journey across the wave tops, Zeus ravished Europa in Crete, his birth-land. Unlike some of Zeus' less fortunate conquests, however, Europa did not suffer the revenge of Hera, Zeus' wife. She eventually bore Zeus three sons.

The constellation Taurus has usually been identified with the disguise Zeus assumed to carry Europa away. Europa's name has been given to a major moon of Jupiter (Roman version of Zeus) and also to the continent we now call Europe.

The Hyades is a star cluster located in Taurus, and in Greek mythology, the Hyades were the daughters of Atlas and Aethra and half-sisters of the Pleiades.
Zeus had a son Dionysus, by Demeter, who was kidnapped and nearly killed. Thus, Zeus changed him into the shape of a kid to hide him from Hera (his extremely jealous wife) and entrusted him to the care of the Hyades sisters. He rewarded their faithfulness by placing them in the stars.

The Hyades make the shape of a V in the sky that is composed of 6 stars, the bright red Aldebaran (meaning the "Next One", from the fact that it rises after the Pleiades) being the main one.

In the lore of the ancients, the Hyades were associated with wet and stormy weather; the name itself is said by some to be derived from an archaic Greek word meaning "to rain". Pliny speaks of them as "...a star violent and troublesome; bringing forth storms and tempests raging both on land and sea..."

The Pleiades, M45, are the small group of stars most often referred to as the "Seven Sisters", the most famous cluster in the night skies.

One of the most significant roles the Pleiades played was to the Agricultural seasons. In ancient times of no calendars, the Pleiades marked the beginning of the new year, which was divided into two parts. The rising indicated the winter and the setting indicated the spring.

When the Pleiades rose in the fall, it was time to reap and in the spring when they set, it was time to sow. Thirty centuries ago, sailors waited for the spring rising of the Pleiades before setting out to sea and the ships were taken out of the water at the fall rising.

Although they are known as the "Seven Sisters", to the naked eye, the average individual can see only 6 of them. There are many stories as to why this is so.

The Big Dipper is often referred to as the Seven Brothers and it is said that the lost Pleiad was taken by Mizar to be his wife, and to this day, she resides with him as Alcor. Another legend is that 6 of the Pleiads married immortal gods while Merope married a mortal and, out of shame, the light of her star is so weak that it cannot be seen.

If you want to test your vision, try to see how many Pleiades you can count with your naked eye. At first it will look like a small fuzzy patch, but take a moment and concentrate.

How good is your vision? If you cannot see 6, maybe you need to think about having your vision checked.

Now, look through a simple pair of binoculars to see the Pleiades true glory. They are exquisite.

Ev Rilett

(If you wish to enlarge the photos, simply double click on them.)

Ev will be a regular writer for our Whole Earth Care Blog, so if you have questions for Ev's Greek in The Round, send them to moczero@sympatico.ca

The Silence of the Stars

When Laurens van der Post one night
In the Kalahari Desert told the Bushmen
He couldn't hear the stars
Singing, they didn't believe him. They looked at him,
Half-smiling. They examined his face
To see whether he was joking
Or deceiving them. Then two of those small men
Who plant nothing, who have almost
Nothing to hunt, who live
On almost nothing, and with no one
But themselves, led him away
From the crackling thorn-scrub fire
And stood with him under the night sky
And listened. One of them whispered,
Do you not hear them now?
And van der Post listened, not wanting
To disbelieve, but had to answer,
No. They walked him slowly
Like a sick man to the small dim
Circle of firelight and told him
They were terribly sorry,
And he felt even sorrier
For himself and blamed his ancestors
For their strange loss of hearing,
Which was his loss now. On some clear nights
When nearby houses have turned off their visions,
When the traffic dwindles, when through streets
Are between sirens and the jets overhead
Are between crossings, when the wind
Is hanging fire in the fir trees,
And the long-eared owl in the neighboring grove
Between calls is regarding his own darkness,
I look at the stars again as I first did
To school myself in the names of constellations
And remember my first sense of their terrible distance,
I can still hear what I thought
At the edge of silence where the inside jokes
Of my heartbeat, my arterial traffic,
The C above high C of my inner ear, myself
Tunelessly humming, but now I know what they are:
My fair share of the music of the spheres
And clusters of ripening stars,
Of the songs from the throats of the old gods
Still tending even tone-deaf creatures
Through their exiles in the desert.
David Wagoner
(Traveling Light)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Silence_of_the_Stars.html

If you have photos of this time of the year in your part of our world, please consider sending them to Whole Earth Care to share with the rest of our Virtual Community. Send them for The Rogues' Gallery to: moczero@sympatico.ca

Comments about what you read on our Whole Earth Care Blog are greatly appreciated. You can scroll down to the bottom of this or any past posting, click on Comments, follow the direction and have your say. Or simply send them by writing to ... yup!...you have it :-)moczero@sympatico.ca

And now for just the fun of it.

Videos:

This comes from Tom. He writes, “I showed this to my dog who wagged me that "I told you so".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

… just in case you feel sorry for the sheep…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tCbMFp7eUo&feature=fvw

Earth Family First

maureen

Photos by Google Images

Remembrance

2009-11-06T18:00:00.022-05:00

Without Compassion, What Hope?

Q: Is there any cause for optimism?

A: Well, personally, yeah. Everybody's got a life to lead and they've got a bodhisattva tendency, everybody wants to do good, so I just think on a personal level, yeah. On a larger scale, there doesn't seem to be any hope unless compassion becomes a more widespread important teaching on how to live. Compassion to self and others.
(Allen Ginsberg, Tricycle, Fall 1995) (Tricycle.com)

We have Not Come To Take Prisoners

We have not come here to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.

We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love.

Run my dear,
From anything
That may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings.

Run like hell my dear,
From anyone likely
To put a sharp knife
Into the sacred, tender vision
Of your beautiful heart.

We have a duty to befriend
Those aspects of obedience
That stand outside of our house
And shout to our reason
"O please, O please,
Come out and play."

For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,

But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom and
Light!
Hafiz

Joan sent us this:

Look carefully at the painting of the B-17 and note how shot up it is - one engine dead, tail, horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up... It was ready to fall out of the sky. (This is a painting done by an artist from the description of both pilots many years later.) Then realize that there is a German ME-109 fighter flying next to the B-17.

Now read the story below.

Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber Group at Kimbolton, England. His B-17 was called "Ye Old Pub" and was in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and fighters. The compass was damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to Kimbolton.

After flying the B-17 over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Stigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When he got near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his words, he "had never seen a plane in such a bad state". The tail and rear section were severely damaged, and the tail gunner wounded. The top gunner was dead on the top of the fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes everywhere.

Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.

To the right are photos of BF-109 pilot, Franz Stigler and B-17 pilot, Charlie Brown

Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly over, the North Sea towards England. He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, back to Europe. When Franz landed, he told the CO that the plane had been shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown and the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.

More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew. After years of research, Franz was found. He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions.

They met in the USA at a 379th Bomber Group reunion, together with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never fired his guns that day.

This photo shows (L-R) German Ace Franz Stigler, artist Ernie Boyett, and B-17 pilot Charlie Brown at that reunion.

When asked why he didn't shoot them down, Stigler later said, “I didn't have the heart to finish those brave men. I flew beside them for a long time. They were trying desperately to get home and I was going to let them do that. I could not have shot at them. It would have been the same as shooting at a man in a parachute.”

Both Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler died in 2008.

This is a true story. http://www.snopes.com/military/charliebrow

Video: One Day by musician Matisyahu. http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1753

Sunrise

You can
die for it --
an idea,
or the world. People

have done so,
brilliantly,
letting
their small bodies be bound

to the stake,
creating
an unforgettable
fury of light. But

this morning,
climbing the familiar hills
in the familiar
fabric of dawn, I thought

of China,
and India
and Europe, and I thought
how the sun

blazes
for everyone just
so joyfully
as it rises

under the lashes
of my own eyes, and I thought
I am so many!
What is my name?

What is the name
of the deep breath I would take
over and over
for all of us? Call it

whatever you want, it is
happiness, it is another one
of the ways to enter
fire.
Mary Oliver
(New and Selected Poems, Volume I)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Sunrise.html

Video: Well worth the watch. Sand Artist Kseniya Simonova
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6208721/Sand-artist-Kseniya-Simonova-winner-of-Ukraines-Got-Talent-becomes-internet-hit.html

The Great Work

Love
Is the great work
Though every heart is first an
Apprentice

That slaves beneath the city of Light.

This wondrous trade,
This magnificent throne your soul
Is destined for-

You should not have to think
Much about it,

Is it not clear
An apprentice needs a teacher
Who himself

Has charmed the universe
To reveal its wonders inside his cup.

Happiness is the great work,
Though every heart must first become
A student

To one
Who really knows
About Love.
Hafiz
(Theift, versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

____________________________________________________________________
Global Warming is the greatest threat to life on Earth. Please consider signing the petition below and encourage others to sign it, as well, by going to the website.

Why a Petition? "In 1999, the Canadian government signed onto the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement promising to cut back our Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs) 6% below 1990 levels. The Kyoto Protocol's commitment period runs from 2008 to 2012. Canada is now actually 26% above 1990 levels (and 33.8% above its Kyoto target) with no viable plan to meet its Kyoto commitment.

"The international community is coming together again this year from December 7 to 18 in Copenhagen to hammer out a post-Kyoto framework, which will begin in 2013.

The Kyotoplus petition is a way to get all Canadians involved in addressing the issue of climate change through demanding that the Canadian government does the right thing in Copenhagen. We hope to have at least one million signatures to impress on the Canadian government that the public is serious about tackling climate change both at home and abroad." Kyotoplus, Kairos

Click onto: http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/get-involved/campaign/kyotoplus-petition/

Want to learn more? Want to do more? Visit: http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/

Earth Family First
maureen
Photos from Google Images

It's Katie, The Answer Lady.

2009-11-02T00:26:00.018-05:00

Last year, Katie joined our Whole Earth Care Virtual Community and agreed to be our very own "Ann Landers" about all things that might concern us as we try to live with more awareness on this good Earth and with the rest of our Earth Family.

Katie, is back from her summer research in the North, back to working on her Masters in Science and back to answering our questions.

So, without further ado, here's Katie.

Q1- I'm thinking of buying a new car and am looking at a secondhand Prius by Toyota. I hear they are good for the environment, but I keep wondering what happens to the batteries and the battery fluid when the battery needs to be replaced in 10 years. Is it still environmentally "friendly"?"

A1- Good question! In traditional gasoline-powered cars, the battery typically lasts 3-5 years. However, according to most hybrid car producers including Toyota, Honda and Ford, tests have shown that the battery in hybrid cars last at least 150,000 miles with no obvious degradation.

These results suggest that you won’t actually HAVE to worry about replacing the battery every ten years because the battery should last the entire lifetime of the car. Once the car’s life, however, is over, the batteries can be recycled. In fact, Toyota’s website states that it has been recycling hybrid car batteries since the first model came on the market in 1998: “Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled.” To sweeten the deal, they also offer a 200$ bounty for every battery that gets returned. Even better news: if, for some reason, your hybrid car battery does not happen to make its way to a recycling facility, the chemicals inside them are much less destructive to the environment than the lead-acid or nickel-cadmium varieties.

Q2- "These days, everything is advertised as ‘natural’, ‘green’, ‘energy efficient’, ‘eco-friendly’, etc. When shopping for products, what symbols should we be looking for to ensure that we've got the real goods?"

A2- You’re absolutely right. There are a number of different brands of products that advertise “green” and “natural” ingredients and services, and it’s easy to get tricked by this so-called “green-washing”. For food products in Canada to be considered organic, they must be produced without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilization, biological engineering, radiation or sewage sludge. Only meat, and other animal products sourced from animals that were not exposed to antibiotics or growth stimulants are considered organic. Look for this symbol – Canada Organic . Biologique Canada - to ensure that your food products have been approved as organic by authorized inspection agencies:

Officially approved energy efficient appliances are also fairly easy to spot. Just look for the Energy Star symbol.

It gets a little bit trickier to ensure that you’re actually getting green products when you’re buying things like cleaning products, as there is no official regulatory body that approves products as “green”. The US based, non-profit organizations GreenSeal and EcoLogo offer verification for products that demonstrate their green-ness throughout their entire life cycle. These two organizations provide complete lists of all the companies and products that meet their green standards:

http://www.greenseal.org/findaproduct/location.cfm
http://www.terrachoice-certified.com/en/greenproducts/consumers/

Q3- "Do you know where I can find instructions to make a solar oven?"

A3- Well, that depends what kind of solar oven you’d like to make! Solar ovens are based on the general concept of funneling sunlight onto a dark, reflective surface where it can be focused and converted into heat. They work best when used with a dark cooking container or pot, since dark colours absorb heat most efficiently. Solar ovens can be made from simple components like cardboard, aluminum foil and duct tape. The following websites have a number of different solar oven designs with instructions as, well. Good luck, and happy cooking!

http://solarcooking.org/plans/
http://www.re-energy.ca/pdf/solaroven.pdf

Thank you, Katie, for this. It’s a delight to have you on our Whole Earth Care Blog Team.

Send in your questions to Katie, The Answer Lady at: moczero@sympatico.ca

Video:

Here are some astonishing statistics. Did You Know This?
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1551
To repeat the question – So what does it all mean?
Any answers, anyone?

This year, the hope is that we will begin to pay more attention to the world around us.

Ann sent this in for us to consider.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

In a Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar; a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen, then looked at his watch and walked on.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: Joshua Bell played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made....

How many other things are we missing?

Thank you, Ann.

This is from Carole, in Greece.

'Well, I haven't won much in the line of awards in my life, and I feel a bit embarrassed, and a lot proud. So odd to think my passions for natural life, for clean beaches and drinking water, could ever be awarded!!!!!!!!

Be great to have the ultimate award: a real clean, virginal world, as we dream of.

Supporting you is so easy, Maureen! I'm enthused by the track you are on, though I'm still learning your angle, new to me, thrilling, but still a puzzle, as are all the 'issues' we look at.

We do things, use materials, plant stuff, find philosophies, and we have yet to learn all the consequences of these acts. What a mystery, eh??

Hang in for following chapters!!
Thanks so much! Hugs
I LOVE the bear!!!
c :)

:-) back to you, Carole.

We are still looking for a Naturalist to help us understand the world around us. Great working environment, satisfaction garanteed. To apply or for more information on this Whole Earth Care Blog position, contact me at: moczero@sympatico.ca

Looking for your photos for the Rogues' Gallery

How many different types of tree leaves can you find in your neighbourhood? Do you know the names of these tree neighbours?

Meet you here next week.

Earth Family First,

maureen
Photos by Google Images

Returning After a Long While with Eco Lawn

2009-10-25T20:43:00.039-04:00

It's been a month, at least.

It's been a month of no postings with computer problems, a trip to Montreal to visit ailing family, the family home for Thanksgiving weekend and yes, poor time management. It's been a month of days swishing by like the leaves in an Autumn wind, full of busyness, noise and colour. Have you ever noticed how the dawn of each new season brings with it all sorts of change in schedules, family and friend commitments and a whole new list of must-dos?

I have missed our Virtual Community and posting the Whole Earth Care Blog these past four weeks and feel happy to be back at it.

a song with no end

when Whitman wrote, "I sing the body electric"

I know what he
meant
I know what he
wanted:

to be completely alive every moment
in spite of the inevitable.

we can't cheat death but we can make it
work so hard
that when it does take
us

it will have known a victory just as
perfect as
ours.
Charles Bukowski
(The Night Torn With Mad Footsteps)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/a_song_with_no_end.html

Last spring, I had a lawn that was the bane of my neighbourhood.

I had moved into my present home three years ago, with the lawn already laid out in neat rows of sod. The lawn needed care as it sat upon a solid table of clay with no augmentation of top soil. Truth be told, I am not big on lawns. Cutting, watering, fertilizing and weeding a lawn feels like a waste of my time and money and none of these activities are good for our environment, either.

I considered several ways to rid myself of this lawn, but most ideas either were too costly or would cause an uprising of indignant neighbours, as lawns are a great source of pride in this particular neighbourhood. I finally settled upon a plan to try one of the new eco lawns.

Eco lawns claim to be low maintenance, drought resistent and well suited for both sunny and shaded areas. The eco grass grows slower than the usual bluegrass, requires water only while it is getting established, needs mowing only 1 to 3 times during the summer to resemble a traditional lawn, or can be left uncut for a more gentle look. It may be fertilized once a year with corn gluten. It all seemed too good to be true, but worth a try.

Unable to pull the sod away from the dried clay, i put down 3 layers of newspaper. The newspaper blocks out the sun thus killing whatever grass or weeds are under it. Newspaper is cheap, biodegradable and the inks are vegatable based. On top of the newspaper, I threw 3 inches of good top soil which I ordered by the truck at a considerable discount from purchasing the same at a local nursery.

Three wonderfully kind neighbours helped me by watering down the newspaper to prevent the wind from blowing it down the street and picking up shovels to assist me with the top soil. It was a lot of heavy work. Then, I raked over the soil breaking up any large clumps and leveled the area.

One of my neighbours down the street, who was not at all keen on my work, asked me if I had not mistakenly put my new sod in upside down. :-)

Next came the seeding, followed by watering, and more watering, and yet more watering. At this point, I began questioning the whole "eco" part of eco lawns, but it seems the secret is to keep the soil moist until the grass seed sprouts. I was in luck - this was one of the most rainy summers in years. Within two weeks, there was a greenish hue over the soil and then, actual tiny blades of grass began to show.

By now, I had a number of (mostly male) neighbours giving me daily commentaries on the foolishness of my endeavour. I was told that seed is always a bad idea compared to sod, that the newspaper would create only a bumper crop of mushrooms and that weeds would, in the end, kill off any grass that might survive the first blush of lawn.

Within a month, I was overseeding my delicate green lawn with more eco lawn seed. All through the summer, my new lawn grew and I overseeded. Only one small mushroom managed to shove itself up through the dense growth of grass. Weeds did appear, but they were easily rid of by spending 5 minutes a day pulling them out by the roots. By mid-August, the front of my house was graced with a soft green lawn of slim blades that bent over gently at 4 inches.

The commentaries were now sounding more like complements. That same neighbour who first wondered about my upside-down lawn came up to me and said, "Well, it certainly is bushy!"

As October sets in with a chill to remind us that winter will not be far off, I can say with pride that I have one of the greenest, thickest and least weedy lawn in the neighbourhood and it requires next to no care.

Ah, but all is not bliss in this little suburb. The bag of eco lawn seed did not come with a booklet for a neighbour whose need for the traditional fertilized, watered and well manicured lawn surpasses my wildest imagings, nor did it supply me with a video on neighbour relations and negotiations. Despite my attempts to tell him about eco lawns and my requests to let the grass grow, my neighbour has cut my lawn several times over the summer and fall.

I have a question - do I have a lush lawn because of my neighbour's interventions or are eco lawns as wonderful as advertized?

Methinks, it is the eco lawn. And with that belief, I am overseeding my backyard this fall with eco seed. It seems my backyard will be a true eco lawn in 4 years if I overseed it every spring and fall, as the eco grass will gradually choke out the existing lawn with all its weeds.

To find out more about eco lawns, Google Eco Grass, Eco Turf and Eco Lawn.

BE DARING AND GO FOR IT. Be the first in your neighbourhood with a eco lawn. I am totally convinced that by next year my neighbours will be overseeding their traditional lawns with eco grass seed. My new eco lawn speaks for itself.

Did you know that The Whole Earth Care Blog is now a year old?

On Friday, September 25th, The Whole Earth Care Blog held its first Annual Awards Event.

It was a lovely crisp, sunny afternoon when Carole, from Greece, received the first annual award for her untiring devotion to our Virtual Community, commenting on blog postings, offering insights, ideas, and personal reports on her efforts to support our Earth Community. Over the last year, she has sent lovely photos, informative websites and e-zine addresses, helpful and fun videos and short articles. Besides all this, Carole has been very generous supporting me with her encouraging words and check-ins. Thank you so much, Carole.

The award is a Raku pin of a Polar Bear, designed by Barb Sachs. For more information on Barb Sachs' work, go to: http://wwwcirclearts.com/artisans/sachs.shtml

Katie, The Answer Lady is back next week with answers to some of your questions.

So, click into The Whole Earth Care Blog next week.

If you have questions for Katie about the environment, care for our Earth or products that claim to be environmentally healthy, email to: moczero@sympatico.ca

Earth Family First,

maureen

Photos by Google and from personal album

Guest Writer: Shooting the Sublime

2009-09-20T16:55:00.019-04:00

This year, the Whole Earth Care Blog will focus on paying attention to the gifts that are offered to us from Earth and our Earth Family.

When we take the time to really see, we become entranced, we fall in love. We wish to become involved, to support and lend a hand. We begin to see that we are a community, a family.

This week, Tom offers us a delightfully witty and insightful article on the digital camera and the true Art of Seeing. Take a bit of time for yourselves, sit back and enjoy.

Give him alms, woman
For there is nothing in this life
Like the sorrow of being
Blind in Granada.
Francisco de Icaza

SHOOTING THE SUBLIME

"Although all the senses participate in the discovering and experiencing the beauty-full, the tourist’s primary job is to see. Unlike joining the Army, tourism remains a relatively low-risk way to see the world. Thus, the most recent icon of world tourism, the digital camera, would seem a welcome complement to the tourist knap-sack. Thanks to this amazing piece of digital wizardry, recording visual experience has become an almost innate skill, rendering obsolete, with a mere push of the button, the fuss and muss of the picture post card with the intriguing foreign stamp, handwriting and the haiku greeting. No more fragile film, light meters, free-hand sketches, travel diaries, nor just plain old remembering; the camera’s the thing wherein one captures the soul of the sublime.

As the sword once empowered the conquistador and the cross the missionary, this sleek, hand-held, magic picture box has become the technological extension of homo viatorius in his role as ‘see-er.’ Since technological progress is neither positive, negative, nor neutral, there are, of course, consequences.

Due to the massive propagation of the digital camera, the tourist is no longer mere solitary adventurer, exploring marvels, great and small, uncovered leisurely on his journey of discovery. In addition to his traditional role as ‘sight-seer,’ the complete tourist must now also assume the role of ‘sight-recorder,’ a seemingly complementary role, but one which imposes a new duty—the bringing back alive of sights seen. The tourist’s unique face-to-face with the sublime then becomes a reproducible commodity, and his new task a social obligation, that is, the duty to reproduce digitally, for self and others, the visual experience.

Assuming this new role as visual trophy collector, however, creates a significant shift in tourist objectives, and it is not merely a shift in emphasis. This new technological icon, not unlike the sword and the cross, empowers the tourist to access a country’s natural and artistic wonders, while avoiding communion with the natives and participation in the cultural routine, thus surreptitiously tipping the delicate balance between the seer and the seen. This imbalance repeats the history of Europe’s colonizing of the New World and the African continent, wherein both the colonized and the colonizer ended up mutually diminished. A camera-safari remains a safari, with all its colonial reverberations; only the porters and the beaters are confused by the invisible kill.

As the desirability, simplicity, and economic availability of the digital camera has anointed it as touristically essential as sun screen and bottled water, the rituals of digital picture-taking have grown exponentially; taking not just a few, but a plethora of photos, has flourished into a primary tourist pastime, equally, if not more importantly, than ‘getting there’ and ‘being there.’ There are currently a number of tour packages which promise participants just enough time ‘in situ’ to take pictures, before swiftly whisking them off to the next photogenic destination. As they say in the trade, 'What you take in, you take out—and fast.'

Because the quantity of shots snapped is limited only by tour-time and battery longevity, myriad photos now record minutely every step of the earnest tourist’s trek both to and from the coveted sight-to-be-seen. And, once face-to-face with the culmination of tourist desire, it is not unusual to witness gangs of fast shooting camera slingers, caught in the cross-fire of an orgiastic digital shoot-out, in which photo gatherers and other strangers are trapped involuntarily in random view-finders, hindering mutually each other’s unbridled quest for the perfect shot, be it of the enchanting verandas of the Alhambra, the mystic light of Sainte Chapelle, the thunderous regard of Michelangelo’s Moses, the moody mists of Iguazu; each individual, intent only on his capture of an ineffable visual trophy, aligns eye and arm and view-finder in his attempt to freeze digitally an elusive epiphany of that infinite fecundity we label ‘Life.’

The digital capturing of the individual’s face-to-face with the sublime, however, often substitutes for the actual experience of beholding the wonder of nature, art or architecture. It is not unusual to see tourists spending precious ‘on-sight` time verifying or admiring the success of their snaps, rather than actually contemplating - with the naked eye - the primary object of their attention. Many seem to prefer the digital intermediary for filtering the experience of the glorious sight before them, as if confident that whatever is not noticed now will be there later--back in the hotel room… or on Facebook.

The act of seeing, however, is not for the double-parked before the rush-hour brothel of the tourist industry, notwithstanding Henry David Thoreau, who, according to a wag of his era, got more out of 15 minutes with a chipmunk than most couples get out of an hour in the sack. I suspect that neither Thoreau nor the chipmunk would approve such a comparison. They would, I believe, support that of Georgia O’Keefe, that painterly voyeur of the sensual flower: 'Still—in a way—nobody sees a flower—really—it is so small—we haven’t time—and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.'

And seeing remains the activity which most distinguishes the human from other animals. Though itself a simple act, seeing, like loving, is not the easiest; seeing requires silencing the clamouring of all our interior selves, being there – wholly - in the reality of now, active loving attention to the object, passive openness to the reality of the sublime. It is somewhat complicated today to see Niagara Falls.

Though we may not even know the name of what is seen nor its history, it is to be welcomed as honoured guest in the caverns of our beings and in the chimneys of our hearts. That it is visible, of this earth, and before us suffices. The encounter may trigger - metaphorically, of course - something akin to the English translation of Chief Joseph’s wonder-full Indian name: ‘Thunder Travelling Across the Lake…and Fading on the Mountainside.’

Not unlike the mystic’s face-to-face with the ineffable, the seer approaches the object-to-be-seen with respect and humility and receptivity to the presence of the real. There is an interior movement, the seer is sensibly enriched, brimful and flowing over; but it is impossible to describe what is received; there is no rational cause-effect, no object of computability. There is just communion with the grandeur of now, a humble being, there, within the eternity of the instant, something like the swan-dive of the spirit…

And, yes, Virginia, seeing happens… even to us ordinary mortals, not through any calculated effort of our own, but only because this is, always was, and always will be, the way of beauty with mankind.

Unfortunately, the faculty of wonder tires easily. Life would seem a great deal fuller than it does if it were not for the fact that the human being is, by nature, a creature to whom ‘O Glory!’ is less spontaneous than ‘Ho-hum.’ Today, however, thanks to digital gadgetry, it seems no longer necessary to commune with the wonders of our world. The grandeur of paintings, sculpture, mediaeval cathedrals, mosques, bridges, boats, and the manifestations of nature may easily be condensed to the square foot of the computer screen, in effect, replacing the contemplative moment and those very human activities which are potentially a part of that o-so-rare seeing event: e.g., a sense of fullness (everything is there; nothing is missing…), communion, awe, gratitude for being, the stopping of time (eternity in the instant of the now), the silencing of the rational, tears (Why not? There is so much…).

Like the ‘video-sizing’ of the Hollywood blockbuster and the consequent downsizing of the movie theatre and the giant screen, the digital camera is merely another evolutionary step in the technological miniaturization of the awesome. In this reductive process, something essentially human is being radically altered: the sublime, reduced to size of a credit card; the concomitant miniaturization of the architecture of the soul. Air travel may have shrunk the world and world tourism may be the express elevator to the department of the marvellous, but, like the lady said, 'The screens just keep getting smaller.' And, unfortunately, we with them.

The history of photography is laced with anecdotes about strangely recalcitrant men and women, refusing to be photographed, for fear that their souls would become imprisoned inside the black magic box. The fear is, perhaps, not unfounded.

And if you think this is just a pile of Luddite balderdash, I have pictures…"

T. L. McKeown
St-Adrien-d’Irlande, Québec

Thank you so much for this lovely gift, Tom.

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos from Google Images and family album)

The Awe of It

2009-09-13T19:16:00.016-04:00

September. A new beginning. This year, it is my hope that our Whole Earth Care Community grows in courage, determination, unity of spirit and purpose, and love for our mother, Earth and our Earth Family.

Let’s see what we can do this year. Let’s watch as we grow in beauty this year.

Has the moon been up there
All these nights
And I never noticed?

A whole week with my nose
To the ground, to the grind.

And the beloved faithfully
Returning each evening
As the moon.

Where have I been?
Who has abandoned whom?
Gregory Orr

Was there ever a time when you felt suddenly alive? It was like the doors of the world opened for a minute and you could see directly into life. You were able to touch life directly and were not lost in your fears and worries. This experience may not have been during a big event like performing in a play or playing in a championship game; it may have been while walking in the woods or talking to a friend. All of a sudden you felt alive, awake. This quality of waking up, or penetrating into life, we could call mindfulness. Mindfulness simply means being aware, being present. (Soren Gordhamer, from Just Say Om!, Adams Media Corporation, Tricycle.com.)

It’s interesting that we call this state, “mindfulness”. It really has nothing to do with thinking, an activity we quite often confuse with the mind. Mindfulness is dropping the thinking of something or someone, and just being there, present, open, non-judging. It’s being fully awake in the present moment, aware of that which is before us.

Young children do it so well. Just watch a child enthralled with a pebble found on a beach, a bug on a leaf, a little bird singing in a nearby tree. They really, really see it. They become one with what they are seeing. No separation. No you/me or even, dare I say it, I/Thou, but rather the Essential We.

The more we purposely pay attention, practice mindfulness, the more naturally it becomes a way of being for us. We start to really hear the crickets, really listen to what the person next to us is saying, really feel the gentle touch of the autumn breeze on our cheeks, really see the stars in the night sky.

We begin the journey of re-uniting with the world around us. We commune. We become the Essential We. We come home to our Earth Family.

Miracles

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge
of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with anyone I love, or sleep in the bed
at night with anyone I love,
Or sit at the table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honeybees busy around the hive
of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining
so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon
in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread
with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim-the rocks-the motion of the waves
-the ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?
Walt Whitman
(Leaves of Grass)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Miracles_Whitman.html

Media:

Videos:

The Philadelphia Field Project http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1647

Dr. Lakshman Yapa asks four very helpful questions:
“What does it take… to live in a healthy body, to have safe and affordable homes, to live in a supportive community, to live, love and die with dignity and it doesn’t take money to do these things?"

Watch this short video. It’s about West Philadelphia, but this video will help us consider what we can do for our Earth Family and ourselves.

Websites:

Toolkits for Sustainability http://www.thenaturalstep.org/en/canada/toolkits

This is a very good website and the toolkits are worth checking out. There's a toolkit specifically for our homes.

Blogs:

Salveged Bliss http://salvaged-bliss.blogspot.com/

Here’s a fun Blog to wander through. Blisse has all sorts of creative ways to re-invent what can be found at Garage Sales, Flea Markets and in attics.

We are still looking for a Naturalist to join us. Minimal work, wonderful working conditions, terrific pay – benefits are great, and can’t say enough about the working community. Apply by emailing me at moczero@sympatico.ca

We also would love to have an amateur Astronomer join our team. It would mean a commitment of four postings a year encouraging us to look up at the moon and stars, helping us understand the seasonal night skies and perhaps sharing a story about one of the constellations. Apply by emailing me at moczero@sympatico.ca

Short stories are wanted of your special experience or place in nature for The Narratives Postings.

Short simple articles are needed for the Guest Writers Postings.

And, Katie, The Answer Lady awaits your latest questions.

Heather wrote,

“Through poetry, reflections, convocation addresses, helpful household hints, testimonials, stories and photographs, Whole Earth Care continues to remind me that even though I have fully embraced recycling, energy saving, bring-your-own-bags, and reduce/reuse, there are entire communities of animals, insects, and people near and far that are effected by my actions and inactions. In my urban life, caught up in the busy day-to-day, this blog reminds me to remember birds, to pause and examine the majesty and delicacy of the earth outside my window, my car window, my classroom window. We live in times of immense oxymorons - driving automobiles to camp in nature, watching television instead of nature, the seduction of shoes while many have none, much freedom here while so little freedom there. My take on these juxtapositions is to choose wisely and consciously. Whole Earth Care spurs this conversation. My dialogue is only beginning.”

Thank you, Heather.

This year I wish us all the growing sense of awareness of our Mother, Earth and our Earth Family and the sense of belonging and oneness that comes with that awareness

Earth Family First,

maureen

(Photos from family albums)

August Interlude

2009-08-17T21:38:00.020-04:00

We don’t open our heart and mind because we haven’t experienced the benefit of doing that. Once we have experienced the truth, there isn’t even an issue. There is no worry. The whole question of whether we are ready to open our heart and mind to the truth isn’t even a concern.
(Anam Thubten, from "How a Tomato Opened My Mind" from the current issue of Tricycle) (Tricycle’s Daily Dharma) (tricycle@tricycle.com)

We can’t be present to the Other before us, if we are closed-minded and closed-hearted. We can’t be effective in this world, relate to Earth one-on-one, bring about the needed change, if we keep our hearts and minds closed off from the new experience that is there for us to receive as a gift each moment. Paying attention, with all our senses, opens us to new possibilities, being there with welcoming heart and mind will reward us beyond our imagings.

I dreamt half my life was spent
in wonder, and never suspected.
So immersed in the moment
I forgot I was ever there.

Red-tailed hawk turning
resistance into ecstasy.

The patrolmen joking with the drunk
whose butt seemed glued to the sidewalk.

A coral quince blossom in winter,
pink as a lover's present.

And tilting my bamboo umbrella
against the warm slant

of rain, was I not a happy peasant
crossing the great bay on a bridge that began

who knows when, and will end
who knows when?
Thomas Centolella
(Views from along the Middle Way)
web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/View_45.html

For this posting of Whole Earth Care, I thought it would be fun to hand over the keyboard to other Members of our Virtual Community. I hope it proves to be a refreshing change and, perhaps, it might encourage you to join in on the conversation. It's easy; go to comments at the bottom of the Posting or email me at moczero@sympatico.ca .

This Week’s Suggestion:

An elderly couple in the lobby of the Mayo Clinic spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year.

http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4365716

Let’s do something fun and creative this week that will bring smiles to all around us.

Thank you, Gail, for sending us this lovely video.

Getting To Know Our Neighbours:

Lately, I have been missing the boisterous sounds of tree frogs that I use to hear every summer before I moved away from my country home. Despite the trees around, I have not heard even a single croak from one of those little fellows here in suburbia. It worries me – where could they be?

Tree frogs are found in most countries around the world with ancestors that go back before the dinosaurs’ demise. As their name indicates, they live in trees or tall plants and bushes. They descend to the ground only to mate and spawn, and in those countries where the winters are cold, they will burrow into the earth below the trees where their bodies produce a type of glycerol that protects their body fluids and tissues from freezing.

Usually quite small, they have long hands and feet for grasping branches and leaves, and rough covered discs on their fingers and toes which have a sticky substance that aids in climbing.

Tree frogs are often hard to see as they use camouflage to protect themselves from predators – vivid greens to match surrounding leaves or a grey-brown to look like bark.

They are easiest found in the evening or early night when they start their very loud songs or calls.

It is estimated that a single tree frog can eat as many as ten thousand insects in one summer.

A Fact Or Two:

Cam wrote, “Do Laundry In Cold Water. Here are a few surprising facts.

Up to 90 per cent of the energy used in washing clothes is for heating the water.

If you wash four out of every five loads of laundry in cold water each month, you’ll save about 35 kilograms of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.

If you wash 80 per cent of your laundry on the cold/cold cycle every year, you’ll save up to $100 or more on your energy bill. ”

Thanks, Cam.

What Can We Do?

Corine wrote: “You would be proud.

I have invested into high tech H20 bottles - metal ones.

I have also started to do laundry - setting the machine to start at 0500 hrs and with me being up between 05:30 and 06:00 everyday, I drip dry most of it now, or hang it outside on a folding cloths line.

All of my light bulbs have been changed over to compacts - new smoke detectors and C02 monitor (x1), and I have recently found sub-compact flood lights - I will be installing them this weekend. There is a great solar flood light package that is now available which I will invest in next.

I also have all major electronics on monster power bars - at night I switch off the power bars to reduce the amount of phantom electricity that I am consuming.

I also have started to practice passive solar control - closing blinds and drapes - and turning on the AC when it is only completely necessary and turning it off at night if it is bearable to do so.

Down the road - more energy efficient fridge, stove and deep freezer. My washer
and dryer is very high tech and energy efficient and I certainly notice it with regards to both water and hydro consumption.

Fantastic, Corine. Mega congradulations.

And Teresa sent us the following Green Tip. I can tell you from trying it, that it works.

Recipe for a Non-Toxic Weedkiller

Into a spray bottle or bottles, cleaned and recycled from your home, add the following ingredients (You can double or triple this recipe.)

1 litre of white vinegar
¼ cup of table salt
1 tablespoon of dish detergent (Sunlight apparently works best)

Swirl gently – Do Not Shake

On a windlass day, spray unwanted weeds.
But remember… even “natural” weedkillers like this one will kill any plant.
So, spray carefully around trees, shrubs and other garden or bedding plants.

Thanks you, Teresa, for your contribution to the positive things we can do to be “Green”.

Media:

Articles:

Natural World Solves Major Environmental Disaster

Now here’s something to help us be more Hope-filled about our future.
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3788

Want to improve your cognitive functioning? Take a walk.
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3792

Blogs:

Helping “people create, present and appreciate art that heals our relationship with the natural world”.
http://www.greenmuseum.org/

Oh! And there is something else… Our friend Carole from Greece did some investigating into the report on viewing Mars this month. (See the July Whole Earth Care Posting.) Here’s what she found out.

Carole writes, “All the excitement about Mars…, well :-) oooooooooooooooo Dear Maureen! We missed this one! Darn, it’s old news.”

She sent these comments from a website on Urban Legends.

“Original version of a widely forwarded email claiming that August 27 will bring the closest encounter between Mars and Earth in recorded history. Unfortunately, this 'once in a lifetime event' already came and went in 2003.

Comments: This is roughly accurate — or it was in 2003, at any rate, when the above message first began circulating online.

On August 27 of that year the orbital paths of Earth and Mars brought the two planets to within 34.65 million miles of one another — closer indeed than at any other time in the past 50,000 years. Though Mars never actually appeared "as large as the full moon to the naked eye" (as claimed in the email), the red planet did vividly dominate the night sky for a brief time, making 2003's close encounter a once-in-a-lifetime event indeed for astronomers, space enthusiasts, and ordinary observers alike. Nothing so spectacular is predicted for 2009.”

OPPS! But, maybe it got some of us looking up into the sky. That would be a major plus and we would have seen some other amazing sights, even if Mars was not so visible, like the August full moon, the summer constellations and the Perseids.

It’s been wonderful hearing from some of our Virtual Community Members. Their sharing of ideas, photos and green accomplishments help us all realize that we can make a difference together. It encourages us all to be present to each other and to the rest of our Earth Family.

Let’s hear from you. Share with us what “green” changes you have made. Send in your ideas, photos, comments, articles, accomplishments and discoveries. Simply email me at moczero@sympatico.ca

And don't forget to email in your questions for Katie, The Answer Lady. Just write to moczero@sympatico.ca

As an aside, I am thinking we need to make Carole our Whole Earth Care Reporter at Large… :-) What say you, Carole?

Earth Family First,
maureen

(Photos from Google Images and personal album)

2009 - International Year of Astronomy

2009-07-11T14:04:00.017-04:00

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down,
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Mary Oliver
(New and Selected Poems, Volume I)

Did you know that this year, 2009, is International Year of Astronomy?

On Wednesday, July 8th from 9:58 to 10:02 p.m., my daughter and I watched the Space Station glide quickly by in the clear night sky. It was the brightest object in the sky moving from west to east. What an amazing treat!

Until Monday, July 20th, we can see the Space Station move at 29,000 Km per minute overhead usually around 10:00 p.m. It’s hard to confuse it with any other object in the sky because of its brightness and speed. There are 13 astronauts on board, two of whom are Canadian.

Here are some wonderful Websites to help you discover the mysteries of the night sky.

The Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events
http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy_calendar_2009.html

Discover the night sky. Go to:
http://www.thenightskyguy.com/

I find this website very helpful. For free monthly night sky maps, whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere or along the equator, go to:
http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

In the last posting, I suggested that we try to locate the Summer Triangle in the night sky.

The Triangle is easily seen with the naked eye as it is the most distinctive group of stars in the summer sky. It is made up from the brightest stars, Vega, Deneb and Altair, in three constellations. Vega is part of Lyra, Deneb is at the tail of Cygnus, the Swan, (also known as the Northern Cross) and Altair is at the head of Aquila, the Eagle.

Try looking up into the sky between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Look straight up to the zenith and move your eyes slightly to the east and slightly to the south. We are looking for three very bright stars. Once you have the very large Triangle in view, you will be able to see Cygnus, as well.

Gail, from our Whole Earth Care Community sent us this information.

“Mars The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!

This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that
will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history.

The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.

Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth
in the last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in
the night sky.

It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification.

Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.

Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.

By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty
convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history.

So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow
progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. And be sure to circle Thursday, August 27th so that you will be out in a clearing to see Mars so close to our Earth and her Moon.

Share this with your children and grandchildren.”

“If astronomy is good for the soul, then a summer night is the time for meditation.” Author unknown

Happy star gazing.

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos by Google Images)

Summer Times

2009-06-28T19:52:00.015-04:00

I haven’t posted Whole Earth Care since the weekend of June 6th. To me, it seems so long ago. There are lots of reasons why I haven’t written – some of them are pretty good reasons, and some of them are just excuses.

But, I’ve not been idle. While not writing, much thought has gone into the Blog, its design, what’s missing, how it can become more interactive, the frequency of postings and length. I have lots of questions about it. Not too many answers, yet.

What I did realize is that Summer is a very busy time for everyone. Sitting at the computer reading a Blog just doesn’t seem to be the best way to spend time.

Instead, let’s spend Summer re-discovering our Home, our beautiful blue Earth. It’s a time to pay attention to our neighbours – 2-footed, 4-footed, multi-footed, and those that stand still and give us shade on hot days, nourish us, delight us with colour, shape and texture. It’s a time to re-kindle and re-state our love for Earth, declare our heritage proudly, stop, savour and rejoice and be grateful for the gifts that we receive from our Earth Family.

To support you and me in this, I have decided to post only once a month this summer. For those of you that might be distraught without a weekly Whole Earth Care posting :-) I may, from time to time, post information, photos or websites that you send me, but I’ll keep it brief and I won’t send a reminder email to those who are on the Weekly Reminder List.

So!

Suggestions for Our Summer Times:

Breath in deep the fresh air, lie on the grass, sand or a favorite rock and watch the clouds, smell the clover – really – it has a lovely scent.

Look at the delicacy of flowers and cobwebs, tree trunks and water spiders.

Pick buttercups and hold them under the chins of your loved ones to see if they love butter.

Run out into the rain, jump into puddles: make the biggest splash. No one is looking.

Learn the names of three different kinds of birds.

Find the North Star, The Summer Triangle and Bootes, the Herdsman in the night sky.

Sit quietly and listen to the many voices of the wind.

Yes

It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could, you know. That's why we wake
and look out -- no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.
William Stafford
(The Way It Is)

What Can We DoThis Summer?

10 Easy Ways To Reduce Household Wastes:

Bulk Stores rule!

No wrapping, no packaging, no frills – just about anything you may need sits in large bins, ready to scoop. From pasta to peanut butter (self-ground) and anything in between. Just go easy on those chocolate chips.

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag).

Bring a cool-looking tote to take your groceries away in, and forgo those plastic carrier bags that stay around for the next few millennia.

Recycle.

Most cities and towns have a recycling program in place for paper, glass, tin, even kitchen waste. Garages will take your old car batteries and tires. Many hardware stores will take your old paint, batteries and old CFLs.

Compost your kitchen scraps. Your flower beds will be happy.

Lug Your Mug for take-out coffee; many places will even give you a discount for it.

Avoid take-out food. I know, that can be a challenge on a Friday night. But all those plastic and foam take-out boxes produce a big stream of toxic garbage.

Eat home-cooked meals.

Okay, another potential mine field here, but let’s face it: all those plastic and aluminum trays that those frozen dinners and prepackaged meals come in don’t really compensate for their overload of sodium, saturated fats and missing vitamins.

Drink tap water instead of bottled water. Evian and Perrier are no longer cool.

Repair, don’t throw out. Need I say more?

Buy durable.

Sure, it may be a little bit more to get the better quality product, but it will last much longer and always pays for itself in the long run.

The best thing about cutting back on garbage: the instant results and savings.

(Green by Design http://greenbydesign.com/blog/ )

Media:

Online Magazines: The Green Living Magazine for June is ready to read. Good stuff.

http://www.greenlivingonline.com/

Videos: Ain’t No Reason

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1483

Articles: Paul Hawken’s Commencement Address
If you read nothing else on this week’s Blog Posting, please read this.

It will take perhaps 5 minutes of your time, but when you are finished

the article, you will be inspired and full of hope.

Pass it on to any graduate you know.
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3697

Wildlife Federation Gardening

http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/en/gardening-for-wildlife

If you have any suggestions or discover something wonderful about our Earth Community this summer and want to share it with the rest of us, click on Comments at the bottom of the Posting or email me at moczero@sympatico.ca

And if you have a photo or two to share with us, send them as attachments for The Rogues Gallery.

Happy Summer Times,

Earth Family First,
maureen

(Photos by Google Images)

Guest Writer: The Living and the Dying

2009-06-07T16:12:00.022-04:00

This week, Angela offers us a meditation on life, on the living and the dying of life. She reminds us to take the time to pause and consider, to become aware of what we often take for granted, to remember and be grateful.

I find Angela's writing a true gift.

A man died today...a husband, a friend, a dad.

As his family prepares to acknowledge his passing, one of the most difficult days of their lives, the willows weep with the green of youth; the forsythia echoes the radiance of the sun; the grass grows tall and the birds twitter through their nesting process.

Everywhere there are signs of new life, of beginnings; whispers of what tomorrow could bring. Arrangements are made, for a place, a service; for flowers and food and music; a gathering to commemorate a life that has seen its time arrive and depart.

There is such stillness in death. It envelopes the partners who meet to embrace the memories of someone who has continued on without them.

And even as these people gather, life flows onward, never mindful of what is lost, what is left behind.

It is up to us to remember...

In the garden, even as new life grows, I have sometimes vague, often vivid, recollections of favorites that no longer linger. They too have passed.....the clematis that covered the garage, a cacophony of blue and purple; the white lilac, the roses and phlox that no longer adorn my beds.

We must be ever mindful that every thing has its lifetime. If we are to lead fulfilled lives, we must fill our moments with the wonder of the world that surrounds us every day… the people we love, the trees that bring us life and shelter, the flowers that bring us beauty, the animals that bring us joy, because they may never pass this way again.

Angela

Thank you very much, Angela, for this.

Grief Will Come To You

Grief will come to you.

Grip and cling all you want,

It makes no difference.

Catastrophe? It's just waiting to happen.

Loss? You can be certain of it.

Flow and swirl of the world.

Carried along as if by a dark current.

All you can do is keep swimming;

All you can do is keep singing.
Gregory Orr
(How Beautiful the Beloved)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Grief_will_come_to_you.html

Media:

Articles:

Reverence for Life by Albert Schweitzer
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3713a

Gratitude
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3641

7 Gratitude Ways
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3641a

Monday, June 8th is World Oceans Day.

For information on our oceans, The Ocean Project and World Ocean Day go to: http://www.theoceanproject.org/wod/

The week of Monday, June 8th to Saturday, June 14th is International Rivers and Oceans Week.

To find out more, go to: http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/what-we-do/issues/water/

Sunday, June 14th is Canadian Rivers Day.

For information on Canadian Rivers Day go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Rivers_Day

For information, photos and stories about Canadian rivers, check out The Canadian Heritage Rivers System at: http://www.chrs.ca/Main_e.htm

I hope you do check out some of these websites.

When we walk by a creek, cross over a bridge, look out onto the ocean, let's celebrate and be grateful for our blue planet.

Earth Family First,

maureen

(Photos by Google Images)

Katie, The Answer Lady from Alaska

2009-05-30T14:01:00.031-04:00

Katie is back to answer your questions.

This month, she answers Alan’s question on recyclable plastic bags and Janice’s request for some information on her summer research work in Alaska.

If you go to our Rogues’ Gallery at the left of the Blog page, you will see photos of Katie at work and get a sense of the area in which she is working.

So here’s the question from Alan…

“Many stores are trying to encourage use of recyclable bags. I have heard that this strategy is not as environmentally friendly as one might think because of the energy costs of producing the recyclable bags and the fact that some of the bags are also not biodegradable. Can you please tell us what the "real story" behind this strategy is -- how much will it help Mother Earth?" Thanks, Alan

And here’s Katie’s answer.

I think that one of the best ways to begin to answer this question is to give you some idea about exactly how damaging plastics and plastic bags can be. Here are some truly astounding figures:

· Plastics do NOT biodegrade. Rather, they photodegrade. This means that when exposed to enough UV rays, they will begin to break down into smaller and smaller pieces which can then be incorporated into smaller and smaller creatures who mistake these plastic bits for food. Even plastic bags that propose to be biodegradable require extremely high temperatures (i.e. 100 ˚C) and will even then probably leave behind polymer fabrics that originally bound the biodegradable material together.

· Depending on who you ask, somewhere between 500 BILLION and 1 TRILLION plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.

· Plastic pieces outweigh surface zooplankton in the Central North Pacific by a factor of 6-1.

· Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year as they can easily be mistaken for food.
There are a few questions you should ask yourself when trying to determine the benefits of reusable bags. (Reusable bags are those sort of sturdy ones....either the ones that you buy at the grocery store for a dollar, or the ones that you pay a bit more for which are a good long term investment.)

The first question being - is this bag a quality product? If the bag was made out of durable materials then chances are you can truly use and re-use this bag over a long period of time. If the bag is flimsy or made from cheap products, you may only get a few uses out of it before it breaks and becomes another throwaway.

Many companies offer reusable bags made from recycled and natural materials, so choosing these products will help you to both recycle old waste, and limit the production of new waste.

Secondly, who made it? A number of retailers offer bags that were made in co-operation with sustainable development initiatives and according to Fair Trade work standards. While these bags are generally more expensive than the ones you might get at the grocery store, you can be sure that your money is going to support people in need without exploiting them or the resource base in which they live.

A good, reusable bag has the potential to save over 300 plastic bags over the course of a year (and many reusable bags come with a lifetime guarantee!). Moreover, if you shop at a store that offers a discount for bringing in your own bags, you will re-coup the money you invested.

While it is true that the production of all reusable bags requires some input of energy and materials, these costs are offset when you consider the amount of plastic that they can prevent from being put into our streams, oceans and sea creatures.

Overall, the key to making sure that you’re having the biggest positive impact on the environment is to use these bags as they were intended: Repeatedly!

Here are some links to companies that offer reusable bags made from either natural or recycled materials:

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/acme-bagsâ

http://www.envirosax.com/

http://www.rumebags.com/

Janice wrote,
Hi Katie,
Can you tell us about your research in the Artic?

My Research!

I’d like to start off by thanking all of you for your interest in, and enthusiasm about my work. I’m very lucky to be able to live and work in such a remarkable place as Alaska, and I’m happy that I can share that with all of you.

I work in peatlands. Peat, as any recreational gardener may know, is extremely rich in carbon. Peatlands are very good at taking up atmospheric carbon in the form of carbon dioxide, incorporating it into new plant material and then burying it in the ground.

Northern peatlands in particular are great at storing carbon since they’re often found in areas of permafrost (or, permanently frozen ground) where the cold soil temperatures limit the amount of decomposition that can occur. In fact, despite covering only a small percentage of total land area, peatlands in northern latitudes store approximately one third of total global soil carbon.

In the past, my advisor Dr. Merritt Turetsky has, therefore, referred to northern peatlands as a ‘ticking time-bomb’ since there’s so much carbon stored in these sensitive regions. Any changes to global climate patterns (read: Global warming) may affect the way these areas take up and store carbon. Moreover, any changes to the storage capabilities of these areas may result in large releases of the carbon that has been stored in these peatlands for millennia.

Carbon can be released from peatlands in two forms: Carbon dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4). I’m sure you’ve all heard about the dangers of high CO2 levels in the atmosphere, but you may not know that CH4 is, in fact, over 20x more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

CH4 can be released from peatlands in three ways: through plant stems, through soil diffusion or through bubbling. My research is aimed at figuring out exactly how much CH4 is being released from a peatland that has recently undergone permafrost thaw from each of these three pathways, and to try and identify what factors (i.e. soil temperature, local plant community, water level) play the biggest role in determining which pathway the CH4 will take to leave the soil and enter the atmosphere.

In order to complete this work, I get to spend my summers in sunny Alaska! There’s a saying about Fairbanks: The people are unusual and the beer is unusually good. I’m very lucky that I get to work with an amazing group of students and researchers in one of the most wild and untouched places on earth.

If you have any more questions, or want more detailed information, please let me know and I’ll be sure to pass it along to you!

This is great, Katie. So interesting and the photos really help us visualize where you are and what you are doing. Thank you so much and more photos please…

Media:

Videos:

The Impact of Plastic Bags
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeBuHqomufk&feature=related

Plastic Bags - JUST SAY NO!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktLG5Iw_kC8&feature=related

Morgan Hoesterey Message in the Wave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVjue0R5tHQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eplasticbagfree%2Ecom%2Fiframe%5Ffacts%2Ephp&feature=player_embedded

Shannon wrote,

“I can’t get the question I found on your site out of my head "When birds are carrying unlaid eggs, in early spring for instance, do they look pregnant?"!! I know I should know the answer but I’m not certain. One more random thought rambling away in my head. :)"

Well, our most loyal and avid Virtual Member, Caroles, has the answer for Shannon and the rest of us.

Caroles writes,

“I have a wonderful friend here in Almyros (Greece), a vet, Glika Hatzi. She also has 4 kids! Her practice includes cows, horses, goats/sheep, chickens, all kinds of birds, cats, dogs (OF COURSE!), and whatever else… She told me a bird carrying an egg, fertile or not, does not look pregnant!
I did enjoy the idea of watching for the bulky tummies of a passing flock, tho!"

Caroles also has a question for us. Keeping in mind that she lives in Greece, do any of you know the name of her plant?

Here is what she emailed, “Hi!! Again, thanks for 'blogging'!! and sharing. Thought you might like this odd plant, whose name I don't know. (photo of this green plant is in the Rogues’ Gallery) I dug it up on a mountain in Greece while on a trip with a high school friend. It has lived for about 5 years now in our garden, and has had many offspring, each one replanted where it will fit and be allowed to beautifully groundcover.
This lime-shaded sphere is it’s flower. It's green all year long, despite below zero and above 40! This flower's almost done; the sphere got bigger and bigger as it matured. Enjoy spring!"

Still looking for a Naturalist to join us. Minimal work, wonderful working conditions, terrific pay – benefits are great, and can’t say enough about the working community. Apply by emailing me at moczero@sympatico.ca

Short stories of your special experience or place in nature needed for The Narratives Postings.

Short simple articles needed for the Guest Writers Postings.

And, Katie, The Answer Lady awaits your latest questions.

I hope you have been looking up towards the sky, noticing the various cloud formations and the change in constellations in the spring night sky.

June’s Full Moon will take place on June 7th. Some names given to this moon are: Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, Green Corn Moon and Honey Moon.
http://www.fabandpp.org/cotm/moons.htm

Let’s meet again next week with a lovely piece from Angela for the Guest Writer Posting.

Oh! And just a little tip re: the Rogues' Gallery. If you move the curser onto a particular photo in the Rogues' Gallery, Katie's photo for instance, a title or explanation of the photo will show up.

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos from Google Images)

Greening Gardening

2009-05-25T17:44:00.021-04:00

No matter where we are in the world, gardening is on most people’s minds, these days. It’s a busy time, a time full of dreams and aching body parts.

If in the Southern Hemisphere, you might be preparing to put the garden to bed, dreaming of next year and what else you would like to include in your garden’s array of plants, trees, blossoms, herbs and vegetables.

In the Northern Hemisphere, potting plants, augmenting the soil, choosing the vegetables, herbs and flowering plants you want this year to grace your spot of land, and reading about the latest and best methods to garden may be taking up quite a bit of your time.

This Week’s Suggestion:

On one of these fine days or evenings, put together a picnic for the family or a couple of friends. The simpler, the better. Let it be spontaneous, just for fun – a “Why not!” Head out to a green space, whether it’s your backyard, a local botanical garden area, down by the creek, up into the woods, or in a meadow you drive by often but have never stopped to explore. Throw down a blanket and enjoy each other’s company in the company of wild things from trees and grasses to birds and butterflies.

Getting To Know Our Neighbours:

Lacewings, bumble bees, honey bees, mason bees, yellow jackets, assassin bugs and parasitic wasps are some of the “good” bugs for our gardens. They eat “bad” bugs like scale insects and aphids, and help pollinate plants. The ladybug (a.k.a. ladybirds, lady beetles, lady cows and lady flies) are the most recognizable and to most people, the most charming of these good bugs.

There are over 5,000 kinds of ladybug, 450 of which reside in North America. Most are orange, yellow or deep red in colour with black legs, head and antennae, ranging in size from 1 mm to 10 mm. They have black spots on their wing covers or back. These spots fade as the ladybug gets older. Another interesting fact is that the ladybug, when flying, beats its wings 85 times a second

Females are larger than males and lay about 1,000 in a life time. Infertile eggs are laid beside the fertile eggs as insurance that the newly hatched larvae have sufficient food. The eggs look like yellow spots and can be seen attached to foliage or structures in the garden, usually close to "food".

The larva is rather ugly and could be mistaken for yet another bug to rid the garden of, but with patience, this creature will develop into a friendly, helpful and loveable garden friend, like the parents. (http://www.alive.com/6142a15a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=606)

A Fact Or Two:

There are gardens everywhere – on top of apartment buildings, in tiny backyards, in a couple of pots on a windowsill or on a porch, in community designated areas, out on farmers’ fields and in vacant lots in the inner cities. These all add up to a large and important area of green sustainable living.

Green gardening means not using harmful pesticides, broad-spectrum insecticides and artificial fertilizers, as well as preserving heritage seeds, caring for the soil, reusing and recycling as much as possible, and providing a safe place for wildlife.

A green garden can help reduce the impact of climate change on a property.

Plants native to the area require less care and encourage good bugs to stay.

Good bugs like to make home in a mixed garden of vegetables, fruit and flowering plants.

It takes about 1,000 years for the Earth to produce 2.5 cm 91 inch) of top soil.

Rather than digging up the garden, spread manure and compost over it and let the earthworms take the nutrients down deep into the soil.

Organic mulches biodegrade and add to the soil structure, as well as help prevent weeds, stop soil erosion and save water by reducing water evaporation from the soil.

By using drought resistant plants, we save on the use of water.

Save time and water by checking weather reports before watering the garden.

If you provide the food, water, shelter and space wildlife need to survive, you can apply to the Canadian Wildlife Federation for backyard certification. Check it out at http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/

http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/ also provides a Seasonal Gardening Guide and can help in the selection of the perfect plants for our gardens.

What Can We Do?

Maybe there are a few of you out there feeling like me right now – sore, really sore. Lately, my body has been screaming at me to remember to stretch after I’ve been out in the garden. Something I always forget to do until it’s too late. By evening I’m so stiff and achy that the simple act of bending over to pat my dog has me moaning. To not do what I do, here are some simple stretching exercises for gardeners.
http://www.shelterpub.com/_fitness/_stretching/gardening.html

http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/stretch.htm

Media:

Articles: Beneficial Bugs in the Garden
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/pest-meet-predator

5 Simple Pest Remedies for the Garden
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/yard-garden-5-home-remedies.html

How to Make a Butterfly Garden
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/create-your-own-butterfly-garden

Composting 101
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/composting-101

5 Ways to Love Trees
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-ways-to-show-trees-the-love.html

Videos: This is the “Let’s Do It” Campaign in Estonia. It’s inspirational.
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3683

Caroles sends this message, “Have to show you this. Please check it out.”
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

Caroles from Greece can inspire all parents, grandparents and friends of children. She writes: “My grandson, Adam, and I planted strawberry plants two yrs ago - he loves me for gardening… At 5 now, he knows weeds and seeds. For the last 2-3 yrs., he and I weed together. We call it 'walking grass'...as the grass wants to spread into the flower beds in Burlington, Ontario. The rabbits eat the strawberries, so, he and his dad are considering ways of protecting the fruit, but Adam's happy the rabbits have food."

Rogues Gallery

Caroles has sent us photos from her garden with these comments, "Amazing beauty, awesome workload for just one day of glory! The flowers are all wilted, this, the next day of the sequence, not shown here."

Next week, Katie, The Answer Lady will be back with answers to your questions. She will also tell us about her research work in Alaska and provide photos, too.

Earth Family First,

maureen

(Photos from Google Images)

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T00:50:00.026-04:00

Today is International Mother’s Day - a special day set aside to celebrate our mothers.

We all have mothers, those women who have cared for us, shared with us their love, taught us, birthed us, told us we were worthy. Some of these women are our birth mothers, some are not. Some are teachers, some came into our lives for a short time to support us, to let us know we belonged. Some are sisters, or aunts, or grandmothers. Some are even strangers who let us know we have reason to hope.

And, Earth is our mother. We are all born from Earth. She nourishes us, clothes us, provides us with shelter. It is through our mother, Earth, that we all share a common ancestry. Because of our mother, Earth, we are family. We are the Earth Family.

The earth obey’d and straight
Opening her fertile womb teem’d at a birth
Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms,
Limb’d and full grown…
John Milton, Paradise Lost, V11, 453

Mother and Child

“I love you,”
said the great mother.
“I love you for what you are
knowing so well what you are.
And I love you more yet, child,
deeper yet than ever, child,
for what you are going to be,
knowing so well you are going far,
knowing your great works are ahead,
ahead and beyond,
yonder and far over yet.”
Carl Sandburg, Wind Song, The People, Yes

Invisible Work

Because no one could ever praise me enough,

because I don't mean these poems only

but the unseen

unbelievable effort it takes to live

the life that goes on between them,

I think all the time about invisible work.

About the young mother on Welfare

I interviewed years ago,

who said, "It's hard.

You bring him to the park,

run rings around yourself keeping him safe,

cut hot dogs into bite-sized pieces for dinner,

and there's no one

to say what a good job you're doing,

how you were patient and loving

for the thousandth time even though you had a headache.

"And I, who am used to feeling sorry for myself

because I am lonely,

when all the while,

as the Chippewa poem says, I am being carried

by great winds across the sky,

thought of the invisible work that stitches up the world day and night,

the slow, unglamorous work of healing,

the way worms in the garden

tunnel ceaselessly so the earth can breathe

and bees ransack this world into being,

while owls and poets stalk shadows,

our loneliest labors under the moon.

There are mothers

for everything, and the sea

is a mother too,

whispering and whispering to us

long after we have stopped listening.

I stopped and let myself lean

a moment, against the blue

shoulder of the air. The work

of my heart

is the work of the world's heart.

There is no other art.
Alison Luterman
(The Largest Possible Life)

Every weekday morning, I go to my computer to receive the latest gift from Joe Riley. This gift starts my day’s meditation, my work day, and my daily intention. Joe Riley is responsible for Panhala, an email offering a lovely photograph, a poem and music. (http://www.panhala.net/).

On Friday, May 8th, Joe added a “Bonus Track” with the following message,

“Sunday, we celebrate Mother's Day.
For some, it is a matter of memory, for others an appreciation of the present.
The poem, Kaddish, by David Ignatow, is for both. Kaddish, of course, is a prayer for the dead, but we are often reminded of things we wish we had said when we had the chance.

It is also a favorite of mine so want to present it again.

And this is for you, Mom. I love you.

If you're interested: http://www.panhala.net/Archive/Kaddish.html

(The music is "Quiet Theme" by Mark Knofpler, from his album A Shot at Glory)”

To subscribe to Panhala, send a blank email to Panhala-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Next weekend is a holiday weekend, so I will not put out a Whole Earth Care Posting.
The next Posting will be for the weekend of May 23 – 24.

Happy Mother's Day.

Earth Family First,
maureen

(Photos by Google Images and family photos)

The Narratives - A Favorite Place

2009-05-01T18:05:00.025-04:00

When we listen to a small part of someone’s else’s story, when we share a tiny piece of our own story with someone else, our life experience expands. We are richer for the sharing and the listening. We become one, in a way – the storyteller and the listener. Our experiences fuse. The storyteller steps into the listener’s world and the listener discovers another world that informs, teaches, enriches and provokes. The listener’s world changes, often at a very deep level of intuitive learning and understanding.

Kathy generously shares a tiny snippet of her childhood. It’s but a glimpse and yet, it is so rich with sights, sounds, emotions, and even the feel of the play between sun and shade. She takes us by the hand and leads us to her favourite place. It’s such a lovely gift.

A Favorite Place

Growing up in the country, my grandparent’s house was just across the field from ours. A well trodden narrow path led from our back door across our front lawn and past a luxurious grassy mound on the left. This mound had once been a place where chicken manure had been stored and now it provided a perfect bed for a tall growth of grass. (A great place for lying on your back looking at the stars.)

On the right, another path led into the forest and to an enormous pine tree. My father had attached a swing to a high limb and that swing, the longest in the world, transported us into the sky way above our country kingdom and back down, close to the forest floor.

But continuing on the path to my grandparents, (as if this ideal playground was not enough) stood another favorite tree. This sturdy, adult maple was easy to climb and offered several limbs to stretch out on. It was wonderfully green and leafy up there in the summer and I could hide and dream safely aware of all that was happening way down below around both houses.

I still remember the sound of the wind in that tree and imagining friendly spirits all around. Dogs would bark and a screen door would slam. I could yell down to my brother and sister and delight that they could not find me, at least for a while. I could see my grandfather praying and nodding off in his wooden chair in a shady corner of his yard. A squirrel nattered away at me for invading his territory and insects would continue their endless duties all around me. Wasps and bees would not bother me if I didn’t bother them, while the sun would dance with the twisting leaves. It was perfect. Even on hot still days, it was the place to be. Cicadas shrilled above my head proclaiming a long, stifling afternoon, but in my tree nest, I remained cool and content.

I see now why it was the best of all worlds for me, a growing child. The maple tree in its rootedness held me securely while it offered me an experience of solitude and independence. I could hold sway above my everyday world and have a different perspective from that of the youngest and smallest kid, following the others around. The dreaming and imagining contained all possible worlds and all possible futures.

And yet I had just to open my eyes to see the path that lead to the tree, my beloved house and my grandfather dozing in the shade of his garden. That was also my world, but really one no less real or important than the other imagined ones. It was an experience of balance between independence and dependence, the real and the imaginal, and the present and the possible.

I think as children we try to find what we need. How fortunate we were to have the natural world so available to us that offered these possibilities. I would only wish it for every child.

Thank you, Kathy, for this. Truly, if every child could have such a place.

When They Sleep

All people are children when they sleep.

There's no war in them then.

They open their hands and breathe

in that quiet rhythm heaven has given them.

They pucker their lips like small children

and open their hands halfway,

soldiers and statesmen, servants and masters.

The stars stand guard

and a haze veils the sky,

a few hours when no one will do anybody harm.

If only we could speak to one another then

when our hearts are half-open flowers.

ords like golden beeswould drift in.

Teach me the language of sleep.
Rolf Jacobsen

Rogues’ Gallery:

"Our veranda here in Greece. Wisteria...at it peak of blossoming. It's full of what I think are called 'bumble bees', huge fat guys, and the plant HUMS! all day long. The table barely visible in the picture, at the right, round, by the doors there, is an old 'bobbin' type thing that the electricity had cable wound on -very sturdy table!!! That's a walnut tree at the left, just budding. When its leaves fall, i just shove them under that area of bushes: God's instant mulch, not to mention fertilizer. Thanks for your blog. Take care! Caroles

The other photos, Signs of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, are mine. Now, let's see yours.

Media:

Websites: Fran wrote: “Maureen, a great website to look for interesting workshops on
sustainability, spirituality, developing our relationship with the earth and
understanding the times we are living in is http://www.genesisfarm.org/
It was begun by Sister Miriam MacGillis, longtime friend of Thomas Berry.”

Video: This is just for sheer joy and smiles.
I’m sure most of you have seen this, but it is so good for our hearts…
The song, this wonderful person and her spirit, and the way she changes opinions
within an instant, can give us hope in our dreaming of our Dream.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&NR=1

Saturday, May 9th is International Migrating Bird Day.
Check out these websites to learn more:

http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/2009/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=535&ArticleID=5803&l=en

http://www.naturecanada.ca/bird_cons_involved_migratory.asp

http://www.fws.gov/birds/imbd/materials.html

And, do not forget Sunday, May 10th. It’s Mother’s Day. A very important day…

Articles for the Guest Writer Posts, your stories of a favorite place or moment in Nature for The Narratives, questions for Katie, The Answer Lady, photos for the Rogues’ Gallery, comments, suggestions, etc., etc. are all welcome. (I’m becoming such a nag!)

The position of Naturalist for The Whole Earth Care Blog is still open.

Please apply to: moczero@sympatico.ca

The Full Moon for May will be up on the 9th. Some names given to May’s Full Moon are: Milk Moon, Dragon Moon, Planting Moon, Moon When Leaves Are Green, and Hare Moon.

Let's meet like this again next week.

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos by Google Images and Family Photo)

Katie, The Answer Lady is Back

2009-04-19T17:04:00.036-04:00

In my part of the world, daffodils, scilla, grape hyacinths, and forsythia are blooming, with a magnolia stellata just moments away from bursting its buds into beautiful starry white flowers. All this despite the prevailing bitter cold northeast winds.

The juncos left last week for colder breeding areas and the goldfinch males have donned their bright yellow and black attire.

Spring is here. I hope those of you in the northern climes are finding the time to get out with the sun to enjoy all the renewed life about. There is so much to notice; the sights, sounds, smells and feel of a new season.

Katie is back with answers to your questions. This will be her last Posting from Guelph before she leaves for her summer research job in Alaska. But, fear not. She will have her computer and access to the Internet, and will continue to post answers to our questions.

So here’s Katie, The Answer Lady.

Q1. I'm looking at pulling up my sod on my lawn and putting down some other form of eco-friendly ground cover. There is some talk now of eco-lawns ( Eco-Turf, No Mow Lawn and Enviro-turf, for example), but I find most landscapers I've spoken to are skeptical. How much of a saving to the environment and to me are these eco-lawns? Thanks, Joseph

A1. Most of the eco-friendly ground covers (including EcoTurf and Enviroturf) are made up of several grass varieties called fescues. Fescues are typically found in cool temperate climate zones including Canada, which generally make them a good choice for Canadian lawns. Another big advantage of eco-lawns is that they’re quite drought tolerant and therefore, require less watering than regular grass. Most ecolawns are also developed to look nice without frequent mowing, so you can cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by using your mower less frequently.

Whether you decide to go with an entirely new ground cover or to stick with your current lawn, there are ways to incorporate more ecologically sound practices into your gardening. Go Local!! Local plants and wildflowers are already adapted to local climate and soil conditions, so they won’t need as much fertilizer or watering as exotic species. Water sparingly; most plants only require about one inch of water a week (including rain water!)

Q.2 Friends of ours in England, who live near the coast, have put solar panels on their roof and claim they have recouped the cost of the installation of the panels within two years. Their energy bills are substantially down and they always have hot water. Is it worth it for our family, living in Ontario, to consider installing solar panels on our south- facing roof? Are there any governmental incentives for this sort of move towards self-sustainable energy in Canada? Sincerely, Nancy

A2. Residential solar energy systems can generally be divided into two categories: solar thermal systems (for heating water) and photovoltaic systems (for offsetting electricity input from the grid).

In Ontario, average installation costs for solar thermal systems are about $6000, and small photovoltaic systems are double that. Depending on the size of the system that you install and the type of energy you’re switching from, it’s estimated that payoff periods can take from 6-25 years. You can expect significantly lower energy bills each year following installation, however residential photovoltaic systems typically reduce the amount of energy you’ll need from the grid by about 30%, so you’ll save an equal percentage on your annual energy bill, as well.

The good news is that Canada in general, and Ontario specifically, has great potential for harnessing the sun’s energy. Check out: http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/environment/climate/mcr4076.

The other good news is that both the Canadian Federal and Ontario Provincial Governments are offering incentives for solar energy and thermal residential retrofit projects. For retrofits recommended by a Home Energy Audit, homeowners can receive up to $5,000 in grants from the Province, which match federal grants. For a review of home energy retrofit ideas and information on grant and tax incentives in Ontario,

check out :

http://www.homeenergyontario.ca/purple/index.asp?lang=en&sec=purple

and

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/retrofit-homes/pdf/homes-grant-e.pdf.

Q3. I noticed in the Blog posting of Saturday, March 14th, that the websites given for post-recycled products were all from the USA. Do you know of Canadian stores or websites that carry post-recycled products for home and garden? Janice

A3. Here are some neat Canadian companies producing really innovative and fun products out of recycled and eco-friendly materials:

http://www.crplastics.com/

http://www.perma-deck.com/english/fs_replast.html

http://www.ecoinhabit.com/

http://www.thehealthiesthome.com/

Thank you, Katie. It’s delightful to have you working with us and great to know you’ll continue with the Whole Earth Care Blog through the summer. I hope you will also write to us, while you are away, to tell us something about your work and your impressions of Alaska. We’d love to have photos for the Rogues’ Gallery, too… Safe trip, happy times and much success with your research. We'll be looking forward to your next posting.

Maureen1 wrote:
"Thought you might be interested in this website, it has a good video, entitled The Story of
Stuff by Annie Leonard, which is very fitting for Whole Earth Care."

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

This is a very good watch, well worth taking 20 minutes of your time. 20 minutes seems like a lot of time, but considering what you'll learn from this video - it's time well spent.

The big event this month is Earth Day. Events and activities will be happening all around the world and in your community. Wednesday, April 22nd is the official Earth Day with most events happening next weekend, Saturday, April 25th and Sunday, April 26th. It’s a great opportunity for families and communities to work together to care for our Earth. Hope you have something planned.

For more information, go to:

http://www.earthday.net/

http://www.earthday.ca/pub/index.php

http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/kids_home.cfm

I plan to turn my front lawn into an ecolawn. If it’s successful, I’ll do the same with the backyard come autumn. I will keep our Virtual Community up on my progress with photos and comments.

If anyone else is planning an eco-project this summer, please consider including us in your adventure through Whole Earth Care. Likewise, if you are taking a trip, consider sharing it with us, your friendly and interested Virtual Community, with short comments and photos. For both eco-projects and trips, send those photos and words to: moczero@sympatico.ca for posting.

Short articles for the Guest Writer Postings

Short stories and memories for The Narratives

Questions for Katie, The Answer Lady

Photos for the Rogues' Gallery

And, I'm looking for a Naturalist who can answer questions I have about Earth's sentient beings (besides humans) and the questions that I get - like: "When birds are carrying unlaid eggs, in early spring for instance, do they look pregnant?

Does anyone know anyone who might like to be our resident Naturalist? It would not require a lot of time or technical expertise.

There will be no Whole Earth Care Posting for April 25th and 26th, as I will be very busy with family visits and family birthdays next weekend.

Kathy has a lovely memory to share with us for The Narratives on May 2nd and 3rd.

Earth Family First

maureen

(Photos by Google Images)

Guest Writer: It Takes a Team

2009-04-06T20:46:00.015-04:00

In February of this year, there was a retreat for the staff of E3, an oncology ward. Nursing staff, as well as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, dieticians and doctors attended the two days, held out in the country, in an old converted barn. The retreat was about growth and rejuvenation through self care and care for the other. The natural world was identified as a resource for self-care and a way to re-energize oneself within, and with fellow teammates.

Bunny welcomed everyone to the retreat with the following address and has been kind enough to share it with us. It’s a wonderful reminder to us that we can do many things that may appear insurmountable if we are part of a team, working together with shared principles, a single purpose and compassion for others and for ourselves.

Bunny is the Clinical Manager of E3 -this is what she had to say.

"I am always so grateful for the opportunity to look back, review the year, assess all we have done together, and mostly, remember what the past year has meant to us as a unit, as a team.

So often, we can look only at things day by day in isolation, and so often we are in survival mode---for obvious reasons. We all work very hard, are short staffed and under-resourced. We see sadness, hopelessness, unbelievable physical, emotional and spiritual pain, and stress. But, what shines through all of this is laughter, hope, kindness, understanding, tolerance, survival, and growth.

These are qualities that linger, that are wonderfully contagious, that help us to overcome, together, what easily makes others want to walk away, walk away from each other and from all they have worked so hard for.

That is not what the staff of E3 is all about… We have worked hard to overcome the obstacles, meet the challenges and we have created a positive identity, a reputation of which we all can be proud. Words that come to mind are leaders, experts…

You always take what could be bad, unbearable or discouraging and you work with it, you work above it, you work around it, and together, you always make it happen. It is really quite incredible.

Despite the daily reality of our oncology ward, the sorrow, the pain and the suffering you see, I always ask myself, “How do you all do it?” But, you do do it, You are it! You have what it takes to be there, to be present for our patients and their loved ones and for each other.”

Thank you,
Bunny
(Introductory comments for 2009 Staff Retreat E3 Oncology Ward Staff Retreat, Feb. 2009)

We are a team, you and I, of the Whole Earth Care Virtual Community. We want Earth to be healthy. We want a future worth living for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations. We want to maintain the beauty and power of Earth; clean air, water, soil, a diversity of peoples, animals, forests, plants and lifestyles. We reuse, reduce and recycle, pull back on all the stuff we think we need to be happy, support peace and those who have been pushed to the margins of life. Like Bunny’s team, we can do it, we are doing it and we have what it takes to make a difference.

Thank you, Bunny, for reminding us of our power to “overcome the obstacles, meet the challenges” and move forward as “leaders, experts”.

I subscribe to http://www.tricycle.com/ , a bit of wisdom that arrives on my email each morning. Often, it offers me just what I need to start the day. This came a few days ago and I felt it was just the thing for this Blog Posting.

“The Path to True Happiness

Everything in life changes. The path to true happiness is one of integrating and fully accepting all aspects of our experience. This integration is represented in the Taoist symbol of yin/yang, a circle which is half dark and half light. In the midst of the dark area is a spot of light, and in the midst of the light area is a spot of darkness. Even in the depths of darkness, the light is implicit. Even in the heart of light, the dark is understood, acknowledged, and absorbed. If things are not going well for us in life and we are suffering, we are not defeated by the pain or closed off to the light. If things are going well and we are happy, we are not defensively trying to deny the possibility of suffering. (Sharon Salzberg, from Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Shambhala)”

It’s the New Moon on Thursday, April 9th. Some names given to this month’s full moon are: Planter’s, Growing or Seed Moon, Flower Moon, Moon when geese return in scattering formation, and Awakening Moon. Aren’t these lovely names!

And while you are out looking up at the moon this coming week, note how the winter sky is giving way to the summer sky. Can you find the Evening Star or Venus? How about Orion’s Belt?

Don’t forget that Earth Day is on Wednesday April 22nd. There will be lots of activities taking place in your neighbourhoods, so keep an eye open for an opportunity to get involved.

Maureen1 sent me a notice that in the Hamilton-Dundas area, on Saturday, April 25th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. there will be the annual Cootes Clean-up with a free BBQ at McMaster University’s Ivor Wynne Centre at 1:30 p.m. Stations with gloves and bags will be located at: Princess Point, Cootes Drive (at the bridge), Market Arena Dundas, the School Bus Lot in Dundas and McMaster University Ivor Wynne Centre.

If anyone else has notices for Earth Day, send them to moczero@sympatico.ca

It’s a great opportunity to come out as families, teams of collogues or friends and, even Virtual Community members.

Media:

YouTube:

The Love of a Lion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3zZX7P5K6I&NR=1

What Would It Look Like

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1494

There will be no Blog Postings for the Easter Weekend. The next Blog Posting will be with Katie, The Answer Lady.

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos by Google Images)

Paper and The Boreal Forests

2009-03-29T21:31:00.019-04:00

We experienced Earth Hour together - all of us throughout the world reaching out to the hands reaching out to us and we stood together embracing our mother, Earth. A moment of solidarity, a meditation. We took action. We made a statement. It wasn’t so hard, was it? It was fun! We saw immediately, as Earth Family, the difference we can make.

This is worth a watch and a passing on to the young and old, alike, that you know.

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1500

Look and See

This morning, at waterside, a sparrow flew

to a water rock and landed, by error, on the back

of an eider duck; lightly it fluttered off, amused.

The duck, too, was not provoked, but, you might say, was

laughing.

This afternoon a gull sailing over

our house was casually scratching

its stomach of white feathers with one

pink foot as it flew.

Oh Lord, how shining and festive is your gift to us, if we

only look, and see.
Mary Oliver
(Why I Wake Early)
www.panhala.net/Archive/Look_and_See.html

This Week’s Suggestion:

This week, as the new season beckons us outside, let’s just stop a moment, look around us and really see what waits to be seen by us. The birds are returning to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Trees are budding. Shots – the promise of blooms – are pushing up through the moist soil. The sun is rising higher as the shadows grow smaller over our homes. Let’s simply whisper, “Thank you” to all we meet.

Getting To Know Our Neighbours:

The Boreal Forests (known as the Taiga in Russia) circle the southern edge of the Artic Circle and makes up 1/3 of our Earth’s forested area. Found mostly in Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, the boreal forests cover an estimated 12 million square kilometers with a wide variety of water systems such as bogs, lakes, rivers, fens, marshes and wetlands.
Conifers, spruce and fir are the main species of tree with some deciduous trees lining the waterways.

These forests are large ecosystems home to First Nations peoples and support over 200 species of birds, many animals like caribou, moose, timber wolves, wood bison, black bear, wolverines and fishers, hares and beaver (to name but a few), fish and plants.

Boreal forests are important to Earth’s survival. They lock up huge amounts of carbon dioxide and release vast amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere, thus reducing greenhouse gases and the effects of global warming. During spring and summer, the growing season of the boreal forests, the Earth’s carbon dioxide levels drop and the amount of oxygen rises considerably.

Large forestry companies, like Kimberly-Clark, lease vast areas of Canada’s boreal forest for paper and pulp production. Clearcutting leads to the lose of habitat for innumerable plants, animals and birds, causes soil erosion and destroys the forest’s ability to protect Earth from the overheating from the sun’s rays.

“Human activities, such as tree foresting, mining, manufacturing, resource development and recreational use are causing stress and changes to this land (the boreal ecosystems). Their cumulative and long-term effects will cause far-reaching and potentially disastrous changes to the forest.” Natural Resources Canada (http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/theme_modules/borealforest/index.html#what)
For more information on boreal forests, go to: http://www.borealforest.org/

A Fact Or Two:

Paper is used in writing, reading and printing materials, packaging, cleaning, and building products. Most paper products we use today come from harvesting trees. Paper, be it newspaper, magazines, cardboard, paper bags, coffee cups and computer printouts make up for more than 1/3 of the garbage put into landfill sites each week. The paper in landfill sites eventually decomposes, releasing significant methane into the environment.

To make 1 tonne of paper, approximately 19 full grown trees are needed, as well as large amounts of fossil fuels, clean water, electricity, and chemicals such as chlorine gas, chlorine dioxide, aluminum sulphate, tars and dyes.

1 tree can be saved by recycling 54 kilograms of newspaper.

If a family of four were to recycle all their newspapers, in 1 year that family would save approximately half a 12’’ diameter tree. As of today, there are 33,599,902 people in Canada. (Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/edu/clock-horloge/edu06f_0001-eng.htm) If my calculations are not too far off, that would mean Canadians in 1 year could save about 4,199,987.7 trees. That’s a lot of trees!

Post-consumer recycled paper can be made into facial tissues, toilet paper and paper towels, flooring, countertops, computer paper, books, and many other products.

The Short Story of Recycling Paper
1. You use paper products and save them for recycling.
2. The paper is collected and sorted.
3. Then it is delivered to a paper mill...
4. where it is prepared for de-inking.
5. In de-inking, paddles beat the paper to pulp and remove old ink, glue and staples.
6. A screen shakes the pulp into a flat wet mass which is moved to...
7. heated drying rollers which squeeze water out of the pulp and dry it into new paper and cardboard.
8. The new paper and cardboard are then delivered to printers and box makers...

9. who use it to make new products.
(http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/community/classroom/c7-paper-e.html)

What Can We Do?

In short, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Recycle all used paper products.

Subscribe to newspapers and magazines on line.

Rather than buying magazines, consider going to the library to read them.

Create a magazine swap amongst friends and neighbours.

Print on both sides of computer paper.

Make simple notepads from one-sided printed flyers, mailed promotional letters, etc., by stapling them together and trimming them to size.

Reuse old envelopes by sticking new labels over the old labels.

Buy recycled post-consumer paper products like facial tissues, toilet paper, cards, envelopes, and napkins. Look for products labeled totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free (PCF).

Avoid products by Scott, Cottonelle, Kleenex and Viva, all products made by Kimberly-Clark , until such time as these products are made from recycled paper and are TCF or PCF.

Go to the sidebar's Petitions, click onto Kimberly-Clark, re: post-recycled products and send a message to Kimberly-Clark that we want post-consumer recycled paper products.

Media:

Short Videos: National Geographic Video: What’s Your Footprint?

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/player.html?title=05188_00

Slideshow: Girl Who Silenced the UN for 5 Minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sb6RmRMbBY&feature=related

Websites: Daily Good; 10 Ways To Reduce Household Waste
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3616

E-Magazines/Newsletters: Yes Newsletter http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3640a

Here’s an idea – if you would jot down how you spent Earth Hour (and there can be some spice…) and send these moments by email to moczero@sympatico.ca , we could have a sharing, a celebration next week on the Whole Earth Care Blog. How about it?

If there are new readers to Whole Earth Care and you want to be on the Reminders Email List, send your email address to moczero@sympatico.ca for a short reminder each time there is a new posting. You will be Bcc’d so as to avoid all those nasty cyberspace thingys.

As always, I wait, now anxiously, on articles for the Guest Writers and stories for The Narratives. Nothing fancy, just simple, short pieces that will help to build our Whole Earth Care Virtual Community. Go ahead, be adventurous.

April is Earth Month and Wednesday, April 22nd is Earth Day.

Finally, a very sad note. Last week, Sandra, one of our Virtual Community Members, who wrote, Death by a 1000 Cuts, for The Narratives, Saturday, February 21, 2009, has died. Please take a moment to hold Sandra in your hearts and to send blessings to her family.

Thank you.

Earth Family First,

maureen

(Photos by Google Images)

The Narratives - Tom Sears and The Black Bears

2009-03-21T23:14:00.026-04:00

About 6 weeks ago, one of our Virtual Community members sent me the story of Tom Sears and his adventure with a remarkable mom and her quintuplets. Tom Sears is a nature photographer. I found Tom's story a lovely narrative and his photos very powerful. He is something of a shaman to me.

After checking his website, I wrote Tom, gave him our Whole Earth Care Blogsite and asked if he would let me post his article, "The Bears and I".

Tom wrote me back saying, "... Please feel free to include my story and photos on your Blog. I wish you every success in this new venture...may it grow to many thousand "Followers".

So, with a generous heart, Tom has made his narrative available to all of us. Here it is.

"The Bears and I

Black bears typically have two cubs; rarely, one or three. In 2007, in northern New Hampshire, a black bear sow gave birth to five healthy young. There were two or three reports of sows with as many as four cubs, but five was, and is, extraordinary.

I learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set myself a goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom - no matter how much time and effort was involved.

I knew the trail they followed on a fairly regular basis, usually shortly before dark. After spending nearly four hours a day, seven days a week, for six weeks, I had that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and photographed them. I used the equivalent of a very fast film speed on my digital camera. The print is properly focused and well exposed, with all six bears posing as if they were in a studio for a family portrait.

I stayed in touch with other people who saw the bears during the summer and into the fall hunting season. All six bears continued to thrive. As time for hibernation approached, I found still more folks who had seen them, and everything remained OK.

I stayed away from the bears as I was concerned that they might become habituated to me, or to people in general, as approachable friends. This could be dangerous for both man and animal. After Halloween, I received no further reports and could only hope the bears survived until they hibernated.

This spring, before the snow disappeared, all six bears came out of their den and wandered the same familiar territory they trekked in the spring of 2007. I saw them before mid-April and dreamed nightly of taking another family portrait, an improbable second once-in-a-lifetime photograph.

On April 25, 2008, I achieved my dream. When something as magical as this happens between man and animal, Native Americans say, “We have walked together in the shadow of a rainbow.”

And so it is with humility and great pleasure that I share these photos with you.

Sincerely,
Tom Sears

P.S. August 22, 2008, the cubs are doing well but have gone their separate ways and there will not be another 'family portrait'."

There are more photos of the Mama bear and of her cubs on Tom Sears' website under Portfolios. To find out more about Tom and his work go to:
http://www.digitalphotographics.us/index.html

Thank you so much, Tom, for sharing your story with our Whole Earth Care Virtual Community. You can teach us a lot about being patient, thoughtful and observant in the natural world with our Earth Family. When we take the time to be still, listen, watch and be present to Life around us, the awards are great.

To Be Alive

To be alive: not just the carcass

But the spark.

That's crudely put, but ...

If we're not supposed to dance,

Why all this music?

Gregory Orr
(Concerning The Book That Is the Body Of The Beloved)
www.panhala.net/Archive/To_be_alive.html

Media:

Videos: Michael Franti’s song, Hey World (Don’t Give Up)

“Michael Franti. ‘Hey World’ is a call to roll up your sleeves, to shake off apathy: ‘I didn't come here to chill, I came here to rock ... You got to let go of the remote control.'" (KarmaTube)
this music video is well worth a watch and listen.
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1412

Maureen1 sent this following message for anyone living in the Hamilton, Ontario area.
“The McMaster planetarium is offering free shows inviting the audience to ask questions of the astronomer, throughout this year. There are also some scheduled showings of '7 Ways Life on Earth Could End.'

For more details check out http://www.physics-mcmaster.ca/ All shows are listed as being sold out, but it is possible to get seats by going on a wait list.
Just call 905 525 -9140 ext 27777
Cheers,
Maureen1"

I’m sure you would find similar programs in any university town or city with a planetarium near you. Check it out. The night sky is an exciting and mysterious part of our world.

Don't forget Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30 p.m.

It's lights out - make it a party and have fun.
For information on this international event, go to: http://www.earthhour.org/home/

Katie, The Answer Lady is waiting for your questions.
Send your questions to moczero@sympatico.ca

Short articles for the Guest Writer section will be very gratefully received.

If you are new to Whole Earth Care or if you have been checking into the site from time to time and want to receive a reminder whenever a new Posting is ready to read, send your email to moczero@sympatico.ca I will then include you in a reminder email with all email addresses in Bcc to protect you and your identity. You can always cancel the reminder email at any time. The reminder email is short...

Take care this week and enjoy the changing season.

Earth Family First,

maureen

(Photos of Black bears by Tom Sears)
(All other photos by Google images)

Earth's Gentle Gifting

2009-03-14T22:10:00.022-04:00

A Gift

Just when you seem to yourself

nothing but a flimsy web

of questions, you are given

the questions of others to hold

in the emptiness of your hands,

songbird eggs that can still hatch

if you keep them warm,

butterflies opening and closing themselves

in your cupped palms, trusting you not to injure

their scintillant fur, their dust.

You are given the questions of others

as if they were answers

to all you ask. Yes, perhaps

this gift is your answer.
Denise Levertov
(Sands of the Well)
www.panhala.net/Archive/A_Gift.html

There was no Blog Posting last week. Work was hectic with long days moving into busy evenings. That might have been the reason. Also, the long grey winter that we get in this part of the world, fatigues me. That could have been the reason, too.

But I think the real reasons are these. Often, while researching material for Whole Earth Care, I feel overwhelmed by the sheer thoughtless destruction of our lovely Earth, our over-consumption of her resources, the lack of foresight and imagination of our governmental and economic “leaders” and the disconnect we live, so unaware of our reliance on that which gives us life, beauty and a sense of belonging.

I walk my dog every day down streets, along a main road and up and over a large field. Sometimes, we meander along the creek in the conservation area or take paths through old woods of pine, maple and birch. Everywhere I go, I see garbage: plastic bottles and bags, candy bar wrappers, coffee cup lids, yogurt containers, Styrofoam, newspapers, boxes, flyers, metal containers and parts of cars, glass bottles and pop cans.

Most of my neighbours allow their dogs to poop on sidewalks and other peoples’ lawns and they don’t stoop to scoop.

The high school down the way has wide open garbage bins overflowing onto walkways and the parking lots with recyclable containers. What doesn’t fly away with the winds will go to a land fill site. We treat Earth like she is a bottomless dumpster. Last weekend, there was a part of me that whispered, “Why bother?”

BUT – on Tuesday evening as we walked over that field, a killdeer rose up from the wet land, screaming out its name. The moon was almost full in a deep blue sky filled with stars. Coyotes howled for a short moment in the woods. The next morning, I noticed one deep yellow crocus had bloomed in my garden, the maples had red tipped branches and were dripping sap, sweet to taste. The male goldfinches are slowly donning their summer plumage. All of this hadn’t happened in a matter of a day. These gifts were gradually being presented. I just had not been paying attention.

Earth and her beings are bravely striving to live, blossom, create and replenish. The question, “Why bother?” is the lazy, ungrateful and disrespectful excuse of someone too self-absorbed to act responsibly and with hope. I really don't think that's me.

And so, here’s this week’s Posting. It’s good to be back.

This Week's Suggestion:

Take a moment when leaving your home in the morning to stop, look around, listen and notice what’s happening in your part of the world. Check the direction of the wind, the clouds, the flight of birds. What Earth colours do you see on the land, the trees, and, again, the birds? Can you smell the soil, grasses, flowers, air? And, what about you? You are part of this natural world. Do you feel hopeful? If not, look around. Which gift is being presented to you that will help you believe in life and the power of our Earth Family?

Getting To Know Our Neighbours:

Killdeer are part of the wading-along-shorelines plover family. Their range is from the coastal areas of Peru, up through central Mexico and into Canada. Their breeding areas reach as high up as Alaska and the Hudson Bay. Both male and female have similar markings as do their chicks. They build nests directly on the ground, not far from a water source, in open fields, airports and sometimes suburban lawns. Killdeer are most easily recognizable by their loud cries of “kill-deerah” as they rise up from the ground or fly about in the night. If an animal gets close to the nest, which is well camouflaged in short grasses and stones, the parents, in an attempt to draw the interloper away, will fly directly at the animal’s face or pretend to have broken wings.
For more information click onto: http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=50

A Fact Or Two:

Perhaps one of the reasons we don’t take recycling as seriously as we should is because we aren’t really that sure what happens to all our stuff we leave in the recycling boxes. Here’s some information to encourage us to recycle with gusto.

Plastic products can be turned into:
Municipal sewers, underground ducts, electrical conduits, plastic lumber, office accessories, home, office and garden furniture, railway ties, flower pots, carpets, pillows, fleece clothing, upholstery and sleeping bags – just to name a few items.

Glass and porcelain can be recycled into:
Dishes, vases, home and garden decor, garden fish ponds, feeders for birds, floor tiles and planks, mulch, golf course sand traps, counter tops and more.

Paper products can be recycled into:
Office supplies, books, household tissues, toilet paper and paper toweling, wallpaper and cheques.

Rubber products can be recycled into:
Mulch, backyard play sets, planters, rubber rocks, stepping stones, tile turf, flooring and swings.

For some information on recycling and post-recycled products click onto: http://www.plastics.ca/topics/default.php?ID=49

For a few examples of post-recycled products look at these websites:
http://www.enviroglasproducts.com/index.asp

http://www.checkgallery.com/home.aspx

http://www.naturalspaces.com/

http://www.leisure-furniture.net/

What Can We Do?

Click onto: http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/nrdcaction_092706_e and sign the petition asking Kimberly-Clark to make household paper products from recycled paper that are non-chlorine bleached, instead of using virgin boreal Canadian forests for their products.

Recycle. It’s working.

Teach our family members, friends, and colleagues about recycling.

Buy post-recycled products whenever possible. They are durable, often cheaper and Earth-friendly.

The Moment

The moment when, after many years

of hard work and a long voyage

you stand in the centre of your room,

house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,

knowing at last how you got there,

and say, I own this,

is the same moment when the trees unloose

their soft arms from around you,

the birds take back their language,

the cliffs fissure and collapse,

the air moves back from you like a wave

and you can't breathe.

No, they whisper. You own nothing.

You were a visitor, time after time

climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.

We never belonged to you.

You never found us.

It was always the other way round.
Margaret Atwood

morning in the burned house)
www.panhala.net/Archive/The_Moment.html

Media:

Art: Josh Keyes http://www.joshkeyes.net/paintings.htm

Websites:
50 Ways to Clean Your Business http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3590a

Videos:
Caroles from Greece wrote, “I’m technologically challenged, but just saw this little film, in the midst of an article at Care2, Healthy and Green Living. It's a practical help to reducing dumb electrical usage. I would love to post it at your blog, but I even didn't manage to leave a message there a few days ago!!
take care,
c:)

Vampire Energy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgZfry82LC4

Another short video worth watching is:
Executive on A Mission – Save the Planet http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3590

The Rogues' Gallery has some new photos to view. Mary took the wonderful picture of a squirrel outside her window in North Hatley, Quebec, Corine sent in the photos of the albino moose by the side of a road in Wisconsin, USA, Caroline sent us the beautiful moments with polar bears and i have added three photos i took in 2007 in keeping with World Water Day on March 22nd.

Before I close, there are two important events happening towards the end of March.

Sunday, March 22, World Water Day

It’s a day to take time to fully appreciate water.
For more information go to: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/flashindex.html

Check out the Events Calendar for what’s happening in your area

Click onto About World Water Day to find out more about this year’s World Water Day theme, Transboundary Water.

See what The Council of Canadians is doing for World Water Day. http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/World_Water_Day/

Saturday, March 28, Earth Hour

Sign up, get a group going, have fun.
For more information go to: http://wwf.ca/earthhour/

To sign up, click onto: http://wwf.ca/earthhour/earth_hour_signup_individuals/

To spread the word at school, workplace, church and community, make a few posters and post them. Click onto: http://wwf.ca/earthhour/toolkits/

OH! I almost forgot. There’s another very “green” event coming up this week. It’s Tuesday, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, of course, when most people in the world want to be Irish. Happy St. Paddy’s day to you all.

Don't forget the items on the Sidebar. And, why not sign up as a Follower and become a Virtual Community Member of Whole Earth Care.

Next week's posting should be The Narratives.

I need to hear from you. You have the stories to tell. It's my hope that some of you will consider writing about that special place you went to in nature as a child, or a memorable moment you had with one of Earth's sentient beings. I am hoping you will send in your written memories to moczero@sympatico.ca . It doesn't have to be long - 2 or 3 short paragraphs. You can send it as "Anonymous" if you wish.

We need to remember those moments, celebrate them and share them with others. Sharing those moments pulls us together as a Virtual Community and encourages us in our work to care for and heal Earth. Please consider telling us your story. Thank you.

And that’s it for this week.
Earth Family First,
maureen

(Photos by Google Images)

The 1st Questions and Answers Posting with Katie

2009-02-28T15:15:00.019-05:00

This week is the start of our Questions and Answers Postings, with Katie, The Answer Lady. Approximately, once every 4 to 5 weeks, Katie will answer the questions you send to our Whole Earth Care Blog.

Katie comes with stellar credentials. She has BSc in Environmental Science, with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Last year, she spent a few months working in Alaska and then traveled in South America. Presently, she is at the University of Guelph, working on a Masters degree in Science. Her research focuses on carbon and nutrient cycling in permafrost regions.

Katie writes, “This research stems from a deep interest in learning more about the environment in order to protect it.”

And so, let's begin -

Dear Katie,
"I've been told that I should not wash my car often because of the amount of water needed to do the task. I have also been told that I should not wash the car at home, but take it to a Car Wash because Car Wash Stations must, by law, process the dirty water before putting it into the municipal sewers. Is this true?"

Trying to be Green

Dear Trying,
While it’s great to see the dirt come off your car, and to see the REAL colour of your paint again, car washes may be environmentally problematic for a number of reasons.

Firstly, they require a great deal of water. Washing your car at home with a hose uses approximately 400 L of drinking water. This number is cut significantly if you use a trusty old sponge and bucket instead of a hose. Going to a professional car wash that makes use of high-powered hoses to blast the dirt from your car is better than the at-home hose method, using approximately 150 L of water per wash.

Secondly, when you wash your car, you transfer all of the heavy metals, sediments, oils and micro-organisms from the surface of the car into the water that you use to do the cleaning. When you wash your car at home or in self-service car washing bays, the wastewater and these contaminants are washed into the sewer system. Some municipalities treat storm water before it gets released into local bodies of water, but many don’t. So, it’s best to check your local wastewater treatment regulations.

Washing your car at a professional car wash station is more ecologically sound from this perspective. While professional car wash stations are not responsible for processing their wastewater, they are obliged to direct the water to local treatment facilities for processing before it can be released.

Whether you choose to wash your car at home or at a professional facility, the potential for contaminating local soils and groundwater exists, so it should be done sparingly and after researching local water treatment policies. Some more useful information can be found at the following links:

The International Car Wash Association’s Environmental Stewardship page: http://www.carwash.org/operatorinformation/research/Pages/EnvironmentalReports.aspx

How to handle carwash wastewater from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency:
http://www.epa.state.il.us/small-business/car-wash/car-wash.pdf

Dear Katie,
"What's better, to hang onto my old energy-inefficient fridge until it dies a natural death and then buy an efficient one, or buy a new one right now? Do dead fridges go to a landfill site or can they be recycled?" Worried in Suburbia

Dear Worried,
Get rid of it! Old, energy guzzling refrigerators use over 30% MORE energy every year than new, efficient models.
Since fridges account for almost 15% of the energy use in the average household, the money and energy you can save by upgrading to a new model is significant.

Also, almost every province in Canada and the U.S. Department of Energy offers fridge recycling programs. To make it really easy for you to part with your old fridge, they’ll even come to pick it up at your house for you!

Once the fridge is removed from your home, the plastic, copper, steel and aluminum components are recycled. If your fridge was made before 1995, it probably also contains Freon, which is a toxic chemical that has played a big part in the destruction of the ozone layer. Any Freon in your old fridge is removed and disposed of safely. Once all this is said and done, very little of the original fridge is sent to the landfill.

As an added bonus, some provinces even PAY you for your old fridge. When you consider the financial and environmental benefits, it becomes clear that trading in your old fridge is truly an offer you can’t refuse.

What happens to your old fridge?
http://everykilowattcounts.ca/residential/roundup/what-happens-to-my-fridge.php

Dear Katie,
"What is more green and energy-wise, cooking and heating by electricity or by gas?" Concerned Cooks

Dear Concerned,
In general, natural gas heating and cooking is more energy efficient than electricity. For example, it has been estimated that for the average household, electric water heaters use 75% more energy than gas heaters.

However, the story changes somewhat if you can purchase electricity from a local renewable source provider, such as Bullfrog Energy, here in Ontario. This option is often significantly more expensive than traditional forms of energy generation, but in terms of total greenhouse gas emissions, it’s far superior. For some more ideas on where to look for renewable energy providers, check out the following link:

Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance:
http://www.canrea.ca/

Thank you so much, Katie. It’s great to have you on the team.

Don’t forget to send in any questions you have on the environment, green living and how to support the healing of our mother, Earth. Email your questions to: moczero@sympatico.ca

There’s a big event coming up on Saturday, March 28th. It’s Earth Hour, a happening all around the world. It could be a Whole Earth Care Virtual Community activity – with all of us involved. Spread the word. Get your family and friends involved, your workplace, your apartment building, street block and town. Check out the appropriate link below for more information. Print off the poster from the website and put a few up.

Earth Hour for Canada http://wwf.ca/earthhour/

Earth Hour US http://www.earthhourus.org/main.php?enews=enews0902t2

For other countries, try a search by typing in Earth Hour, and then the name of your country, or go to the World Wildlife Federation website http://www.wwf.org/ and look up your country’s name. Then search for Earth Hour.

Don’t forget – Katie, The Answer Lady is waiting for your questions.

And, we are all waiting for your comments, links and ideas to improve this Blog, photos for the Rogues’ Gallery, your nature experiences for The Narratives and short articles for the Guest Writer postings. Just email to moczero@sympatico.ca

Earth Family First,
maureen

(Photos by Google Images)

The Narratives - Death by a 1000 Cuts

2009-02-21T18:58:00.029-05:00

Dr. Balfour Mount, the Founder of Hospice Care in Canada, an Officer of the Order of Canada, as well as an Officer of the Order of Quebec, coined the phrase, “palliative care”.

This Blog started in October of 2008, in an attempt to respond, in some small way, to a question that Dr. Mount asked those of us attending the 17th International Congress on Palliative Care in Montreal last September. He paraphrased his question, his challenge, by describing the present dire state of Earth. Because of global warming, uncontrolled consumption of resources, overpopulation, a lack of foresight and our own inertia in response to this crisis, Earth, our only home and provider, is dying. Dr. Mount asked us what we were going to do about it. It was a profound moment.

Sandra is courageous, insightful, caring and has a great sense of humour. In 2005, she was diagnosed with cancer. She writes most days in her Live Journal. Last week, she wrote a piece that I found so powerful, so poignant and meaningful for those of us who are Palliative Care clinicians, for all of us who read Whole Earth Care and those of us who have loved ones who are ill. I asked Sandra if she would allow me to share it with our Virtual Community. She generously agreed. Here is the excerpt from her Live Journal.

Death by a 1000 Cuts

"There’s the concept of death by 1000 cuts – torture through the cumulative effects of many small injuries. That’s a bit what today feels like.

Nothing I’m dealing with is particularly bad, but the combined effects are wearying. The nausea is pretty much under control, but I always know that I’m going to feel nauseous at some point during the day. Same with the vomiting – it’s down to less than once a day but still not gone. And often at night, - so I wake up and wonder if I should throw up or just go back to sleep.

Every day, I get 3 sub-cutaneous (under the skin) injections. Not terribly painful, but it does hurt, and it’s every day. I have dressings over both the drains and over my chest port. Although the nurses are doing a really good job of taking care of it, the skin under the dressings is starting to break down a bit from the tape. And that hurts a bit. The drain that drains my stomach, leaks a bit, and the fluid burns when it stays on the skin too long and it hurts a bit. They change the dressings frequently, and pulling the dressings off hurts a little bit, too. And there’s a bit of an odour from the drain that I find distasteful.

For some reason, the stomach drain sometimes aches. I can’t figure out what causes it, so I can’t prevent it. And at other times, I get cramping in my abdomen. These cramps happen on an irregular basis but hurt when they do occur.

One of the potential side effects from the drug I’m currently on is painful hands and feet. So far it’s been fine, but recently my hands have started to hurt – just a little, but it’s there.The thrush hurts, too - again, not a lot, but the lesions hurt intermittently.

Sometimes I’ll be lying there and realize that nothing hurts anywhere and I don’t feel nauseous. Then I’ll just lie there quietly, afraid to disturb anything. Nothing I’m dealing with is terribly bad by itself, but when added together I am finding them wearying – death by 1000 cuts."

Thank you, Sandra.

Death by a 1000 cuts – with compassion, let’s think about our patients and families we care for and care about. With open hearts, let’s think about our Earth and the 1000 cuts we inflict upon her and her sentient beings every day. With love, let’s think about our family members and friends who are ill. And, with gentleness, let’s tend to ourselves as we struggle with our own disappointments, insecurities and ineptitudes, with the bureaucracy in the workplace and all the other things that are difficult but we can’t change. Take care.

If you would like to follow Sandra’s Live Journal, contact me at moczero@sympatico.ca .

For information on Dr. Balfour Mount go to:

http://www.virtualhospice.ca/en_US/Main+Site+Navigation/Home/Support/Support/Your+Stories/Current/Dr_+Balfour+M_+Mount.aspx

http://www.mcgill.ca/wholepersoncare/people/bal_mount/

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=896d005a-fedd-4f50-a2d9-83a95fc56464

Next week, we begin the first Posting of, Katie, The Answer Lady – Questions with Answers. If you (and I’m sure you do…) have questions about your green practices, the environment and living responsibly with Earth, send them to moczero@sympatico.ca .
Katie is ready to respond.

Earth Family First,

maureen

(Photos of Japanese swords, hands and question mark sign by Google Images) (Photos of drifter giving coins to poor woman with child by Jorge Jimenez F., Scarboro Missions)

In some parts of the world, Friday, February 27th is Polar Bear Day. In celebration of these magnificent neighbours of ours, here are two great photos Caroline took while in Churchill, Manitoba this past autumn.

Earth Family Valentine

2009-02-15T17:51:00.024-05:00

Because it's Valentine's Day, I thought I would keep this posting simple and celebrate our love of Earth and and our Earth Family.

You may find it a bit "schmaltzy", but hey, what the heck. Fun, play and, sometimes even love are highly underestimated.

Valentine's Day is a great time for us to celebrate all that we have.

Be Love

be of love(a little)

More careful

Than of everything

guard her perhaps only

A trifle less

(merely beyond how very)

closely than

Nothing,remember love by frequent
anguish(imagine

Her least never with most

memory)give entirely each

Forever its freedom

(Dare until a flower,

understanding sizelessly sunlight

Open what thousandth why and

discover laughing)
e. e. cummings
(Collected Poems 1962-1964)

(www.panhala.net/)

"The main human task of the immediate future is to assist in activating the inter-communion of all the living and non-living components of the earth community in what can be considered the emerging ecological period of earth development."

Thomas Berry (Thomas Berry and the New Cosmology, 1990)

Donna, from Ontario, sent this YouTube video.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

What a Wonderful World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rooyt3ptNco

Reverse Graffiti

“One person's dirty wall is another's canvas. Paul "Moose" Curtis uses the dirt of the urban landscape as a backdrop for creating art. In a downtown San Francisco tunnel, for instance, the accumulated soot on the walls is a perfect backdrop for him to selectively spray away the black using wooden stencils. The result is the appearance of large botanical murals. He calls his process ‘reverse graffiti.’” (KarmaTube video)

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=474

Living The The Good Life

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1328

"Everyday life is filled with mystery. The things we know are only a small part of the things we cannot know but can only glimpse. Yet even the smallest of glimpses can sustain us." Rachel Naomi Remen

Path with Heart

"Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions...Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary... then ask one question. I will tell you what it is: Does this path have a heart? ...If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use." Carlos Castenades

I wish you all paths with heart, and may your hearts be filled with love and much joy.

Don't forget the Sidebar. There are lots of new things to check out.

The Rogues' Gallery is a "work in progress" with a final solution any time now... When you go to the Sidebar and scrool down to The Rogues' Gallery, you "should" see 10 photos. The huge deer herd (a bit worrisome) photos were taken in North Hatley, Quebec, this winter and sent in by both Mary and Shelia, independently. The three lovely landscape photos and the one of mountain goats out west were sent in by Sandra. The photos of the beautiful garden were sent in by Caroles in Greece.

She wrote, "I enjoyed reading your latest addition to the blog, about your own youth and bits of where you grew up. It seems obvious to me that you must not be a city person, as your blog continually refers to wide-open spaces, nature, and I often wonder what % of readers can indulge in that. Here in Greece, city people see very little nature! But i'm lucky, or wise, and live in a small town, in a small single house, with fences around, two dogs, garden in and outside the fence, lots of trees, inhabited by lots of birds, obviously the gossipy type. Two boundaries of the property have hen houses backing onto us."

Thank you all for sending in your photos via moczero@sympatico.ca . More are very welcomed.

Hopefully, next week will be The Narratives. Anyone out there willing to jot down a short, but meaningful experience in nature and send it on to me at moczero@sympatico.ca ?

The last weekend of February will be our first Questions and Answers with Katie. So, send in those questions you have on anything related to Earth, the environment and living consciously and green.

Earth Family First,
maureen
(Photos in Posting by Google Images)
(Photos in Rogues' Gallery by Virtual Community members)

Wild Places and Cityscapes

2009-02-08T19:02:00.020-05:00

Welcome to the second of our Guest Writers Postings.

Gabe compares his experiences on Vancouver Island with those he now lives each day in Toronto. With humour and with passion, he engages us in a tour of the two contrasting world of wilderness and city, making us aware of what is at stake for us and future generations if we underestimate and de-value the learnings from the natural world.

This past summer I had the opportunity to work on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, at a summer camp for at-risk youth. Walking into the experience, I had only a very basic concept of what working with this population, in these surroundings, would be like. We (both the campers and I) learned which plants and bugs we could eat (dandelions are spicy, spit bugs are tasteless, but win you a completely disgusted look from whoever watches you eat one), how to build basic shelters, tie knots, chop wood and kindling and how to identify certain types of local fauna and flora, among other things. We learned the value of listening to the world around us, and the value of bringing extra socks on trips. We saw bears. We became mountain men and women, if only temporarily and only by conceit (each session was little more than a month long).

The logic was that the camp would provide a space outside of the youths’ comfort zones, one where they would have a chance to reflect on their lives and on their goals, and hopefully switch tracks on their return. Whether or not that occurred, I can’t say. But I am confident that the wild spaces these kids shuffled through, often swearing loudly, served two purposes – as a respite from whatever life these kids were coming from, and as a classroom in which the kids could discover, together, what life at its most rustic and basic was like. There were moments of drama, frustration and panic (as could be expected when your job involves taking city kids and walking them through a thoroughly rural, backcountry environment), but ultimately it was a richly educational experience, and a rewarding one.

I mention this experience because it provides a bold contrast to my current situation. Having left Vancouver Island behind, a friend and I took up the banner of Canadian tradition and traveled the Trans-Canada Highway from Nelson, B.C. to Toronto. After some weeks of working a landscaping job in Montreal, I was offered a position in Toronto, working an office job for a non-profit organization located near the intersection of Queen Street and Spadina Avenue – as close as possible to what might be the Canadian - sorry – Ontarian equivalent to the center of the Universe. The process of relocating here completed, I’ve recently had to come to grips with attachments and taken-for-granteds from this past summer; I had to adjust on a level deeper than trading in my gaiters and raingear for a collar shirt and loafers.

Toronto, if you’ve never been, is as close to a big city as Canada has, a huge, lively downtown, a thoroughly multicultural demographic, that famous tower, and condos, condos, condos – developments everywhere. It’s a noisy, smelly town with poor drivers and one of the more pleasant cities I’ve visited. It strikes me that construction cranes and freshly-dedicated foundations sprout and fill the landscape with the same dogged determination of the Douglas firs and hemlocks of Vancouver Island. And it comforts me that bears aren’t as much a concern here as are squirrels and rats, the upside being that the presence of the latter don’t require you to carry a can of mace at all times.

It could be that my shock (because shock is what it amounts to) at the intensity of urban living comes from being spoiled in the wilderness this summer. I was working in a part of the world renowned for its natural beauty, stillness and contrasts, and, of course, now looking out of the window of my sublet apartment at the Toronto skyline, I notice a distinct lack of natural beauty, stillness or contrast. But my surprise also reveals something about the impact left by my time in a more natural setting and the implications of living in a city.

While urban living can supply a healthy diet of human diversity, varied food and entertainment, it sorely lacks the solitude and the natural learning opportunities that are taken for granted in a wilder setting. When we choose to live in cities, we make a conscious choice and set our priorities – our jobs, our families, our roads, our sanitation before our sense of place in nature. In earlier times, we may not have had to make so stark a choice as urban centers were smaller and the wild places more accessible. Now, for lack of contact with nature, we construct homages to the wild in the form of parks and arboretums, and place value on them in terms of aesthetics and dog-walkability.

Today, we must choose between accepting a human-made environment over a natural one. And the cost of this choice may be hidden behind the perceived benefit of civilization and control. The youth I worked with this summer weren’t all experiencing the natural world for the first time, but most were first-timers at experiencing it in depth. Their first time hiking for days straight, their first time alone in the woods. For some, their first time hearing crickets at night. For millennia, these were experiences that we took for granted as a species, but now, as those kids this summer aptly demonstrated, we can choose to live with or without.

Those experiences and the type of intelligence they foster shaped our development as a species and as a civilization. It may be that, as over half of the world’s population now lives in cities, our next step as a species is as informed by urban living as our predecessors’ growth was informed by their natural surroundings. If that is the case, then our awareness of our place in nature, and our ability to take lessons from it, will slowly be lost to accommodate a need for a purely urban – that is, artificial and human-made – intelligence. This would be the cost of urban-centric life. The lessons of the wild, at one time freely learned and accessible, would become arcane and our ability to understand the natural world which gave us life would diminish past the realm of pure necessity.

Young people would have to pay, as the youths I worked with this summer had to, in order to visit the natural world and learn its lessons. Today, we still place more than just economic value on the wild places left to us. I shudder when I think about what kind of value we will place on nature in a future dominated by an urban mindset.

So, I struggle with the lack of access I have to nature. I acknowledge that my priorities may not be shared by the next person, and that there are many, many people out there who live rewarding lives contained within an urban lifestyle. But, I also acknowledge on a personal level the importance of my fleeting experience in the wild and the understanding I took from it – the need for us as a species to reconnect, even if only from time to time, with the natural surroundings we came from, to learn the lessons of the environment, to explore again, and to keep the classroom alive and available for the next generation.

What You Can Do Links:

I wanted to finish this entry on a positive note! When I feel too cooped up in the city, I feel lucky that, artificial though it may be, the cityscape is a fascinating thing to explore. While I’m pretty happy to take in the sights in a legal fashion, some Montrealers and Torontonians have elevated the practice of urban exploration to an art, often an illegal one. Below are some links to ‘urban spelunking’ group sites. While I can’t recommend that you follow their lead, I encourage you to take some of these explorers’ ingenuity to heart!

http://www.infiltration.org/index.html

http://uem.minimanga.com/

http://www.urbanexplorers.net/

Thank you, Gabe, for this thought provoking article. There really is a whole different way of learning, as well as very different lessons to be had in the natural world from those in the cities. We loose a great deal when we don't take time to explore even the smallest natural setting available to us.

Please let us know what your thoughts are on this topic by emailing your comments to: moczero@sympatico.ca or clicking on comments at the bottom of this Posting.

I'm inviting you to think about your special place in Nature as a child, or an experience you had in the natural world that made you feel at home, held, comforted or safely you. Write your experience down and send it to: moczero@sympatico.ca to share with our Virtual Community in our upcoming The Narratives Posting.

We now have a Rogues' Gallery on the sidebar. Send me your photos to hang in our gallery and share with our Virtual Community. We have Melanie's photo from Saskatoon of the deer at the sliding door and Vicky's photo she took of the December full moon.

Don't forget to look to the skies tomorrow night for February's full moon.

Earth Family First,

maureen

(Photos from Google images)

Earth or Plastic?

2009-01-31T17:08:00.019-05:00

“If Candlemas is bright and clear
There’ll be two winters in the year.”
A Scottish cuplet

February 2nd is the Christian feast of Candlemas and it’s also Groundhog Day across Canada. In Ontario, Wiarton Willie, who lives up in Bruce County, is the celebrity groundhog for the day. If it is a sunny day and Willie sees his shadow, our winter will continue for at least another 6 weeks. If Willie doesn’t see his shadow, we can expect an early spring. It’s said that Willie “has consistently delivered accurate predictions (90%!) on the remaining course of winter”. (http://www.brucepenisula.org/willie.html)
Every year, there is a Winter Festival in Wiarton in anticipation of Willie’s weather forecast. But, Ontario is not the only province to celebrate the oracular little fellow. In Manitoba, there is Brandon Bob, Alberta has Balzac Billy and Schubenacadie Sam lives in Nova Scotia. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/groundhogday/)

This Week’s Suggestion:

Let’s find a small container, a bowl, a plate, a box - something we like. Put it at the centre of the table we eat at, or on the table near our bed, or at the front door. Leave it empty for a day or two. Then, when we go out this week, while paying attention to the world around us – the trees, the wild creatures, pebbles, the sky with it’s ever-changing moods, the wind, the scent of life, or other people, let our eyes be drawn to something small. We’ll pick it up, bring it home and place it in our small container. Ever day, just before eating, on waking and going to sleep, or coming and going from the house, we’ll take a moment to look closely at the object, a little gift, a tiny treasure. When the week is done, we’ll return it to where it was found. This is something we may want to do every week.

Getting To Know Our Neighbours:

How do trees survive the freezing temperatures of winter in our northern climates?
Because of plant growth regulators, which are mostly tree hormones, the trees respond to the amount and length of sunlight and the nutrients and water availability in the soil. These regulators inform the trees when it’s time to grow, gather nutrients and energy, and when to become dormant. Dormancy is like sleep for the trees, a time to rest.
In spring, with the increasing hours of light and the strength of the sun, the plant growth regulators tell the trees to wake up and commence the warm weather growth spurt, growing leaves and stretching their tips upwards and branches outwards. As summer arrives, the trees are well into their growing phase while collecting and storing energy. In late summer as the sunlight weakens and the days shorten, the plant growth regulators send signals to the trees to stop growing and producing leaves. By autumn, the trees are storing energy and nutrients in preparation for the next spring’s growth spurt. With winter, the trees go into full dormancy in order to protect their buds, branches and tender roots just below the frost and snow. (http://gardenline.usak.ca/misc/dormancy.html)

SOMETIME

Sometimes

if you move carefully

through the forest

breathing

like the ones

in the old stories

who could cross

a shimmering bed of dry leaves

without a sound,

you come

to a place

whose only task

is to trouble you

with tiny

but frightening requests

conceived out of nowhere

but in this place

beginning to lead everywhere.

Requests to stop what

you are doing right now,

and

to stop what you

are becoming

while you do it,

questions

that can make

or unmake

a life,

questions

that have patiently

waited for you,
questions

that have no right

to go away.
David Whyte

A Fact Or Two:

Plastic is everywhere. Just look around. Can you find a surface without plastic on it? We could say we live in “surround-plastic”. Here are some facts on the plastic products we use.
· A toothbrush is composed of 11 cubic centimetres of plastic (not counting the brush). If 27 million people across Canada throw away three toothbrushes this year, this would create the equivalent of a plastic rope the thickness of your little finger that stretched all the way from Toronto to Tokyo.
· Worldwide some 2.7 million tons (2.4 million metric tons) of plastic are used to bottle water each year, according to EPI. (Environmental Products Inc.)
· Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year. (EPI)
· The plastic most commonly used is polyethylene terepthalate (PET), which is derived from crude oil.
· Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every HOUR.
· An estimated 14 billions pounds of trash, much of it plastic, is dumped into the world’s oceans every year.
· The worldwide fishing industry dumps an estimated 150,000 tons of plastic into the oceans

every year, including packaging, plastic nets, lines and buoys.
· Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the oceans kill as many as 1 million sea creatures every year.
· Nearly every piece of plastic EVER made still exists today.
· Plastic debris in the environment can take between 400 and 1,000,000 years to degrade.
(http://cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2009/foreverplastic/facts/html)
(http://www.greenfeet.net/newsletter/quick-facts-on-plastic-pollution.shtml)

What Can We Do?

Become aware of all the plastic in you life.
Recycle -Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator.
Special fleece-like fabrics used in clothes and blankets can be made out of plastic bottles.
Recycled plastic can be used to make things like trash cans, park benches, playground equipment, decks and kayaks.
Refuse to use plastic bags when shopping.
Use re-useable non-plastic water bottles.
Avoid foods that use a large amount of plastic packaging.

Media:

Websites:

Art and Nature with Alan Wolpert

http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3576

Paintings of Disappearing Rainforests

http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/dn16221-beautiful-rainforest-paintings/13

One Earth

http://www.oneearth.org/index2.html

CBC Documentary Series: Forever Plastic

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2009/foreverplastic/

Look for the full moon on Monday, February 9th. Some names for the February full moon are: Budding Moon, Little Famine Moon, Moon of the Racoon, Moon of Ice and Snow Moon.

Next week, Gabe will be tell us about his experiences on Vancouver Island this past summer and contrast them to his new home in downtown Toronto for the February Guest Writer Posting.

And, Sue from the Maritimes sent in old photographs of 1911, when Niagara Falls completely froze over. She wrote, "Makes you wonder just HOW COLD and HOW LONG it was that cold!!"

And we think we are experiencing a hard winter now in Canada...

Until next week,

Earth Family First

maureen

(most photos from Google Images)

Starting The Narratives, A Story from My Life

2009-01-25T09:35:00.031-05:00

This Posting will be the start of The Narratives, a sharing of those special and significant moments we have experienced with Earth and our Earth Family.

I will begin The Narratives with one of my own experiences, the first that I remember, so vividly, from my childhood. I truly hope this will commence a lovely dialogue between us in our Whole Earth Care Virtual Community.

I grew up in the country, north of Montreal. My brother, sister and I were very close in age and we had the run of woods, fields, creeks, ponds and secret places. When our mother wanted us home, she would blow a police whistle. If we were too far away to hear it a neighbour through a neighbour would get the message to us. We were free to roam, get dirty, spend hours outdoors without adult supervision, fish, catch frogs, lie under a pine tree and watch the clouds and the sun play with shadows. Bugs, birds and animals were our companions. In fact, our father told us that we should get to know the proper names of all of the trees, plants and wildlife around us because they were our neighbours, just like the people in our small community.

We were fortunate. We didn’t have a whole lot in terms of monetary stuff, but we had a rich childhood. Our Irish maternal grandparents lived across the field from us and our grandfather taught us that our very survival was embedded in the good Earth. To lose both land and an appreciation of our dependence on it was to lose one’s identity – one’s life, not only in a physical way, but also in the emotional and spiritual sense. Our mother and grandfather were both artists, and they would often draw our attention to the colours, shadows and shapes in the natural world. My father would introduce us to a bird, a tree and the delight of just being with Nature. I don’t remember ever feeling fearful about the wild world about us. My family taught us to celebrate the mystery in the natural world.

One night, when I was very young, my father woke me up, wrapped me in a blanket and quietly carried me out of the house and into the east field. He sat down and I cuddled up in his lap, his strong arms and the blanket holding me safe and happy. From him, I could feel joy, contentment. He told me to look up. I did, and saw a dark blue sky filled with stars. And, I saw a mesmerizing dance of light; green, blue, purple ribbons of colour moving across the sky.

My father died when I was nine. His gifts to me were many. The most powerful, the most meaningful, the most spiritual gift he gave me was the absolute assuredness that I was a child of his beloved Earth, that I belong here in this community of life-giving interconnectiveness and interdependence, full of mystery and compassion.

This mystery, this compassion calls upon me daily to love the beauty and terror of Earth, to try to be grateful, respectful, co-operative and creative. Earth never ceases to support me, heal my wounds and teach me.

What I Have Learned So Far

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of -- indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

Mary Oliver (New and Selected Poems Volume Two)

I have received so many wonderful comments about Lani's article, Subversive Seeds of Art and Nature. Many said they were inspired to take a walk out into the woods and see what creative muse might visit them. I hope you found some time this week to walk through Lani's "doorway" into play and appreciation. I await to publish the photos of these experiences.

Some of you have sent me great personal photos of polar bears, deer encounters and the December full moon. Keep these coming. I love receiving them. I'm working to set up a Rogues' Gallery on the sidebar to display our artwork, photos and sketches, etc.

A number of people continue to have trouble posting comments on the Blog. I'm not sure why, but the cyberspace that this Blog occupies contains gremlins, I'm sure of it. They continue to wreak havoc with my patience and nerves - there is always something that goes awry just when I think I have finally mastered it. For those of you who have encountered these beastly cyberspace creatures on this Blog, below are directions once again that might help.

To make a comment you click on comments at the bottom of the Posting.
A box will appear and it will say: Leave You Comment.
Type in whatever you wish to say inside the box.
Type in the jumble of letters and/or numbers above the Word Verification box with the disability sign to the right (this is to control automatic spam, etc.)
If you have a Google Account, type in your username and password. If you don't have an account, you can sign up by clicking on Sign up here (it's easy and can be quite useful for lots of stuff and it's all very secure). Otherwise, try clicking on the dot next to Anonymous.
Then click on the orange Publish You Comment and EH, Voila!
It sounds all very complicated, but it's not...if I can do it, you certainly can.
I moderate all comments just to keep the Blog "clean" and "safe" for our Virtual Community. So, when someone sends a comment to the Blog, I get notified. I read the comment and then publish it without editing it.

If this fails, simply email me moczero@sympatico.ca with your comments and let me know what name you want to appear with the comment on the Blog.

There will be a February Posting of The Narratives. I encourage you to put fingers to keyboard, write down one of your own narratives with Earth and/or our Earth Family and share it with the rest of us. It doesn't have to be elaborate or fantastic, just something that is real and informative, a comfort to you -an experience of beauty. Email me at moczero@sympatico.ca

Don't forget to check out the information and links on the sidebar and take care.
Earth Family first,
maureen

Photos from Google Images

"Subversion Seeds of Art and Nature"

2009-01-18T19:14:00.036-05:00

This week is the first of a series of monthly articles from members of our Whole Earth Care Virtual Community. Each month, a Guest Writer will share his or her thoughts, insights, experiences and celebration as an Earth Family member.

Welcome our very first Guest Writer, Lani.

Lani is an artist, art therapist, teacher and puppetmaker. And, she is so much more. Check out her website and blogs to find out more about this lovely woman and her work and play.

Wishes for 2009:
Lots of
Subversive Seeds of Art and Nature
By Lani Gerity

My wishes for 2009 are that our lives be filled with good things; wild and poetic seed packets of possibilities, filling the cracks and crevices of our urban industrial lives with art, magic, colour, beauty, and nature. I'd like to create seed packages to stimulate all kinds of generative things. They could be little packages of art supplies, small objects found in nature, or maybe even a story on a blog in cyberspace to stimulate thinking about art and nature. With these seed packets we could create sustainable corners of beauty where people could enjoy the mingling of greenery, flowers, life, and art. Doesn't that sound delightfully subversive? So here's a subversive seed of a story for you.

There is a group of artists who run a center (Boreal, Art/Nature) in Quebec, located in the Laurentian mountains. Their mandate is to find ways to explore and create new links between contemporary art practices and nature. Their research is undertaken with the hope of community building, with an interest in history, evolution and also with a growing concern about what they see as a widening chasm between nature and popular culture.

They work to create possibilities for artistic experimentation and collaboration within wilderness settings. To that end (when they have funding) they create artists’ residencies with concluding “open trail days” where the public is invited to meet the artists and experience the work.

One fall, I was invited to be a part of one of these artist-in-residency programs. My first day in residency was an “open trail day” for a large group of art students up from Concordia University in Montreal. These students had been brought out of their virtual, competitive, urban environment and placed in the forest, set free in this much greater than human environment to interact and create with materials they found there. The land became the art room, and one of the Boreal, Art/Nature artists became the benign facilitator, explaining the rules, “find your own special spot,” “use only bio-degradable materials or materials provided by the forest,” and “do no harm to yourself or the forest.” Very simple, clear rules.

The results were awe inspiring, heart opening, and integrating for the artist and viewer. There were structures of wood and stone, earth and leaves, there were caves in roots, expressions of wounding, sorrow, and loss, there were amazing performance pieces, milkweed pod boats being kissed and sent down a stream to freedom and an uncertain future.

As we walked along viewing their work, almost all of the students expressed feeling connected to the environment, reconnected to memories, history, and as they shared their stories you could feel strong connections being built between presenter and viewers. They talked about the magic of finding their own spot, and wonder and acceptance of natural life cycles, the passing away of things; the needing to let go, to say good bye. The amazing thing was the way in which this art studio, the forest, could so easily absorb and contain such passion and feeling from these students, and reflect back to them something reassuring and quiet. They were so deeply moved and moving, and so gentle with each other and with the forest.

One of the students had recently lost her mother. She took us to various spots in the forest where she had set up wooden frames. We could look through the frames and see what she had seen. At the last frame she said she had wanted to think outside of the box, she had wanted to look at all this stuff outside of these frames, but her “industrial mind” just wants things in boxes, it wanted things unchanged, safe and permanent. She’d wanted to feel her mother’s presence in the forest but because her “industrial mind” wanted to keep her inside of a clean box, separated from illness and suffering...and death, it also kept her separate from the forest and separate from her mother’s memory. She felt that she was missing so much by looking only at what was safe in the frame, that she was missing reality, authentic expression, and she’s missing her mother.

As I listened to her talk about her wishes for more authentic expression and feeling, I found my self wanting to create a really big frame that could serve as a doorway, one that could be walked through. What would happen then? How would that feel?

So my wish for 2009 would be to step through the frames of my industrial, urban mind, into a world of artistic freedom, wild nature, and things more than human. Of course, it would be fun to meet other humans there, and make some wild art together.

Post Script: The Spiral Garden of Toronto has this to say about wishes and seeds:

“If you want something, keep it quiet, be secretive and respectful. When the seeds are buried deep in the earth and you act like a gardener cultivating precious orchids, your inward secrets will one day bloom and bring lasting beauty to your garden. Manifestations is a secret alchemy that happens between you and love. Be like a magician, be a secret you cannot tell. Live it every day. Make you life sacred, but don’t tell.” (Spiral Garden, Cosmic Bird Feeder, Annual Report 2000 p.93)

My Favorite Art & Nature Links -

Boreal Art/Nature
http://www.artnature.ca/

Bread & Puppet
http://www.breadandpuppet.org/

Spiral Garden, Toronto
http://www.bloorview.ca/programsandservices/communityprograms/centreforthearts/spiralgarden.php

Subversive Seeds of FUN and ART (& free stuff)

http://14secretsforahappyartistslife.blogspot.com/

http://www.lanipuppetmaker.com/

http://lanipuppetmaker.blogspot.com/

Yours, Lani

Thank you so much for this article, Lani. It's wonderful - inspiring me to get out there and play in the woods and see what comes of it.

Here's A Challenge:

Let's go out into the woods or forest and “find [our] own special spot,” “use only bio-degradable materials or materials provided by the forest,” and “do no harm to [ourselves] or the forest." (Boreal Art/nature artists). And if we can't go to the forest, then we can look around the trees nearest us and gather up whatever is offered. Play, create, and then photograph our art pieces and send the photos, and possibly a brief description of the experience, to moczero@sympatico.ca. i'll set up our very own Rogues' Gallery. We'll walk through Lani's,"really big frame that could serve as a doorway " into the experience.

Have fun with this. Hopefully, there may be some pieces "hanging" in the Gallery next week.

The next Blog Posting will be the start of Narratives. To help you remember those special moments you shared with our mother, Earth, here are a few questions.

Have you had a seminal experience in/with Nature?

What was your special spot in Nature when you were a child? How did you find it, what did it mean to you?

Earth Family First,

maureen

Photos from Goggle Images

A New Year

2009-01-10T22:48:00.020-05:00

The Edge Foundation, a non-profit private organization out of New York City posses a question at the beginning of each new year. The Edge Foundation’s Question for 2009 is, “What will change everything?” It’s quite a question!

The responses to this question, from some of America’s major thinkers, were interesting and varied. For example, Steward Brand of The Whole Earth Catalog feels, “- - Global governance will change everything.”, while MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle, “looks forward to the day when robots will serve as companions to humans.” (http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3555)

I have been giving this question some serious thought. The question is not, “What can change everything?” or “What could change everything?” or “What has changed everything?” By using the word, “will”, there’s a strong affirmation of a future. Furthermore, the question doesn’t include the phrases, “for the better”, or “for the worse”, and by the word, “everything”, I suspect the Edge means everything which is rather inclusive.

I, with little brain, don’t feel major catastrophes, different governments, more education, bigger technological advances or robots will change our future for the better, but, perhaps for the worse. i think we need a new working paradigm that includes a reconciliation with our genetic history as Earthlings, a realization that all things share a numinous quality that connects, guides and heals. We need to re-learn our Earth story not just with our intellects, but with our hearts, and move forward with courage, respect and gratitude. We need to put our Earth Family first.

What are your thoughts about the Edge Foundation’s 2009 Question? What do you think will change everything?
For more information on the Edge Foundation and responses to the 2009 Annual Question, go to: http://www.edge.org/

This Week’s Suggestion:

Let’s take time to look at what is good about our lives, where we are met with beauty and love, what we don't want to see changed, what we are grateful for. And, let’s think about what changes we would like to see take place in our own lives, in the life of our communities and governments, in the life of our Earth Family. Are we willing to take responsibility to change those things that need to change and can be changed?

Getting To Know Our Neighbours:

Since 2009 is still in its infancy, it seems like a perfect time to check out our knowledge of baby animal names.

So here’s a Babies Who’s Who Quiz.
Do you know the baby names of the following?

1. kangaroo, 2. turkey, 3. toad, 4. zebra,

5. penguin, 6. sheep, 7. swan, 8. whale, 9. eagle, 10. hare, 11. goose, 12. rat, 13. deer, 14. shark,

15. fish, 16. monkey.

Okay, the baby hare name is tricky.

(To check your answers, look to the bottom of the Posting)

Some other baby names are:

A baby cow is a calf, as are the babies of antelope, elephants, hippos and seals.

A baby bear is a cub as are the babies of lions, and tigers.

A baby goat is a kid and the babies of beavers, foxes, skunks and rabbits are called kits.

Finally, a baby eel is an elver – who would have thought! (http://abcteach.com/abclists/animalbabies.htm) and http://www.greatbluemarble.com/names.htm)

A Fact Or Two:

We are living in a global water crisis. Water has become a commodity when it should be a human right. There is no life without water. Yet, bottled water is a hugely profitable industry. We have been duped into believing that bottled water is better for us – cleaner, easier, safer. The fact is that Canada has some of the safest, cleanest tap water in the world.

The Council of Canadians states,

“Water is essential to life - no one should be able to control it or expropriate it for profit. In the current global water crisis, billions of people still lack access to basic water and sanitation services. Everyday, thousands of people die from preventable diseases contracted because they do not have access to clean water.

The majority of those dying are children under the age of five.

The right to water has been recognized internationally through the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. But in 2002, the Canadian government was the only one to vote against accepting water as a human right at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Moreover, the Walkerton Inquiry found that the right to water does not exist in Canadian legislation. As such, our government’s position, both internationally and domestically, continues to deny the fundamental human right to water. (http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/right/indexhtml)

Click on this site and have a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGd9D4J0lag

What Can We Do?

We need to become conscious of our water use.

Refuse to buy bottled water.
Buy a reusable water bottle, fill it with tap water and carry it with you.
Encourage others to do the same – start a fad.

Call 1-800-387-7177, or email inquiries@canadians.org, for more information on what you can do in your community.

Check out The 5 Things You Can Do To Help Ban Bottled Water at:
http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/Unbottle_It/leaflet.html

Sign the petition on line to protect Canada’s water. Go to:
http://www.righttowater.ca/WorldWaterDay

Media:

Talks:

In January, Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians and Sid Ryan of CUPE will on

a 15 City Speaking Tour in Ontario entitled, Unbottle It.

The talks are free and run from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Go to http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/Unbottle_It/ontariotour.html to find out the when and where in your community or contact Joanne Webb at 905-529-9419 or email strew@canadians.org

TV:

Canadian Waterways, spectacular lakes, On Saturday, January 10, 5:00 p.m.
(channel 2 in most areas; Bell TV channel 265; Star Choice channel 353)

Eco-engineering, Geothermal: the Heat from Within, Thursday, January 22,
7:00 p.m. (channel 2 in most areas; Bell TV channel 265; Star Choice channel 353)

National Geographic, Seed Hunter, Friday, January 23, 7:00 p.m.
(channel 2 in most areas; Bell TV channel 265; Star Choice channel 353)

Big Ideas, Maude Barlow – Water: The Most Pressing Women’s Issue of All?,
Saturday, January 31, 4:00 p.m.

Eco-engineering, Power Tower, Thursday, January 29, 7:00 p.m.

For more information on these programs and others consult: http://www.tvo.org/

Internet:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/02/0224_060224_bottled_water.html

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkNY78B2Jio&feature=related

If you have suggestions for books, radio and/or TV programs, Internet sites, YouTube videos, talks and conferences, please share them with us by clicking on to comments at the bottom of the latest posting or emailing me at: moczero@sympatico.ca

A new year, a new beginning.
Next week we will meet our first Guest Writer, Lani. Her subject is on Art and Nature. You will be inspired.

And as always, I encourage you to join our Earth Family First Virtual Community by clicking on Follow this blog below Followers on the left sidebar and by adding your thoughts by clicking onto comments at the end of this Posting. I welcome your ideas, comments, information, articles, whatever you can send me to improve our Blog.

It’s good to be back.

Earth Family First,
Maureen

The Babies Who’s Who Quiz.

1. joey, 2. poult, 3. tadpole, 4. foal, 5. chick, 6. lamb, 7. cygnet, 8. calf, 9. eaglet,
10. leveret, 11. gosling, 12. pup, 13. fawn, 14. cub, 15. fry, 16. infant.

How did you do?

(All photos from Goggle Images)

Last Blog Posting for This Year, 2008

2008-12-13T19:50:00.059-05:00

This will be my last posting for this year. I'll be back at the beginning of January, 2009.

These last couple of months have been a wonderful, exciting and very hopeful time for me. I started the Whole Earth Care Blog on the 5th of October of this year. It was, and continues to be, my attempt to respond to the profound question Dr. Balfour Mount asked all of us who attended the 17th International Congress on Palliative Care in Montreal, last September. Dr. Mount asked us what we were going to do about the present state of our Earth.

What I thought I'd do for this posting is review the hope, purpose, and work of the virtual community of our Whole Earth Care Blog.

The scientific studies, the statistics and the pictures are in. The Earth is dying. We cannot turn our backs on this reality anymore.

I see the polar bear as our Earth's "canary in the mine".
This magnificent creature relies on the ice shelves in the Artic. But, because of global warming, the ice shelves are melting, causing the shelves to recede from the deeper ocean waters, as well as fracture and break off into small ice floats. To feed, these bears must now swim out into the ocean rather than wonder across the ice shelves to catch prey. Many are starving to death or they drown from fatigue, having to swim as much as 100 kilometres from one ice float to another.

Earth is the only home we have. It is because of Earth that we are alive. Earth is our mother. She feeds us, clothes us, shelters us, surrounds us with beauty and companions. We are hers. We are part of the Earth Family.

When we were children, most of us knew this intuitively. We understood the language of Earth. We heard Earth speak to us in the wind, in the fall of snow, the sweetness of a chickadees and the slippery loveliness of a frog. We knew we belonged to this Earth Family. Yet, for some reason, we declared ourselves orphaned. We forgot our mother and our mother tongue. Earth did not abandon us. We abandoned her.

Earth is a tiny blue speck in the suburbs of the Milky Way. And, as far as we know, there is no other place like it in all of the Universe. No other place that has great oceans full of corals, whales, and multi-coloured fishes, great savanna, ancient forests, and steaming jungles teeming with life, butterflies, elephants, hummingbirds and ostriches, donkeys with crosses marking their backs, books, music, dance and Michelangelo's Pieta.
Earth is a mystery. The Earth Family is a mystery. We are a mystery, and we are all One.

"The Universe [Earth] is not a collection of objects, but rather a community of subjects" Thomas Berry

Let's not forget the Power of One. Often, when confronted by what may seem like an overwhelming problem - one too big for each one of us to solve alone - we need only to look at how ordinary people, as individuals, have made all the difference.

Terry Fox, Nelson Mendela, Balfour Mount, Mother Teresa, Craig Keilburger and Jean Vanier

I am sure not one of these people ever dreamed they would have such an effect on the way of the world; that they would bring about such healing, such relief of suffering, such hope.

Likewise, I am sure that each one of them would say they could not have made a difference without the support of a committed group of family, friends and complete strangers.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens
can change the world.
Indeed, it’s the only thing
that ever does.”

Margaret Mead

Together, you and I, as the Whole Earth Care Virtual Community can take up Dr. Balfour Mount's challenge to respond to the needs of our Mother Earth and, as a multi-talented team, work to alleviate the suffering of our Earth Family, bring about healing and give hope to the future.

A friend and colleague of mine, who works in Palliative Care works with this mantra.

"I can't care for someone if I don't care about them.

And I can't care about them unless I know them.

And I can't know them unless I'm willing to let them know me.“ M.C. Rilett

We could start working with our Mother Earth and our Earth Family by slightly altering this to:

We can’t care for our Earth Family if we don’t care about our Earth Family.

And we can’t care about our Earth Family if we don’t know our Earth Family.

And we can’t know our Earth Family unless we are willing to let our Earth Family know us.

If I stand by you and if you stand by me, together, we can and will make a difference - for ourselves, for each other, for our children, for our grandchildren, for all future generations of our Earth Family.

In the New Year, the Blog format will change slightly. For two or three posting a month, I will continue with the format used since October, but hopefully, one posting each month, will showcase a Guest Writer with a short "essay" on a specific topic such as Art and The Earth, Eco-psychology, Gleaning, etc. And with another posting each month, I hope to entice you all to share with our Virtual Community, your experiences with the natural world.

In the Beginning

Sometimes simplicity rises
like a blossom of fire
from the white silk of your own skin.
You were there in the beginning
you heard the story, you heard the merciless
and tender words telling you where you had to go.
Exile is never easy and the journey
itself leaves a bitter taste. But then,
when you heard that voice, you had to go.
You couldn't sit by the fire, you couldn't live
so close to the live flame of that compassion
you had to go out in the world and make it your own
so you could come back with
that flame in your voice, saying listen...
this warmth, this unbearable light, this fearful love...
It is all here, it is all here.
David Whyte

I wish you all a happy and loving holiday season and look forward to joining with you in the New Year in our Whole Earth Care Virtual Earth Family Community.

Now, turn up the volume, click on this YouTube Video, get up and DANCE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Earth Family - First
maureen

P.S.
For those infamous New Year's Resolutions...let's make them famous by using less water, eating locally as much as possible, questioning our consumption needs and taking time each day to simply stop and look around and become aware of our relationship with Earth and our Earth Family.

Closer To What We Want

2008-12-01T21:06:00.040-05:00

How much is enough? How much is more than enough? Most of us take so much for granted. I know I do - every day. I remember a time when I was part of a commune, living well with just enough of everything - food, clothing, a simple home, good friends, self-made fun. When I worked overseas, life was even more simple. I don't remember wanting for anything. Life, in fact, was very good, very good indeed. What I wanted, I had. If I were to returned to that way of life now, would I be content? Would it be enough? I think it would be, once i settled into it. We really don't need half of what we've got to be happy, healthy, productive and secure.

Praise What Comes

surprising as unplanned kisses, all you haven't deserved
of days and solitude, your body's immoderate good health
that lets you work in many kinds of weather. Praise

talk with just about anyone. And quiet intervals, books
that are your food and your hunger; nightfall and walks
before sleep. Praising these for practice, perhaps

you will come at last to praise grief and the wrongs
you never intended. At the end there may be no answers
and only a few very simple questions: did I love,

finish my task in the world? Learn at least one
of the many names of God? At the intersections,
the boundaries where one life began and another

ended, the jumping-off places between fear and
possibility, at the ragged edges of pain,
did I catch the smallest glimpse of the holy?
Jeanne Lohmann

This Week's Suggestion

Let's take a few minutes each day to stop and look at what we have. Note it all. And then, take a few more minutes to consider what we really need. As the week goes on, let's ask ourselves what is it we really want. How do our non-essential belongings bring us closer to our life goals? If we find we have gathered around us a lot of items that do not help us get closer to that which we deeply want, perhaps it is time to challenge ourselves with the question, "Why do I keep hanging on to all this stuff and why do I continue to accumulate more of it?

Getting To Know Our Neighbours

This past weekend, while planting bulbs, I came across several healthy looking earthworms, lovely creatures. I realized I know very little about them, even though we all are so dependant on them for life. Their task is to eat dead plant and animal material, break it down and return precious nutrients to the soil.
Their burrowing allows rain to enter the soil watering plant roots and preventing soil erosion. Earthworms are found all over the world in the different layers of soil, in rotting logs, as high as 10 metres above ground in the axials of tree branches and along the moist shores of lakes, rivers, ponds and springs.
There are 2700 different species of earthworm ranging in length from a few inches to a 10-footer in Australia. 32 million earthworms will be found in a square mile of fertile earth. Did you know that an earthworm has 5 hearts, and when the weather gets cold and the soil begins to freeze, an earthworm burrows further down into the earth, generates its own antifreeze, curls up into a tight knot and waits it out? An official census of the 28 known species of earthworms in Great Britain will start in March, 2009. If you are a gardener in the UK, you could volunteer for the count.

A Fact Or Two:

Definitions of Poverty: (Net Aid)
Extreme (or absolute) poverty: Living in extreme poverty (less than $1 a day) means not being able to afford the most basic necessities to ensure survival.
Moderate poverty: defined as earning about $1 to $2 a day, enables households to just barely meet their basic needs, but they still must forgo many of the things-education, health care-that many of us take for granted. The smallest misfortune (health issue, job loss, etc.) threatens survival.
Relative poverty: means that a household has an income below the national average.

In Canada, the average income after taxes for a two parent family with children under 18 years of age, and both parents working, was $76, 400 in 2006 (Statistics Canada).

In 2002 at the Monterry Conference and the Johannesburg Summit, 22 countries signed an agreement to give 0.7% of their annual national income towards ending world hunger and poverty. The United Nations reports that $195 billion a year would eliminate world hunger and extreme poverty. $195 billion equals the 0.7% annual income of those 22 countries. Only Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have reached the goal. Canada is one of 6 countries that has not even set up a schedule to reach the 0.7% goal.

Each year, 8 million people die around the world because of poverty.
Over 1 billion people, 1 in every 6 people in the world, live in extreme poverty.
More than 800 million people go hungry.
Women experience the highest level of poverty. Rural female-headed households are at the bottom of the poverty chain.
Only 10% of global spending on medical research and development is directed at the diseases of the poorest 90% of the world's people. (Net Aid)

Click onto: http://www.poverty.com/

What Can We Do?

Together, we can make a difference. Click onto: http://www.poverty.com/printletter.html
Print off several copies of the letter. Sign your name, add your address and mail the letters.

In Canada, send the letters to Prime Minister Harper, leaders of the opposition parties, Minister Diane Foley, and Minister Justin Trudeau. You don't need a stamp to send letters to The House of Commons. This will take you only 3 - 5 minutes of your time.

Let's share our good fortune. Consider alternative gift giving this holiday season. There are food and toy banks, local and national organizations, and international organizations that can help us help people around the world. (see sidebar for some ideas)

Media

TV/Internet: The Suzuki Diaries is such a worthwhile documentary to watch - full of hope, ideas and much puzzlement as to why Canada is so slow to move towards renewable energy sources. Look at it in segments, or all at once. http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/2008/suzukidiaries/ and go to Watch Online

Websites: Click onto this site and play the game. http://www.freerice.com/index.php
You can choose your subject and level of expertise.
With every right answer, Free Rice donates 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger. Like most things, it all adds up.

This posting is late by almost a week. My computer decided to act up and send me into (almost) panic mode on several occasions when hours of work seemed to disappear into cyberspace without any forwarding address. I don't know where I would be without my Technical Supports. Often, they were able to talk me and my work back to the computer, while on their cellphones, walking down some street, cleaning up the kitchen, or working on their own work at their own computers. Many thanks to the four of you.

Keep your eyes on the sky this coming week.

Jupiter and Venus are shining brightly in the southwest sky with Venus just above Jupiter.

The moon will be full on Friday, December 12th.
It will be the biggest and brightest moon since 1993. Some of the names given to this month's Full Moon are: Christmas Moon, Snow Moon, Twelfth Moon and Long Night Moon.

Happy sky gazing and goodbye for now.
maureen

Beginning the Conversation

2008-11-23T15:33:00.005-05:00

This week we start our very first virtual community conversation with Fran from Quebec, Canada. Fran is an artist and a poet. She writes, "I am sending you a poem and painting I did long ago. Although they weren't created at the same time when the poem came, many years after the painting, it told me that this painting was to go with it. [ ] I have many other poems related to my on-going dialogue with Nature which I've been having since I was a child."

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME

So, you think you know me?

You say you see me,

But do you?

Have you travelled all my regions

visited all the sites -

of war and miracles,

of pain and joy,

of death and birth,

of wounding and healing,

of squalor and beauty,

of poverty and wealth?

The cold hard, winter places,

the warm, lush, loving, spaces,

the rotting in the sun,

the melting in the ice and snow?

The moist,

the arid,
the wealth of pattern
for good and ill,

the ancient and the new?

And when you've seen all this

can you let it go and see the whole?

These patches of my life

are stitched together with such love.

I am warmed

by the quiltwork

of my Being

lovingly made
just for me! Fran Olsen, 1995

This Week's Suggestion

Let's spend this week considering our lives and how easily things come to most of us. We turn a tap and instantly have running water, hot and cold, inside a solid home. We flick a switch and we have heat, or in the summer, relief from the heat. Another switch, and just like that, we have lights. We walk a short distance, or drive, to a store and the food is bountiful, the choices unlimited, the sweets and treats affordable. We have comfortable public transit, schools nearby, and clean hospitals filled with supplies, medications, with only one person per bed. Then, let's consider the lives of most of the people in the world.

Get To Know Our Neighbours

By now, the hives of the honeybees have been readied for winter in the northern hemisphere. Winter doors have been fitted at the hive entrances and enough honey has been left in each hive to support the bee colony through the cold months. Bees do not hibernate, rather they are busy eating, rearing brood, housekeeping and maintaining a hive temperature around 16 - 28 degrees Celsius. Did you know that in winter, there are only female bees in the hive and that they are all sisters and each one of them could have been queen if they had been fed royal jelly, that honeybees are the only insect that make food that humans eat, that bees do not have ears but they have five eyes:three small ones on the top of their heads and two large ones in front, that the female bees do all the work while drones, or male bees, spend their summer days hanging out in drone zones about 100 feet above the ground, waiting for a virgin queen to fly by?

A Fact Or Two

Last Friday, November 21st, CBC News reported that "760,000 children live in poverty in Canada." That is one in nine Canadian children. In Ontario, the ratio is higher; one in six children. CBC News went on to say, "the Campaign 2000 annual Report Card on Child and Family Poverty" stated that "the nation's child poverty rate remains unchanged from 1989", when the House of Commons unanimously resolved to end child poverty in Canada by 2000. The report continued to say that child poverty is "expected to increase with the economic downturn". Other statistics sited by the Report were, "40% of low-income children live in families where at least one of their parents work full-time year round" and "nearly one in four First Nations children continue to live in poverty". The United Nations estimates that 25,000 people die of hunger and hunger-related illnesses a day, most of whom are children. Hunger is is directly caused by poverty.

What Can We Do?

Last Year, according to an Ipsos-Reid Survey, 84% of Canadians said they would prefer to have a donation made in their name rather than receive a traditional gift.

Contact local charities, church organizations and food banks, like The Salvation Army, the Toy and Food Drives at food stores, the police and fire stations.

There are plenty of well-established and highly applauded NGOs throughout the world that need our support. To the left of the page, at the top, is a list of only a few of the many possible NGOs to consider for alternate gift giving. It will be money well spent.

Check out 4 Tips for Giving Alternative Gifts by scrooling down at: http://www.worldvision.ca/

Consider buying Fair Trade Products at such stores as 10,000 Villages:

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/

Media

Books: Fran wrote, " In keeping with the idea of being in relationship with Nature, I would recommend the book (for children of all ages), The Other Way To Listen by Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall. It is simply marvelous.

Newspapers: Cam wrote, "If you haven't already read this article you should..... It's exactly what you're referring to on your blog about linking the economy and the environment." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081119.wgreen19/BNStory/National/home

The Conversation in our virtual Whole Earth Care Community has begun. We can make a difference and we are making a difference with every mindful compassionate step we take. Become a Whole Earth Care Follower by clicking on "Follow this blog" just below FOLLOWERS (14) at the left hand side of the page. Keep The Conversation alive with websites, ideas, comments, art, poetry and/or prose - you know what to do. We are on a roll - let's keep rolling.

Take care and wishing you a good week.

maureen

OH! And, don't forget Friday, November 28th. It's Buy Nothing Day.