Such Passion!

Its the day after Thanksgiving so it only seems fitting that I start my post off this week talking about a reason I am thankful.  After all of the doom and gloom that we have been reading about in class I was so excited to finally come across some material that left me feeling energized and hopeful.  I do think we are talking about important issues in this class, issues that are not meant to be easy or lighthearted, but they are also issues that we should spend time working through.  Figuring out were you stand on an issue is incredibly important.  Working through your opinion, how you feel about it, and what this is going to mean in terms of how you live your life can be absolutely exhausting.  I've said several times that I have been having difficulty with this class because of its weight, but this week, after pushing through and working on what it all meant to me I have finally come across some ideas that resonate with me and it is absolutely exhilarating.

First of all "Sell the Sizzle" is finally a way of approaching Climate Change that does not make me feel like I am hitting my head against a brick wall.  Much of the material we have worked through to date has left me feeling perhaps a little guilty for not caring "enough" and at the same time apathetic.  I just don't have it in me to keep torturing myself by banging my head on that wall.  However this new approach is one I could get behind and incorporate into my work.

The other thing I realized this week is how wonderful it is to speak to people who are so passionate about their beliefs and fighting to uphold them.  Do you realize how amazing our world would be if everyone lived their lives as passionately as Cindy does? She truly is doing all she can to create a better world.  I'd like to believe that we are all working toward this in some manner.  Perhaps if we can just remember that when working through issues we would do much better at maintaining civility during those heated political discussions.  I am happy we were given the opportunity to have such a wonderful discussion, even if it was too tense for my comfort level at times. (Apparently I am not cut out for the political scene 0.O) I appreciate all of my fellow classmates who were able to articulate their thoughts and opinions on that day.  I am not suggesting that our conversation went anything like the video I am going to post, but it does seem fitting given the passionate discussions that took place.  Perhaps we all had this little girl in the back of our minds already when we were conversing that day.  It reminds me of the EEAI conference when it was mentioned that perhaps our world would be a better place if at every important policy and decision-making meeting a small child was present.  Then again maybe this is in the thoughts of those making the decisions already and our worldview does not allow us to see how they are striving toward the best world they can see.

I'm Not Going to Forget This Week!

Because I forgot about the blog last Friday, I figure I'll post early this week.

I have to say, I very much enjoyed the discussion with Cindy Gamrat. I think discussions with people who are unlikely allies is important. We tend to want to talk about important things with those people who will agree with us, but this fails to accomplish much, since you're preaching to the choir. Cindy provided a very interesting gun argument, which took up the majority of the discussion, I think, but I appreciated several of her points. I tend to stay quiet when guns enter the conversation because I simply don't know much about them. I believe that people should be allowed to own them, and I'm not sure what kind of regulations would be fair regulations. I might be more inclined to side with Cindy on this one, but only because I think we have the right to protect ourselves from our government. The only person I've talked much about guns with is my good friend (and very liberal) Tommy, who sides with conservatives on this issue for the same reason. We have the right to form a new government when our current one fails to protect our rights, so I guess because of the uncertainty around those pesky commas and because of my desire for revolutionary changes and governmental restructuring in this nation I am more inclined to side more with Cindy. The increase in shootings around the nation is horrific, but I'm fairly confident that none of those weapons were the kinds of weapons that proposed regulations are going to prevent people from owning. So, I don't know. I still have to think about this one.

She didn't talk much about her environmental beliefs, though it was obvious that she has a connection with nature. I did appreciate that she does not like companies like Monsanto, though I did not understand her stance on renewable energy. How does moving to renewable energy sources in developed/western nations cause more harm than good?

And as for the three chapters in The Post Carbon Reader, I thought they were excellent. I kept relating the first two chapters to Aristotelian Virtue Ethics. Aristotle believed that to achieve eudaimonia we must focus on arete. That is, to flourish as human beings, to live "the good life", we must be virtuous. We must have a great concern for what is right and make sure we do the right thing throughout our lives. I think western nations have lost sight of this. We're so obsessed with consumerism and convenience and self-interest that we've forgotten about virtue. We've lost our connection to the earth and to other living creatures.

And as for hope:

Eastern cultures give me hope. The spirit, sense of community, and openness of those who are not fortunate enough to be concerned about consuming more technology, more clothing, or more items they don't need.

These children I met in India give me hope. They will probably not survive to adulthood (they are from a very impoverished village where the majority of children die from waterborne diseases), yet you would never know from meeting them. These children are the reason I want to change the world. These children do not deserve to suffer the consequences of our consumer culture.

V J Jose, the man in red, gives me hope. His bracelet symbolizes his absolute pacifism. He gave up his job to dedicate all of his time to protecting the Peryiar River, one of the most polluted rivers in the world. He was stabbed by industrial polluters and did not fight back, but more importantly is still fighting for what he knows is right.

Visiting one of many Buddhist monasteries, the monks gave food to the hungry street dogs. The monk told us that it was his duty to give what he could to all help all living creatures. Even if it's just a few cookies.

This proud Kerala fisherman has a large audience cheering him on as he pulls in the Chinese fishing nets. People are waiting eagerly to purchase food right from the man who catches it.

The many wild tiger reserves with strict regulations for visitors (it's about the protection of tigers first, not money/tourism) and the general awareness of the problem throughout India gives me hope.

Does it All Come Down to Greed?

When I read about all of the environmental issues we are dealing with and think about long-term solutions, it seems like greed and immediate gratification are major contributors to the problems. Then, Paul asks, "Do we need to get rid of capitalism?" Yikes! I just don't know.

It's all very daunting and overwhelming at times. What helps me to calm down is to recognize the choices I make that make a difference. I am so glad that I took a major step to leave my job and return to school. And not any school, but this program at Merry Lea has been extremely nourishing to my body, mind and spirit. I tell my friends and family that I made the right move at the right time in my life, but almost wish I had done this 10 or 20 years ago. Having the chance to dream about and imagine starting a new organization like we are doing in Luke's class is a treat. When else would I have made the time to do that while I was still working? And what if I had done this 20 years ago? Not that the Merry Lea program was even in existence, but something else like it, maybe? I wonder what I would be doing today.  Would it be something like what I am imagining with Boston FUN (Families United with Nature)?

I do not regret my Park Service work, for I was always dedicated to the NPS mission of preserving and protecting the parks while providing for the enjoyment of them for all future generations. However, I wasn't always conscious about making the most wise environmental choices. My level of awareness is just so much more heightened now. I feel the need to be a more active activist! I feel more empowered as an environmental educator every day. For that I am grateful and hopeful. Instead of doom and gloom, I will visualize and act on hopeful scenarios.

Speaking of hope, I liked the article Paul gave us the link to (http://www.themindfulword.org/2013/hope-for-the-environment) and after reading it went to Amazon and ordered Kelsey's Not Your Typical Book about the Environment. along with Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People Who are Helping to Protect our Planet by Harriet Rohmer, and I Can Save the Earth!: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle by Alison Inches. I can't wait to share them with you all to spread even more hope!

What An Impact!

After this week I can't help but reflect on the fact that as humans we have a HUGE impact on our environment.  Thoughts of the discussion in Dave's class keep running through my mind as to why we should protect all that is around us as I grapple with the new information I have come across in this class.  As environmentalists I feel as though we are more aware than others might be about the actions we take and what this can potentially mean.  At the least we can at least claim that we are concerned about the environment as we make our choices, even if we do not know all the information out there.  That in itself is a vital first step.  When speaking of environmental education we often stress the fact that we must first provide people the opportunity to forge connections with nature so that they will care about its future.  I feel as though I can speak for all of us in saying that we are all at that point.

Overwhelming may become my word for this course.  Once we know that protecting the environment is important we then start to seek out ways that we are negatively impacting the Earth so as to strive to remedy these actions.  It is astounding how much of an effect humans have on their surroundings from the devastating biodiversity rates, to completely decimating the fish populations in a lake, to changing the course of a river for our waste water, and much more.  So often we use technology in ways that prove to be disastrous for the natural world.  Its crazy to think of things like birth control and the potential bearing this may be having on our fish populations.  I can't recall in what context it was mentioned, but it is a sentiment I strive to always remember, that although there are things that may cause harm or seem like a bad idea in retrospect, the people who supported these decisions are only doing what we are currently pushing for.  They made the choices they did because they wanted a better world.  I think its incredibly important to realize that most people are not trying to make things worse.  In their own way they too are fighting for the greater good.

For a little hope this week I decided to check out what we are doing on the flip side of the coin for biodiversity.  Obviously there are many ways that we are making it difficult for certain species to have a go at it, but we are also trying our best to protect species as well.  Check this out to see an amazing way we are trying to continue the legacy of the Giant Panda.

It's good and overwhelming to have a class about climate change again.  I think it's extremely important that we discuss these issues, but also realize that it's not an important topic for many people, both in the US and abroad.  I have found myself thinking a lot about Allison's statement in class last week, that climate change is not a main concern, but the fact that we're doing harmful things to the earth cannot be ignored.  It has made me think a lot about the people in my life that think climate change is a hoax--natural or conspiracy--and wonder how it is that they don't agree we're doing harmful things to the planet.  I recall a conversation that I had with my now infamous Uncle Greg in the time between the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and capping of it.   My more liberal and environmentally conscious Aunt and Uncle were watching the news which was giving the most current updates on the spill.  My Uncle (in a later acknowledged not well thought out) comment said something to the effect of, "at least it's less oil for us to burn into the atmosphere."   Uncle Greg immediately on the defense made reference to the climate naturally fluctuating and that global warming is just liberal propaganda.  I attempted to divert the issues from climate change  back toward the oil spill in asking "climate change aside, you can't ignore that fact that as humans we created the potential for this disaster and now the entire Gulf ecosystem has to pay for that." The fact that something harmful occurred to that ecosystem didn't seem to effect him at all as he responded with something to the effect of "technology can fix it."  I understand that even if he did believe in climate change, it wouldn't be a pressing issue for him because he has two growing kids to feed and a myriad of other things to attend to on a daily basis.  The thing that I fail to understand is how you can communicate with someone who doesn't even believe that we're doing harmful things to the planet, even on the most basic level. 

I'm glad that we discuss the issues of water and biodiversity.  Water is a much easier issue for me to grasp, but both have become increasingly important to me with the passing of SB 78 in MI.  In my mind, it's easy to protect our waters from things like pollution, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  The same could be said about protecting biodiversity, but as stated by Sen. Rebekah Warren SB 78 would "make MI look like a laughingstock to the scientific community around the country".  I enjoyed hearing from Gene and Daragh regarding both of these topics.  I learned from Daragh's presentation that high biodiversity among fish is not a good things, which is interesting to think about considering how important diversity is among most other species.

I share a sentiment similar to Cailtin's in that there are so many issues to get behind and it's becoming increasingly difficult to determine which is more important and why that is.  It makes the whole climate change concept even more intimidating, but we can only hope that there will be enough of the right people to fight for each of these issues in their own right.

By the way - why did I have you read "LETTING BIODIVERSITY GET UNDER OUR SKIN"??  Because not only is biodiversity on the trails at Merry Lea but it's on us, in us, about us and we need to respect that biodiversity as well.  And who knows "Gut Bacteria Might Guide The Workings Of Our Minds"!!!

What a week!  and it was only two days of classes!

I hope you enjoyed meeting Daragh and Gene - two incredibly important people in our watershed and for our watershed!

Gene was from the societal perspective and Daragh the environmental science - building in a floodplain doesn't make sense and male small mouth bass with eggs in their testes also doesn't make sense!

What to do?

Before

After

When Gene showed these photos to the Noble County surveyor at the time he said the after photo was just what he wanted - to clean the creek for the farmers so there wouldn't be flooding....

There are always two sides to the coin.

But not really.  Either for ecosystem destruction or for the fish!  

And now they say all plastic even if they say its safe can emit estrogenic activity (EA) but this article says there is a solution!

"Our data suggest that EA-free plastic products exposed to common-use stresses and extracted by saline and ethanol solvents could be cost-effectively made on a commercial scale and thereby eliminate a potential health risk posed by most currently available plastic products that leach chemicals having EA into food products."

Now how do we "educate" those who don't want to spend the extra cost to make these safer products?  Do we produce another set of principles such as COMMONS PRINCIPLES FOR ALTERNATIVES ASSESSMENT? How can we get these regulated?

Or is our job to educate the consumer like Annie Leonard with her Story of Stuff project is doing a fine job at but how do we reach out side the "choir"?

And then Waterlife - breathtaking beautiful and tragic - if I only had more time in the day, less responsibilities, more money - but I do have gumption, passion, desire, education, woo, and wisdom.

Thanks for being great thinkers and help me educate the proletariat!  (Do we need to get rid of capitalism?)

Doggone brain - too much thinking - need some hope!  Thank God for the internet and a local group of people who are doing good things to get the community pushing towards resilience and less impact while eating good food, hearing good music and hoping for a great future!

http://www.themindfulword.org/2013/hope-for-the-environment/

http://www.goshenfarmersmarket.org/bounty/  Hope to see you at one of the events!

Now I'm off to be part of this divestment discussion at Goshen College!

Food & Advocacy

I find food to be one of the most pressing environmental issues, since it is easily creates some of the largest demand on the natural world. It’s an issue that’s right in front of us, and one we can influence just by deciding what kinds of things we want to put on our plate. Food is an environmental issue, a human rights issue, and an animal rights issue. It’s a topic that cannot be separated from values or morality. The way we get our food says a lot about our priorities and values, and unfortunately it’s a topic often ignored because of its difficult (and often depressing) nature.

When we buy tomatoes grown in Florida, we’re probably supporting slave labor (read Tomatoland). When we buy seafood, we’re likely supporting the death of thousands of other animals that were thrown away as a result of destructive and unsustainable practices, wasting a resource that the majority of humans rely on for their primary source of protein. We’re forcing the poor people of Ghana to hunt bush animals, killing 90% of lions because fishermen can’t compete with industrial fishing fleets from developed nations. We cause endless suffering with almost every bite we take, and yet those of us living in developed nations often don’t give it a second thought.

I liked the revolt article. I can’t stress how important it is for people (scientists, educators, everyone) to be politically active – to be advocates. The article mentioned urging scientists to get arrested if necessary, since their findings indicate that we live in a time of unfathomable consequences.

“I couldn’t maintain my self-respect if I didn’t go,” Box said at the time, adding that “just voting doesn’t seem to be enough in this case. I need to be a citizen also” (revolt article).

To be a citizen. I loved this quotation because I think we’ve lost the meaning of citizenship in this country. We live in a time of self-obsession and apathy. We’ve forgotten that what is good for the community is what is good for our selves. To be a citizen is to be informed and involved. I think this is why I loved India so much. I noticed that Indians appreciate what it means to be a citizen. They appreciate what it means to be a community.

“To do nothing is to do something” – Jonathan Safran Foer

Anyway, to end this long post with something more hopeful, I’ll post a few pictures. These photos are from my junior year when I met an amazing group of college graduates in Baltimore, who started the Baltimore Free Farm. They cleaned up an abandoned lot full of drug paraphernalia and turned it into a farm where community members can grow their own food. They sell the food they grow (and give what they don’t sell away for free) so that they can buy out the abandoned building pictured to provide housing for the poor, who will be able to grow food in the garden they’ve created. They’ve created a safe place in the community where people can be united around food. They hold workshops, join political movements, and form partnerships with bigger organizations in Baltimore. This amazing group of people gives me hope.

Because you can't UN-know

Starting off in this course I know that it is going to be one that I struggle with.  I can't recall if we had the discussion about the "two hats" we wear as part of a wrap-up for our practicum portion or as the beginning of this set of classes, but it is grappling with where I fall in regards to my choice of garment to adorn my head that creates an issue for myself.  I have never chosen to put on the hat of an advocate.   Growing up I have chosen to stay blissfully ignorant of many issues.  As I went through college I met many people who were well-informed and passionate about a variety of things.  Instead of these run-ins with people causing me to want to join in on the cause, they had the absolute opposite affect.  There were certain issues I avoided even thinking about because they were so incredibly daunting.  Now, looking at that one could easily say that I fall into the throngs of apathetic individuals in our society, but I do not believe this is the case.  I whole-heartedly believe that there were other ways I was choosing to make a difference in my community, I however did not have the energy needed to tackle much bigger issues.  The idea of a bowl of worry is one that makes absolute sense to me seeing as this is how my mindset worked.

To expand on that I can see now that there are issues some people avoid 1. because they are so big, and 2. because once you know it is hard to not take a stance.  Reading in "The Failure of Environmental Education" I find the concept of functional literacy interesting.  I think many people might fall into this category of not looking into an issue too deeply because they know the effort it'll take to truly become informed.  As I delve into these issues I can easily keep eye on what will give me hope so as not to drown in all the doom and gloom that they throw at me.  What gives me hope is the fact that there are people out there who are so passionate about all of these issues.  I still recognize that my efforts and energy can not address all the problems we will discuss in this class, but I will find my passion and so will others.  If we all are continuously striving towards a better world in this way I know that progress will occur.

Reflection, Inspiration, Art, Redirection

This is a place for you to reflect on what you've read, talked about, seen on a video, heard from a guest, or pondered.  It's also a place to envision a future that is sustainable, environmentally correct, a dream come true when it comes to environmental education.  This is a site to add video, photos, links to educate us and also inspire us.  Have fun, make comments if desired.

At least one post due at 11:59 every Friday evening!

Left to Right: Tree, Stand with Gem on top of it, Fountain, Michele/Mom, a House, Skye holding a staff with a Gem on it.  I'm inside the house somewhere.  

The name of the artwork is called "A Summer Day"

Now I'm trying a link for you to get inspired with. 

River of Words