Happy Birthday Seven Billionth Person!

A good time to refer my readers to my other blog at Wordpress, Permaculture, ECO-ethics, Trees.

Today marks the beginning of a new age. Some claim that it is just time to turn the page on exploitation, hate and misunderstanding, but the times require far more than even that. What is needed is complete revision of our current direction and a sea change in nearly every aspect of our lives. Like it or not, the horrors which are being perpetrated against humans worldwide demand qualitative change in the way we do business, travel, create and utilize energy and the way we educate ourselves and the world’s children. The food system is corrupt; our healthcare has grown to be neither. This nation’s war machine has run amok and is crushing our ability to maintain peace or security. Most elected officials have piecemeal approaches to specific and discreet problems that, by their very attention to the details, their legislative approaches miss, not only the mark, but are often in the completely opposite direction that needs to be taken. I have no fear that we will continue to exist on this planet. There is no impending apocalypse, no end times scenario or alien invasion on the horizon that will liberate us from our earthly chains. Chances are that you, Seven Billionth Person, will live a full life, teach your grandchildren as well as you can and pass away in much the same way that generations have throughout history.

My concern is with the quality of life in between your mother’s womb and the dirt nap that you will surely take later on. Will you be made sick by the fumes of industry, will your food make you ill and will there be enough of things like clean water and healthy soil for you to base your life on? Mother Earth welcomes you with open arms, but many of the most powerful players don’t give a moment of consideration to the desolation left in their wake. Perhaps, there is a way to immediately penalize those who take for granted the fact that their actions can be as jarring and insensitive as possible, as long as they “pay the price” to play. Integrating the true cost of pollution has always been overlooked. The “smell” of money as they call pollution in the atmosphere is a myth popularized by those who needed a simple excuse for poisoning their air. So too the myth of the oceans, or local river being too vast or fast moving to “worry about” was created by those who stood to gain from their contamination. When we tapped the geologic stores of fossil fuel, the same myths were popularized. Even today, there are those making up stories about how much is left and claiming that if we just removed regulations that protect air, water and the soils, there would be abundant energy lying in tar sands and deep pockets of natural gas that are unavailable currently. The vast amount of energy required to extract the tar sand deposits are equivalent to several years of the entire energy budget for the entire United States. This would be like the old one step forward, two steps back scenario. Similarly, fracking, the process technically known as hydrofracking uses vast amounts of energy, water and chemicals to liberate natural gas deep underground. We may be able to get a little more energy than we pump into the earth, but to what end? Again, we take what we want and ignore the long term consequences.

If you fill your tank with fuel, why would you pump 20% onto the ground? Would any sane person waste 50%? Most of us in the US do this sort of thing every day. In reality, this is what we would need to do to get these “vast” resources. Similarly, the “savior” some say, corn-based ethanol, requires far more energy going into the process than what can be taken out. The old something for nothing myth certainly has power over the imaginations of some, but public policy based on these sorts of myths has had a very poor track record. When booze drops below $20 per quart, or gasoline goes up to that price, corn-based fuel will make sense and we can get on with production, but until then I’m trying to conserve as much fuel as possible.

Saying Goodbye to What Has Not Worked in the Past.

When in the course of human events, it becomes evident that we have erred, it should be easy to change our ways and move on in light of our new awareness. The knowledge, for instance, that fly ash from coal burning power stations in the US have the same impact on public health as adding 100,000 new smokers to our population each year, might give us pause to reconsider the incredibly wasteful practices, energetically speaking, that we have become accustomed to. The insidious nature of so many ills that we face make it difficult to precisely quantify the damage that they create, or identify the populations that will most likely be affected by our dangerous behavior. No matter how difficult it may be, we must take stock of where we are if we are to take positive steps to eradicating many of the ills that now face society and individuals that we recognize as friends, neighbors and loved ones. I have been painfully aware of the impact of local business and industry practices on health since childhood because the Doctors in Green Bay identified my nearly constant bouts with strep throat as "Green Bay Throat". We lived along the river where many hundreds of tons of toxic compounds were released into the atmosphere each year and many hundreds of tons more were discharged into the river with no sewage treatment. Times have changed somewhat, but for the most part the poisoning continues, just at a lower rate. The last time I sat down with the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data, it came to four hundred tons of toxic compounds per year released within a two-mile radius of my house. This cannot be acceptable.

The whole crashing of the economy has coincided nicely with the realization, by many, that we are on a road to ruin as long as we do not make substantive changes to the ways business is done. Even John Adams recognized that there are only two ways to control a country, by military force or by debt. As long as we are told that there is no money for it, nothing has to change, ever. The current economic "uncertainty" is being caused by the wealthiest corporations in America holding their vast wealth out of circulation. As long as the outlook is allowed to be dictated by the 500 wealthiest corporations, nothing ever has to change. Even getting an idea of how many products and services fall under the dominion of those largest corporate entities can be difficult. What we all need to realize, however, is that without income from our spending, these corporations would have to dip into their money stash in order to keep up appearances for their stock holders. The nuclear energy industry has received hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare and yet, they are currently leaving the US taxpayers on the hook for their waste disposal which will be a very real cost for tens of thousands of years. But, hey, we all like the power that arrives with the flick of a switch, so the corporations asses are covered if we begin to complain too loudly, or even if we start asking too many questions.

So too, the Monsanto's of the world operate with relatively little regulation and a knowing wink from the government as they fleece the American Farmer and tell them that they are just not working hard enough, that's why they are failing in droves. With all the land coming on the market, look at who is buying. It is not unusual to have corporate farms as the largest land owners in any county that has arable land. a friend in New Zealand told me that anyone owning over twenty acres there has to have a part time land manager, someone with degrees in wildlife biology, forestry and hydrology. When your holdings go over 100 acres, you need a full time land manager and a conservation plan on file with local officials who can review it at any time. If we are to regain the high ground morally, ethically and spiritually, it will require us to relinquish our attitude that somehow freedom equates to doing whatever we want without responsibility or consequence. It makes me sick to think of the time we spend defending the ultra wealthy,no matter how vile their actions, yet when a small act of kindness, or heroism takes place, we often look with suspicion at the person who did the right thing, without thought of being paid back or how it might affect their "bottom line".

One thing is for sure, when you let go of the past, something good will come along to fill it's place.

When a Great Spirit Passes the Veil...

Native people say that the heavens cry. A great man has passed and yesterday, as I grieved for him, the sky opened up and the spirits cried. Such a deep and loving, compassionate and forgiving soul is hard to find. I know that my friend brought nearly everyone he met joy and happiness. Perhaps it was the jaunty angle at which he wore his hats, perhaps it was his endlessly friendly demeanor, perhaps it was his zest for life, or honest appreciation for having the chance to live it. Whatever the qualities that he reflected, people who knew him can agree, there was no one better suited to spread feelings of happy wherever he went.

Sadly, he foretold the nature and timing of his death. Twenty-five years ago, when we were young college students, he took me aside and confided in me how afraid he was. He knew that he would be the first of our cadre to pass on and that cancer would take him when he still felt young. His endless respect for others, his undying love for those he knew and the childlike ways he played with any parameters you might set for his actions or behaviors kept him young in spite of the years that have gotten by on us all. I'm not sure whether the realization that he was mortal made him more alive or not. What I do know is that his love of life and the people he shared it with were self evident in his every action and interaction. some folks who had not smiled in years brightened their own demeanor whenever Tom was around.

Please, understand, we are each presented with an opportunity to participate in the world in a unique way. The vast majority of us seem to squander this opportunity, doing what others tell us to do, or doing things the way that they have always been done. It takes a strong spirit to challenge each and every aspect of "common knowledge" turning the act of living into an art. I understand that we cannot all be strong and creative, but fortunately for all of us who knew T, we are certainly glad that some people have the strength of will, the power and the creativity to try. Bless you, Tom and may your path be scattered with the fallen leaves of summer. May you find a place to lay down near a babbling brook and may the spirits of the place be as welcoming of you as we have always been. Miss you brother, Namaste'

Cancer Sucks!

When will we learn that the atmosphere and out watersheds are not appropriate places to spew carcinogenic compounds?

#Occupy Wall Street!

As the word gets out that top corporate executives are making more than hundreds of their employees, combined, sympathy for "business as usual" is waning. The fallacy of Ronald Reagan's trickle down theory of economics has been proven wrong and yet there are those clinging to the image of Ronnie as a sort of savior. The real truth about shipping more and more of our dollars into fewer and fewer faraway hands is that as the money goes, so do the hopes of small towns, cities and the heartland of our great nation. What the media has told us so far is scant lip service and reactionary rhetoric that are a useless attempt to distract us from the real crimes being perpetrated on our culture as a result of greed and inequality. The raping and pillaging of our workforce, the housing stock, the transportation systems and the natural resources of our land for the benefit of a tiny number of obscenely rich individuals is finally being called out as the anti-social crime that it is.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters, meeting up across the country, are standing as testament to the will of the people that has not only been subverted, but just plain ignored by the monied interests that weave their webs of deception and avarice in the halls of Washington D.C. as well as state houses across our nation. You can tell by the cadre of rank amateurs vying for the republican nomination, none of the mouthpieces for corporate power have a shred of dignity or truth in their arsenal. Instead, they rely on out dated hostilities and fear tactics in the face of the fact that the world is shrinking by the day. Centuries ago, receiving news across vast distances took months. sometimes information would not penetrate remote areas for years. Today, anyone with modest equipment can keep their finger on the pulse of worldwide markets, weather conditions, or exchange ideas at nearly the speed of light. The few that are hunkered down for the long fight are just wasting our time. The majority was never made up of the splinter groups who claimed "morality" to be on their side. If they had been either moral or the majority, we could have suffered through their disastrous political legacy, but in fact, they were trying to get their scraps as they fell from someone else's gravy train. Today, tens of thousands will stand again for the right of the people, not the corporations, to control the destiny of our nation.
Wherever we live, there are those who would extract their living from the sweat of our brow or the aches in our bodies that labor can bring with it. Those same people generally extoll the virtues of pulling oneself up with their bootstraps or a rising tide raising all boats. The problem with this type of fairy tale worldview is that first off, bootstraps can only get you up to the top of your boots. In this environment of bullshit and deception, that may not be high enough to get up out of the muck. That rising tide thing only works if the boats are in good repair. Like many Americans today, the boats are leaking profusely and as the high tide of crap approaches, the ones that have stayed afloat are breaking free from their moorings. The amazing thing is that this revolution did not happen sooner. The writing has been on the wall for twenty-odd years. Those who capitalize on death and destruction, mayhem and misinformation do not want this revolution to be televised, so it won't be. However, when the millions who have been fleeced by the current system stand together and demand that justice be served to those who crashed the world economy, I hope we are allowed to see something on the news about it. Until then, keep educating yourself, keep our representatives up to date on the need for sustainability and help educate your neighbors about these truths that for so many are self evident. corporations are not people, their  highest goal is profit, their responsibility is to their shareholders, not our country, certainly not the good of all. You will be surprised to find that there is no other side outside the Fox "News" room. In fact, little disagreement can be found when you get down to cases. The 99% want to be included in the prosperity of our nation and are finally demanding to have more than lip service paid to their needs and aspirations. we know what the corporations want and have seen what it gets us.
Vote with your feet, get to a protest today!

Allowing Change To Come, Welcoming Our Future

Last evening I saw frightful evidence that there are those who feel that the Biblical reference to "end times" is fact and that the schedule of events is set and unchangeable. It gave me pause to consider the dozens of millenarian beliefs that have come and gone over the decades. If we do this, it will surely mean the end of civilization as we know it. If we do that, it spells disaster, the aliens will beam us up if we wait in a certain field on a hilltop during the full moon of October, etc. Friends, and I mean it in the most New Jersey of ways, we cannot keep basing our decisions on a book that has been fabricated to placate the human need for power and control over vast populations. You know it, the women get a very raw deal in the biblical "rule book". Clinging to the end times as a relief from ways of the world is as absurd as setting a date certain for the demise of humankind. Belief in a prophet as the son of God is only silly when you realize that Bible Thumpers have fabricated an image of god that is as unbalanced as we are. I can tell you, if I loved the world so much as to give them my only begotten son, I sure as hell wouldn't turn around and destroy it. The frightening thing about realizing that these "believers" are amongst us is that they have no semblance of responsibility for what is going to happen in the future.

I suppose, for them, having the joy of doing pretty much whatever they want until the rapture, which will close the book on civilization, has a liberating effect. Like watching the flowing river can take us wherever we want to go, the efficacy of god's exit strategy exempts us from having to do or try anything. From time to time there are facets of our lives that seem as alien to me as the concept of missionaries. Fortunately, there are also times that I can see past the events of the day and the processes that we have developed to live "civilized" lives, knowing that they too will change and develop or be cast off when they are no longer useful or capable of taking us where we need to go. Certainly, the intolerance of my grandfather's generation had to change. If it had not, there would be far more people dying in the streets than we have today. Religiosity too has fared poorly in these times, which some fear is a dangerous reflection on our moral code of ethics. Ironically, the abandonment of organized religion speaks to the fact that out of touch myths have lost their power over our minds. I find this one of the most refreshing parts of being alive at this time. There is finally a new way of seeing the world that allows us to be directed from our hearts rather than our minds, or what some well-meaning person says from the pulpit.

When we take a trip, or go on vacation, we must leave behind a set of expectations and comforts that we have become accustomed to. The same can be said about the times we are living in. What has worked in the past cannot thrive in the face of mounting evidence that we are killing our species off through ever increasing burdens of toxic and carcinogenic substances in our food, air, water and the soils. I have to laugh at the recent media campaign "Stand Up To Cancer", the first two people I knew who died from that disease were my grandmothers, over fifteen years apart. Now, twenty-five years later, I would relish even a single year without losing several friends or loved ones to the disease. In spite of the truth about cancer, we still seek to research the heck out of it and to develop treatments for the disease rather than stopping the process where we can be most effective. I blame those who are seeking a way out or a method for forsaking the idea of change.

As our train has already left the station, it is for us to do what we can to pass the time in ways that do not disrupt other people who may be on a different trip. Some claim, very convincingly, that their itinerary is the best one, but as we eventually come to learn, it is the trip that matters, not your schedule of events. The times may not inspire hope for everyone, but the one sure thing is that nothing will stay the same except the moon and the sky. We cannot hope to move either one, but we can make changes in our selves. In my own way, I have come to a place of giving back. This is a challenge for someone who has been told that I am in poverty for nearly my entire life, but as we have come to learn, the best things in life are free. A good friend sings a song that has the lyric, "There's only two things you just can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes." The abundance of nature keeps staring us in the face, day after day. How we meet the challenges of our daily lives is completely up to us, but my own feeling is that by sharing the love we have with others, we can learn to grow together. Unlike those awaiting the "end times", I am committed and invested in the unending arc of time.

As we learn and grow, we continue to make strides toward a future that none of us can imagine today. What we can be sure of is that without kindness and sensitivity to the results of our actions, learning to cope will not get any easier. This month I am involved in a massive remodel of our home. We have a tiny little place that is warm and welcoming, but the cost of owning it has exceeded our expectations. As a fine friend once put it, we are left to find ways of generating more income. However, as we have all see, especially in the recent past and foreseeable future, any pennies saved are actually earned. Therefore, I have invested heavily in insulation and anxiously await the heat bills of an upgraded home. In researching figures about the carbon footprints of people around the world, I have found the one thing about the worldwide recession that may hint at a silver lining. Our assault on mother Nature has lessened as we spend less and rely on more and more local sources for our way of life. As far as I am concerned, there is no downside to living within our means and trying to live without cheap plastic crap from China. I do believe in a future with my fellow human beings. What others believe in is ultimately up to them, but when it cuts off access to making up our own minds, or acting responsible in the light of new information, that is where I part company with the doomsday prophecies.

Try to do one thing every day that will make a difference in 100 years. You may be surprised to find out where that perspective leads. Lord and Lady both know trying things the other way has not worked up 'til now. The change that is coming will most certainly be frustrating at times, perhaps even unwelcome from time to time, but if we change the eyes with which we see these events unfold, actively participating in becoming a solution to difficult times, troubles and challenges, we have the greatest source of power at our disposal. The ability to love one another and our planet as we love our selves. Don't place your faith in antiquated writings, but rather the people who share a vision of a better life through active participation in the world rather than forsaking them. Arms are for hugging and through the love that a hug represents, all the troubles of the world can be faced unafraid.

Wall Street Protests Pop Up Like Mushrooms Across the Nation

When I first heard of the protests planned for this fall, my heart jumped. I felt at once excitement and terror. When I was young, the protests turned ugly from time to time and the last thing one wants to think about is peaceful loving people being beaten, abused and potentially killed by the police or national Guard. We do, however, have to think about it. The wealthy in our country have enjoyed the tacit approval or outright subsidy of their operations for far too long. Our ruling class has turned a blind eye to their overwhelming support for criminals and greedy SOBs because they look much more alike than different. Heck, many of them buy their suits from the same tailors. There is an excitement in both the air and the voices of most people that talk about this long overdue revolution, the sad fact is that the executives and CEOs are adept at asking all the wrong questions and when confronting the truth, doing it obliquely enough as to lack any effective relationship with it.

These same corporados have had their boots to our neck for years, but the difference between their brutal and terror tactics and those of the police is that the death of a thousand cuts that the corporations foist upon us are from behind closed doors, or by digital communications issuing from their yachts or their private offshore islands. The tax dodges that they participate in are taking away from "invisible" people, far removed and often their tactics allow them to steal pennies from billions of folks, spreading the pain slightly. Their methods have broken through to a new level with the current economic crisis. In our case, owning three homes at the start of the real estate crash, we lost nearly $100,000 in equity within a few months. Multiply that by the millions of homeowners and you will see what we are up against. Cops may mace you, or beat you, but they do it close up, where they can see you wince.

There is a reason for us to stand in support of protesters on Wall street, the local titans of industry, or the state and county courthouses across this great nation. If only to let our message be heard. "No one benefits from enriching the coffers of the wealthy at the expense of the poor, the disenfranchised, the students, their teachers, the elderly or the infirm. The greatness of a nation is reflected in how they treat the least among them, not how easy they make it on the rich. Things have already turned ugly, so the violence that has been perpetrated on the true patriots, who are standing for what they believe in, has been documented and shared by those who seek the truth of events unfolding across America. This powder keg that is the other 98% of the population has been awakened to the fact that we do have a voice, by joining in with local protests across the nation, perhaps our elected officials will get the message. We may not pay for their multi-million dollar campaigns, like their wealthy friends do, but we vote and if need be, we will hold our leaders' feet tot he fire. We are demanding change. We voted for it and got nothing but rhetoric and obfuscation.

Wishbone Ash said it best. "Time was, when there were things around to be afraid of." Now it is do or die and we must all stand together. Although it has been said thousands of times, love means letting go of fear. Do this in honor of your children, their children and the lineage that you will help long after your passing. Without this revolution, there will be no future for the vast majority other than serving the elite that could not care less about us. To them we are only units of potential production and they have become adept at getting what they want out of us for an ever diminishing cost.