Category Archives: nature

Pope Francis talks to children

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Children are so open and innocent…they speak what’s on their minds, as these kids did recently. Heh.

A humble man, for sure.  At least, I hope he’s humble and this isn’t an “act”.

There is so much to be said about not revering money and purposely shunning the glitz.  (Although I would have a hard time passing up a retreat in what sounds like a beautiful place…I would think that nature around him would help him to stay grounded, and lift his spirits as well.  By lifting his spirits, I mean communicating with God–feeling more spiritual there amongst the natural world–therefore more able to connect with God without distractions.)

 

 

 

Helping ourselves

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commondreams has this up.  Be sure to look at all the videos–well worth the time.

The idea is so simple it’s like “duh!”

I have a quibble, though, with Klein saying that it’s up to the Left to “seize the moment”.  There are those who are NOT in the Tea Party on the Right who also need and want to find a solution to the crashes around us.  I say this because the Left has not been of the same mind — I was shot down on a progressive website when I advocated buying American so we could put people back to work.  I knew that Washington wasn’t going to get off its collective duff and do anything about the job loss.  (NAFTA being a good example of monumental job loss.)

I just don’t think people have been given the skills or knowledge to feel confident enough to take over a business if the owners want to sell out.  I think it may be a case of learned helplessness?  Not believing in yourself can be such a huge obstacle that one stops before even getting started.

Perhaps the “teach-ins” of 2013 should be “Business 101:  how to own a business without going belly-up nor bankrupting the environment on your way to the bank…”

The Native Americans learned this a loooong time ago–nature was not a second thought.  They did not separate their actions from nature.

It’s still so incredibly stupid that business has ignored the laws of nature, as if we could exist without clean water, clean air and chemical free food…

Well…exist is probably a bad word choice…since we are existing right now…perhaps thriving  is the better word.  All one has to do is look at folks’ skin and see that we are not thriving, but existing.  The skin is such a barometer of what’s going on in the insides…not doing too well by that account.

Anyway, Washington isn’t going to help us…most likely profiting off of NAFTA…so, it’s up to us if we want to save ourselves.

 

 

 

 

Caging Birds

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I was flipping through the channels and saw that PBS was going to air a Nature spot featuring Hummingbirds.  Ah, I thought, a nice evening’s show.

Nope.

First, the hummers were doing their thing and going from flower to flower to get the nectar.  It showed ones with the ruby throat, ones with super-long beaks, and so on.

Then the show flips to the laboratory where a scientist is studying them.  The camera zooms into a hummer striking the glass “wall” in its confusion.  As the narrator tells the story of the scientist wanting to study the endurance of the hummer, it shows them attaching what looked to be a row of paper clips to the hummer’s feet, as it struggles to fly upward.

Well, that was it for me.

I can’t stand seeing animals caged.  I can’t understand why a scientist feels the need to, in essence, torture this bird that was once free to fly wherever it wanted.

And to those who would say, “hey, it’s getting food and is sheltered from predators…what’s the big deal…?”

To that I would say “Freedom is a big deal.”

That bird losing its ability to roam wherever and whenever and  just being let alone without someone poking at it –well, that’s what Spirit is about.  That’s what feeds the Soul. If that bird could talk, it would tell you the same thing.

Remember Fu Manchu?

The really chilling thing is….we’re not that far behind…

Energy regulation

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CSPAN featured Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of Federal Energy Regulatory  Commission.  Politico has this up.

A couple of callers commented on Wellinghoff’s demeanor.  He seemed to be no-nonsense.  He was formerly a consumer energy advocate.  It seemed that he was pro-consumer…but I couldn’t shake a bad feeling I had…

…he mentioned fracking as a viable practice for extracting natural gas at least two or three times during the short interview…and my heart began to sink…

He barely mentioned off grid and solar power, although when he did mention it, it was in a positive light.  What I would like to see is federal support for off grid classes in communities.  Let people create their own power for their needs, instead of huge coal plants and monstrous pipelines that spill oil (something else he said he was for.)

I hope that I’m wrong, but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s going towards the fracking industry.  He kept repeating that it could be done in an environmentally sound way.  Bullshit.

A woman caller had the same sentiment as me when she revealed that she is suffering from breast cancer due to methane gas released from fracking.  She said that he was feeding people a line and that her own governor was selling her state out from under the people.  (Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the state.)

Wellinghoff would not back down and repeated that fracking could be done in an environmentally friendly way. <sigh> So…another former consumer advocate has been bought off…

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Speaking of pipelines….

Why am I hearing about this after the fact?  Where was public radio BEFORE this took place?

And the Save the Dunes group apparently knew about it but, hey, as long as Enbridge *cough* promises to not spill any of its nasty ole’ oil into our rivers, lakes, and streams, hey, it’s okay with them….because, you know, Enbridge has such a stellar history of concern for the environment and the people and animals that inhabit it.  /very snarky, indeed.

From the article:

“IDEM, through its certification, is allowing Enbridge to disregard alternate pipeline routes and other opportunities to reduce and eliminate water quality impacts, in likely violation of the Clean Water Act,” said Kim Ferraro, staff attorney at the Hoosier Environmental Council.

Both Michigan and Illinois have laws governing interstate pipeline routing, requiring companies to assess environmental and community risks, but currently Indiana does not.

Good Grief….my head is about to explode…

 

 

 

Vision for the Blind

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NBC has this up on re-thinking vision.  (hat tip to val kilmer’s retweet .)

“We’re not going to hit you with our cane….

…well, not unless you deserve it…”

 

bwahahaha. Best line ever.  :p

In our “perfectionist” society, we are so judgmental and disappointed if things aren’t perfect.  This piece is so inspiring in that it highlights the need to back away from that thinking and enjoy and relish the not so perfect.

And once again it reinforces the idea that everyone has something to contribute to life on Earth….that we all have our hidden gifts to bring forth, if we could only recognize that the jocks and beauty queens and privileged are not the only worthy people…

…and that people are not the only worthy things on Earth…that everything–the plants, the animals, the birds–everything has a purpose and a gift to give.

 

Cheap Entertainment

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We spotted a bird yesterday that we didn’t recognize.  I thought it was a tufted titmouse because of the plumage…but when I looked it up, there weren’t any with the brilliant yellow tips on its tail and belly.

Ahhh…it was a cedar waxwing.

What a gorgeous bird.~

We’ve put out food for the Hummingbird feeder.  Our resident Oriole was coming regularly but suddenly stopped.  I suppose it’s found a food source from another area.  It is another beautiful bird and has a beautiful song, as well.

The hummingbirds are comical.  They are soooo tiny–no longer than my pinky finger.  The male’s throat lights up when it drinks, making it look like a red beacon. They are so fast and zip backwards as they leave the feeder.

Cheap entertainment, indeed. 🙂

 

 

Worldwide Monsanto Protest

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There’s a worldwide protest against Monsanto this Saturday.  Info here. You’ll need to scroll down to find your spot in the U.S.

(hat tip to commondreams.org)

This is so inspiring….people are waking up to the monster of genetically modified organisms.

The Powerful Seed

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The organic farmers group posted a link to this article.  The humble seed contains the beginnings of life.  You could even say that the seed rules the world….

Below this article was a link to Vandana Shiva’s “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in the Forest”.  Bless her for her dedication to sustainability.

From that article, I was intrigued about the link for Ecuador recognizing the rights of nature in its Constitution…Wow……somebody who “gets it”.  See, we humans want to think that we are so superior that we are more valuable than all other life forms.  Worse than that, we have fooled ourselves into thinking that we are independent…that we could actually survive without them.  We pollute the air, water, and soil without regard that it will harm nature.  We survive in a circle…truly, what goes around comes around…and the balance of life–when we take something, we must give something of equal value in return…this simple rule is ignored.

 

To DEET or not to DEET

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Just thought I’d re-post this on the DEET controversy.  The mosquitoes are really bad this spring due to all the rains, so I’m sure that cases of West Nile will be popping up.  I still don’t think it’s worth the risk of putting DEET on my skin.  Be sure to follow the last link to a natural recipe for mosquito repellant.  Happy Camping! 🙂

(A side note~ – a phenomenon we noticed on the mercury support group is that we weren’t bitten by mosquitoes.  Apparently, we were so toxic not even they wanted our blood….haha….anyway, now that I’m getting better, I’m starting to get bitten like I was prior to poisoning….heh…)