Category Archives: picture blogs

More eye candy

by

iMackenzie has a wonderful pic up called Glittering River.

I can hear the water moving…smell the scent of fish and wet soil…feel the breeze off the mountains…and the warmth of the sun upon my face…

(and I try not to think about the amount of heavy metals/pesticides/herbicides/fertilizers that have made their way into the life-giving water…but blocking it out and enjoying the moment isn’t always possible.)

 

Native American Drawings

by

Scott Sewell has several drawings posted on his blog:

Four Winds

Her Powwow Pride

Wace.  This one I love.  Such tenderness.

Dreams of Old Days

This is kinda funny.  The Native American society was not a hierarchy, like white society.  I found out recently that the Chief system was forced upon them by the whites–they had been an egalitarian society prior to that, so there were no princes or princesses…strictly a figment of someone’s vivid imagination.

The very name for whites–wasichu –was because of white people’s way of taking for themselves without regard for the others.  This name means “one who takes the fat” because the very first white man that walked into an Native American village was hungry.  He was offered some meat from a deer killed recently.  Since the deer is very lean, the Native Americans reserved the fat for the elderly and the children.  They saw this white man as selfish for his actions.

Also, if a Native American acquired wealth, he/she is expected to share that in what they called the “giveaway”.  Once a year, the wealthy will spread their things out on a blanket and those who are in need could come and take what they needed.

And they saw America as a complex ecology that required careful cultivation.  They were careful to always leave plants behind instead of taking them all.  Same with animals.  They always treated the animals with respect and prayed over the ones they used for meat, clothing and tools.

Eye Candy, but not for long if XL Pipeline goes in… **edited

by

This week’s pics of beautiful Canada.  So gorgeous.  I wonder if #17 is a rock formation by the First Nations ancestors?  Perhaps a marker to show the way?

I look at this in awe of it….and then the horrible pictures of the destruction of the land by the oil and gas companies…and my heart sinks.

Thanks to those of you who signed the petition against XL pipeline.  Blessings to all of you for speaking out and making your voice heard.

I think I might have featured this video before, but definitely bears repeating:

It’s disturbing in the first few minutes a woman stands there and says “keep this stuff in Indiana, where it belongs….”

Excuse me?  It belongs in my state…because…?  The attitude is that we deserve it.  WTH?  We don’t want it here any more than you do.  Stop making Indiana the freaking garbage can for the Koch brothers!

…and Rahm Emanuel allows up to 2 years for the Kochs to comply to an order to enclose the petcoke.  What a joke.

Here’s the MSDS data sheet on petcoke. Note how BP gets out of updating the MSDS by a hole in the law that allows them to get out of updating it every three years.

Just look at the handling of this stuff, and one can see how toxic it is:

Handling

Contact with hot product may cause burns. Avoid contact with eyes. Avoid breathing dust.

Use only with adequate ventilation.

Avoid the creation of dust when handling and avoid all possible

sources of ignition (spark or flame).

To avoid fire or explosion, dissipate static electricity during

transfer by grounding and bonding containers and equipment before transferring material.

Use explosion-proof electrical (ventilating, lighting and material handling) equipment.

Wash thoroughly after handling.

When using do not eat, drink or smoke.

Regular periodic self inspection of the skin is recommended, especially those areas subject to contamination.

In the event of any localized changes in appearance or texture of the skin being noticed, medical advice should be sought without delay.

Storage

Keep container tightly closed. Keep container in a cool, well-ventilated area.

Empty containers may contain harmful, flammable/combustible or explosive residue or vapors.

Do not cut, grind, drill, weld, reuse or dispose of containers unless adequate precautions are taken against these hazards.

Not suitable

Prolonged exposure to elevated temperature

~~~~~~~~~

It goes on to say the air purifying respirators are limited in their ability to protect one from this toxic stuff.  It also recommends gloves that cannot be penetrated by chemicals or oil. Heavy-duty.

Lastly, we have this bit:

Overexposure to dust may cause mechanical irritation.

Repeated or prolonged inhalation of dust may lead to chronic respiratory irritation.

Repeated and prolonged inhalation of any respirable dust may result in changes in lung function.

~~~~~~~~~~~

They always want long term studies to evaluate toxins…but do we really have to poison people long term when something is obviously this toxic?

Here’s a good piece on petcoke.  They’ve been burning it in Nova Scotia.  Burning it releases mercury, lead, and arsenic…just like coal.  But it is said to be more toxic.

“The carbon intensity of petcoke is higher than the carbon intensity of most conventional coal so when you burn petcoke, you’re likely going to release more toxic emissions than you will when you burn traditional coal so it has a higher carbon dioxide content, it also has a higher sulphur content and by contrast, the carbon intensity of natural gas is about a third that of coal. And this is when we’re talking about fossil fuels, we’re choosing the best of evils,” said Abreu, adding that they would prefer to see an electrical system that relies on a diverse mix of renewable fuels.

~~~~~~~

This stuff needs to stay in the ground. Absolutely.

**edited:  to take out the part of the scientist.  He was saying the same thing I was saying…can you tell that this upsets me? Oy.