There’s something in the air again. I am having that restless feeling that makes my eyebrows pinch and gives me that fuzzy feeling in my head, the same feeling I got when I sat beside the plate of donuts in the Community room at FCS and listened to the scientists from Gulf of Maine Research Institute talk about sea level rise as if it was as ordinary as, say, a king tide on a full moon night in June.
Our Constitution was defective from the start: it allowed for decisions like Dred Scott. Likewise our Ten Commandments were defective, they lacked anything barring selfish behavior, or commanding reverence for non human life. We need to change everything from the bottom up, but I'm afraid time is in very short supply.
I think you are entirely right, M. We believe ourselves still to be the good and chosen ones and have no wrestled with the moral atrocities upon which our country and culture is founded. Bottom up. Maybe I will write about that next week. By the time i am finished no one will want to read a word of this!
I, for one, appreciate everything you write. And even if I or no one else did, sometimes we have to speak Truth to silence as well as to applause or condemnation. Especially in this era of apathy.
When I think about it, speaking truth to condemning or applauding audiences is far easier than to cast our voices into a void of silence or total indifference. But we must anyway. It is like a cloud of unknowing that our yearning hearts can sometimes pierce. Iterum, iterumque.
perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of a personal "to do" list for us individually...we have built a home with solar panels and heat pumps, and we consciously try to recycle and consume less, but really, what else can we do either individually or collectively...concrete steps we all can take will increase buy-in...thanks for sharing your thought with us...best, chuck glassmire, Brunswick.
Well first of all you are way ahead of other people in your consciousness about recycling and consuming less. I find the more I learn about all of my lifestyle choices the more I alter every day. There are hundreds of everyday choices which I can alter: not using a gas snowblower, lawnmower, etc. Choosing to have less lawn, instead mowing paths through what was once lawn, not cooking anything but locally grown chicken, otherwise eating all plant based food grown as locally as I can find, repairing our fifteen years old car, not flying, buying all used furniture and clothes. And none of this feels like a sacrifice: it all feels respectful of this moment in time.
Here's more on the science behind climate catastrophe for those curious about why many of us support evolving away from fossil fuels but in a more constructive way that doesn't send even more American jobs to Asia due to high energy costs here. https://normanjansen.substack.com/p/climate-catastrophe
I have to say how much I learn from and enjoy reading your publication! You make so many important observations, raise some very interesting and provocative questions that always result in my reflecting on my own choices and activities. I devote many hours a week, doing a variety of activities related to climate change and the overall deterioration of the life forms on our planet. My main focus is on working with youth and teachers in my own community and state, This is a choice and I've been devoting more time and energy to it the last 10+ years. During this time, I have been able to meet and interact with (virtually and in-person) with so many committees and exceptional people of all ages. It enables me to make amends for the environmentally irresponsible choices I have made in my life-and gives me the opportunity to do what I can for the children of today and the future. My heart breaks as I see the beach eroding and learn about all the new development planned throughout my community and the world at large. It does help to listen to and learn from others-especially children- who help me to be able after some time and reflection find my courage and motivation to continue down this path.
Our Constitution was defective from the start: it allowed for decisions like Dred Scott. Likewise our Ten Commandments were defective, they lacked anything barring selfish behavior, or commanding reverence for non human life. We need to change everything from the bottom up, but I'm afraid time is in very short supply.
I think you are entirely right, M. We believe ourselves still to be the good and chosen ones and have no wrestled with the moral atrocities upon which our country and culture is founded. Bottom up. Maybe I will write about that next week. By the time i am finished no one will want to read a word of this!
K,
I, for one, appreciate everything you write. And even if I or no one else did, sometimes we have to speak Truth to silence as well as to applause or condemnation. Especially in this era of apathy.
When I think about it, speaking truth to condemning or applauding audiences is far easier than to cast our voices into a void of silence or total indifference. But we must anyway. It is like a cloud of unknowing that our yearning hearts can sometimes pierce. Iterum, iterumque.
a sideways response to your important question:
https://atmos.earth/live-oak-trees-new-orleans-storms/?mc_cid=f8cab0e41a&mc_eid=e2ef765795
perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of a personal "to do" list for us individually...we have built a home with solar panels and heat pumps, and we consciously try to recycle and consume less, but really, what else can we do either individually or collectively...concrete steps we all can take will increase buy-in...thanks for sharing your thought with us...best, chuck glassmire, Brunswick.
Well first of all you are way ahead of other people in your consciousness about recycling and consuming less. I find the more I learn about all of my lifestyle choices the more I alter every day. There are hundreds of everyday choices which I can alter: not using a gas snowblower, lawnmower, etc. Choosing to have less lawn, instead mowing paths through what was once lawn, not cooking anything but locally grown chicken, otherwise eating all plant based food grown as locally as I can find, repairing our fifteen years old car, not flying, buying all used furniture and clothes. And none of this feels like a sacrifice: it all feels respectful of this moment in time.
Here's more on the science behind climate catastrophe for those curious about why many of us support evolving away from fossil fuels but in a more constructive way that doesn't send even more American jobs to Asia due to high energy costs here. https://normanjansen.substack.com/p/climate-catastrophe
Hi Kathleen,
I have to say how much I learn from and enjoy reading your publication! You make so many important observations, raise some very interesting and provocative questions that always result in my reflecting on my own choices and activities. I devote many hours a week, doing a variety of activities related to climate change and the overall deterioration of the life forms on our planet. My main focus is on working with youth and teachers in my own community and state, This is a choice and I've been devoting more time and energy to it the last 10+ years. During this time, I have been able to meet and interact with (virtually and in-person) with so many committees and exceptional people of all ages. It enables me to make amends for the environmentally irresponsible choices I have made in my life-and gives me the opportunity to do what I can for the children of today and the future. My heart breaks as I see the beach eroding and learn about all the new development planned throughout my community and the world at large. It does help to listen to and learn from others-especially children- who help me to be able after some time and reflection find my courage and motivation to continue down this path.
All the best and thank-you
Mary Ann Cernak
Definitely a Sisyphean task before us, but we must not “become weary in well doing.” (Gal. 6:9) Keep calling us to accountability, Kathleen!