Green @ MindSay

While in D.C. , I went to a presentation at the Library of Congress titled "Avoiding the Fate of the Mayans". The speaker was a man named Tom Sever whose job title was NASA archeologist.  He talked about using satellite imagery in the non-visible range to identify the "footprint" of past civilizations.  The jungles of Central and South America do not lend themselves to easy exploration by land in search of ancient ruins.  It is now believed that the Mayan empire included a population far larger than previously believed- millions....   They found a way to manage the water supply in this area, farm the swamp lands, and divert water into collection areas to protect against years of drought.  This allowed them to survive the eventual climate change that they created through deforestation... for many years beyond what a population that size could endure today.

The current deforestation in this area is visible as razor-sharp political boundaries between countries that allow it and those that protect the rainforest.  The climate change is evident again.  The talk was fascinating.

The statement that haunts me, though, came at the end of this speech....
Mr Sever told of how he was asked to teach a class at a university... how he was sure it would be overlooked, convinced that young people would not be interested in this new realm of archeology and ecology.  Quite the contrary, however, he found that the of few people who took his initial class- half changed their majors to environmental studies and the popularity of the class exploded to where he is now teaching four sections.  He says that it reminds him of the 60s- of the enthusiasm for making a difference through the impact we are having on our planet- on our futures.

People our age (my age), he said, often have an optimistic, unconcerned view of the situation... an attitude he attributed to a lack of investment in more than a foreseeable future- the 20 years or so they have left here.....
young people, on the other hand, see the importance and urgency of making a difference for the many years they have ahead of them!

I HAVE been relatively unconcerned... convinced, I thought, that human intelligence will see us through whatever dilemmas we find ourselves facing... that we will find a way to correct and move on.  I saw this optimism as one of experience and confidence in the human race.... is it, instead, a product of my own subconscious sense of mortality?  Do I discount the impact I could have on a new generation ready to spring into action because I am not concerned for change in my lifetime?

In my classes I have seen students approach environmental issues with a nonchalance and lack of interest.... they look at the information as one more thing to "remember".  I have been discouraged at the challenge of convincing them that the green movement is worth their time.   The "me" generation seem unconcerned about carbon footprints or potential remedies.

Perhaps I need to devote more energy into sparking the realization that they can each make a difference- that the condition of the world in their lifetime depends on what we do NOW. 

Maybe I need to be more concerned about what I can do to make the world a better chance for my grandchildren.....   Maybe I need to rethink my optimism.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

My apologies to all of you who celebrated on Saturday, but I was busy with my birthday and couldn't be bothered with the holiday of a long-dead saint.

 

Out of curiousity, do any of you know why you celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Saturday? No, not because it is easier to get drunk and revel on a Saturday as opposed to a Monday. Actually, it is because March 17 is a Roman Catholic feast day. By order of the church, the celebration of a feast day cannot happen during Holy Week (which begins today). The last time this happened was in 1940, when the celebration was observed on April 3. Now, this year; the next time it will happen is 2160.

 

How about St. Patrick? What do you all know about him? As it turns out, he isn't even Irish. He was born in Britain sometime in the end of the 4th century. At the age of 16 he was captured as a slave and taken to Ireland to work. For six years he labored as a sheep herder, until he escaped back to Britain. Eventually, he felt a calling and returned to Ireland as a missionary and began teaching Christianity to the people. There are tons of legend and lore about him, one of the most common being the driving of the snakes out of Ireland. Historians seem to agree that this was not representative of actual snakes, but likely references the Druids and their religion, prevalent at the time. It is also said that he used the shamrock to teach Christianity by using the three leaves to represent the Holy Trinity.

 

Finally, let's talk about the green. Apparently, green is not at all the color that symbolizes St. Patrick. He is known for wearing blue and was always represented by the color. Sometime around 1750, the celebrations of the west bastardized the tradition and turned the color into green, which most people associate with Ireland.

 

There you have it, a brief tutorial in why people go out of their way to get drunk this time of year. Hooray for St. Patrick, the British-born, not-really-a-saint person, who may or may not have died on March 17 in either 461 or 493 A. D.

I like sports as much as the next guy, but one thing that is really starting to get on my nerves is the endless analysis by these overly serious schmucks on TV and radio.  I can't watch ESPN anymore when they are breaking down some sports highlights and discussing these things like they are life and death issues.  You know what I want to see?  The damn scores, some highlights and news.  I don't want sports to be serious.  That is the beauty of the games, to not take things so seriously and to relax and enjoy things for what they are. 

I also don't like hearing about the minutiae of these athletes’ lives.  I don't want to know where they live or what they do in the off-season.  I don't want to know their beliefs on certain topics, I want to see them perform at the highest level, and not attempt to be a politician, musician or philosopher.  That is an entirely different topic unto itself, celebrities using their status as a platform for whichever cause they see fit.  These people are more often than not performing their acts of charity as public relations work, or have such a weak knowledge of the issues that they soapbox about that it is laughable.  Case in point Sheryl Crow trying to show people how to live "greener."  She went around a few summers ago telling everyone how much better off the world would be if we only used one square of toilet paper each time we went to the bathroom.  She would then proceed to load up the caravan of buses and head to the next stop on their massive tour.  The world could definitely be more green, I agree with you 100% Sheryl.  If only you and your celebrity brethren would just shut your mouth. 

For Earth Day, I'm buying these:



(And yes, I realize they are dog waste bags, but I'm going to use them when cleaning out the cats' litter boxes. Same purpose.) I'm also going to try to find some biodegradable tall kitchen bags that aren't ridiculously expensive, and switch out my current lightbulbs for the more energy-efficient ones.

For Election Day, I'm going out at 2:00ish to vote with the hope that I'll have missed most of the lunch crowd.

Also, random note, but it always amuses me when people meow at my cats when I have the balcony door open. I'll hear someone step up to the front door and then hear a "mrow" before the door opens. People are silly.

=D


iFeel: awake
iTunes: "Sister, Sister" on TV

another day at the plant nursery; this time one contorted filbert to be grown in a container, a corkscrew scarlet Japanese maple to frame the view from the stair well windows, several more mahonia (oregon grape holly) for the eastern hedges, and a few miniature elms for bonsai----- actually  pinjing. because the Chinese inbvented miniaturization of plants and the Japanese borrowed it and renamed it Bonsai.

And then some carnations and gypsophilia seeds because my herb garden was a huge disappointment. Oh I had plenty of sage and mint but the basil never took off. so i shall do the flower route instead on the top deck.

Jim is going to fortify a little bench nook off the north patio so my pinjing collection will have a place to reside as it grows. I have never miniaturized before because I didn't live in the right climate for it. But we really MUST stop leaking money on trees and  shrubs and flowers ( i am avoiding annuals this year for the planters- rocks and mulch.

the pond filter has been cleaned. we got the front electricity working so my birdbath is plugged in and bubbling away and  we might even have the raw works for low voltage lighting which can let us put some uplights fixrd on the prized curly bark maple that adorns the north patio. Can you tell I want summer to be here? FAST