shifting gears

global climate change is very real and it’s here to stay. we talk much about peace in our time and ending the wars we started in the middle east over oil- and i agree that we should. war is one of the biggest polluters on the planet and is never talked about as such. but there will never be peace in our time unless we address the issues that are going to come up as a result of global warming.

i don’t know much about the rest of the world’s issues with climate change- i do know that oceans are rising and acidifying- and ecosystems from fish, to bees to bats are crashing. i know that china’s gobi desert is growing at an alarming rate- swallowing up arable land faster than anyone anticipated and australia is still in a horrible drought. here in north america, canada’s ice roads melt earlier than ever and in the american west- there are wildfires all year round now. and folks seem to be oblivious.

our way of life is not sustainable and we have marginal coping skills as a nation- at best. many in this country don’t realize what it takes to feed a typical family of four- they just know that they go to the grocery store and buy food and take it home and cook it. or they sit down to take out or go to a chain restaurant. welcome to the new america. around the globe, there have been ongoing food riots that americans know little about due to our corporate owned filtered media. we do recognize that food prices here have seemed to skyrocket along with everything else. well, it is no surprise. there have been wheat and other grain shortages around the globe due to blight and ethanol production and let’s face it- foods don’t grow the way they are supposed to if the climate isn’t right.

there are two basic necessities human beings need to sustain life- water first and then food. global climate change and human pollution and expansion threaten both. the reality is- there are 6 billion people sharing this planet. we have expanded, and polluted ourselves to the real possiblity of extinction within a hundred years. at the very least- billions are going to die. there will not be peace in our time with billions starving or thirsting. and we are not safe from it here. we are in big time denial, however, and prefer to put our heads in the sand and pretend that things will work themselves out. and they won’t.

barack obama and the democratic party are not the panacea- they are a step in the right direction but until we, the people, get serious about grasping the serious nature of this problem- we are at risk. america is rich in resources and when other parts of the world start to fail- in this technological age it won’t take much for those folks to look to us. we already are not well liked globally- and we are seen as resource hogs. it’s a real threat- unlike al quaeda and the other presumed terrorists. those folks have been sharing the same patch of the planet for millenia- and they are already poor. they are not a threat. russia and china- well…….

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new ad from al gore and the ‘we’ campaign

you can go to the website to contribute to the we campaign.  it’s as good a cause as any-

“We’re stuck with dirty, expensive energy because the oil and coal lobbies are spending hundreds of millions to block real change.

To help shift the debate, we’re airing this ad on national cable TV. And with your support, we can also put it on 60 Minutes and 20/20. Will you donate today and be a voice for real solutions? “

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global climate change

The North Pole has become an island for the first time in human history.

Startling satellite pictures taken three days ago show that melting ice has opened up the fabled North-West and North-East Passages - making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap.

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everyday people

i was very much surprised at the innovative ways people are thinking about changing their lives to help combat global climate change.  i know that in the grander scheme of things, we are like drops from a bucket compared to the polluters of industry- but these are people who are changing simply because it’s the right thing to do.  take a moment and glance through some of the strategies- and add your own if you are so inclined:

20 energy solutions from real people

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hard to wrap my mind around

there are many things in this world i doubt i will ever understand. they don’t make sense to me- and no amount of explaining away makes it clearer to me. wars and deliberate hierarchies of haves and have nots- are a couple of examples. the biggest one that i can’t wrap my mind around is the denial of global climate change. or perhaps ‘willful ignoring’ is a better term- i borrowed that from a buddhist author in the book i am reading. how else to explain this?

amazon rainforest threatened by new oil and gas exploration

riches in the arctic: the new oil race

i think it’s fantastic that most nations of the world pay lip service to global climate change and the effects oil, coal, gas and other pollutants have on it– and that’s all it is. ‘blah, blah, blah, corn based ethanol, blah, blah, blah’- and then it’s on to more oil and gas drilling.

is this why the neocons are working so hard to destroy the planet? perhaps they don’t want it to be left to non caucasians? guess that explains ‘quiverfull’ projects, gated communities and megachurches.

this is why i don’t ever think i will be a buddhist. it is difficult to work through the loathing, disgust, and hatred i feel at people like this.

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i am not sure where i belong

but i am seriously beginning to doubt it’s this century and in this country. yep, you over there, you guessed it- i went shopping today. now, anyone who reads here regularly pretty much knows i would rather stab myself repeatedly in both eyes with a soup spoon than go to the grocery store- or wal-mart- and well, today, i did both. and i cursed. repeatedly. now, most readers here know that i hail from upstate new york and we generally speaking- have seasons. this is the first week in august and so we have approximately 2 full months of summer left since global climate change. no, not being snarky- for about the last 10 years at least we have had summer like weather well into october. i wore a short sleeved wedding gown when i married my dear husband and it was warm.

but i digress.

so, being that it is pretty much the high point of summer, and being that i just bought a house with a deck and lawn chairs, i thought that i would happen on over to the wall of mart to get some of those nifty cheap plastic outdoor end tables so that folks could set their beer and soda somewhere other than the warped deck (good thing i didn’t put any effort into thinking about leveling them out). imagine my surprise when i go and find that the lawn and garden section is being emptied out to make room for— snow shovels and rock salt. jesus christ in a sidecar. it hasn’t snowed much before january in the last 5 years. i am surprised that they didn’t have goddamned snow blowers out front instead of lawn mowers. i mean god forbid you want summer wear or outdoor furniture. annoyed is an understatement.

grocery shopping is another ill conceived idea- i mean who enjoys herding into a big food warehouse with skinny aisles and large carts attempting to find the best ‘deal’ amongst the overpriced, overprocessed, overpackaged crap that passes for food? plus, since i moved on up ala weezie jefferson, i get to shop with folks who really firmly believe that they are god’s chosen and that the sun only shines on them. that goes over like a lead balloon too. i make sure i wear my beat up old tie dyed tshirt and i don’t shave my legs when i go grocery shopping. that way, if i go with my sister to our old stomping grounds- i blend in. if i go in my new neighborhood- i stand out i have decided that since most of my entertaining is behind me this year- i am going to devote my time to finding alternative food sources because it is getting to be more than i can take.

on slightly more positive note- monsanto is giving up its dairy hormone business. probably to be outsourced to a private contractor under a different name. but, it is a small victory for now

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nation of lemmings indeed

reason number 5,980 why the rest of the world is dissing us

“No. Buying a Prius is not taking action. Neither is upgrading the insulation on your house or buying carbon offsets when you fly. We need, as a nation, to commit to seriously ending our addiction to fossil fuels, to rapacious development and the concomitant destruction of forests and wetlands. We need to end our nation’s imperialist policies and to instead devote the trillion dollars a year spent on war to saving the planet from ourselves.

A good start would be seeing that people “get it.” That would mean communities starting to organize around improving mass transit, arranging for carpooling, and demanding climate-saving action from our political leaders.

I’m not optimistic.”

we are spoiled and selfish- i can’t speak to other countries or other cultures because- i live here.

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summertime

as i drove home after dropping hubby off with a buddy for a night of frivolity (aka having a beer or two downtown), i started smelling summer. it’s funny how very much memory is made up of smells- but i am very in tune with odors so i guess that’s why many of my memories are triggered by smells. freshly mowed yards; fragrant flowers; the heat rising up off the asphalt into the night air- and the sounds of crickets. in the morning, it’s birds- but in the evening- crickets. and for a moment, in spite of myself, i enjoyed the moment.

reality has an ugly way of creeping into life’s lovely moments- and it brings me around to what i am trying to teach myself- the four noble truths. which, of course, led me around to the dalai lama’s visit here in the states:

“Things are not black and white. Things are relative. Things are interdependent. When we look at a situation we have to consider all the factors. … “You cannot look in one direction. In order to see reality, (you) have to see in three or four or seven dimensions” and that this applies in the economical field, political field and international relations.”

which of course led me to al gore’s speech and on and on….

which was only part of this post. we are all interconnected. and i think many are feeling this but not realizing it. i believe it is why bush still has a 28% approval rating and congress a 9%. most of the people of america listen to what al gore has to say- and they watch the ice melt and the oceans die- and they see the prices at the pump– and they know it’s wrong; terribly wrong. but they don’t know what to do.

i recently read the terrific book ‘creating true peace‘ by thich nhat hanh (thanks to bz at intrepid flame for turning me on to that) and it is a simple book with a simple message- peace starts within. we have to be the change we seek. engaged buddhism is simply that- engaging with fellow human beings regardless of politics, race, religion, etc. on a basic human level. yeah. there’s always a catch he told me in the book- that i cannot isolate myself but must engage with the community at large- because we are all interdependent on each other as part of the human species. yep. no divisions as human beings. that’s tough for me. he explains it’s tough for westerners because of our culture of division and exclusion. so, i am living in the moment. life is in a state of flux and life is suffering. but we can overcome that and work together in peace to make the planet a better place for everyone. not just the haves.

not exactly the divisive message that the hard right christians and jews are preaching as they seek to divide and conquer the middle east. and there’s no hidden agenda like getting to heaven because life doesn’t really end. and that makes sense to me because i know matter doesn’t die. and that’s comforting to me as face my parents’ mortality and the end of my country as i knew it. life constantly changes- nothing is permanent and much of our suffering comes from our attachment to things- whether they be ideas, people, material stuff, power, etc. the attachment to my mom is a tough one. but she, herself, has told my sister and i that we must let her go when she goes as she will be at peace.

so, the smells and sounds and textures of summer brought many thoughts to my mind.

i know i haven’t given up on politics per se. i don’t believe that we can afford to at this time in history. i just can’t approach it in the same way anymore. i don’t believe in the system. i don’t believe in this current world government nor america’s. i don’t believe in any of the candidates for president and i cannot justify voting for someone i don’t believe has the right view for the direction our country needs to head in. as barack obama heads for the center- he is already too far away from it. he needed to stand up for democracy and for changing the way we do things in america. would he have won? i can’t say but i can say that i won’t vote for him. i can’t. he is just as much a part of the system as hillary clinton and just as disinterested in changing the status quo. al gore forcefully spoke about change. it has to happen. it will happen whether we like it or not. i just wish america would have led the way.

letting go and opening up are concepts that do not come easily for me but i need to find inner peace. i need to find a better way. and i think this buddha guy has something here.

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destroying our home

how will humans survive if we kill off other species? even the msm occasionally prints about collapsing ecosystems here and around the world. many of the species with population declines or large decimations in population are our pollinators. we depend on insects to grow our food and to feed other wildlife that is beneficial to our needs. many nations around the world depend on seafood and the oceans for sources of protein for food and fertilizers- what will they do when the dead zones are the oceans?

you don’t have to believe in climate change to be responsible and to give a shit about taking care of the planet. hell, even the pope is weighing in. it makes common sense not to pollute or destroy the home you live in. you can live a comfortable life without destroying the planet and it’s other species. we do not live in a vacuum. taking in the big picture:

ocean dead zones growing

bee vanishing act baffles keepers

why are thousands of bats dying in new york?

congressional hearings discuss declining bird populations

arctic ice melt faster despite colder winter

scientists warn of overlooked moth decline

orangutan populations decline sharply

“Human activity is wiping out close to one per cent of every other species on Earth every year, a global environmental report said Friday.”- cbc news report

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al gore

“There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more - if more should be required - the future of human civilization is at stake.”

read and/or listen to rest here

well said mr. gore

picture and story here

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words

there are rare times when i am at a loss for them. at this time in my life, i think i have outblogged my words. i have reached my quota i have been looking at the world very differently this year- and i truly believe that my start in blogging has reached its apex with my current line of thinking. yes, i know that at this point in my post you have not clue one what the hell i am babbling about. i hope to clarify- using words i read quite a bit- or i try to anyway when i have time- and years ago i set out to read ‘the classics’ such as anything by hemingway, steinbeck, shakespeare, twain and on… and i have read quite a bit. there is something about reading well crafted literature that, ironically, leaves me at a loss for words. ironically indescribable. words are power and they move us- the written word used to be especially powerful back before the age of television. so, i am meandering around the point- much of what i read anymore is just words. i scan the headlines and browse the internet with my morning cuppa to stay ‘in the know’ but they are just meaningless words on a screen. they mean nothing. much of what passes for truth and meaning is just propaganda and the other percentage is simply distracted people bloviating on about crap they aren’t willing to change.

there are a few writers out there who just take the words and make them electric. they speak the truth and they do it well. and you know it when you read it. i often highlight people and posts who in my opinion- do just that. you can feel the truth oozing out of the screen and into your psyche- and you feel it deeply. chris hedges is one of those people for me. his essays are generally spot on- and i don’t always agree with him about religion- but you feel the truth of his words:

“I survive the degradation that has become America — a land that exalts itself as a bastion of freedom and liberty while it tortures human beings, stripped of their rights, in offshore penal colonies, a land that wages wars defined under international law as criminal wars of aggression, a land that turns its back on its poor, its weak, its mentally ill, in a relentless drive to embrace totalitarian capitalism — because I read books. I have 5,000 of them. They line every wall of my house. And I do not own a television.”

jim kunstler is another:

“Every time I saw a car towing a motorboat this holiday weekend, I wondered what was going through the head of the towee. Did they have a sense that darkness was falling on their careers in motor sports? Did they have an inkling that an oil-and-gas crisis is upon us and just not give a shit? Or were they just going through the motions, following some implacable rote programming induced by, say, forty-odd years of TV addiction and a diet based on corn-syrup byproducts?”

admin at survival acres is another:

“Therefore, since we are still going to insist on Herr Fuhrer’s decree of the non-negotiable way of life, here is what we can all plan on doing in the near future:

Parking our cars (forever) to walk to bread lines (where they exist), or scouring the forest and fields for morsels of food. There won’t be any money, so you can leave your gold and silver at home or better yet, melt it all down for use as sinkers on your fishing lines (or silver bullets) as you desperately hope for a bite (be sure to check whatever you might catch for toxic poisoning).”

there was a time when i would have fought to the end of the earth for my country and my countrymen- but now, i can’t in all honesty say that i would. i will continue to help people as best i can because it is the buddhist philosophy that i should. i will continue to speak the truth and be as honest and real as i can be- because it is the right thing to do. i hold no illusions as to what the fate of the planet is- ecosystems and species are dying out daily and we keep chopping down forests and people for profit. we keep killing people for easy solutions instead of taking the harder road that would benefit all. and, we have destroyed our planet out of greed.

i cannot feign enthusiasm for an election that will be meaningless in all but a few regards. if obama gives some folks the will to keep going, then i say that’s ok. i hold no illusions that anything meaningful will change. obama’s face may be new in the white house, but the rest of the corporate political machine is still only interested in profit over all and the complete control of all of the remaining resources on the planet- which means food, water and transportation. i am living each day as fully as i can trying to experience as much as i can. i guess that’s all we can really do.

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no american press will cover this

photo by reuters

bangladesh is set to disappear under the waves by the end of the century

“I clambered back on to one of the 42 school-boats in this area. Young children were in the front chanting the alphabet, and teenagers at the back were browsing through the books. I asked a 16-year-old boy called Mohammed Palosh Ali what he was reading about, and he said, “Global warming.” I felt a small jolt. He was the first person to spontaneously raise global warming with me. Can you tell me what that is? “The climate is being changed by carbon dioxide,” he said. “This is a gas that traps heat. So if there is more of it, then the ice in the north of the world melts and our seas rise here.”

I asked if he had seen this warming in his own life. “Of course! The floods in 1998 and 2002 were worse than anything in my grandfather’s life. We couldn’t get any drinking water, so the dirty water I drank made me very sick. The shit from the toilet pits had risen up and was floating in the water, but we still had to drink it. We put tablets in it but it was still disgusting. What else could we do?”

Mohammed, do you know who is responsible for this global warming? He shakes his head. That answer lies a few pages further into the book. Soon he, and everybody else on this boat, will know it is me - and you.”

2007 flood reported by swissinfo

“More than 53,000 people have contracted diarrhoea in Bangladesh, mostly caused by eating stale food and drinking impure water.”

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canaries

i don’t know if there is a solution to global climate change or not, but the fact that there are so many folks who know how these things work predicting famine and drought for much of the world- gives me pause.

“After all, the wealthiest countries continue to show little or no interest in altering the policies that have contributed so decisively to the food crisis in the first place. Take the United States. It “ties”—places restrictions on—about 70% of its aid. That means recipient countries must use that aid to buy U.S. products, which, of course, will do little to strengthen local economies. Washington has also cut its international agricultural research by as much as 75% at a time when agricultural production is no longer keeping pace with population increases. Add in the $280 billion farm bill that Congress has just passed which, unbelievably enough, provides continued subsidies to “farmers” (read: agribusiness) already benefiting enormously from high food prices. And the European Union, like the United States, is refusing to backtrack on its commitment to boost biofuels produced from grain.”

read article here

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a little light reading for the weekend

i am up to my eyeballs in boxes and packing and moving stuff- but i still have internet and my morning cuppa i like to read through my google reader when i get the chance- i have been mostly skipping newsy blogs because i don’t have time to read the same crap different day. one blog i always read is survival acres blog. many folks don’t really fully know how bad things are in the world- and wouldn’t want to believe it even if they did. the admin over there seems to have the finger on the pulse of the scientific community and other industries- and his writings often confirm my own independent research. now, it isn’t a nice fuzzy place to visit- it is stark truth with no candy coating. i believe that people have doomed ourselves- knowingly or not. an accident still has consequences- although the event itself was not planned.

my own view of the world mirrors much of what admin speaks about and he recently posted a post that said- prepare for the future but for heaven’s sake- live your life too! i intend to store food and grow my own- but i want to enjoy what i can as well. we all still only have one life to live and this is our only shot. we inherited a raw deal- but we can still make the most of what we have and live to the fullest. so- please take a moment to read this latest post- it’s a bit long but it explains his position- which is very close to my own with much more detail. survival acres blog

“Right now, the United States is very actively aligning itself for more resource wars, which is a direct response to the things I’ve just said. The rhetoric leveled against various countries is a barely disguised attempt to demonize these resource rich regions, ultimately for the benefit of American corporations and rich and wealthy “foreigners”. America will launch more wars, as will other nations like China and Russia as the world plunges into deeper and deeper resource shortages. They will do this because they believe they have no other choice for their survival. This will create a world of global conflict, which is what we already have today.

Read more

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the truth may set you free- but it ain’t pretty

i read many different blogs and there are quite a few folks out there who speak to the truth- and there are just as many in complete denial about the state of affairs of this planet. for what it’s worth, i try to speak the truth as i know it- from putting together pieces of the puzzle that are scattered across many news sources and anecdotes from real people. in my heart, i wish folks would see what is happening politically in this country- and see that the neo con coup has already been accomplished. i wish folks would suspend disbelief that something like what is happening can and did happen in america. i wish that folks could see that this planet is pretty much done for and that we need to look to basic survival skills pretty soon. i don’t wish to sound fatalistic- but we all see what has and is happening on this planet. it isn’t that we don’t know what the future holds, it’s that we don’t want to accept it. acceptance doesn’t mean to lay down and stop trying- it just means looking at what we have to work with realistically- and go from there.
this particular blog- survival acres- i ran across through google. i use google reader and based on what i have in there- they make suggestions for other sites i might find interesting. generally, i don’t bother, but fate dealt it’s hand and i found someone who was like balm to my soul. he speaks the unvarnished truth based on what he reads and sees and lives. and i agree with him. it is ok if you don’t.

Read more

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