Nature Trails

Hi Again!

Happy New Year to All! I hope you have all been well and you will stay that way in the new year. I regret that I have not been as diligent with this blog as I intended to be when I started it. I have been struggling with health and wellness issues so I will use those as my lame excuse.

I have not been inactive though... there are many ideas peculating in this loosely congealed mass of grey matter. One that has struck me was tickled by an article in a small regional newspaper called the Blue Stone Press. The BSP holds a special place in my heart as it was the first paper to hire me as a freelance reporter. Didn't know it when I was hired, but the Owner/Editor and I went to college together at SUNY Potsdam... small world, eh? Anyway, even though I rarely write for them now, I am still on their mailing list. The BSP serves a regional area known as the Mid-Hudson Valley, located about 100 miles north of New York City. It is a unique place as it includes mountainous areas, valleys, and a vast number of rivers. It is gorgeous and diverse. A wonderful place if you get to visit.

In the 12/5/08 issue of the BSP, Ann Guenther offered an essay in her column, Nature Trails, discussing the options that we, as individuals, can do about climate change and the environmental crisis that face us. Entitled Breaking the Laws, Guenther addresses theses issues with a clear and motivating message: No matter how small the change you make... IT HELPS! SO DO IT!

I am posting the whole article (with permission of the BSP and Ann Guenther) so that you too can read this valuable article. I hope you enjoy it.

Breaking the Laws

Chief Oren Lyons, wise and soft-spoken Native Ameri­can leader of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Nation, addressed four hundred students, faculty and local citizens at SUNY New Paltz three weeks ago with this message: "Do not challenge the laws of nature because you will not . . prevail ... Nature has no mercy, only laws." Chief Lyons then cautioned us about the dangers of global warming, citing the "350" indicator. But we've done it. We've broken the law. We've passed the 350 mark! "Three-fifty" is the parts per million of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere that global climate scientists say will keep the earth's climate in relative equilibrium. We're now at 385 and rising daily- meaning that our planet is on a roll, heading toward some truly wild and woolly changes."

Two weeks ago, people from all over the Hudson Val­ley gathered at Mohonk Mountain House to learn about "Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change; Taking Action in the Hudson Valley:' Municipal leaders, concerned citizens, business professionals, water managers and a variety of officials listened as a respected NASA scientist laid out the probable realities we will face, even if we DO stop the acceleration of C02 into the atmosphere. State and local officials painted pictures of immediate and future challenges to our local towns and cities. Panel discussions dealt with how we will have to cope with increasing temperatures, droughts and floods, damaged infrastructures, threats to health - and the additional challenge of paying the costs.

What's a person like you or me to do with this kind of information? For many of us, the news is so overwhelming and scientifically complex that we simply go about our lives with "que sera:' Some cling to the hope that technology will fix it, while others believe the earth will magically respond and correct itself. But the people who "get it" are gearing up for action. These include a few of our true leaders who have taken up the challenge with a determination not seen since our country galvanized for the Second World War.

Switching to cleaner, renewable energy is a start. Changing light bulbs wasn't so hard. But that tini­est of steps is surely insufficient to push back the tide of rapid climate change.

Chief Lyons offered some ad­vice. Instead of giving us specifics, he posed a question: "How do we come back from a consumer nation to common sense?" The audience was silent. "I don't know either, but awareness is the first step:' He went on to explain: "We have to become related again. We are related to everything on the earth - and we must take time to understand that.'

For me, that means spending more time in nature - alone, if possible; or at least in silence. That way we can "listen" better to the plants, trees, animal, sky, clouds, moon and stars. And since we, too, are a part of nature, we can also listen more deeply to ourselves, not just to chit chat.

On these chilly mornings, I often pause on my way to the car to enjoy the crunch of frost on the grass or greet a few migrant Chickadees who arrived in the night. Driving along, I reflect on those events. What emerges could be a mix of joy, sadness, or wonder - as' I then experience myself woven into the amazing web of life. Being part of that web makes me feel more secure, more satisfied. The result is that I have less need to consume.

I'm also enjoying the fascinating game "What's the result of my action?" Let's say I do decide to go shopping, thus needing to drive my car. The result? Burning fossil fuel and using up other resources. What are my options? Remember to bring shopping bags. Consolidate my trips to town, carpool, or even stay home and call a friend instead. After playing this game many times, I'm spending less time literally "spinning my wheels:' And because I'm actually doing something to reduce global warming, little as it may be, I feel less anxious.

I'm even limiting my time on the Internet so that I can read more and be inspired. Recently, I took solace from an editorial in YES! magazine that focused on solutions to global warming: "We might find that a less materialis­tic, more locally based way of life taps a whole new level of creativity ... And our grandchildren will thank us for leaving them a world where they too have a shot at a good life.

Not breaking the "laws" could have some real benefits.