Archive for October, 2008

Be The Bay specializes in products from and about the Chesapeake Bay, and they donate 10% of their profits towards bay restoration and education projects. The founders of Be The Bay have long hoped for a clean bay again where you could swim without worrying about bacteria levels and eat seafood without worrying about mercury levels. Be The Bay focuses on educating residents and tourists on how they can positively effect the bay. Their clothes and bay products can be found at numerous local retailers and their on-line store.

Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo .

Two friends told me about this last Friday, so I had to check it out. It’s an excellent tour of the "tipping point" effects of climate destabilization — something even the IPCC predictions don’t account for. Leo Murray’s animation and narration makes the very complex science of climate feedback easy to understand and visualize in stark terms. While it does give a glimpse into probable scenarios of species extinction, climate refugees, and other human misery, Murray also tells us it’s not inevitable. This is not the time to panic, he says — this is the time to ACT!

On a related note, David Orr came to Baltimore on October 1 to give a talk about climate change policy. He and a group of experts have been briefing the two presidential campaigns as part of the Presidential Climate Action Project . On their website, you can view and download policy papers on what the next Transition Team has to do in order to hit the ground running in the first 100 days in office. Look through their "Climate Action Briefs" on topics such as the role of small business in addressing climate change, national security in a changing environment, the moral case for energy efficiency, and the great potentials of a new "green" economy.

While it’s very good news that the best minds in the U.S. are coming together on this, Leo Murray’s video is a timely reminder that we have spent the last 20 years waiting for government and industry to fix this problem. The message is loud and clear: it is up to US to act, and we must act NOW.

As always, Van Jones inspires us with his important message. In this very brief video, he outlines the three crises facing our country: social / economic, ecological, and spiritual (loss of hope). He reminds us that there are no throw-away people or species, that it’s all sacred. We are all in this together; we aren’t going to leave anybody behind.

My good friend, Mare Cromwell , has been a professional gardener for many years. She also has a Masters in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan and has worked in the environmental field for 27 years both internationally and locally in the Baltimore-Washington region. She is offering a workshop on Sunday, October 12 (see our News & Events link to the calendar for more information.) This workshop comes out of her apprenticeship for the past twelve years with a Cherokee Medicine Woman. In these changing times, Mare tells me that Earth Mother is calling us to heal ourselves and our relationship to nature. Our gardens are where we can intimately rekindle a deeper relationship and reverence for the life around us to promote healing. This workshop gives people the opportunity to learn Native American practices and worldviews that will encourage deeper gardening practices honoring nature energies, garden health and planetary healing.

Mare’s gardening informs her other work, which is writing and occasionally speaking on ecophilosophy and eco-spirituality topics such as Environmental Hope, Living Simplicity, Deep Ecology and "Right Relationship". The workshop on October 12 will cover:
– How to bless your garden when you open it up in the spring and put it to bed in the fall;
– Claiming your relationship with the Creator and Earth Mother to honor your sacred place in the world and garden;
– Your garden as an altar;
– Intuitive gardening;
– Deepening your relationship and awareness of life around you;
– Nature as teacher and healer.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5kg1oOq9tY[/youtube]

There is so much anxiety in the air these days, along with all that excess CO2 . I was happy to stumble upon this global movement to solve the climate crisis. I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering — hey! When are our elected leaders going to wake up and DO something about this already?! Well, guess what? It’s up to each and every one of US to do something about it, whether that means changing out your lightbulbs, walking more, buying locally, and/or calling your elected officials to let them know your concerns. This website has wonderful graphics to explain the situation, making it perfectly clear even to those of us with science deficit disorder. There is also a way to take action, find events, and sign up to receive action alerts. Bill McKibben is one of the people behind this site, which is not surprising, given his interest in the subject. His book, The End of Nature , was an early influence on my career. Order it from your local bookstore — The Ivy or Breathe Books are two in Baltimore.

In Waking Dream Wisdom , Reverend Rebecca Hanna Phd. started her own practice in metaphysical pastoral counseling practices . She implements a form of holistic self-healing that focuses on the life as a waking dream method of counseling. Apart from offering services in spiritual psychology and consciousness coaching, Rebecca also discusses the health benefits of water ionizers, posts art-related events and has a link to her own assembled art pieces.

The mission of Community Greens is to cultivate more shared green spaces in urban centers. The goal is to convert underutilized backyards and dysfunctional alleys into usable green space that is owned, managed, and enjoyed by the residents who surround it. Community Greens attempts to catalyze movements that merge backyards into community greens, turn alleys into green pathways, and encourage community greens in new developments. The advantages of community greens are plentiful: they cultivate community, provide an easy and accessible space to play for children, raise property values, cool surrounding homes, and reduce storm-water runoff. Ask how to get involved in your community.