Happy International Day of Peace!

Today, September 21st, is International Day of Peace. I wish you a peaceful day. And to guide you on your way, I offer this Native American prayer:

Oh Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds,
and to Mother Earth who provides for your children.
Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect,
and to be kind to each other
so that they may grow with peace of mind.
Let us learn to share all good things
that you provide for us on this Earth.

Tomorrow, September 22nd, is World Carfree Day. Leave the car in the driveway. Walk, take the bus, ride a bike. Be kind to the Earth.

I can't help but think that the two days are intertwined. As we grow more desperate to secure increasingly scarce supplies of energy, we engage in un-civil and un-peaceful acts. If we were able to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, would we have more respect for one another? Would we be more kind?

Just Walk Away

I just read this interesting article by Osha Davidson, "What My Marriage Counselor Asked", Mother Jones. In it, he compares the current climate change debate to a bad marriage, where the two participants keep circling around and around the same issues, without ever moving forward:

"The battle between those who accept global warming and those who don't is like a really bad marriage where the two sides bicker endlessly over who's right. This marriage cannot be saved. It's time for a divorce."

It's time to move on. The clock has run out on the existential debate. We need to move on to solving the unprecedented problems that lie ahead of us:

"Journalists and others need to turn our attention to solutions. Debating solutions to global warming is a sign of a healthy relationship."

So when faced with a denier, wish them well, and tell them you've moved on with your life. And then pedal away.

Thank you, Rainforest Action Network

The Rainforest Action Network draped this across Niagara Falls today:


They have a webpage regarding the action here. Nothing further to add, other than a call to action, and a link to another website.

Affordable Green

I found this post on the Sustain Newsladder website, "Shopping Green Without Spending in the Red". It forwards an interesting concept: our consumption patterns are a set of choices we make. By choosing to buy this particular product, I forgo the opportunity to buy another product. And more holistically, if I choose to spend some of my finite dollars to buy this product, those dollars are no longer available to fund other activities.

What if you turned this idea on its head? There are many issues and concerns I would like to impact in my life and in the world. Some of them require money. There are other things I don't need or care about. What if I stopped investing in those activities? I'd have more money to invest in the things I do care about.

Walk, or ride a bicycle instead of driving/owning a car. Drink tap water instead of soda or imported bottled water. Cook at home instead of takeout. Unplug the television and read instead. Get off the consumption merry-go-round.