Sacred Land, Poisoned Peoples - IPPNW

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War medical students and doctors demonstrate at nuclear base Büchel, Germany.

Pre-Congress Meeting to the 19th World Congress of IPPNW, 26 August 2010, Basel Switzerland:

Indigenous People and their representatives attending the Pre-Congress "Sacred Lands, Poisoned Peoples" at this critical time of intensifying destruction to Mother Earth and human health by nuclear resource development have gathered and shared stories of resistance to uranium mining across the globe. From Canada and USA to Niger, Mali, Namibia, Tanzania and Malawi, from Russia, Germany, Australia, Brazil and India, communities facing dramatic impacts from this toxic industry have come together in unity.

Past, present and future generation of Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately impacted by uranium mining, nuclear weapons and the nuclear power industry. The nuclear fuel chain radioactively contaminates our people's health, land, air, and waters and threatens our very existence and our future generations. Uranium mining, nuclear energy development and international agreements that foster the nuclear fuel chain violate our basic human rights and fundamental laws of Mother Earth, endangering our survival and spiritual wellbeing.

The dangerous health impacts of radioactive exposure begin with uranium mining. We reaffirm the Declaration of the World Uranium Hearing in Salzburg, Austria, in 1992 that uranium and its radioactive decay products must remain in the ground. We stand in solidarity with those working for an end to uranium mining and processing, irresponsible radioactive waste management, nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

We dedicate ourselves to a nuclear free future for all peoples.

See also its congress blog and its international youth tour

BAN: Biking Against Nuclear Weapons (still positioned in Europe).






"Voices like ours are needed now more than ever for peace, for civil rights, for children, for a life on this planet, for our grandchildren. War is stupid. To bring about the changes we need in society, all of us must speak out and act." -- Muriel Duckworth

Safeguard Biological Diversity -- by Dick Grossman, MD

This article appeared in the Durango Herald 22 Aug 2010. It is reprinted with the author's permission. The ark painting is courtesy of Two by Two Acres farm.
Noah, then, can be seen as the first great preservationist, preventing the first great extinction. He did exactly what wildlife biologists and climatologists are trying to do today: to act on their moral convictions to conserve diversity, to protect God’s creation in the face of a flood of consumerism and indifference by a materialistic world. -- Bill Moyers

There are two ways of looking at our place in the natural world. Traditionally humans have viewed ourselves as the pinnacle of life. The more accurate and modern view is that we fit into the great web of life.

We are gradually realizing that human existence depends on many, many species. We can no longer ignore the importance of thousands of species of plants and animals for the wholesomeness of the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.

This change in perception mirrors the change in political leadership. For instance, a king ruled a court of a small number of lords and knights during the middle ages and most people were mere peons and of little importance. Now, thank heavens, many governments are more democratic and individuals are valued much more highly.

The more we understand nature, the more we realize the importance of all components of an ecological system. There are many examples. It used to be thought that wolves were bad because they killed livestock. We now understand that they help to control the animals that are most dangerous to humans in our state—deer and elk—because of car crashes. Reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone has also proven valuable to trees. With the presence of predators, elk and moose don’t stay in one place eating the tender new shoots so forests are thriving.

We can find another example of important organisms hidden underground. Although we tend to think of fungi as problem makers (like the cause of athlete’s foot) some are very beneficial. Mycorrhizae are helpful fungi that live on or even in the rootlets of most plants and trees. The fungus helps the plant absorb water and minerals. The plant reciprocates by providing the fungus with sugars for energy.

Although mycorrhizae have been known about for a long time, knowledge of their importance is fairly new. Many crops are much more productive and resistant to diseases when these fungi are present.

We are in the midst of the sixth great extinction. Perhaps best known of the great extinctions is when the dinosaurs were killed off by some unknown force. Unfortunately there is little doubt that we humans are causing this great extinction. One in five vertebrate species is threatened or already extinct. We know much less about invertebrate species of animals, so scientists are clueless about how many of them are endangered or already have been wiped out.

We also don’t know how vital each threatened species is. The world can probably go on without many of them—but there are some species whose absence may change our planet drastically. Since it is impossible to know which species is essential we should not take the chance of losing any more.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature keeps a list—the Red List—of threatened species. Every day they feature one species.

Conservation biology is the branch of science that works to preserve biological diversity and to prevent species from becoming extinct. Conservation biologists usually cite four causes for loss of biological diversity: loss of habitat, unsustainable harvesting, pollution and invasive (non-native) species. Unfortunately, humans—our increasing population and extravagant consumption—directly or indirectly cause these hazards.

The Center for Biological Diversity has come up with a novel way to make the point about human population. On each box of their Endangered Species Condoms (shown on the right, see the video) there is a picture of an animal at risk of extinction. Inside, along with two condoms, is this statement: “Human overpopulation is destroying land, water, and wildlife habitat at an unparalleled rate, causing a massive planetary extinction crisis. In growing to 6.8 billion people, humanity has killed off tens of thousands of plants and animals. But we can still save panthers, sea turtles, wolves, and countless other endangered species by choosing to stop overpopulating the planet.”

This is the International Year of Biodiversity. Let’s recognize the underlying cause of loss of biological diversity. And let’s do what we can to preserve the integrity of the great web of life by safeguarding endangered species.

Vote Climate Now video

This video is by a US group, Vote Climate Now. Similar campaigns are underway in Canada and in Australia.

Music "Realm Of You" by Marisa and Jonathan Brownfield, Fusion Fable. Photos: babies by Sean Dreilinger and AF-Photography, mosquito net by MikeBlyth, drought by safe democracy.

See also US Youth Summit for Climate Action.
Beware quick fixes, warn scientists in "Climate change: helping nature survive the human response" Conservation Letters 4 Aug 2010.

Jeux d'O: la chute Manitou, saumons -- Noëlle de Roos Lemos

Chute Manitou, située entre Sept-Îles et Rivière-au-Tonnerre, sur la Côte Nord du St Laurent au Québec, passe à saumons de la Petite Rivière de Matane en Gaspésie, et reflets de lune sur le fleuve à Havre St Pierre.
The immense Manitou Falls is on the river of the same name on the North Shore of the Saint Lawrence. On the South Shore, the visitors' centre at Petite Rivière, Matane has a view of salmon swimming upstream. Moonrise at Havre St Pierre.

Tarsands continuing pollution more than BP spill

Dr Kevin Timoney's database of tarsands pollution exceedances is now online, thanks to Greenpeace, Keepers of the Athabasca, Global Forest Watch Canada, Environmental Defence, Sierra Club, and the Pembina Institute.
4 min video interview from Petropolis.

See CBC Edmonton story 30 July 2010. Syncrude and Suncor refused to cooperate, perhaps because their own reports to the Alberta government show continual violations of air and water standards. The Harper government in Ottawa recently removed a toxic, naphthenic acid, from a list of hazards that industry must report.

Timoney's introduction says the database "may in some small way contribute to replacing a culture of impunity with one of responsibility. When Albertans decide they will no longer tolerate bad government, things will get better. Until then, tar sands and other corporations will continue to pollute at will, sure in the knowledge that they operate outside meaningful controls and immune from prosecution. This work is dedicated to Alberta’s civil servants, many of whom strive to serve the public knowing full well their efforts may be nullified at some point along the chain of command."

Melina Laboucan-Massimo, climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace says: “These data indicate a legacy of mismanagement and a lack of oversight by a government that seems more interested in public relations than in addressing the toxic legacy the tar sands are imposing on Albertans...local communities and workers who are often left without any recourse when exposed to emissions and contaminants.”

Is your computer a vampire?

...or your TV, home cinema, videogame, sound system, chargers, transformers and adapters, microwave, anything with a standby display. They suck energy even when they are not turned on!

Click on graphic to see details -- courtesy of Geeks are sexy

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates "vampire power" consumption at 200-400 terawatts per year, an astonishing 5-15 percent of home energy use in developed countries. The percentage in commercial buildings is also high. Our standby power use causes ~1% of global CO₂ emissions and is expected to triple by 2030. It can be reduced 30-75 percent. How?

• See this table of energy hogs. Computer monitors and printers are high on the list.
  
• If you don't frequently use a device, unplug it. This works fine for the extra TV, VCR or DVD. A monitor left on can cost you $125 a year! (US data)
• Use a power bar (aka surge protector) for clusters of computer or video products. You can switch everything off with one button.
  
• Shop for low standby appliances. Your microwave clock uses more energy over its lifetime than all its food heating combined. Don't frequently unplug and plug in major appliances because you could get electrocuted from frayed wires and plugs.
• Unplug the chargers of your toothbrush, cellphone. Any black box adapter sucks power.
  
• Buy a low-cost watt-meter (photo at right), measure the devices in your home and take targeted action. You will be surprised at what you find; the power savings could pay the meter's cost.

"As one global nation seeking lower CO2 emissions, we must get back to basics and extend a reliable and efficient power supply – from strategic technology developments for next generation high performance batteries for consumer devices and electric vehicles to large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) for grid interconnections. We're at a critical path, where together everyone can focus on minimizing unnecessary power pull." – Professor Ryuichi Yokoyama, IEEE Fellow

See also Wikipedia on Standby power, MEPS, Energy Star controversies; "occupancy sensors" described by BC Hydro and Wattstopper turn off when you are not in the room.

Seven wonders of the 21st century -- by Guy Dauncey

Dauncey is a Victoria BC ecologist. This 15 min video was inspired by his 3-year old grand-daughter.

Can humans still thrive on earth? Yes, he says:

1. We can solve the climate crisis
2. with a 100% green economy,
3. world peace,
4. an end of poverty,
5. democratic world government,
6. an end to cruelty to animals,
   
7. one shared global spirituality.

More good news in his book The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming (2009), his EcoNews, and July 2010 ideas for a positive climate action campaign; David Suzuki & Holly Dressel, More Good News: Real Solutions to the Global Eco-Crisis (2010), an update of their 2003 best-seller. For a darker vision, see climate scientist James Hansen, Storms of My Grandchildren (2009) and his web updates.

Prairie restoration and God's healing -- by Jim and Kathy Kessler

Published with the permission of the authors, who are members of Grinnell First Friends Church, Iowa. This article originally appeared in Quaker Life (Mar/Apr 2008).


1 Corinthians 10:26 (NIV) The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. About 35 years ago I experienced a pivotal event. Our county naturalist took me to a steep hillside virgin prairie. I was deeply moved by the beauty of orange butterfly milkweeds, pale yellow coneflowers, pale purple coneflowers, big blue stem grass and a dazzling array of tall grass prairie plants.

During the next year the prairie was plowed so that the land would be available for the Conservation Reserve Program. We passed that spot on our way to Grinnell First Friends and deeply grieved the loss of a remarkable bit of God's creation to economic gain. Tall grass prairies and oak savannas covered most of the landscape in 1850 when my ancestors came to Iowa. Their acreage has been reduced to less than 1/1000 of the original amount today, since they formed some of the most fertile land on the planet.

Over time, Kathy and I decided that prairie restoration was a way that we could respond and demonstrate our care for creation. Genesis 2:15 (NIV) The Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to work it and to care for it. This verse places equal emphasis on using the land for our needs and caring for it as faithful stewards. A Christian movement called Creation Care is gathering momentum as followers of Jesus increasingly see caring for the natural world as a normal expression of faith.

Isaiah 55:12 (NIV) You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all of the trees will clap their hands. Care of God's creation has been one of our family passions. In 1997 we purchased 30 acres near Grinnell and our church family. Immediately we began elimination of weeds and invasive species and sowed seeds of prairie plants native to the Grinnell area. Kathy began feeding birds, developing a bluebird house trail and growing prairie plants from seed in our greenhouse. Our oldest son Paul collected seeds from native plants in prairie remnants in our area. Today over 200 species of native plants flourish and burst forth in bloom, hawks and turkey vultures glide overhead, deer munch on vegetation, wild turkeys gobble, many species of birds feed at our birdfeeders and young bluebirds leave their nests. I daily watch in amazement and and praise God for the beauty of his creation on the property that he has given us. When I gaze at these things, my relationship to my heavenly Father grows. During the process of reconstructing prairies, oak savannas and wetlands, God has done a work of healing and spiritual growth that continues in our family.

Romans 12:13 (NIV) Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. About four years ago, we had a Christian builder construct our home in the middle of the prairie. We included passive solar heating (many large windows), a ground source heat pump, an energy efficient fireplace, energy efficient appliances and other environmentally friendly features in our home design. Little did we know what following God's leading would mean and the healing that would result. We opened our home and our prairies to people in our church and our community, to our children and our grandchildren,
to a family member in need of physical healing and to pastors and missionaries in Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends. Some have come to us in times of deep despair and crisis for healing, others during important life transitions; some simply needed a place to stay and others came for a time of spiritual retreat and renewal. God has transformed our home into a place of healing for the land, for the people who came and continue to come, and for us. We stand humbly in awe of our Lord and the way he works.

Hebrews 1:2 (NIV) In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, and through whom he has made the universe. We have searched in times of silence to discover where all of the above fits into the big picture of our lives as Christian evangelical Friends. The Friends testimonies of peace, simplicity, equality and integrity guide us. Our passion for the environment is a sanctity of life issue. Our personal concerns about such issues as global climate change, prevention and peaceful resolution of personal and international conflicts, and justice for the poor and powerless, are born out of a deep concern for the sacredness of all life that God has created. We are restoring a piece of God's earth as an act of caring for his creation. We work to do God's Kingdom work as we seek to change the world through Christ-centered action.

We invite others into the joyful, life-giving adventure of searching the scriptures, asking the Lord for direction, seeking the counsel of mature believers, waiting for God's answers and acting daily according to God's leading.