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| April 2009 Volume 3, No. 8 |
Celebrating Earth Day: Messages in Honor of Our Planet
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by Beth Nolte, Ed.D.
Step 1: Identify the action.
Turn off lights. Unplug or power down electrical items that are not in use.
Step 2: Conjure a positive vision that will inspire action.
I see this tree. It stands tall and wide and is surrounded by old growth forest. I can imagine the details, a moist smell. In the cool crevices are spots where moss grows. My finger traces over the bark edges. An insect changes course to avoid my touch.
Step 3: Take responsibility.
I live in a state that is blowing off the mountain tops to keep my coffee maker on auto pilot. If I use less energy there is less demand for the old growth forests of Appalachia to be bulldozed down to make room for mining coal.
Step 4: Do it.
Flipping a switch and unplugging cords are small efforts. By the time I remember why the effort is necessary, it is already done. No problem!
Everyday I work on turning off lights and using less electricity. I find that I am most successful when I have a positive vision to remind me why I am making an effort. Positive visioning is a strategy that works for inspiring all kinds of actions, beyond energy conservation. Visions are personal, so what works for one person may not work for another. Avoid images that concentrate on the negative, such as “less pollution” or “less waste.” Focus on an image that clarifies what a world with less pollution or less waste actually looks like. Try to create a vision that is the manifestation of your action!
True power comes when you combine positive vision with the feeling of responsibility and the ability to make choices.
Turning off the lights is a deceptively simple act – deceptive, because it does not end there. It is a gateway accomplishment. Get comfortable dealing with small personal actions, and opportunities to take larger actions will come. When they come, they will be less large. Eventually what seemed impossible becomes real, but the work starts now.
Identify the action. Conjure the vision. Take responsibility. Then do it.
Dr. Beth Nolte is a writer, educator and independent scholar in Louisville, Kentucky.
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by Nate Pederson
I think one way to face our environmental challenges is to take a bite at a time. Environmental issues are huge. No, they are monumental. One can scarcely get their mind around the scope and complexity of the problem. The deeper one goes, the more confused and entangled one becomes. If you don't believe me, just try it. So, as I said, the best thing to do (in my humble opinion) is to take this one bite at a time. And I mean that sincerely and literally. I happen to be the President of EarthSave Louisville at this particular time in history and the basic idea of EarthSave is that the effects of manufacturing certain products on our planet is particularly nasty, wasteful, and harmful to our bodies and our environment. I'm talking about the consumption of meat (4 legged, 2 legged, finnish, etc.). The amount of excess pesticides required to grow all the excess grain for these animals is staggering enough, but when we combine all of the water that is wasted upon them, and all the methane gas that comes from their guts all the time, it kind of becomes so mind-numbing that we just wave our hand in the air, guffaw, and blow it off. Wrong!
The easiest way to help the planet is one bite at a time. Not only does a person feel more energetic after eating a nut, fruit, vegetable or legume, but one is also contributing to reducing pollution/green gases simultaneously. Reduce your meat, help the planet, it's that simple. Moving beyond the diet issue into planetary, macroeconomic concerns is intimidating, so as a youth, it is probably best to stay on the diet issue for a while until you finish law school or something (where you can carry a big club and bass knuckles to make some inroads). If you weren't born into the Rockefeller clan, you may as well make a big splash by announcing a change in diet for the planet, (e.g. after reading Diet for a New America or something) because decisions are made all around you that you have no way of having any control over. Stick to being empowered by choosing what's on your fork, and build slow plans from there. There are more and more who are thinking like this, and we're on the net to support. Go for it. If Gandhi and Einstein could do it, you can too!
Nate Pederson is the president of EarthSave Louisville.
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by Megan J. Penrod and Willam M. Penrod
As a small child I can remember walking behind my grandfather on the family farm in Muhlenburg County, Kentucky while he oversaw the timbering operation going on as a precursor to the strip mining operation that was soon to begin. Strip mining is a practice that removes the top layers of the earth, including all of the trees, animal species, and exhausting all of the ecosystem services that were once part of the land. As a fragmented memory, even after more than 50 years, it remains very powerful to this day.
Soon after, my grandparents moved to a small home in Bowling Green, Kentucky to be near their daughter Sue, who was a nurse. I spent a summer with them there soon after my grandfather died. It was never home…home was the farm that sustained life for my family since the turn of the 20th century… home is an old farm house in which my father and his three sisters were born and sadly, no longer remains…home is the well that my uncles helped dig and to which one proudly placed his name on the rough stone and concrete cap. Although I never lived there, it remains most of what is home for me to this day. The memories and the stories, however embellished over time, form a large part of my own self- identity. As such, I have tried to instill those feelings of “home” into my children who will someday inherit the property.
Coal mining is abundant in our country and in the Appalachian region the coal industry that initially brought prosperity for many, has over the long run wreaked havoc on many of the towns, the land, and the culture. Strip mining has now taken a new face, termed mountain top removal (MTR). MTR began in the 1970’s and involves first stripping that land of all the native forest that covers the ground, and then using explosives to blast away large portions of the earth.
The environmental effects of MTR are widespread, affecting human health, local flora and fauna, the water, and the air (Mishra, 2008). The health effects are widespread; Coal sludge is found to contain mercury, lead, copper, chromium, arsenic, and other toxins. Inevitably, these toxins end up in the water supplies of the local communities (Appalachian Voices, www.appvoices.org). The ecosystems are affected from the beginning of the process, as the trees are stripped from the land there is loss of habitat, erosion, a devaluing of land, and loss of biodiversity. In the end, nothing but exposed earth remains.
My cousin Pete, his son Tom, and I still own the property. It is not much as property is concerned. Half of it is reclaimed and un-reclaimed strip mine property that gives the appearance of rolling prairie, until you try to walk it. Upon close inspection one easily recognizes the fragile nature of this effort. There is still much erosion present, but it is mostly hidden by the rough grasses that give it its prairie appearance. One must be careful, if not a leg may easily be broken when apparently stepping on solid footing covered with grass and then finding out to great dismay that the grass is concealing a keyhole shaped ditch caused by erosion. Even worse is when stepping on human refuse that ranges from old shingles, sheet metal, corrugated roofing, tin cans, and all other man-made materials imaginable that persons too cheap to properly dispose of decided to discard on “coal mine property." Coal mine property is any property reclaimed or un-reclaimed that is not fenced or dotted with “No Trespassing” signs…and no matter how often the land is posted, those signs quickly disappear! As such, many considered it community property and it is perfectly permissible to dump on, ride over, and misuse for any reason whatsoever.
The back side of the “farm” is un-reclaimed. What was once a series of great ditches and strip mine high walls that were barren and bleak, have now grown tall pine trees that provide shade and needles that turn brown and carpet the landscape, masking the evidence of man’s rape of the land. It has taken over 50 years, but nature is recovering, slowly…very slowly. Even today, new threats to the environment manifest themselves through newly occurring “sink holes” from long ago forgotten mineshafts, threatening all who are unaware or walking at night. Luckily, this is a relatively seldom occurrence and if notified the federal government’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (www.osmre.gov) will contract to have the damages repaired and made safe at no cost to the landowner. Unfortunately, as nature recovers, man presents another threat -- the four-wheeler ATV and its cousin the dirt bike.
To be completely honest, other than old-fashioned sentiment, my primary interest in the old property was to follow behind my bird dogs looking for Bob White Quail, the amazing Eastern Wild Turkey that, thanks to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, has made an unprecedented comeback, and occasionally the ubiquitous Whitetail deer. And, I must confess, I own a Honda 4-wheeler that I only use on the farm. However, I only use the device sparingly and with great attention lest I may cause damage to the property.
That being said, while I mostly complain my cousins work hard planting hardwoods. Yes, my cousin Pete has been experimenting with different species for years and he has found that a 60% success rate may be expected from Schuettes Oak, Quercus x schuettei, as was the case on our reclaimed strip mine property. That is providing that the tree isn’t destroyed by 4-wheelers! He advises that trees should be planted in early spring and using Tubex Treeshelters™. This is phenomenal! As Pete quickly pointed out, he has been laughed at by knowledgeable foresters from Western Kentucky to Australia…yet the proof is in the pudding. Some of these trees that were planted at twelve inches are now twelve feet high! As co-author and daughter Megan joins them in planning for further reclamation of the property that may result in a dissertation proposal, the four-wheelers ride on!
Adjacent property is owned by a local entrepreneur who charges ten dollars a day per vehicle with the instructions that they should not trespass where there are signs indicating that it is private property. But the temptation is apparently too great for many of these weekend daredevils. The old strip mine high walls are just another challenge, signs are to be torn down, fences are to find another way around, and blocked trails are soon bypassed. When confronted, they may be apologetic or they may be confrontational! It is left completely up to chance as to how this meeting will turn out, but it is a difficult task for a lone property owner to keep his composure when coming across half-dozen or so 4-wheeling trespassers that are determined to leave a terrible mark on property that has both intrinsic and sentimental value. This is especially so when the miscreants are drinking, throwing beer cans and strewing garbage with impunity.
The great debates over the efficacy, ethics, and environmental impact of strip mining have long since been fought, and many continue to be fought, but we who are tasked with the responsibility of land ownership and/or stewardship must address two aspects of reclamation. One, as my cousin Pete has expressed through his efforts, what can we plant to help Mother Nature recover from this grievous insult to her surface and two, how can we prevent further damage? Indeed, from the perspective of the authors, there is no more pressing problem to reclaiming strip mine property than preventing the unrestricted use of four-wheelers. Increasing penalties and fines may go far to prevent further damage to this fragile environment by uncaring 4-wheelists, that is if we can find a method to enforce them!
Appalachian Voices, www.appvoices.org
Mishra VK, Upadhyaya AR, Pandey SK, Tripathi BD. 2008. Heavy metal pollution induced due to coal mining effluent on surrounding aquatic ecosystem and its management through naturally occurring aquatic macrophytes. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY: 99(5). Pp. 930-936
Megan J. Penrod is an environmental studies candidate at the College of Charleston. William M. Penrod is an assistant professor at the University of Louisville.
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by LaTonia S. Peters
Have you ever really thought about how much energy you use in the course of your day? Turning on the lights? Watching television? Listening to the radio? Surfing the Web? Drying your hair? Cooking dinner? Doing the dishes? And anything else I didn't mention that uses energy?
When you take a moment to ponder just how much energy you may use during the course of a normal day, it is actually quite astonishing. I never thought about it very much, that is, until I had to. The power outages experienced last fall and this past winter really was a wake up call for me. I had no idea how much of a crisis it would actually be if one day we woke up and there was no power. There was no alarm clock, no radio, no television, no cordless phone, no computer, no hot water, no way to cook. I thought to myself “I guess this is kind of similar to what my parents’ experienced when they were growing up in rural Louisiana on a farm way back in the day.” I am a healthy young woman with little needs. What about the people not as fortunate as me? It wasn’t until I lost my power that I began to understand our real dependence on energy and how fortunate we are to have it.
So now, I pay more attention to where I can conserve energy in my home. From turning off the lights in a room that I am not in to trying to limit how much time I spend taking a hot shower, every little bit helps. If we all did just a little, that would be a lot.
What little can you do?
LaTonia Peters is the coordinator of the MPH Program at the UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences.
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by Dr. Paul Salmon
We are currently living in an era of daunting social, economic, political, and environmental challenges. People seem to be polarized as never before over virtually any issue you can identify, whether it be the choice of political candidates, strategies to fix the troubled economy, or finding ways to peacefully co-exist with other nations. However, with respect to the environment, there appears to be growing consensus that human behavior plays a contributory role in global warming and related changes in weather and climate. Our actions, both individually and collectively, have impacted the world in ways that are only now beginning to be fully appreciated. Yet, on a person-by-person basis, it is easy to overlook the significance of such trends or to appreciate their consequences.
One reason is that much of what we do on a daily basis is strongly driven by habit, rather than by conscious awareness. Our actions tend to be pragmatic, limited to things that have immediate consequences. Personal concerns, as well as interactions with family, friends, and those with whom we work tend to occupy most of our waking hours, leaving little room for awareness of the broader impact of our behavior on other elements of the system that supports our existing, including the physical environment and the planet itself. Expanding the scope of awareness of our world, and our place in it, is one way to foster a more attentive, and less habit-driven, manner of engagement in the world, which has suffered as a result of our collective inattention.
As a psychologist, my way of relating to Earth Day is to emphasize how our behavior as individuals impacts the world in which we live. We are simply not free to do as we please, without regard for the welfare of others or for the environment that supports our fragile existence. This view of psychology combines behavioral, social, and ecological viewpoints in a way that emphasizes their interdependence. It begins with awareness, or mindfulness, which refers to being awake, attentive, and aware of the consequences of our actions.
Being mindful means living in a fully conscious manner, rather than being driven by habit. It is a fundamental concept in Buddhist psychology that is currently finding widespread application in contemporary society. It lies at the heart of a stress reduction program developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a catalyst that predated its current prominence. Living in the present – a basic tenet of mindfulness – applies at many different levels. For the individual, mindfulness helps anchor attention, keeping us grounded, rather than lost in past memories or future concerns. At a social level, being mindful helps us be more aware of, and feel compassion toward not only our own families and friends, but all living creatures. At the environmental level, being mindful helps us be more aware of the fragility of our surroundings and the delicate balance between human behavior and sustainability. Linking all of these levels is interdependence, the fact that we are all parts of a dynamic whole in which each element is connected to all the others. To the extent that we can begin to appreciate how our behavior has potentially wide-ranging effects, we become increasingly mindful, increasingly attentive, to these effects and can adjust our behavior, finding ways to meet our own needs without harming those in our world or the environment itself. We can all take an active role in this process, as noted by Stephanie Kaza, In Mindfully Green, “This ailing world is much in need of people who can see and respond to environmental suffering. Your sincere efforts are greatly needed – what can you offer to this world?” (p32)
Dr. Paul Salmon is an associate professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville.
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Global Connections: Staying in Touch with Culture and Environment is a monthly publication of the JCPS Office of Equity, Diversity and Multicultural Education and the JCPS Center for Environmental Education. All submissions to the newsletter must be sent to Catherine Collesano, Editor, at catherine.collesano@jefferson.kyschools.us or fax (502) 485-3762 the Monday before the publication date. If you are interested in becoming a subscriber or a contributor to Global Connections, please contact the editor at the above email address.
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