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| April 2009 Volume 3, No. 8 |
Celebrating Earth Day: Messages in Honor of Our Planet
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Why Kentucky Matters to Mississippi
by Mary M. Smith
Mississippi. It rolls off your lips and your tongue and hisses over your teeth and kisses your lips in the end. It is fun to spell; its letters were a song in elementary school. We learned it was a river and a state and that’s about all. We didn’t learn about the river as energy, or habitat, or the force that drains the rain.
We tend to think of energy as oil, but our country has been, is, and will be run on water. Our cities were built on the banks and mouths of rivers and shores and bays of oceans. We traveled on ships, ventured west on riverboats, and explored in dugout canoes.
Once, water fell in forests, on prairies, and grasslands and ran clean to rivers. Today, water powers hydroelectricity, nuclear energy, and coal-fired energy. Water powers cities. Water powers nature, the birds and the bees, and you and me. It powers agriculture, drives tourism, and enables development.
Water, multiplied, becomes a river that shapes our lives and culture. The Mississippi sings the blues, loves jazz, and eats barbeque. It is Old Man River and Huckleberry Finn’s road to freedom. It is the flight path of migration and the sprawling floodway of spring.
Native Americans called the Mississippi, the Father of Waters. Thirty-one states form its watershed; its extensive river family includes complex river basins -- the Upper Mississippi, the Missouri/Platte, the Ohio/Tennessee, the Arkansas/Red/White, and the Atchafalaya.
When the Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico, it carries phosphates and nitrates from American homes, farms, and industries. These excess nutrients cause algae growth that die, decompose, and depletes oxygen in the water. This process, called hypoxia, is responsible for the Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” that extends eighty miles offshore.
On its western border, Kentucky kisses the Mississippi River, hugs the Ohio River all along its northern border, and sends it own runoff down the Mississippi, down to New Orleans. Yes, Kentucky impacts downstream and sends its floods past Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, to the Gulf of Mexico. So what, you ask? What is the Mississippi and all these rivers to you, and why should you care, and what could you do if you did?
The short answer? A lot.
How can you begin? First, value rivers…for their energy and habitat and water. Second, know that you live in a watershed that you impact. Protect water where you live. Plant native plants that need less water and fertilizer. Install rain barrels and rain gardens. Support efforts to protect water in your community and region. And, yes, the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico are connected to you.
What will you gain? It won’t be stock a quote or a bank statement, but it can be the knowledge that you are living a more connected and responsible life. Doing the right thing for water is good for you, your neighborhood, your local streams and rivers, and the Mississippi too.
Mary M. Smith is the director of education at the Audubon Society of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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Earth Day Perspective
by Jim Vaughn
The Earth is made of many different types of climates and environments. The peoples that make up the countries of the Earth have different and diverse cultures in large part due to their necessity to adapt to their environment. I have had the opportunity to travel the world to experience these cultures and environments. I’ve experienced the rain forests of the Amazon, the environmental evolution of the Galapagos Islands, the bogs of Ireland, the great canyons of the U.S., the desert sands of Egypt, the lush valley of the Nile, the gorges of the Yangtze, the mountains of Germany and Austria, the man-made canals of Amsterdam, the heights of Scotland, the interior countryside of China and the tropics of Thailand. As the peoples of these areas adapt to their environment, they also have similar desires to help ones family, to flourish, and to take in their own culture and country. They all depend on their environment for water, food and survival. Some nations are becoming aware that their changing climate may alter this relationship, and they are also becoming aware that being good environmental stewards in controlling pollution and their own impact will be of benefit to all. Some countries are much more advanced than others in their awareness and they are taking action. It is in this spirit that the Jefferson County Public Schools and its students continue to learn more about environmental concepts and to reduce our impact on climate change through recycling and other actions. I have realized that I am fortunate to be able to help guide and take part in that effort in our area of the world.
Jim Vaughn, CHMM, is the environmental coordinator for the JCPS Safety and Environmental Services.
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by Rep. Ron Weston
As America and the world prepare to observe Earth Day, the call to save our planet has never been more urgent, nor more real. We need look no further than our own state, which endured hurricane-force winds and destructive ice storms over a six-month period, to see the devastating effects of climate change and the extreme weather it causes. Our largest cities battle air quality alerts with regularity in the summer months. And thousands of Kentuckians live without access to clean water.
The rewards of recognizing the importance of “Earth Day” extend far beyond preserving the beauty of our land. The greatest challenges that we face – improved health, economic stability, and national security – can all be overcome by addressing and ensuring the protection of our environment.
The air we breathe, the water we drink and the earth in which we grow our food directly and immediately impact the health of our planet’s entire population. Sound energy and environmental policies, such as developing and harnessing solar and hyrdo power, wind energy and biofuels, will help create thousands of jobs. And reducing our reliance on foreign oil and our support of countries that produce it will ensure we are less dependent and susceptible to influence and harm from foreign nations, some of whom finance our enemies.
But the solutions to improving our environment won’t all happen at the government level. As individuals we must do more to use energy more efficiently and clean up our environment, and there are steps we can all take, large and small, to make a difference.
Walk, carpool, ride bikes, or take public transportation. Adjust thermostats in your home and office, and use energy efficient appliances. Choose reusable bags at the grocery store. Reduce household consumption, and reuse or recycle products whenever possible.
The earth is the one thing we all have in common, and her protection is our shared responsibility. And if that obligation isn’t enough to influence our behavior, we should consider this: If we don’t take care of our planet, where would we live?
Representative Ron Weston (D) represents House District 37 in the Kentucky Legislature.
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by David Wicks
Energy creates our lifestyle; energy enables us to live work and play in the manner of our choice. Some of us use more energy than others; some communities use more than others and some countries even use more. For the most part, people like our lifestyle. As evidenced by the multiple stimulus packages, we will do what ever we need to do to sustain the economic and energy focal points of our lifestyle.
Even though energy is used unconsciously by all of us, we understand that to maintain our lifestyle choices will require more sustainable energy that comes from local sources. It is very optimistic that those discussions are happening now. The economic concept of supply and demand is hard at work here. We are working hard to increase supply, but on the demand side are just tweaking the system to make our current lives more energy efficient. As we examine the pathways for different lifestyle changes in order to use less, many of the choices polarize our communities. The polarizing issues are on the supply side as well, - coal vs. renewable energy, nuclear vs. softer energy systems. On the demand side polarizing issues impact where we live, how we get around, and what we do for fun.
As E.O Wilson says in Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, we may have disagreements in the causes of our crisis but we have agreement on the goals:
Do these differences in worldview separate us in all things? They do not. You and I and every other human being strive for the same imperatives of security, freedom of choice, personal dignity, and a cause to believe in that is larger than ourselves.
Even though Dr. Wilson was writing about biodiversity, his ideas can be applied to the energy issue as well. When considering an issue larger than ourselves most of us believe in the technological fixes. We believe in the notion of having more and to have more we can use less energy. I would like to challenge that sentence, first of all is hard to read, and yet it is true; can you have more by using less? In many respects it comes down to your personal definition of “more” and the choices you make in order to get "more."
When considering our definition of more, options must be open. Change will require innovation, not necessarily invention. We have the tools, but we need to have faith that a sustainable future is possible and that our personal choices and lifestyle greatly impact the energy crisis. Let’s use Earth Day for what it was meant to: A “teach in” on reducing the supply side of the equation. Be open minded, think and understand how you and your family use energy and can you visualize changes in your habits that will lead us to an energy-soft future life.
PS: The idea of a “teach in” can take many forms. I would suggest have a dinner time conversation or even engage your colleagues in discussion about what they are willing to do today.
David Wicks is the former academic program consultant II for the JCPS Center for Environmental Education.
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by Rep. John Yarmuth
This year marks the 40th observance of Earth Day, and it is easy to see how far we have come and how far we still need to go. There is at last a growing agreement that preserving the Earth through conservation and the development of clean, renewable energy sources is critical not just to environmental objectives but to rebuilding a thriving economy here in America and around the world.
Not long ago, the majority of our country believed global warming to be myth, while today, virtually every reputable scientist believes it is an urgent problem that demands bold action. Recently, many argued that green initiatives were simply unaffordable for the average American, but the large-scale integration of clean-renewable fuels into our energy grid is now seen as the only cost-effective way for America to thrive in the 21st century. And although national leaders were long missing in action, on this 40th Earth Day, the political will to preserve our planet has never been stronger.
This progress was made possible by grass-roots efforts comprising concerned individuals who together made their voices heard with a determined compassion for the future of our communities, country, and world. Thanks to those efforts, we now have a President and Congress whose actions are motivated by the belief that the change America needs cannot be achieved without a new energy policy that taps American innovation and renewable resources. The energy bill enacted in the last Congress was the most profound step forward in energy policy that America had taken in 30 years, and the budget approved this month by the House of Representatives makes the real investments necessary to transform the future of America’s energy and environment, from destructive to sustainable.
Still there is so much more to do, and the stakes could not be higher. We must continue to work together to end our dependence on foreign, dirty fuels; prevent the destruction of Appalachia’s natural beauty; and build a cleaner, greener, economically sustainable future for generations to come.
If we keep moving forward and continue to build momentum in every part of our community, I have great confidence that each subsequent Earth Day will give us and our children new victories to celebrate.
Congressman John Yarmuth is the U.S. Representative for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district.
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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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