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Annual Check-Up

1/24/2015

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        Ahh…the annual physical.  All that poking and prodding.  The embarrassing questions.  The fear that the nurse might find something wrong, or the doc will miss some insidious internal anomaly - then it’s curtains for you.

        This year Ocean was feeling a bit out of sorts.  She had experienced many changes over her billions of years; change was nothing new.  But something was different this time.  The changes she was noticing were happening in just a few decades  - overnight in geologic terms.  So Ocean decided she’d better have a check-up to see what was gong on.

        “It’s a good thing you came in,” Doc said shaking his head.  “Let me show you what we’ve found.  Take a look at these chem panels on your water.  Who have you been palling around with?  This is a dramatic increase in carbonic acid!” Doc said gravely. 

        “Well, you know that Atmosphere and I hang out 24/7.  He told me he’s porking-up on CO2 (carbon dioxide) from all the fossil fuels humans have been burning.  I have to confess; he’s been sharing it with me,” Ocean replied.

        “So THAT’s the problem!” Doc shot back. “Do you know that up to 40% of Atmosphere’s CO2 dissolves into you?  You’ve got more acid than a truckload of Tums could cure!  No wonder your coral reefs are dying.  Coral and other calcifying (shelled) organisms can’t develop protective shells in your acidic waters.

        “And look at this,” Doc continued.  “I’m seeing an unhealthy, rapidly increasing number of ugly ‘dead zones.’  Out of control algae and phytoplankton blooms die and sink to your bottom.  While decomposing they consume all the oxygen creating an area where little or nothing can live.  Runoff from fertilizers, sewage and added carbon help create these enormous blooms.  Now you’ve developed over 400 dead zones, some as large as the state of New Jersey!  …And don’t get me started on your litter-filled beaches!”  Doc reprimanded.

        Ocean decided to seek help from the most intelligent life form on the planet – humankind. Here’s her letter:

Dear Humans,

        I desperately need your help to stay healthy.  Please find a way to reduce your carbon emissions into Atmosphere because much of it ends up in ME.  And remember what you learned in grade school – reduce, reuse & recycle, or I’m not going to get well.   Because we’re in this together - forever…Earthbound.
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A New Year's Challenge

1/11/2015

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        Morning walks with Fritz, our Australian cattle dog, have taken me down the road past a tenacious turkey feather that’s remained propped upon edge in the grass.  Every morning it catches my eye.  And with little snow or plowing this season it’s held its position for several weeks – a friendly remnant of the bird’s passing.  On a recent morning besides spying my “feather friend” I encountered along the quarter mile stretch two discarded soda bottles, two empty beer cans and the paper and foil wrapping leftovers of a fast food meal – some not-so-friendly remnants of passing motorists.

        What mindset allows an individual to treat the wooded roadside like a trash bin?  I can only surmise that such an individual has lost (or never developed) healthy ties to the natural world.  I suspect Joel Salatin would agree.   In his book, “Folks, this ain’t normal” he suggests that never before has humankind been so separated from its sources of food, structural materials, and energy.  Many people no longer have a visceral connection with these basic human resources.  Items just “appear” on store shelves or at the pump.   Without that connection trashing the roadside may seem perfectly acceptable.

        Western society has been blessed with innumerable conveniences and comforts resulting from hard work and a consumptive economic model.  This system encourages us to continually expand - seeking and consuming resources.   We develop useful new products only to discard them in favor of the next latest thing.  It grows the economy and provides a high standard of living, but as Salatin would say, “It ain’t normal.”  A consumptive economy is ultimately unsustainable over the long run, and it separates us from compassionate stewardship of the environment.  No wonder some treat the earth as if it’s a trash bin.

        A New Year’s Challenge - How can we individually and as a society begin moving toward a lifestyle that is prosperous yet doesn’t rely on endless expansion and accelerating exploitation of finite resources?  How can we develop a more “normal” partnership with the environment?  Perhaps part of the answer includes enriching our ties to the natural world and helping our children do the same.  After all, we’d hope that the beauty of a feather propped on a litter-free roadside would trump the convenience of tossing trash out the window because this is our only home.  We are forever…Earthbound.  
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    I'm interested in the topics of sustainability and climate change especially in regards to our local area in southwest Wisconsin.

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