loss of business and life

It was Sunday evening when I heard the news that several people had been killed in an avalanche at Steven’s Pass.  I’ve never been very familiar with winter sports and being from the Pacific Northwest has never really required me to, so this news felt strange and foreign, as though I was on vacation, reading news headlines of a place that was not my home.  I’m sure skiing accidents and even fatalities are an annual, and fairly common occurrence in winter sport communities, but hearing of this devastation on a 50 degree February evening in Seattle felt wrong.  Of course it was partly because three people were killed and no matter who or what the loss represents, a loss of life is truly a tragedy. But it seemed like there was something more.  

There has been research done in Europe, Canada and the United States concerning the effects that climate change may have on the occurrence of avalanches.  Avalanches are most commonly caused by unstable snowpack conditions.  Research has shown that climate change will likely cause increased snow at higher elevations and increased (non-snow) precipitation at lower elevations along the snow line.  Also because of the increased variability in weather patterns and the high occurrence of snow fall closely followed by periods of thawing, the snowpack created is more unpredictable and prone to instability, which could lead to avalanches.  Another element to consider is the effect that climate change has on glacial structure.  Because the thawing of glaciers has been proven as a side effect of climate change, the weakening of glacial structure could contribute to the likelihood of regional avalanches and play an important role in predicting where avalanches are more likely to occur.  Statistics show that most avalanche danger areas in the world are identified with unstable seasonal snow-cover.  Therefore, popular ski resorts and other seasonal winter recreation areas could see more occurrences and as a result, avalanche related injuries and fatalities could increase.

John Clague, a professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, says climate change could make the unstable snowpack conditions on B.C. mountains a common occurrence in the future, and this would undoubtedly also be the case for similar mountainous regions around the world.  ”You could with global warming get repeated thawing and freezing in the winter and in that situation the snowpack develops an icy crust called hoar and when you get powdery snow on that icy snow, you have an inherently unstable situation” said Clague.

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A couple of months ago, I heard a Saturday morning special on National Public Radio that discussed Washington’s winter sport communities economic struggles because of the unseasonably warm weather.  NPR explained the likelihood that the weather variance was related to climate change and discussed the economic implications of how drastic changes in weather would greatly effect regional business.  It seems common knowledge that agriculture would be effected be changes in regional climates, but I had never thought of the effect that it would also have on businesses that are dependent on a specific type of weather to maintain their livelihood, such as winter sport communities.  It was interesting and sad to hear the worry in the voices of the small business owners who rely solely on the profits they make during ‘ski season’ to support themselves and their businesses the remainder of the year.  Washington, at least the western side I am most familiar with, maintains such a constant, temperate weather related norm.  Even when we experience a ‘snow storm’ or ‘heat wave,’ it’s generally tame in comparison to other parts of the country.  However, hearing the concerned community members of Crystal Mountain debate about whether or not to artificially create snow just to get some people up on the mountain spending money gave me a different perspective.

(MHoux)

a light in the attic

I turned 27 four days ago.  Last year, for the first time, when people asked me if I felt older, I responded by saying yes.  Looking back, I am not exactly sure why.  Something just felt different, heavier maybe, with the way that I experienced the world, and my own body.  And it is shocking to think that 365 days have passed  since then.  I feel I have changed a lot in the past couple years – discovered parts of myself that have probably been waiting for me to catch up, or maybe even slow down.  And discovered ways of experiencing the world that I was too scared or naive to understand.

It was clear and cold and beautiful tonight.  As I spent time in the early darkness of the sky, the crescent moon with its pointed ivory fingers, reaching out towards the glowing presence of Venus and Jupiter, I felt small.  In the vastness of space and time I am barely a speck of existence, of life, and I thought, in an abstract and overwhelming way, I am barely even here.  And for a moment it was good to know that I am an anonymous one in a species of more than seven million.  My shoulders slumped a bit, not out of defeat, but some kind of awareness that I am yet to fully understand.  That space between my eyebrows relaxed and I was allowed to just be – for a moment.  I was not on my way to or from anywhere.  I was not late or hungry or sad or anything at all.  Tonight, for a very short time, I did not have the future of the world weighing heavy on my mind.  I was simply one person, no more significant than any other, staring at the same moon and stars as anyone else on this earth who took the time to do so.  And in reflection, I have no words to express the feeling or lack of feeling that was me in that moment.

Relief?  …I hope not.  I hope I am not one who would find, in moments of clarity, comfort in my own insignificance.  I have always felt partial to the uniqueness of the few over the popular and common story of the many.  I have always understood the world in that change and people and belief, no matter how seemingly insignificant, can and does matter, and that this is what truly represents our humanity.

To think of the destruction taking place – animals being stripped of their ability to exist, the degree to which our land and water is polluted, the greed and agenda that dominates the political framework around the world.  And what is there to do?  Does bringing reusable bags to the market really make a difference?  So what if I drive less.  So what if I stop eating meat, choose to buy local and organic and in season.  If my significance barely even exists in the vast complexity of this planet, does my effort to make a difference really matter?!  Simply, I think yes.  And I think that demonstrating this degree of intentionality in the choices that we can make, in the face of the choices that are overwhelmingly out of our control, we do make a difference.

So, while I am small under the glow of the moon, I am still here.  And as long as I know I am here, I am able to make a difference.

A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC

There’s a light on in the attic.                                                                                                                 Though the house is dark and shuttered,                                                                                            I can see a flickerin’ flutter,                                                                                                             And I know what it’s about.                                                                                                               There’s a light on in the attic.                                                                                                              I can see it from the outside,                                                                                                             And I know you’re on the inside . . . lookin’ out.

-Shel Silverstein

(MHoux)

 

What’s love got to do with it?

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. Aldo Leopold

I recently took a Birding 101 class through the Seattle Audubon Society, and I am inspired by the love and respect members show for our feathered friends. The Audubon Society is  a leader in giving emphasis to the conservation of valuable wildlife and habitats. At a national level, the Audubon Society, based in Washington D.C., has worked for over a century on conservation in public policy. One of their featured projects is the climate change campaign, which promotes taking action, including individual acts such as contacting lawmakers, participating in a citizen science project, and saving energy saving in everyday life. Locally, Seattle Audubon’s Conservation Committee assesses and enacts a variety of conservation issues affecting birds and their habitats, including urban habitat, spotted owl conservation, and sustainable forestry.

I am so happy that the Audubon Society does not dance around the issue of climate change. The Audubon Society has been studying the effects of global warming on birds and has concluded: “global warming is the greatest threat to birds and other wildlife in human history.” They predict the extinction of one-forth to one-third of all species, including many bird species, in the next few decades. Members see climate change as a threat to the birds they love and therefore want to take action to stabilize the climate–this is not about politics or economics, it’s about love.

The Audubon Society works to connect people to birds and nature. Building this connection helps people to feel connected to the natural world and not separate from it. This feeling of connection fosters a love for the Earth, and when you love something, you want to care for it. This love can promote change. It takes a hook like birds to get people to care for the environment and other species. It would be great if everyone could find some sort of connection that inspired them to care for the Earth, whether it be through a hobby, vocation, or simple aesthetics. My new found connection with birds has made me much more aware of the environment above me. For instance, I walk with my head up in observation of  birds in flight or in the trees, and I now pay attention to bird songs that I may not have even heard before. This new awareness makes me feel more connected to my environment, and also motivates me to take action to care for the birds that I so enjoy. What facilitates your connection to the natural world?

Contrarians in the Classroom

A New York Times article reported on February 15 that documents were leaked which suggest that the Heartland Institute, an organization known for attacking climate science, is trying to undermine the teaching of global warming in schools by spending up to $200,000 to create curriculum for public schools which would promote climate change denial.

Several states and local school boards have already introduced measures which would require teachers to teach both sides of the climate change issue; in other words, give voice to climate change skeptics. For example, Texas revised its scientific teaching standards to require students “analyze and evaluate different views on the existence of global warming.”

In response, the National Center for Science Education, an organization which supports the teaching of evolution in schools, announced on January 16 its new initiative aimed at defending the teaching of climate change. NCSE’s mission is “to protect the integrity of science education.”

Climate change education is going through the same battles that evolution education went through, except the argument against evolution is religious, whereas it is political and economic against climate change. Teaching both sides gives contrarians an equal voice when they are not equal in number. This is bad science. The vast majority of scientists (97-98%) agree that global warming is caused by human activity, but somehow this fact is still debated by the public. Teaching climate change in schools is very important. School age is when children begin to develop their attitudes and opinions, and if they are taught to question climate science, they will not likely be inclined to take the necessary actions to curb global warming. Children need to learn the correct information in order to make informed decisions later.

I feel like climate change deniers teaching their side in the classroom is akin to McDonald’s marketing to children. Children start eating McDonald’s at a young age and develop a taste for it which carries into adulthood, contributing to the obesity epidemic. If children learn to question climate science early on, this attitude will most likely continue into adulthood, perpetuating the inaction which currently plagues society.

As an aside, the curricula in Bhutanese schools emphasize Gross National Happiness values (a government policy providing an alternative to gross national product as a measure of development), and include conservation and recycling. Bhutan ranks as one of the  happiest countries in the world, and it teaches its values in schools. I think we should take a look at what we are teaching in the U.S. and what values the curricula are promoting.

I will conclude with a quote from an LA Times Editorial, which says it best: “It’s bad enough that we’re gambling our children’s futures by doing so little to fight this problem; let’s not ask their teachers to lie to them about it too.”

Images of beauty and devastation

If you have about 22 minutes to spend learning about the Alberta Tar Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline, I would like to suggest a little experiment.

First, read this article (which should take about 5 minutes), and then watch this TedxTalk (which is 17:33 long).

Now, which one did you find more impactful?

If you do not have the time to read the article or watch the TedxTalk, I will give you a quick summary of both. In the article, Bill McKibbon is cited as saying the pipeline represents “the fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the planet.” The article goes on to do the arithmetic in support of this statement. In the TedxTalk, Garth Lenz spoke about the Boreal Forest and the Alberta Tar Sands while showing his photographs of both. The Boreal Forest, which runs through the middle of Canada, is the largest and most intact (at nearly 95%) forest in the world. In the heart of this ecosystem is the Alberta Tar Sands, the largest oil reserve in the world outside of Saudi Arabia. The tar sands contain the world’s dirtiest oil, which produces more greenhouse gas emissions than any other oil. The mining of the tar sands is devastating the Boreal Forest, which is one of our best defenses against climate change, due to its sequestering of greenhouse gases.

The article and the TedxTalk are making the same point–exploiting the tar sands is bad for the environment–the former through calculations and the later through photos. I personally find the photographs much more persuasive. I have read many articles this quarter on the tar sands and the pipeline, and I was previously exposed to the issue while living in Canada. In all this time, I have only seen single photographs, attached to news stories, of the tar sands being mined, which are revolting enough, but do not provide the full picture. Seeing photos of the mines in conjunction with the forest reminds me of exactly what is being destroyed. Also, a single photograph of a mine does not do justice to the scale of this project (which Lenz said is the largest industrial project in the history of the world). It is easy to surmise from a lone photograph that, although repugnant looking, the damage is not that far reaching, which simply is not true, both in terms of what can and cannot be seen. Photographs can be extremely powerful, allowing us to see the beauty and the devastation that we may not experience directly. Lenz’ photographs are by far the most potent account of the tar sands I have seen to date. After seeing Lenz’ work, I sought out more photographs of the tar sands ( see National Geographic). In so doing, I realized that seeing multiple photographs in succession is much more powerful than a single photograph attached to an article. Multiple photographs tell a story. They are not static. They are art. The power of these photographs speaks to the important role art can play in the environmental movement. Art can reach, experientially and emotionally, as well as motivate us in ways that reporting of facts simply cannot.

just-world drama

I remember when I first started this program, I was re-reading Roszak, Gomes and Kanner’s Ecopsychology book in my first official ecopsychology course.  My cousin unexpectedly came into town from Spokane and my sister, her and I went out to celebrate.  As we were getting up and around the next morning, my cousin noticed Ecopsychology in my kitchen and began to thumb through it, I assume looking for something to easily explain what exactly ecopsychology was.  I had spent some time talking about the gist of school and my personal interests in ecopsychology the night before, but this seemed a perfect opportunity for her to gain some perspective independently.  I asked her to read a section from Terrance O’Connor’s chapter titled, Therapy for a Dying Planet.  I chose it because I had just finished this chapter and had experienced a strong emotional response to it. It wasn’t sciencey.  It didn’t require any theoretical understanding of ecopsychology.  It did make me cry when I read it.  I thought those 1500 words would introduce ecopsychology and invoke an emotional response that at least in some small way would touch my cousin as ecopsychology had touched me.  After she read it, she was quiet for a minute.  I thought for sure she was experiencing some break-through of understanding and connection.  Instead she said something like…

“That is exactly why I have such a hard time with this.  It’s just all so dramatic!”

I was too speechless at the time to respond in any intelligent way appropriate of the cause I was attempting to advocate for.  But in my head I was mad and sad and offended and ashamed of her and her neglect to recognize the importance of what she had read.  I remember brooding through breakfast and well into the afternoon.  How selfish!  How insensitive! …and close-minded and arrogant!  I believe that my cousin, as well as many other people, create a serious level of drama in their lives through television, consumptive behavior, social networking and constant, voluntary busyness.  It may seem immature to suggest that the drama added to one’s life by consistently watching crappy television and being an avid face-booker is significant in the whole grant scheme of things.  However, I believe that it is.  There is a natural level of stress in life, associated with the day to day ups and downs of simply existing as a human-being.  Take that, and add the exploited lives of teenage mom’s, celebrity substance-abusers and the sensationally obese.  Then add the details of the lives of all the family and friends, hell basically anyone you’ve ever said more than 10 words to, and who you’ve accepted a friend request from.  On top of that add the desire to upgrade to the newest model, the pressure to wear the most popular trends, and the incessant filling of our lives with personal and professional obligations.  If the average American’s life is nothing else, it is usually dramatic and to a significant degree that drama is self-inflicted.

While we live with this level of drama in our lives, of course it makes sense that the mention of plant and animal species facing extinction, deforestation, pollution, climate change and a myriad of other environmental crises would seem almost unbearable to add to the mix. It is simply easier to live in a world where the idea of drama is comfortable and even if commonly not acknowledged as such, also chosen.  This way it is manageable and expected and when it comes down to it, in our control, and complimentary of the ways we’ve adapted our lifestyles.

(MHoux)

Tar Sands Action

Today 800,000 messages opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline were delivered to the Senate. Environmental groups across the nation launched a campaign to collect half a million messages to Congress in 24 hours. They accomplished this goal in only 6 hours, and were able to raise 800,000 messages in the allotted 24 hour time frame. This campaign is maybe the most concerted effort of environmental advocacy this millennia. I am proud to say my message is in one of the boxes pictured below! I normally would not send such a message, feeling my voice did not matter, so why did I send one this time?

For one, I am well informed about this issue. Feeling shamefully unaware of environmental issues in the news, I decided to research the Keystone XL Pipeline. Knowing more about the issue made me more motived to follow it in the news. Being more aware also made me more likely to take action.

One way I stayed informed was through the multimedia campaign 350.org put on. 350.org posted regularly on Facebook (I am a fan), I received emails from 350.org (I am on their mailing list), and I saw Bill McKibben on the Colbert Report last night, where he discussed 350.org’s mission. I normally would be leery of such a campaign, being skeptical of technology and media in general, but it was effective in getting the message out, and it motivated me to take action. I am beginning to come around to the idea of technology as a way to spread “the good word.” As I have posted before, the media can be very biased, making it hard to receive balanced information. Sources on the internet, such as websites, blogs, and Facebook help to disseminate information that may not be found in the mainstream media.

The biggest reason of all as to why I wrote my message to Congress is I know that protests help stop President Obama from approving the pipeline last month. It seemed the pipeline was a done deal back in August before the protests started. This made me feel that dissenting voices can in fact make a difference, at least on this issue. Canadian protestors are doing a good job on their end as well to oppose the building of this pipeline. The public can in fact influence government, as was demonstrated by the Keystone XL protests.

There have been marches, sit ins and protests against the pipeline, and thousands of people have been arrested participating. I know that writing a message is a very small step to take, but I do feel empowered having done so. Maybe it will lead to more overt actions on my part to protect the environment.