Reflection: August is back-to school time. It is high summer when vacation ends and is the first foreshadowing of rapidly approaching autumn. The lazy days of July give way to mists rising in the morning and days that are getting noticeably shorter.

Nature is giving us clues that not all remain the same: birds start to flock, cobwebs appear in greater number, the morning mists envelop the countryside, goldenrod appears in rocky places and roadside banks, and bush phlox stand out among the forest understory. The landscape is verdant, and fields yield bountiful supplies of watermelons, peaches, apricots, cantaloupes, grapes, fresh green corn, cascades of ripe tomatoes, butterbeans, and still more green, yellow and tan squash. It's the time to pickle the smaller cucumbers, make tomato juice, preserve the peaches, fill up the deep freeze with squash, solar dry the first pickings of apples, and prepare spare blueberries, peaches and grapes into tasty cobblers. It's the time of the mayapple fruit, teasel, spotted joe-pye weed and red clover blooms, of ripe clusters of pokeweed and tasty papaws. August is when we harvest and plant at the same time, harvesting the spring plantings and planting cover crops and fall vegetables.

August 2004 Reflections

August 1 Spiritual Versus Material Security

August 2 Alcohol Fuels

August 3 Gardening as Learning Experience

August 4 Mobile Homes

August 5 Domestic Indoor Environment

August 6 Transfiguration

August 7 Nuclear Power Generation

August 8 Spiritual Responsibility and Fidelity

August 9 Intergenerational Gardening

August 10 Global and Local Villages

August 11 Plan a Fall Garden

August 12 Proper Land Use and Feeding People

August 13 Become Self-Taught

August 14 Ark of the Covenant

August 15 Mary: Gentle Woman

August 16 Involving the Poor in Environmental Solutions

August 17 Peace, Rejection, Discord and Prophetic Stance

August 18 Conflict Resolution and Ecological Concerns

August 19 Common Lands and Private Property Rights

August 20 Family Reunions

August 21 Toxic Chemicals: A Social Justice Advocacy Issue

August 22 Self-Satisfaction, Smugness and the Narrow Gate

August 23 The Decentralist Dilemma

August 24 Population Explosion or Implosion?

August 25 Mortality

August 26 Hands-on Work Experience

August 27 Animal "Rights"

August 28 A Case for Bilingualism

August 29 Humility in our Lives

August 30 Communications and the Internet

August 31 Renewable Energy and Better Environment

August 1, 2004 Spiritual Versus Material Security

Take care to guard against all greed. for though one may be

rich, one's life does not consist of possessions. (Luke 12:15).

Greed all around. We Americans can be greedy too, for that

temptation is greater in places where people are blessed with an

abundance of material things. It is not just the fault of the

young who will not share their bountiful supply of toys. The

middle aged can easily join the rat race to grab a benefit or

position before others get to it. And older citizens are not

immune, for seniors can hold on to things which should be let go

generously and with immense pleasure as one moves to eternal life.

Insensitivity to the have-nots. Greed abounds and must be

resisted with special emphasis when one enters into some form of

affluence. Here greed creeps up on a person without hardly knowing

it. So often, holding fast to possessions is associated with

affluence, the possession of much, and the sin of failing to see

others in greater need. However, the less well off are not free of

greed. Some will clutch to hard earned possessions and refuse to

share with the less fortunate. And this insensitivity can extend

to whole classes of people, economic groups, cultural bodies and

even churches. Greed comes slipping in to groups who do not do

enough self-examining and, rather, dwell in an atmosphere of self-

righteousness and total contentment.

Addictions and greedy ways. We generally talk about an

individual's greedy ways, but it can go beyond this or that person

to its corporate dimension -- a fitting Scriptural subject. Maybe

corporate America's most serious addiction -- to oil -- is really

a close parallel to Jesus' parable of the rich man whose land

produced a bountiful harvest. The temptation is to store it all or

to gain control over what is beyond our boundaries, and do this at

all costs. Then we can continue to eat, drink and be merry.

Security questions. As our nation is searching for new ways to

address an added national security problem we should ask some hard

questions. Are all efforts to be focused on material things and

new administrative security arrangements? Doesn't national

security have a deeper spiritual dimension? Is a billion in

defense as secure as the same billion in building up our national

infrastructure or assisting the global poor? At our household

level, do we not have enough things or insurance, or should we

gather in more and more? And do we inadvertently slip into the

greedy class, who seem never to know when to stop accumulating?

Spiritual Security. Today's simple lesson involves rethinking

our policy of domestic and national security. When are we really

safe in a physical sense? Yes, an earthquake can occur or a meteor

strike us -- though highly unlikely. We can have many possible

accidents or terrorist attacks. But over-dwelling on possibilities

is not healthy. Our motto "In God we trust" is worth deeper

reflection both individually and collectively.

August 2, 2004 Alcohol Fuels

In the height of the verdant growing season, when fields of

corn and soybeans stretch for miles across the Midwest, people

imagine harnessing cropland as a source of fuel to replace scarce

petroleum.

Alternative fuel. Ethyl alcohol or ethanol has been used as a

fuel for motor vehicles since the early twentieth century. Before

the Second World War, over four million cars ran on alcohol fuels,

but plentiful cheap gasoline cut deeply into that market during the

middle of the twentieth century. With the 1973 Energy Crisis and

the campaign to get the lead out of gasoline came a renewed

interest in a high octane, liquid fuel alternative from renewable

sources. Within a decade the domestic alcohol fuel industry had a

400 million gallon annual production capacity -- which sounds

large, but was only a drop in the annual service station tank. The

production of gasohol (90% unleaded gasoline and 10% bio-derived

fuel) plateaued, but remains a modest portion of our fuel economy.

Motivation. What inspires this alternative fuel industry?

Isn't it subsidies for companies which get tax write-offs for

making gasohol? Certainly alternative possibilities look

attractive during an energy crisis as does the cleanness of the

burning alcohol. Proponents speak of fewer air pollutants even

though the main one -- carbon dioxide -- leads to global warming.

The Problem. One winces in saying that this ethanol is

"renewable," since non-alcoholic tractor diesel fuel has been used

to till the ground, cultivate the plants, and harvest the corn.

When the material is taken to the alcohol generating facility, the

production line that operates the distillery apparatus and the

factory lights and heat are generally from non-renewable energy

sources. The captured energy in the fuel includes these energy

production costs. Likewise soil erosion and remedial restoration

in the corn fields is also part of the resource equation locked in

the fuel. The endless acres of corn and beans make us wonder, for

this is also the bread basket of the world. Our fertile Midwest

has lost an estimated half of its best soil since intensive

cultivation started in the 19th century. A billion people could

have their hunger relieved by easily stored and transportable food

from this land. Gasohol proponents agree that food is a major

concern, but they insist that crop surpluses do exist, and making

alcohol produces by-products, which are high-protein food and feed

supplements. However, the alcohol is truly a luxury fuel.

A Positive Contribution. An added element in the debate is

that alcohol fuel in question could be derived in rather high

yields from the plentiful agricultural waste materials through

conversion processes involving state-of-the-art cellulosic

conversion from enzymes and acids. Yes, alcohol is one alternative

like solar and wind energy, but shouldn't we refrain from use of

food-producing land for generating crops for fuel, which would be

then destined to be partly wasted in gas-guzzling SUVs?

August 3, 2004 Gardening as Learning Experience

Gardening can be a learning experience -- for both master

gardeners and beginners. Over time, gardeners gain respect for

nature by enduring the vicissitudes of the elements, accepting

mini-disasters, weighing opportunities to plant other crops, being

"up on top" of the weeds, and minimizing crop damage through

patience and alternative interplanted crops. Beginners gradually

enter into the master's ways of thinking about gardening. And

masters continue to learn and learn throughout life.

A store of knowledge known. The master gardener can anticipate

what will be growing at a certain time of the year, when to plant,

thin, weed, interplant with other vegetables, mulch and harvest.

Proper sequencing of vegetables and herbs is second nature, because

the master gardener knows the climate, soil conditions and what

grows best. Masters have experience in a number of ways: how much

space a full-grown zucchini hill will take; how beans can be

interplanted with greens; why the Native Americans made hills of

beans, corn and squash; and what plants are friendly to or

unfriendly with others. With the master, the beginner can wince

when the hail falls, pray that the wind will cease, and hope that

the freeze won't come too early. Together, the experienced and the

beginner can rejoice in a satisfactory harvest. No, food doesn't

originate in supermarkets. The beginning gardener learns very

elementary things when working the soil. Besides the facts of

plant life, all experience a growth in patience and gentleness in

dealing with the plant creatures and the insect world as well.

Demonstration power. The beauty of gardening and the potential

for growth in knowledge affects master and student alike, for the

garden is a source of expanding wisdom to all, a seed bed for the

teacher and learner, but also for the non-committed bystander or

visitor who does not really fit at first into the teacher/student

category. The garden stands out as a powerful demonstration to all

who come near. Gradually, each interested person is drawn into

moving from the level of observer to participant in the mystery of

gardening, a mystery that takes on the character of respect for

land and all of God's creation. The relationship expands when all

concerned seek ever broadening ways to garden better and better.

Ripple Effect. Passing gardening experience from expert to

inexperienced is an ongoing process. The well-tended garden

becomes a model, a New Eden. Land becomes more productive and that

is exciting, and the excitement spreads to learners and out to

friends and neighbors. The starting point is a single location --

a yard, a plot, a neighborhood, an enzymatic point of action. From

there the idea spreads to peopled places -- a town, a county, a

state, a region, a country, a planet. Learned responsibility for

a small place becomes accountability for progressively broader

environmental areas. We trust that many beginnings will occur at

the same time, a phenomenon that has been observed in human

history. Observers mention have simultaneous points of action are

influenced by each other. Well-tended gardens are some of them.

August 4, 2004 Mobile Homes

About forty percent of housing in lower income urban and rural

parts of the nation is in mobile or manufactured homes. This is a

matter of choice for new homeowners who are limited in access to

loans and financial resources at a given time. These are viewed as

instant homes, which can be hauled in and assembled in a matter of

hours. However, disadvantages exist including greater

susceptibility to severe wind damage. Others include:

Labor Leakage. By leakage is meant the amount of a dollar

which goes outside the community when purchasing some service or

operation. Bringing in a mobile home causes problems for local

drivers, but that is minor compared to the fact the local

construction company just lost another job and the community has

less local spending money. Much of the construction takes place in

a factory most often outside of the target neighborhood.

Exotic Materials. Environmental building associations make a

list of certain preferred materials to be used in housing, and

certain ones less desirable (plastics and aluminum) because of

resource expenditure, distance from place of construction,

instability under certain climatic conditions, or flammability.

Some materials require enormous amounts of energy to mine, process,

manufacture, ship and store, whereas others, especially local

native materials like clay, stone, and wood may not.

Indoor quality. The air in new manufactured homes is perhaps

somewhat better than in a few years past when the pronounced smell

of the formaldehyde (a volatile chemical found in many fabric and

plastic interior decorations) would escape from the materials to

the surrounding air. This has made the boxed-in effect and lack of

air exchange of insulated mobile homes all the more problematic.

These units ought to be aired out when used for the first time, or

when new fabric and plastic furnishing have been added.

Depreciation. The inherent design of mobile homes lends

themselves to being destroyed by heavy winds far more frequently

than stationary homes. Insurance companies know this, and so do

those who buy and sell homes. Generally, the type of construction,

the deterioration of materials, and the inability to maintain these

properly, lead to rapid depreciation. Low-income rural counties

experience deteriorating tax bases due to widespread depreciation

of cheap mobile housing. To counter this, one solution is to

convert the mobile home to a stationary one through additional

foundation, siding and new roofing. We at ASPI covered part of our

mobile home's outer walls with cordwood and have since received

praise for the improved looks and the building's stability.

Naturally the value appreciated and stopped its slide into total

depreciation, and it is less susceptible to weather damage.

Think before you buy. Mobile home buyers are convinced that

this is an easiest route to affordable housing. How about building

one's own home in a modular fashion using local materials?

August 5, 2004 Domestic Indoor Environment

The home is America's most unregulated place, the space where

many spent the most time, and often the dirtiest atmosphere, with

levels of toxic substances and smoke far exceeding those allowed in

a public work place. The free flow of air in drafty older homes is

not the case in more modern ones with insulated space to reduce

loss of heated or cooled air. Addressing indoor domestic

environment becomes one of the emerging challenges for advocates of

a clean environment. In addition to the contamination of modern

closed indoor space one must include the resident population's

growing chemically sensitive in recent years.

Privileged domestic space. Our home is our castle, a

sacrosanct space that others may enter and regulate only with

permission or warrant. We do not want to be subject to the

invasion of this space by energy monitors, as has happened in

certain European countries with "energy police" entering to check

thermostats. But is domestic space beyond the pale of inspection,

if all our citizens need to be properly protected?

Chemicals in the home. Should regulatory agencies (e.g.,

Consumer Product Safety Commission) determine what is permissible

or intolerable for domestic environments? Today we have more

domestic chemicals than an average 1850's laboratory. Consider the

following obvious and more hidden causes of indoor air pollution:

arts and hobbies such as photo developing (less popular in recent

years) and painting or firing unvented pottery kilns; cleaners of

a large number of types and varieties, and all with pungent scents

to mask the chemical odors; oven cleaners which are highly toxic;

pesticides and automotive products left in store rooms and around

the house; building materials -- glues, caulks, and solvents; and

laundry soaps and cleaners, which some are sensitive to.

Smoke emissions. Of all the domestic problems, the most

preventable and controllable ought to be smoking -- but that is not

always the case. Many spouses and children suffer from secondary

smoking affects. What about a child or other dweller who has

asthma or other breathing problems and needs fresh air? The

smoking guardian or parent is in denial and does not see why the

habit is harmful to others, and so continues the practice in the

house. Can anything be done by concerned friends, health

officials, or local police? Does the right to smoke in ones home

supersede the right of a resident to fresh air? But if health of

all take precedence, how can that health be best preserved?

Inventory. The home occasionally needs a housecleaning, but

few realize that part of the cleaning process is to make the home

free of air pollutants of all sorts. Merely scenting the place

with deodorizers exacerbates the problems, for it only an

anesthetizes the nose and keep us from knowing what is really going

on. More thorough cleaning is needed, and the place to start is in

our own room and home. Let's find the offending materials and

remove them; then let's freshen the air and keep it that way.

August 6, 2004 Transfiguration

(Mark 9:2-10)

This is the second time this year we read the Transfiguration

narrative. That is because the event is complex and brings out the

glory of the Lord in high summer, and the need for consolation in

our Calvary experience during Lent.

The Resurrection event. The Transfiguration is recorded in

the three synoptic gospels and in the Letter we have from St. Peter

as well. Jesus takes the three disciples up the mountain apart from

the rest; this harkens back to Moses going up Mt. Sinai and

receiving the Law. Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah and is in the

center stage, thus showing he is more than the greatest of the

lawgivers and the greatest of the prophets. In the Transfiguration

Jesus' face is radiant and shines like the sun. The event becomes

a consoling moment for Jesus before his impending death just as the

great consolation of the Earth comes at the middle of the growing

season, when we reread the Transfiguration narrative in an

atmosphere of summer's glory. In the Lenten reading Jesus shows

his need to be consoled before the terrible ordeal about to begin.

Here we see the emphasis on the natural consolation of the Earth

and its God-given bounty. In both glory and suffering we can be

consoled.

Reaction. Peter's reaction is to say -- "It is wonderful for

us to be here." In our everyday language he could have said --

let's take a picture or make a videotape. Remember, he does ask to

put up a memorial of stone to remember the great event. "Let us

make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

The tents allude to giving the law at the feast of Tabernacles.

Affirmation. The voice from heaven tells us that the Father

approves of this sacred event, a sanction by God of what is about

to occur. Jesus is God's chosen one, the suffering servant.

Recall Psalm 7 and Isaiah 42. We too need God's approval. The

divine nearness paralyzes the disciples who are not yet

strengthened through the grace given at Pentecost. "Do not be

afraid" is said a number of times in the Scriptures, and is meant

for all of us as well. We walk too often in fear and trembling,

and less often in the courage of being in the presence of God. Our

humanity is too evident. We need God's approving word and others

need us to give it to them.

A Case of Blasphemy. The Transfiguration event is told with

awe and wonder -- a magnificent vision of what is to come.

However, as Walt Bado, SJ points out in a poem, this is also

Hiroshima Day, a time of infamy when a single atomic bomb of

blinding light caused over a hundred thousand casualties. The

bombing results along with those at Nagasaki were intended to (and

perhaps did) shorten World War II. However, the reasoning has been

questioned. The bomb-making project was called "Trinity" and the

delivery plane "Little Babe." What irony -- or blasphemy. We need

all the more to participate in an extended cosmic Transfiguration.

August 7, 2004 Nuclear Power Generation

Nuclear power was to be the panacea of the future, back in the

guilt-laden days after World War Two and the August Hiroshima and

Nagasaki episodes. Whenever there is a power shortage, such as New

York's or California's rolling blackouts, the nuclear industry

comes out of the woodwork and touts the cleanness and economy of

nuclear power. What is left unsaid is the way proponents arrive at

the understanding of what is clean and what is energy efficient.

Persistent questions. Let's ask pointed questions to nuclear

proponents -- and listen carefully for a complete response: Do

they include massive amounts of coal to fuel the electric power

needed to operate nuclear enrichment facilities to prepare nuclear

fuel? Do they ever consider final disposal of the nuclear wastes

and its long-term dangers? Do they talk about the decommissioning

of reactors which will cost far more than the money it took to

build the reactors in the first place? Do nuclear power

calculations include the massive subsidies which the Federal

government expended to convert to a peacetime atom? Are the health

risks and toll to uranium miners and processors at the Piketon,

Ohio, Oak Ridge, Tennessee and the Paducah, Kentucky Enrichment

Plants included? What about the immense human health problems

related to the Chernobyl accident and the lesser damage done at

Three Mile Island? Are the tempting soft terrorist targets of

stored spent rods near nuclear powerplant given adequate

consideration by energy policy makers?

Past reality. No new nuclear power plants have been ordered in

the U.S. since 1972. In the 1940s nuclear power was predicted to

be "too cheap to meter." That's been long forgotten. However, the

industry says the overall record of the power plants is good. The

persistent difficulty with nuclear energy is that one mishap could

be so massive that it could endanger large populations and areas of

the world. Estimates of a major nuclear reactor accident are as

high as 102,000 first-year deaths, 610,000 injuries and 40,000

long-term cancer death and $314 billion in damages (1982 estimates

made by Sandia National Labs for the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission). A previous, less-thorough study in 1975 called WASH-

1400 estimated 3,300 early fatalities, 45,000 injuries, 45,000

latent cancer deaths and property damage of $14 billion.

Future reality. Prudently, we should not take unnecessary

risks when energy conservation could be easily initiated. After

twenty year lifetimes the nuclear plants were meant to be

dismantled. However, reactors have been patched and rebuilt and

their lifetimes extended to forty years or more. This four-decade

mark is approaching for many reactors and the call is for

decommissioning demanding billions of dollars from electric

generating companies. And where will the dismantled components be

deposited? Worrisome economic and waste-depositing problems

persist with nuclear power generation which go unanswered. See

publication section for Critical Hour: Three Mile Island, The

Nuclear Legacy, and National Security.

August 8, 2004 Spiritual Responsibility and Fidelity

Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master

will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance

at the proper time. (Luke 12:42)

We are people of the Eucharist and this gives us a new manner

of acting which should be different from those who do not know

Christ. We are also called to serve others in the manner in which

Jesus serves us. We become faithful stewards of the principal gift

given -- Jesus himself in sacramental form, real and truly here.

In recognizing our stewardship we need to do four selected actions:

1. Knowing the gift -- If we have such a wonderful gift we must

acknowledge it with a sense of awe and reverence. There is really

no other way, for God has blessed us as a minority in this world,

and we may make up for lack of quantity by the quality of our faith

response. We do so with outward devotion and enthusiasm.

2. Conducting ourselves accordingly -- This is a matter of

proper conduct for those of us who strive to become better though

never reaching perfection. Good stewards are always mindful of

those who need of our care and the sensitivity to their needs

requires lives of proper acting. We can speak of being vigilant in

advent, which is awaiting a particular person; here we await

opportunities to give help to others, something requiring a special

type of sensitivity and observational insight.

3. In Christ's Compassion recognizing all needs -- The

watchfulness called for here is somewhat different from that of the

Advent season. Here we have a gift which needs to be shared as

best we can do it even when others do not yet appreciate the gift.

The needs are out there but the sufferers do not know how to

express them. We help fill up what is wanting in the sufferings of

Christ (Col. 1:24) through our compassionate entry into the lives

of others. This is part of our sacred trust. Much will be required

of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded

of the person entrusted with more." (Luke 12:48)

4. Respond as Easter people -- How do we respond to the gifts

given? Our manner of response depends on our circumstances and our

present physical and mental condition. We need the grace to know

how to respond, using the saints as models and inspiration. We can

do what St. Theresa, the Little Flower, did in following Jesus

through the "little way."

Final note: So often affluent people pretend to help others

so as to justify what they possess. We have a potential wealth of

spiritual powers -- not necessarily physical possessions -- which

help us reach out. Do we pretend that we have done enough if we

merely smile or control our temper? We must do more because of the

magnitude of what is entrusted to us. We cannot afford to pretend

for reality calls out for our service to those in need. Our faith

in the mystery given is expressed in how we use our gifts.

August 9, 2004 Intergenerational Gardening

Older age creeps up on us, even those who are physically fit

through daily exercise. Granted, the work is not overly

burdensome, but it does involve some exertion which will demand

more use of muscles and more exposure to the sun's rays in summer.

Let's face reality and find here a growing need to incorporate

others who are more able-bodied into our ordinary routines. The

art of gardening seems fairly manageable even to those with slight

infirmities. Why not continue to do it by yourself? Why involve

others? Maybe it is the digging or the planting or the tending

that take more and more effort than can be mustered at a given

time. Inviting others to help is an opening to broader involvement

on their part. Our waning physical stamina is an invitation.

Educational Opportunities. Seniors have a store of pleasant

experiences about gardening and its many facets, which can be

tapped and passed on through programs which include sharing with

inexperienced people who may be more energetic and agile. With a

good relationship cultivated through the love of growing things,

the inexperienced person (not just youth) can put into practice the

insights gained by the experienced person. This interchange

involves both teaching and learning.

The Potted Plant. No one should forget that indoor plants have

great advantages. These are worth bringing to the attention of

elderly persons who can take care of only a small turf with their

unsure knees, arthritic hands, and aching backs. The potted plant

gives a sense of color, purifies the air, often furnishes a good

scent, can be edible when an herb, and affords the opportunity to

have something to care for which is within reach. But some elderly

need assistance in caring for these potted plants as well.

Instituting Wheel-chair Gardening. Older folks can garden in

or out of a greenhouse with an adjustable growing table or with

permanent super-raised beds or trellises. Some crops can be easily

tended by people with disabilities or those who are more confined,

e.g., a variety of greens, strawberries, certain vines and root

crops. On the other hand, corn, squash, watermelons, pumpkins,

okra or pole beans may be impossible to reach and harvest by the

physically impaired because of the plants' height or extensive

space considerations. Again, the need to work together with

younger or more able-bodied gardeners on all crops.

Senior Wisdom. Successful gardening is a sophisticated process

and requires planning and proper seed variety selection. The

gardener/artist knows that design is necessary to execute a mind's

eye vision onto stone or canvas or a longer blooming landscape.

The garden becomes our canvas and, through pictures taken at a

definite location for each of the growing months, gardeners as

artists draw a blueprint of the coming season. This is a wisdom

that can be passed down to those who are new at the game. It is

the passing on of wisdom that is the true mark of a successful

intergenerational enterprise.

August 10, 2004 Global and Local Villages

Local Village. A village may be considered as local or global.

The former is the concept that has been in existence for millennia,

and involves the self-sustainability of the primitive culture with

its artisan and craft shops and other aspects of the simple life.

Food is locally grown and bulkier goods are processed locally.

Global Village. With the ascent of globalization (from a more

positive stance) there is a sense of our neighborhood compressing,

communication and transportation time shortening, and trade

increasing among formerly distant peoples. In this move toward

interdependence, we could say that we are becoming more our

brother's keeper. Our social and economic concerns are for people

not at the far ends of the earth (and virtually inaccessible) but

simply at an ever-shortening distance which we can travel - and if

we continue we come back to ourselves. Unfortunately,

globalization has been coopted by the G-8, World Bank, and the

transnational corporations.

Which is better? Is the move to globalization inevitable, or

is the small community or homestead approach to satisfying basic

needs (food, fuel, water and building materials) a more sustainable

economy? Should we favor cheap labor markets and lax environmental

laws to produce specialty products at lower prices and larger

profits at some distant place? Are the NAFTA way of global

thinking and a homesteading or locally sufficient mentality

premised on different understandings of "sustainability."

A Third Alternative: Autonomous Money Systems. Workers in as

many as 2,000 localities around the world have discovered that they

can trade in interest-free Local Autonomous Money Systems or LAMS.

These communities accumulate what they need to live, work, retire,

and thrive in a local credit system. This system is reported to

function successfully at select sites in the world -- each with its

own money system. An advocate, Mark Kinney of Mt. Vernon, Ohio,

says this system functions well in the Guernsey Isles, an

autonomous British protectorate. By using vouchers, residents

boast zero debt, inflation, and unemployment, and lower prices and

taxes with a higher standard of living than in England. Granted,

it may work with certain local exchanges or small tasks, but what

about necessary monetary outlays for non-locally produced materials

or services, e.g., auto purchases or specialized hospitalization?

Mixed systems. Can globalized, local sustainable and non-

monetary systems co-exist and thrive to a certain degree and with

relation to specific certain social and economic functions?

Globalized systems in communications, environmental protection, and

the luxury goods and services could co-exist with sustainable local

systems producing basic food, fuel, water and other bulk goods.

Within certain limits these small sustainable villages could

thrive. Small services could be exchanged on a barter or non-

monetary system as well, provided specialized health and education

services tolerate monetary reimbursement on a wider scale.

August 11, 2004 Plan a Fall Garden

Hurdles. Why choose early August for a fall garden when autumn

is over a month away? There are several reasons: autumn success

depends on early planning and work; much more depends on the

weather in late summer and fall than in spring and early summer;

and the types of selections are based both on experience and the

weather. When this theme was first considered two decades ago, I

listed lettuce, but over time too many hot and dry autumns in my

part of the country persuaded me to leave these spring delicacies

off the list. However, even here where shade reduces late summer

temperatures, lettuce (with watering) could be a good fall crop.

Cover crops versus vegetables. Another difficulty in planning

for fall crops is that autumn vegetables compete for space with

winter cover crops. One answer is to be attentive to what is

grown. If the crop has been late-harvest vegetables such as

tomatoes, then I turn much of this into cover crops leaving some

space for upcoming "sabbatical plots." I used to follow a practice

learned in early farming, which was to broadcast or sow turnips,

kale and mustard over a given area. The crops turned out well in

many growing seasons. However, in dry times autumn row cropping

takes far less water to irrigate.

Plan for Extenders. Use portable cold frames to extend the

fall crops up to winter. The coverings can be cotton or plastic

gauze materials which can be stretched loosely to allow air flow

and rain and yet reduce the loss of temperature during cooler

nights. Most fall crops could be either covered on frosty nights

or embedded with leaves or straw to protect them during the

weather. When protected such crops as spring planted garlic,

beets, carrots and onions can last through much of the winter.

Some autumn crops do not need fall covering in early frost times,

such as collards, broccoli (if started early or has survived the

summer heat and bugs), and Swiss chard. The chard can be

transplanted with success to a permanent greenhouse together with

younger tommy toes, parsley, and celery. Many other summer grown

crops do not thrive in greenhouses because of transfer shock.

Selection. Besides all the vegetables just mentioned except

tomatoes (which have setting blooms at or below 40 Fahrenheit),

please consider the following as candidates for fall crops:

turnips, daikon radishes, spinach, Chinese cabbage, endive, kale,

mustard, pak choi, and several other types of greens. Bulk

cropping can be obtained through yields of turnips and daikon

radishes. With careful planting, the space between rows can be

sowed with hairy vetch as a winter mulch and source of nitrogen.

Leave winter yielding crops such a horseradish, salsify, parsnips,

and Jerusalem artichokes undisturbed. Vacant hot weather crop

areas (tomatoes, beans, peppers and sweet potatoes) can be sowed

with vetch along with other cover crops such as Austrian winterpeas

or some types of winter grains. Those which follow heavy feeders

such as corn and sunflowers should have additional compost before

fall cover-cropping. Good luck!

August 12, 2004 Proper Land Use and Feeding People

Proper modern land use practices are worth defending. In many

parts of the world, weak land use regulations are resulting in land

being converted from wilderness or agricultural purposes to

industry, urban sprawl or highway systems. Our state of Kentucky

lost a quarter of a million acres of land in such development in

the last decade, and this trend is continuing. But some of the

developed land in this state was bluegrass pasture for horses and

former cattle meadow or tobacco patches. An argument can be made

that less land for actual food purposes could still allow all

necessary food crop production in our state to thrive.

The shrinking farming base. Urban sprawl and industrialization

are a worldwide phenomena, and prime agricultural land is in short

supply -- and growing shorter as vast nations like China and India

move more to the automobile economy. To eliminate an intensive

rice paddy in Japan or Korea means that valuable productive

agricultural land is being converted with no substituted land to

take its place. On a worldwide perspective it may be asked: Can

we save green space and continue to feed growing populations on

essentially less and less farm land? Relatively affluent Pacific

Rim lands are experiencing a shocking loss of productive land to

the pressure of new consumer activities and industrialization

projects. Upward economic mobility requires land formerly in crop

production.

Affluent land demands. It would seem that wealthy countries

could get by with less farmland. That is not the case, since

increasingly affluent populations demand new types of food (e.g.,

eggs and meat and specialty items). If every person in China ate

one egg a day, it would deplete the entire grain storage supply of

the world in a year. And as a matter of fact, the Chinese are

becoming wealthier and want more expensive foods, such as meat

products, in larger amounts. Most know that it takes far more than

a pound of grain to make a pound of meat, and per capita meat

consumption in China is on the rise. So is the demand for melons

and certain fruits which will be grown on former rice lands.

Reference: Who will Feed China? by Lester Brown, Worldwatch

Institute, 1998, Washington, DC.

Land Use Questions. Land conservationists seek land use

restrictions because of sprawling industry and housing over once

productive farmlands. The patterns are similar throughout the

world: land that was used in agriculture is ripe for development;

its economic value goes up to a point where the farmer is pushed

off or has incentives to sell at a high price and move elsewhere

and retire. How does a national, state or local government make

meaningful land use restrictions? Certain conservation easement

programs (purchase the rights to development and pay this money to

the landholder) are now in place in more conservation-minded areas.

These cost money, but do have a salutary effect on saving farm

lands. Whether this spreads over more territory depends on the

accessibility of communities to necessary funding.

August 13, 2004 Become Self-Taught

Many people feel left out in older age because they did not

have all the formal education they desired. They tell me, "You can

talk, with your formal education spanning from World War II to the

Vietnam War." True, but the environmental aspects of my ministry

were self-taught, since such programs are very recent. Formal

education has a rightful purpose of teaching critical thinking and

discipline. However, there is also an over-emphasis on degrees

from particular places or certain subjects, which may be valued

well beyond their actual worth. Give me hard working people, who

are enthusiastic, open, energetic, critical of what they hear and

see, and willing to experiment, and they can become self-taught if

they care. Of course, some would say that such people are usually

the ones who submitted to strict formal educational programs.

Are academic critics correct in saying that much of education

is glorified baby sitting, and that degree-collectors are people

too slow to take hold of the world and work? Perhaps there is more

to education, even the expensive variety, than these critics admit.

But there are also inexpensive alternatives such as "colleges

without walls," internships with public interest groups,

elderhostels, Internet courses, and a deliberate effort to study a

specialty on one's own. The last is most appealing to the do-it-

yourselfer, for it means there is little outlay of resources except

one's time and attention and the cost of books and materials.

Ambitious people from famous lawyers such as Robert H. Jackson,

presidents like Abraham Lincoln, and businessmen such as Bill Gates

were partly or mostly self-taught. Generally, the liberal arts are

easier to master on one's own than courses requiring laboratory or

foreign language practice.

The self-taught person acquires a sense of accomplishment and

internal self-worth, knowing just what can be done and what could

still be achieved in the future. The cost of college tuition and

extras may come to $30,000 or more per year, plus the loss of work

experience during that time. A person with a low paying job with

little responsibility can spend twenty hours a week studying on his

or her own. This person could acquire the equivalent of a degree

in one decade and still have saved or earned $300,000. This self-

taught person would not be saddled with the debt that many college

graduates have, and if watchful, could still obtain a fairly

improved position. Current economics undoubtedly favors the

formally educated person who starts high, overcomes indebtedness

and then continues for the high salary position. But with respect

to quality of life, the self-taught could also enjoy life, have

less stressful conditions and, if frugal, save enough for

comfortable senior years.

The self-taught may conceive of college as a racket that many

buy into, or an escape, a crutch, or a surrender to peer pressure.

But college is also a place to communicate, discuss ideas, and meet

great minds. These social factors are not available to the average

self-motivated who is educated in libraries or over the Internet.

August 14, 2004 Ark of the Covenant

This day before Mary's Assumption contains rich symbolism

which many do not hear because the feast has different readings

from those of the vigil. The first in the vigil liturgy pertains

to Mary's title of "Ark of the Covenant." In English we use "ark"

for two Hebrew words: first, Teba or Noah's ark (box, chest), and

second, Aron, a coffin which measured 45 by 27 by 27 inches, made

of acacia wood and later inlaid with gold, and containing the ten

commandments, Aaron's rod but budded and a golden urn of manna.

The Israelite community knew that God was truly present with the

people. The ark moved with them in the desert, it stood in the

middle when the Jordan River parted, it went in battle, it was

placed by David in a tent or Tabernacle-- and later in Solomon's

Temple in the Holy of Holies, and it was lost when the nation was

sent into exile 587-586. One story is that Jeremiah rescued the

covenant and hid it on Mount Nebo.

Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant -- a connection with the

coming of the Messiah who dwells within it. In Mary's womb is

Jesus, the Messiah. But as the Gospel says, it is not the body

parts that are important as the person who hears the word of God

and keeps it. This is St. Luke's Gospel, the Gospel of Mary, who

says all generations are to call her blessed. She is humble

because God, not she herself or other human beings, has done great

things for her.

Fiat -- Powerful Words. Mary says "let it be done to me" or

fiat, and thus is the prime person who hears the word of God and

keeps it. It is a personal decision, a moment which counters the

denials of previous generations from the first parents. Hearing

and keeping God's words are the opposite of the words of Eve, who

wanted to be like God through an act of disobedience, and who

declared a sort of independence from God's will. Mary counters in

trust and union Eve's distrust and separation from God.

How does this ark imagery apply to the Feast of the Assumption?

We must not put Mary on a pedestal or consider her a distant object

of our devotion. Rather let us look upon her in the atmosphere of

the trust, confidence, faith and celebration that the Israelite

community placed in the Lord through and in the symbol of the ark.

Their joy and celebration was of immense dimensions. No one but

those of a particular sacred office were to even touch the ark.

Their devotion was extreme and that shows us the need for reverence

-- in the presence of Jesus and before the Sacrifice of the Mass.

We need a return to reverence which is so lacking in modern

religion. With irreverence comes a failure to see what God is

doing for us and through us. We are to couple traditional

reverence with the joy of celebration on the feast of Mary.

We focus on Mary's gifts and role, her assent, her life and

model, and we see her as going ahead of us in a happy death which

has no sting. Her Son has overcome death in the victory of the

resurrection. She entered into his victory in a very special way.

August 15, 2004 Mary: Gentle Woman

Maybe men are the weaker sex; we need to be in front of

things; we must be affirmed always. The Church affirms women and

in and through sinless Mary who was able to be assumed into heaven,

the first of the fallen asleep who are to share in the fruits of

the resurrection of her son.

Real Mary. Mary has many feast days and we have been afforded

thousands of opportunities to celebrate numerous feasts in her

honor in an average lifetime. These feast days allow us to grow

ever deeper in our devotion to Mary. Imagine the experience of a

young maiden who hears the magnificent words of the annunciation

and wants them to sink into her heart. Almost simultaneously, she

learns that her cousin was with child and she does not hesitate to

go to her over a long rough road. Mary is not knelling in rapture

as some of the paintings portray, but rather riding a donkey on a

dusty road, alone with the God-within, not in the soft light from

a stained glass windows. She is first among those who give loving

care to the needy and is able to contemplate in action.

Blessed among women. Truly Mary is blessed and her humility

is in knowing that she has such great privileges. We too are

blessed people, and must recognize not our nothingness but our

somethingness, and that we are the most blessed of created beings.

We are humbled that this great gift is not from our own efforts but

from God's. We are blessed by one other than ourselves, and we

have a slight glimmer of our chosen place in the grand plan of

salvation. Mary is the one we want at our side at the hour of

death. Our Mother of the Church is caring, nurturing and healing.

Giftedness. There is a transparency that comes with the gifts

of Mary, for the gifts that are given to her make her the most

blessed of women and of all of us. Her humility is in plainly and

honestly knowing that she has great privileges -- and they are

from God and not from her own efforts. She is totally pure and

transparent and thus her gifts are known to all as seen through a

prism. As bearer of God, she moves us to Christ, the ultimate

gift. Mary is not so much above us on a pedestal but ahead of us

in the Assumption, for we expect to be taken into heaven and our

bodies reunited at the last Judgment.

The Woman's Touch: Eco-feminism. Let us renew our devotion to

Mary as Mother of Church and us. The reality of Church as loving

mother will become more evident when we gain a deeper respect for

womanhood -- and Mary in particular. We need to see that women

make unique contributions to an understanding of how the Earth

functions, and how human beings must respond in healing processes

which are truly compassionate. Empirically I note that women

intuitively grasp the need for healing our wounded Earth, and they

respond with a sense of compassion and personal concern. Is there

something inherently womanly, without which the final task of

saving our Earth cannot be achieved? Is it a mistake for men to

try to define this role? Must we await a woman's solution?

August 16, 2004 Involving the Poor in Environmental Solutions

Reality always speaks forthrightly, and this is good

spirituality. When reality is hidden through denial, excuse, or

escape, spirituality lacks an authenticity which allows us to pray

for what is needed, to offer thanks for what is a blessing, and to

see how much we have been the one who made the offense in the first

place.

Reality check. The poor generally have their feet on the

ground when it comes to essential needs, far more than do affluent

people. Because the poor generally live closer to ravaged areas of

environmental degradation, they have experienced the effects in the

form of poor health and lower quality of life. Insofar as they do

not have a higher quality for a standard, they may not be

articulate about their maladies and discomforts. Others who are

sensitive to the conditions of the poor may be more able to be

articulate and to show contrasting data on the chasm between the

haves and have-nots. This involves environmental sensitivity.

There must always be a return to the grassroots for verification

and the answers must concern and involve the poor.

Affluent responses. The affluent and the poor have

fundamentally different ways of perceiving the same situation.

That is especially true where the problem areas affect people

differently and call for immediate and fundamental conversion and

change. The affluent are blessed with a greater mobility, more

influential connections, and more access to material and

informational resources. However, all of these privileges do not

guarantee eco-success. In part, this is due to lack of sensitivity

(the sin of affluence) to the needs of others, and an unwillingness

to work together as equals in problem-solving.

Authentic data. In recent years we have seen the rise of

"junk" science which contains results paid for by special interest

groups. Such scientists are hired to say that the Earth is not

undergoing global warming or ozone depletion or that some so-called

environmental problem is overblown. (Some critical comments about

such environmental matters may be valid). Such conclusions

generally work to the benefit of industries which do not want

further regulations. A number of factors are at work here:

affluent people tend to muster resources to deny an impending

catastrophe; they are the ones who escape by moving to more

pristine locations; they excuse themselves by saying that the

question should be handled by experts at some future time usually

beyond their lifetime.

Involving the poor. Environmental problems call for

cooperative action at all economic levels. While the poor are

handicapped by lack of resources, still they have certain

advantages: they know the harm first hand; they see this as a

more serious life and death situations; they have basic incentives

to work harder on solutions; they are at the authentic grassroots;

and, finally, they sense that God and history are on their side.

August 17, 2004 Peace, Rejection, Discord and Prophetic Stance

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the

Earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. (Luke 12:51)

Hard Saying. Jesus is always direct and honest. He speaks

openly and without excuses. His hard statement that he comes to

bring division may appear to be contrary to a pacifist Christian

approach, but is it? A distinction needs to be made, for a peace

gained by establishing "tranquility" (or lack of hostile action) is

not necessarily a lasting peace. Jesus is not silent, complacent,

or withdrawn. He enters into the fray; he is right there in the

public; he demands commitment on the part of his followers.

Divisions Come. Such demands take a toll, for followers must

now break away from the bonds of conformity which have previously

held them fast. In breaking with these bonds, divisions will

inevitably occur. Some sayings continue to challenge us, and

certainly this is a key one. How can we be bridge-builders and

bring about community through breaking down the barriers of

division, while at the same time we are called to be fire-brands

and risk divisions in the process? For Christians, the two

questions are present simultaneously. We both build up a new

social order and we tear down the unjust structures which exist in

our world. Thus we have a twofold task to accomplish.

False Tranquility. How can I be a pacifist and still deal with

discord and controversy? That first struck me when I ministered to

sailors at the Great Lakes Naval Base during the Vietnam War. I

was a pacifist but also wanting to be a part-time chaplain to the

military. But that led to an ambivalence which is so difficult to

adjust. Jesus constantly said "Peace be with you" to people in

internal discord. We need to be at peace within -- family, person

and church. It is not always the same in the world in which we

live, where peace has political implications. The prophet Jeremiah

and Jesus bear similar messages, for both were utterly rejected and

cast off by the authorities. Both realized that they must suffer

or die for the people, and that in dying new life comes forth.

Blue Diamond Strike. The Bishop of Nashville was tortured by

the Blue Diamond Coal strike in the late 1970s, for justice called

him to be on the side of strikers; the bridge-building capabilities

of the "pontifax" call for being on both sides and bringing people

together. But are both sides equal, or can they be made equal by

a special stance in the favor of the weaker party? Justice calls

for equality among all parties, and this is a primary demand before

ultimately establishing peace in an unequal situation. The bridge-

builder must first help establish equality.

Inevitable Discord for Ultimate Accord. Our families and

friends have difficulties which demand ultimate accord. Where do

we fit in? Will we witness to a marriage we do not agree with?

Will our nation establish equality before going to a Middle East

peace effort? Do we see the connection between peace and justice?

August 18, 2004 Conflict Resolution and Ecological Concerns

I do not like environmental conflicts. In fact, I wish that

every conflict by oppressive polluters would cease on this Earth.

Resolving two-way conflicts is always a good thing, especially when

both parties are present and willing to cooperate as equal or near-

equal partners (brothers, wife and husband, employer and employee).

Some emphasize the primacy of removing conflict in discussing

environmental threats, but is this really the proper procedure? An

effort to tone down or silence debate over ecological threats does

not involve the partners (Earth and inhabitants) but rather the

threat and a spokesperson for the one threatened, namely, the

Earth. Let's be fair; not all actual parties are represented.

The Silent Victim. Unfortunately, such fabricated non-struggle

may be a license for business-as-usual and a way to reduce the

effectiveness of environmental advocacy. Advocates may say they

represent the Earth, but no one can be a perfect Earth

spokesperson. In fact, the victim is the voiceless peaceful planet

which does not shout or scream with each tear in its fabric. The

Earth is a patient sufferer and may react, but its reaction time is

generally so slow that the exploiter has time to do damage and get

away without paying the true price.

Existing Conflicts. At times a spirited argument is most

necessary to emphasize the seriousness of the damage done to the

Earth. When advocates are silenced, there is actually no conflict

resolution, only a false tranquility while injustice continues.

Advocacy is compromised in the name of being nice and friendly to

various parties. And this always works to the advantage of the

exploiting party.

The Prophetic Stance. Another and radically different method

exists which emphasizes that conflict already exists between those

who assault the environment and the victim, and it is necessary to

expose the actual conflict before resolving so-called differences.

Lessening the heat of the discussion does not actually remove the

problem, but only diverts attention from the activities of the

culprit. On he other hand, prophets must convince outside

onlookers that advocacy does not mean that prophets are truly

spokespersons for the silent Earth, only imperfect supporters or

champions. We have no authority to speak for the Earth, though the

we may speak openly, forcefully, and in a spirited manner depending

on our personal traits and characteristics.

Ecological Resolution. Agreements may be made by the

offending parties to cease and desist in practices which affect the

Earth, and to make restitution for damages done. Advocates for the

Earth may regard the agreement as a resolution. But is it? Or is

it a mere modification that allows all parties to think they have

gained some victory? One must be on able to stand back and see

whether the so-called resolution is the best solution or just a

cop-out by the parties involved. Too often resolutions are only

short-term solutions -- and the environment continues to suffer.

August 19, 2004 Common Lands and Private Property Rights

Land Attitudes. Our American tradition of land ownership has

a long and varied history. Much of our English law tradition is

based on perceiving land as something we have an absolute right

over once we possess the legal title. Other countries' views and

even Native American understandings differ somewhat. More is held

in common and more is subject to the overriding regulation of a

larger government body. Some experts like Professor Eugene

Hargrove trace the American land attitudes to our Saxon forebears

and then further back to the Teutonic notions of land tenure.

Commons. Virtually all land traditions profess that some parts

of the environment are held as commons such as the air, oceans,

fragile zones, and Antarctica. Other traditions are still more

inclusive, and accept common grazing land, mountains, forests,

lakes, seashores and on and on. This common heritage of humankind

can easily be coopted by those who discover that with some legal

mechanism a proprietary right to the property or a license to

perform certain acts of ownership may be allowed. When our

government is influenced by money, then those wanting to profit

from a new definition of "property" will find an opportunity to lay

claim to more of the commons. This had an historic precedent in

the 17th century when common grazing lands in England were enclosed

and taken over by influential persons and groups. In recent years

the movement to codify a "Law of the Seas" ran into major American

opposition because some saw this as an appeal to a higher authority

than a government which allows exploitation of the sea floors.

Development Rights. It is a small step from absolute property

attitudes, to enclosure of the commons, and then to use of land for

polluting activities. The philosophy goes: to h--- with commons;

if we own it, we need not get permission from anyone; we make the

decisions on how the land is to be used, and what constitutes

development. With this progression, one can see where the "right"

to disturb one's owned or leased property arises. But the concept

of "commons" also applies to the oceans and major seas as well.

Does it not extend to private forestlands, regulation of surface

mining, and purchasing air quality credits?

The Wise Use movement. An ultra-conservative group seeks to

superimpose property rights over the rights of government to

regulate land use in some forms. Their arguments include the

demand to be repaid for the lost opportunity to profit from the

development of environmentally restricted land. For instance, a

requirement not to build on fragile seacoast in the lower Atlantic

states means that the property values of the potential resort areas

are affected, and this brings a loss to the developer. Taking back

or takings implies a return to the owner of losses caused by

governmental regulation and could run into many millions of

dollars, if a regulatory agency stops construction of what could

have made a fortune for a developer. The "Wise Use" efforts to

regain property or force compensation for losses through regulatory

restriction have vast implications. And few of them are good.

August 20, 2004 Family Reunions

Sometime in late summer, people think of family reunions, which

occur once every year or decade or on very rare occasions. Those

of us who come from large families know that these events can be

difficult to make a success. I went to the one-hundredth

anniversary of my mother's great grandparents (the Schumacher Clan)

coming to America, and at that occasion we found the family tree

had grown to about a thousand descendants and their spouses. I

later went to the 150th of the same group and the tree was still

further overgrown. The big family affairs can be logistical

nightmares, or they may prove challenges to the organizers who

enjoy them. That brings us to several points which may add to the

success of family reunions.

1. Have reunions infrequently. People get tired of coming if

they are held too regular a basis. Maybe the bigger, the more

infrequent. When it is only two or three generations, the

gathering is more manageable. When it goes back to five or more,

many of the descendants simply don't know each other.

2. Have a good organizer. Not everyone wants the stress and

work required to plan for and gather in a family for a reunion.

Phone calls, letters, e-mails and persuasive conversation, the

determination of a gathering place, and arrangement of the schedule

must be made. Much of the work can be reduced by assigning

specific duties and having everyone bring their own potluck dish

and sharing this with others. It still takes a good organizer.

3. Find an adequate meeting place. Often people want to return

to the small house or farm where it all began. Nice, but the place

is not equipped for massive parking or for toilet facilities. A

better suggestion is to go to a nearby public facility capable of

handling the crowd. Some guests need air conditioning or

accessible ramps due to being incapacitated. Anticipate this and

dietary needs beforehand. Make sure that there is adequate

drinking water as well.

4. Prepare the agenda well. We can sometimes do extensive

planning and only later find out that many people do not like

raffles, formal games, worship services or other group activities.

When cards or games are to be played, make sure they are the fun

type. If music and dancing are required, this takes special

attention as well. Sometimes the informal may prove the most

entertaining. However, some people are not natural mixers and find

so many relatives who are unknown as intimidating. Name tags are

always good even though some people know everyone. Many have a

difficulty with immediate name recall. Consider general

introductions and prizes for the most distant visitor.

5. Document the event. Photography is important, as is audio

or video history. Visible family trees with the current historian

checking on accuracy are always helpful. Encourage a follow-up

letter and a sharing of a web site or e-mail addresses.

August 21, 2004 Toxic Chemicals: A Social Justice Advocacy Issue

Toxic chemicals have been known since the advent of poisons;

some are inaccessible to most people; some are of biological origin

and require sophisticated extractive procedures. True, as Dupont

says, there are "better things for better living through

chemistry." However, the modern chemical record is not perfect,

the toxic substances can be used well or misused, and the results

can be vast improvements in health, or deterioration over a long

period of slow poisoning. Modern chemistry gives both promises and

perils. Take Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, which hosts 53 chemical

plants, some of which emit into the water and air the toxic dioxin

(a by-product in the production of ethylene chloride and a host of

chlorinated compounds to make PVCs and other plastics). As a

chemist, I see the value of petrochemical production, and resulting

life-saving substances. But there can be health costs to workers,

local inhabitants near chemical plants, and consumers themselves.

Occupational Harm. It is not good that our excesses have come

at the expense of people working in the industry. These need a

livelihood and do not understand the dangers until it's too late --

if ever. Occupational hazards have existed and many cases of lung

and liver cancer and other maladies have either been identified or

are part of the anecdotal picture, which await verification by

scientific investigation. And that can be a difficult procedure.

Residential Harm. Others, especially minorities and the very

poor, have been forced to accept housing in neighborhoods which are

next to chemical plants such as in the Mississippi Delta and other

heavily industrialized parts. The same applies in so-called Third

World lands where runaway industries have fled to escape lands with

tighter chemical pollution rules. Remember Bhopal.

Consumer Harm. Social justice considers all aspect of a

balanced life. A consumer inadvertently buys a product which does

a good job killing a pest or cleaning a sink, but it may harm the

user if precautions are not taken. In some ways in this chemical

age, we have all become guinea pigs, and our injuries and deaths

will make future generations wiser -- but at what cost? As

increasing numbers of chemicals assault our lives, we are becoming

more chemically sensitive in ways never before imagined. Do we

even believe sufferers, especially the very young, when they

complain, while others in the same household show no ill effects?

Remedies. Certainly the "right-to-know" legislation has helped

residents and workers to discover the toxic effects of some of the

compounds being produced in their backyard or in the chemical plant

where they work. Other regulations by environmental protection and

occupational health agencies have reduced the blatant abuses of the

earlier parts of the industrial age, at least in the more

sophisticated parts of the world. Like smoking chimneys which have

been a sign of employment, an operating chemical plant is a welcome

to unemployed workers. The health costs and shortened lives are

often remote considerations. But should they be?

August 22, 2004 Self-Satisfaction, Smugness and the Narrow Gate

They shall proclaim my glory among the nations. (Isaiah 66: 18-21)

The Good News of salvation is universal and is meant for all;

so is the responsibility associated with receiving, acting on, and

passing it on to those who have not yet heard Good News. We often

misunderstand our total commitment to Christ; we neglect the call

to avoid affluence or excessive craving for and possession of

material things, the involvement of which makes us smug, self-

satisfied and insensitive to the needs of others

Isaiah's Vision. We begin with a vision. Jerusalem will be

restored and become a drawing card, a magnet to attract others. If

we think the community of the faithful, the Church, is not

attractive enough, it is our calling and our mission to help

improve it, not expecting some one more learned or wise to do it.

Rather, we must accept the harder task of helping to do it

ourselves. We can become "institutionalized" and think another

bureau or leader or agency must do the dirty work. The door is

open to all, and many are called to take on the responsibility to

be callers. Our task is to bring about an all-inclusive call for

everyone to live a simpler life and to focus on God's work. All

are under the loving embrace and mercy of our God, and our love

overcomes the barriers that separate people from the community of

the faithful.

Luke's Hard Message (13: 22-30). While we do eat and drink

from the common cup, we can easily forget to share with people in

all lands and cultures. Jesus' love is universal. All creation is

good and every act of suffering in the world is part of its

redemption. The Spirit calls us to listen to the voices of the

poor and speak up for them. This is to be authentically spiritual,

and is signed in the Trinity (Creator, Redeemer and Advocate). Our

faithful community declares this in the Creed, and each individual

knows this to be part of our mission. We must take nothing about

our personal salvation for granted. We are called to be disciples

of Christ (the current gospel theme); we focus on Christ, deny

self, and accept responsibility for my individual self and the

total community. That is why the road may seem easy, and the door

wide, but it is somewhat constricted on closer examination.

Total Commitment to Christ. In the Hebrews Letter we find that

theme repeated: We are to be focused on Jesus in our own life.

Things will happen to us individually or collectively to distract

us. But within our spiritual life we are called to reaffirm and

refocus on our baptismal commitment: How are we to be of service

to those who suffer? When are we on the wrong track? What

improvements must be undertaken? We often look to saints who were

able to withstand the pressure of their own times. In August we

celebrate the lives of St. Monica and St. Augustine; Monica had

the patience to pray for the conversion of her son and bring him

back to God. A kind bishop once said to her, "It is not possible

that the son of so many tears could perish."

August 23, 2004 The Decentralist Dilemma

Think and act locally so that we can think and act globally.

Small is Beautiful. My mother is a Schumacher, from the part

of Germany where E.F. Schumacher came from. We are most likely

distantly related, and I always had a warm feeling towards his book

Small is Beautiful. That philosophy permeates various essays and

my own meditations. The world would be better if we left some of

the high-technology fixes and concentrated more on simple

techniques which are decentralized, lower cost, easier to maintain

and are of a community basis. No one, in our way of conceiving the

world can fail to see the importance of the simple, the grassroots

and the small scale of doing things. However, to think small in

all matters is not enough.

Limited view. A radical decentralist would argue that all

environmental problems can be solved at the local level. Some

question author Kirkridge Sales for defending such an approach, but

he claims that he has refuted it. Whether this is true the

decentralist position needs some further clarification. I would

rather take a more middling position between those who champion the

primacy of the local, and those who think all good things come from

on top and filter down to the lower peons through regulations.

Thinking and acting. Numerous groups take a wider view on

environmental problems, for the globe's oceans can easily be

exploited and polluted, the fragile commons (e.g., Antarctica)

overrun, and outer space filled with junk. How do we regulate the

distant places, the unoccupied zones, the areas beyond the

attention of even a hard-pressed national state? Decentralists

may not have answers for these questions because they are so

distracted by their local problems that they fail to see the

broader picture. Thank heavens for global groups, for social

justice and human rights folks, for the Pope and world religious

leaders, for opponents of land mines and nuclear proliferation, for

Green Peace and Children's Relief, for global prophets, and for the

United Nations. Yes, it is good that those who think and act

globally or locally can limit or expand focus as need be.

Broader environmental problems. Air and water are more mobile

and thus deserving of broader-ranging areas of regulation and

regulatory agencies. The European Union is worried about forest

death due to air pollutants; many nations are concerned about acid

rain and global warming caused by the heavy energy consuming

states. The world's water is both mobile and varied in purity. Do

rigid decentralist solutions address pollution from distant

sources? Don't we need more centralized governmental agencies to

regulate the purity and equitable distribution of water (e.g.

interregional watershed authorities in the Middle East)? And

beyond air and water problems, must we not regulate global commons

such as forests, which moderate climate, act as a sink for carbon

dioxide, and are the planet's lungs? Let's support global agencies

and still do environmental work at our local level.

August 24, 2004 Population Explosion or Implosion?

The twentieth century witnessed a vast increase in human

populations on this planet, from about one to six billion people.

This gigantic increase has been due both to plummeting death rates

(in great measure from reductions in infant mortality rates) and

relatively high birth rates. A decline in birth rates occurred

throughout the twentieth century, but is not as pronounced as the

decline in death rates (until the recent AIDS epidemic turnabout).

An environmental concern. Many environmentalists have

expressed fears that this population increase would continue

unabated and result in "no standing room" on the planet. The Deep

Ecology platform says that a (qualitative) flourishing of human

population is compatible with a substantial (quantitative) decrease

in the human population. For these people, the Earth's carrying

capacity is nearing its limit. Their pessimism is based on

selective indicators of continued decline in death rates and slower

declines in birth rates, especially in the so-called developing

world. However, a new phenomenon is appearing and that is

projected declines in population for 26 nations by the year 2025

and 48 nations by the year 2050. Some of this decline is in

eastern and southern Europe, where a combination of an aging

population and lower births is bringing decline (Russia has 14

deaths and 8 births per thousand people).

A New Factor. One population indicator shows that death rates

in parts of Africa and elsewhere are rapidly rising due to the AIDS

epidemic which has resulted in HIV infection to almost 60 million

people and a heavy toll in sub-Saharan Africa. This modern "death

plague" has taken almost 30 million lives, and victims are dying at

a rate of about ten thousand persons per day. Botswana, where high

birth rates a few years ago led to predictions of doubling of the

populations in about two or three decades, now with 36% adult HIV

infection rate, and is expecting population declines in the next

two or so decades. Zimbabwe, which was projected to double in

population in 69 years, is now expecting a decline of people from

11.343 million in mid-2000 to 9.481 million in 2025. In the same

period, South Africa will decline from 43.421 million to 35.109

million. Note that Italy (without a major AIDS problem) will also

decline by five million people in the same time period. Statistics

are from the Population Reference Bureau in 2001.

What Policy? Is this dramatic switch in some African countries

unique? Will the near future involve not immense population

increase, but plummeting populations when the AIDS epidemic reaches

full force in India and China? Is there a tacit neglect in

combatting AIDS due to a population policy of birth limitation --

and AIDS just happens to come along as a "natural" birth control

device? Further questions worth answering include: Are certain

forms of coercive birth control, (e.g., China's one child per

family) profoundly unethical? Do areas of dramatic population

decline stand as the tip of an emerging iceberg? And are these

population declines less manageable than limitation of births?

August 25, 2004 Mortality

Senior moments. We are to know the seasons of our individual

lives. The signs of aging include added backaches, birthdays that

seem to come with ever greater frequency, obits with the majority

being younger people, museums featuring tools we used in youth,

shortness of breath coming when memory is going, and increased time

to recharge our batteries. It is perhaps morbid to think too often

of death, but salutary to think of it on an occasion. I don't mean

reflecting on the type of my death, what other folks will say when

gone, or how the funeral will be conducted. I mean just simply

passing to the Lord and that is what death is all about.

Don't count the days, but rather make the days count. When one

reaches the seventies, it's better to reflect on mortality more

often than an annual retreat or review, maybe once a month. For

seventy is, as Scripture says, the ordinary length of life -- and

it certainly comes quickly. We can never fully calculate the

seasons of our life until they are over or nearly so, but for the

majority of human beings the seventies are the December of life and

the advent season of eternal life soon to come.

Unreal or real? I often suspect that half the world's people

at a given time think they will not taste death. That's as

unhealthy as always tasting it. We may like to occasionally

reflect on when we will be here no more; but let's be frank, most

of the world never takes such time for they live in an unreal

world. They may be afraid the world will keep going with or

without them. They prefer to substitute "passing" for dying, an

admiring comment, "doesn't he look nice," upon seeing the corpse,

a nod of the head or hug at loss of words. Or they may refrain

from going to funerals altogether.

Quality, not quantity. In anticipation of what is to come, we

have to be realists, to prepare and be prepared. As quantity of

remaining time shortens, we must make the quality lengthen for each

day. Quality has no limits to growth, and we recognize it with

years. Hospice workers encourage the terminally ill to make every

day and moment count as special events, for life is to be lived to

the full -- and that should improve as we near the end. But aren't

all our lives terminal? Getting the most out of good sleeps and

beautiful sunrises, chirping birds, and verdant meadows, the waxing

and waning of the moon, the starry skies and occasional showers.

All good things become more meaningful for us, mellowing with the

years like good cider.

A happy death. Lord, you let us know our destiny is to die

like others, but it can be a happy one, nonetheless. You hear our

prayers, and that includes a desire for a pleasant passing. If it

is Your Will, let the passing be short and without fanfare. Let it

be a moment of final faith and hope, and not of despair and doubt.

And let us take the one thing that is all we can carry away in our

nakedness, our love. Make it golden love, a love for You and for

your sake, not for me and mine.

August 26, 2004 Hands-On Work Experience

Many people do not have the experience of working with their

hands, of seeing the product of their labors reach fruition. It is

the reason why many of us find trail-building so helpful for youth.

They can work with their own hands, they see the fruit of their

labor, and they know the fruit will endure, so they can return

later in life and feel satisfied that the trail is being enjoyed.

Experience. Gardening, as a form of outdoor work, can be

performed by a variety of people seeking work experience. Near

Amsterdam in the Netherlands I observed an entire school class

engaged in planting seedlings in a school plot -- and they were

quite enthusiastic about what they were doing as they touched the

soil with their own hands. Some learn cooperative outdoor projects

through Eagle Scout projects or through Habitat for Humanity. The

work skills may differ, but all have the opportunity to contribute

-- and that gives a sense of self-esteem and worth. Encourage the

shy to take an equal part with those who push in and do the

exciting part of the work. Ideally, all learners have their own

individual work assignments and are held accountable for that part.

This spring I organized the entire Frankfort, KY Good Shepherd

school (300 students) and we saw that each one planted a tree.

They all seemed thrilled to some meaningful work with their hands.

Follow through. Accountability for seeing the project through

to completion is a major lesson taught in any work experience.

Gardening is always difficult for youth who like planting, but soon

learn that plants grow slowly. For good results, any form of work

is a slow, exacting and sometimes painstaking process. Granted,

some have that sense of seeing things through to completion better

than others do. Learning to plan and carry out a project can

require patience and a certain degree of encouragement. If we are

measuring something, it has to be checked and rechecked to make

sure we make no mistakes; we have to focus and give attention to

what we are doing. We are judged, for better or worse on what we

are doing with our time.

Work masters. Not everyone has the patience to teach,

especially slow learners. Many gardeners are insensitive to the

way people learn, how one must start with basic tools and how they

are used, the need for a little experimentation where little damage

can be done, and then a progression to more important tasks.

Experienced farm kids are quite insensitive to what city folks know

and can do for these lack work experiences of the rural youth. The

same holds for those who drive vehicles or cook meals or care for

a lawn. People who seldom teach find it difficult to remember what

it was like to learn. A Chicago youth minister called wanting to

come and bring eighth graders to teach Appalachians to garden.

Think about the bias! I asked whether the kids had gardening

experience and the organizer said they didn't, but could learn

quickly. I assured him that so could most Appalachians. Each

person can become experienced in the work before us, but we have to

be invited, encouraged, and rewarded for tasks well done.

August 27, 2004 Animal "Rights"

A celebrated recent case of road rage in San Jose, California

involved an angry driver berating a woman in a fender bender and

reaching into her car, grabbing her pet dog and tossing it out into

the ongoing traffic. After the smoke of the trial subsided, the

offender got three years in prison. So much for killing a pet or

property of another or, as the pet owner described it, as one she

loved more than a family member.

People cannot go out and shoot stray animals, an exercise we

thought merciful for the starving pup a half century ago. Today

there are agencies to handle and, if necessary, to "put these away"

in supposedly humane manners. Part of the changing climate is due

to seeing animals as beings deserving of respect which is not shown

weeds or invasive plant species. We do not condemn animals at

will; we must not subject them to meaningless cruelty, which some

young kids may be in the habit of doing.

Traditional understanding is that rights come with

responsibilities, and that in a strict sense non-rational creature

can't have rights because they are not "responsible" in the normal

way of seeing things. Perhaps it is a question of degrees of

rights or analogous rights just as all creatures are beings sharing

their existence on this planet. The species' "right" to respect,

a decent living, and fair treatment may extend to an individual

creature, at least with the larger mammals. The right to a

species' existence and quality of life may go even farther and

enter into what we define as pests and unwanted animal life.

More questions arise when we think of animals differing in

their ability to handle incarceration. I can no longer stand to go

to zoos and see orangutans facing the wall because they apparently

find the spectators more than they can handle; nor do I like to

see a badger pacing back and forth almost crazed by confinement.

Should we capture and confine wild animals for pets or for

scientific research? Are animal parks less stressful alternatives,

and might these help preserve certain endangered species? Should

animals be killed for meat? Raised for eggs? Furs and animal

parts? Should our society tolerate animal abuse? What about those

who deliberately inflict pain on animals or who deliberately cause

endangered plants or animals to become extinct in order to avoid

endangered species regulations?

There are growing numbers of people who cannot support cattle

or hogs being slaughtered to furnish meat for a society. The

slaying process is too difficult to watch, and this may induce some

to go vegetarian. Others with a more activist streak contemplate

and take steps to release captive mink, to close down labs with

caged monkeys or mice, and to protest chicken farms which turn out

those fried chickens with the bent drumsticks; these are caused by

fowl never able to range freely, but live for their life in

extremely cramped quarters. The world is taking a fresh look at

the treatment of animals. It isn't coming any too soon.

August 28, 2004 A Case for Bilingualism

The number of Hispanic Americans has doubled in the United

States since 1980 and now number about 30 million. Every part of

the nation now has Spanish speaking residents. There are large

numbers of Puerto Ricans in New York and the Northeast as well as

a heavy concentration of Cubans in Florida and elsewhere. But the

largest influx in recent years has been Mexican Americans who are

coming north into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California and

spreading rapidly to other parts of the country. Some three or

more million undocumented workers are here and are desired as very

dedicated workers in construction, agricultural and factory work.

In a number of large cities in the broad ban of land adjacent to

Mexico, Hispanics and other minorities are becoming the majority

(e.g., San Antonio, San Diego, Houston, and Albuquerque).

Something different. Never before has such a large number of

a single language group entered this country during such a short

span of time. De facto, Spanish is becoming the lingua franca of

a large portion of the area bordering Mexico. Why not make Spanish

a "second" language, rather than frown upon its presence or

discourage its use outright? Hispanic radio and television

stations abound; signs are now found in all commercial quarters;

many non-English speakers can get along in the sea of English due

to the expanding areas of spoken Spanish. What will be the

language of ascendancy at the end of the 21st century? Spanish-

speaking American people see the future in their hands.

A New Opportunity. Anglos may not like the way things are

going, but we cannot ignore the Hispanics in our midst. No problem

is going to make them return south of the border. Many have been

here for a long time and more and more are settling down and want

to stay. A far more positive approach is to greet the newcomers

with a welcome as good or better than what our non-English speaking

ancestors received. And there can be much more. We need to

welcome second languages because so many Americans are mono-

linguists and suffer from difficulties in learning a new tongue.

A second official language will raise Americans from our own self-

imposed cultural isolation and allow us to converse more easily and

see the world as bigger than ourselves alone. Is it a bias to

expect others at their expense to learn English, while we English

speakers never bother about learning other tongues?

A New Look. Requiring the learning of Spanish by all public

and private grade schoolers would have many advantages. It would

open people to new cultures; it would help us to consider the

Hispanic as close neighbor and not persons of a distant culture; it

would tie the continents together more closely in common pursuits;

it would expand the speaking skills of youth at a time when

learning a second language comes far more easily; and it would

allow a growing appreciation of the wealth of the Hispanic culture.

Maybe the rest of the world will treat Americans with less disdain,

if we make a deliberate effort to incorporate a second language

into our basic national curriculum.

August 29, 2004 Humility in Our Lives

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and

the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 14:11)

Humiliations come. We have all experienced moments when we

thought all was going right and we would win the great prize -- and

then it slips out of our hands to someone who was completely

ignored and overlooked. Why he or she? The same applies when

triumph seems so near at hand for our Church or nation or

institution and then a scandal arises and puts us down, deep down.

Why? Could the answer be possibly that God loves us so very much

that we are being gently taught through humiliation?

Touching the soil. This act brings us to our earthly origins

and destiny, for we are from and to dust, for humility is derived

from this affinity to soil (humus). God gives growth and life and

our efforts are secondary. We see that we do not have an infinite

time. Teach us to count how few days we have and so gain wisdom of

heart (Psalm 90: 12). We seek to achieve goals which are

reasonable and not to reduce the status of others in reaching them.

Thus we respect others and refrain from having an inflated ego.

Times make us humble. If we just stay around for a time, we

find that our own dreams and great expectations somehow miss the

mark. We are not able to be or do what we thought was so easy to

be or do; we are not able to fulfill glorious dreams whether a

good job or a lofty position or heaven knows what. The dreams are

so much easier than reality itself. Few will say this is not the

case. The more and broader the unrealistic dreams, the sooner the

downfall. On the other hand, to accept who we are and what we must

do and be is humbling. We've done the best; what more can be done?

Humility has its own reward. We soon find humble folks

approachable in their quiet way. For instance, a humble attempt to

have a productive garden will give the fruit of the labor for all

to see in good times and in drought and storm. Garden work is hot,

tedious, demanding, and yet rewarding and truly a form of

recreation. While at times, as before a frost, there is a slight

stress on one or other types of work, still gardening is leisure-

filled and yet humble work, to which others may be attracted.

Purging us of pretensions. Our own domestic or professional

life's work is the product of honest hard work. We do not pretend

to be doing things we simply are not able to achieve. After awhile

our life is like an old pet dog, always faithful, always caring.

Care given or partly neglected is care returned.

Being down-to-Earth. Humility has a way of providing the

foundation for a spirituality which allows us to know ourselves for

what and who we are. This gives a sense of integrity permitting us

to accept our stance and position in life. Humility strengthens

our psychological health and peace of soul. In the long run, being

humble is simply more comfortable like a well worn shoe.

August 30, 2004 Communications and the Internet

Our culture and communities thrive on communication. That goes

far back in civilization, but in former times communicating was far

more difficult. A letter was treasured and the truth told broke

the secrecy about health, occupations and the lives and deaths of

friends. Today e-mails give us instant news, cell phones tell a

spouse when one is coming home, and television gives news from the

other side of the globe. Some people would regard it as a major

obstacle to go even a few hours without the news or knowing how

family and friends are doing. This connectedness over such long

distances is a new phenomenon, and where it all leads has not yet

been thoroughly researched.

Rapid communication. It seems obvious in the togetherness of

modern communications that protecting the environment requires

rapid, open, and accurate communication. Today, most organizations

have web sites to tell others of activities and general information

about the group. Individual staff members have e-mail addresses

and communicate quite often through the electronic mail. "Instant"

is the key word for the wired person in today's world. This

constant communication plays a role in the monitoring process or

watching out for pollution or mishaps of any sort. The more

communications are available, the less the chance that physical

disaster or misdeeds will go unnoticed.

Too Much. Information overload occurs when we receive so many

information each day that we find it impossible to digest all of

it. This condition is like going through a world's fair every day

and passing a parade of booths all needing our attention and time.

What must we read thoroughly, and what can we skim or ignore? I

won't say much more about this important subject for fear of that

overload right here. Do all parties have the right to know what is

being manufactured, processed, or stored in their vicinity? If

yes, then when is a company permitted to retain a trade secret

concerning chemicals which may affect the surrounding community?

Since most substances can be detected and identified through costly

analytical means, should not all citizens have access to analytical

data? And what do they know if they have all the data at hand?

Internet weaknesses. Like all things, modern and otherwise,

there are tradeoffs. Is the current pressure to have the

government regulate the Internet the result of agencies' and

institutions' desire to exert control over that medium of

communication? Are efforts now being undertaken to control the

content and manner of delivery of the Internet really interested in

the audience's protection, or in control of the air waves by

certain special and vested interests? Media ownership is

concentrated in the hands of a few large conglomerates. Do we even

have access to the decision-making power over what we are to hear

and watch? Is fast information lacking in depth but is all out

there to confuse us? Is instant low quality communication eating

into reflection time or the luxury of discovering unusual sources

by browsing in libraries and bookstores? See Silicon Snake Oil.

August 31, 2004 Renewable Energy and Better Environment

In 2001 the United Nations Environmental Programme issued a

report Natural Selection: Evolving Choices for Renewable Energy

Technology and Policy. In the report it argues that from nine to

fifteen trillion dollars will be invested by 2020 on new power

projects. If a greater part of this massive investment were made

in clean energy technologies (renewable types) then the global

economy would be more secure, more robust, and the globe much

cleaner than in the twentieth century. Energy demands continue to

rise, as they did through the 1990s, at about two percent a year.

To continue to meet this increasing demand through traditional

means (heavily non-renewable energy sources) will increase

pollution levels and kill 500,000 people a year, and cause, among

other ailments, four to five million cases of chronic bronchitis.

These energy production methods will cause acidification of

ecosystems, contaminate the soil and water, lessen biodiversity,

and contribute to the growing global warming problem.

Rise of Renewables. On the other hand, cleaner renewable

energy sources are available and will continue to become more so.

The report states that when starting from a small base in the

1970s, biomass, geothermal, solar, small-scale hydropower, and wind

technologies have grown proportionately faster than any other

technologies for supplying electricity. Wind energy, the world's

fastest growing energy source, has far exceeded the most optimistic

1990 projections; its price has dropped sevenfold and wind is now

competitive with fossil fuel technologies, even with their

governmental subsidies.

The Road is Clear. Renewable energy sources are becoming more

attractive due to the increasing scarcity and inherent pollution of

non-renewables. The report states that "It is increasingly true

that there are no technical, financial or economic reasons why the

nations of the world cannot enjoy the benefits of a high level of

energy services and a better environment. It is simply an question

of making the right choices."

Why the Delay? One may ask -- if the report is restating what

many appropriate technologists have said for three or more decades,

why is it taking so long to convert over to non-renewable forms of

energy? The answer rests in the power of the non-renewable energy

companies over nations and new regulations. The oil, gas, coal and

nuclear conglomerates are large and powerful, and these have so

strongly influenced governments that they will not relinquish their

control. As long as these fuels supply much of the energy of the

world, the profits are far too high to see the companies lose their

market share and influence. But economics is not the total picture

and that makes us relook at what is profitable. When health and

environmental factors are included in the equation, the current

non-renewable energy dominance does not make sense.

Source: Acid News, A Newsletter from the Swedish Non-

Governmental Organization Secretariat on Acid Rain. June, 2001

Copyright © 2007 Earth Healing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Albert J. Fritsch, Director
Janet Powell, Developer
Mary Byrd Davis, Editor
Paul Gallimore, ERAS Coordinator

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by Al Fritsch, S.J.