The way home.

The infamous "Blue Marble." (click here)

Pope Francis is calling us home. We have alienated ourselves from our natural world. Humans have proven to master knowledge and validate knowledge through a process of appreciation by peers. It is a most interesting balance of expertise to humility. One's knowledge gains value only when others of the same learning appreciates it.

Most scientists on Earth appreciate the knowledge the community has compiled in regard to a warming planet. If the good aspect of a warming Earth out weighed the bad results, there would be no contest. A warming Earth with greater benevolence would be a great achievement.

However, a warming Earth is more of a planet than life can tolerate. Earth is first a rock in orbit of it's sun. It is the benevolence of Earth's distance from Sol and it's gaseous atmospheric layers that creates Eden. 

One can believe in creation or believe in evolution or believe in both, but, regardless the responsibility for protecting Earth from harm of exploitation is the only path allowed by morality. 

Earth is our only home. We can pretend the sovereign state of a country will protect us from imbalances of Earth's processes, but, that would be a lie. A horrible lie with dire consequences. 

We can pretend the fantasy of space exploration will result in a viable option for life in the universe and an abandonment of Earth. But, what is life without the beauty of nature? How valuable is life in a capsule floating through space? What does that say about our species and it's willingness to squander Earth for wealth and power only to abandon it. 

Space exploration is suppose to be patient and full of caution. But, the tone of space exploration today is more about a hurried exit from a hot Earth and an appreciation of humans to destroy what is precious.

Earth first.

Frantic abandonment never.

Earth provides services to the biotic life of it's passion to exist.

69. Together with our obligation to use the earth’s goods responsibly, we are called to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes: “by their mere existence they bless him and give him glory”,[41] and indeed, “the Lord rejoices in all his works” (Ps 104:31). By virtue of our unique dignity and our gift of intelligence, we are called to respect creation and its inherent laws, for “the Lord by wisdom founded the earth” (Prov 3:19). In our time, the Church does not simply state that other creatures are completely subordinated to the good of human beings, as if they have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish. The German bishops have taught that, where other creatures are concerned, “we can speak of the priority of being over that of being useful”.[42] The Catechism clearly and forcefully criticizes a distorted anthropocentrism: “Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection… Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things”.[43]

The first murder on Earth. Cain and Abel. This is by Pietro Novelli (click here)

70. In the story of Cain and Abel, we see how envy led Cain to commit the ultimate injustice against his brother, which in turn ruptured the relationship between Cain and God, and between Cain and the earth from which he was banished. This is seen clearly in the dramatic exchange between God and Cain. God asks: “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain answers that he does not know, and God persists: “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground” (Gen 4:9-11). Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbour, for whose care and custody I am responsible, (Do unto others has you would have them do unto you.) ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God and with the earth. When all these relationships are neglected, when justice no longer dwells in the land, the Bible tells us that life itself is endangered. We see this in the story of Noah, where God threatens to do away with humanity because of its constant failure to fulfil the requirements of justice and peace: “I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them” (Gen 6:13). These ancient stories, full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.


71. Although “the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Gen 6:5) and the Lord “was sorry that he had made man on the earth” (Gen 6:6), nonetheless, through Noah, who remained innocent and just, God decided to open a path of salvation. In this way he gave humanity the chance of a new beginning. All it takes is one good person to restore hope! The biblical tradition clearly shows that this renewal entails recovering and respecting the rhythms inscribed in nature by the hand of the Creator. We see this, for example, in the law of the Sabbath. On the seventh day, God rested from all his work. He commanded Israel to set aside each seventh day as a day of rest, a Sabbath, (cf. Gen 2:2-3; Ex 16:23; 20:10). Similarly, every seven years, a sabbatical year was set aside for Israel, a complete rest for the land (cf. Lev 25:1-4), when sowing was forbidden and one reaped only what was necessary to live on and to feed one’s household (cf. Lev 25:4-6). Finally, after seven weeks of years, which is to say forty-nine years, the Jubilee was celebrated as a year of general forgiveness and “liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants” (cf. Lev 25:10). This law came about as an attempt to ensure balance and fairness in their relationships with others and with the land on which they lived and worked. At the same time, it was an acknowledgment that the gift of the earth with its fruits belongs to everyone. Those who tilled and kept the land were obliged to share its fruits, especially with the poor, with widows, orphans and foreigners in their midst: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, neither shall you gather the gleanings after the harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner” (Lev 19:9-10).


72. The Psalms frequently exhort us to praise God the Creator, “who spread out the earth on the waters, for his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 136:6). They also invite other creatures to join us in this praise: “Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created” (Ps 148:3-5). We do not only exist by God’s mighty power; we also live with him and beside him. This is why we adore him.


73. The writings of the prophets invite us to find renewed strength in times of trial by contemplating the all-powerful God who created the universe. Yet God’s infinite power does not lead us to flee his fatherly tenderness, because in him affection and strength are joined. Indeed, all sound spirituality entails both welcoming divine love and adoration, confident in the Lord because of his infinite power. In the Bible, the God who liberates and saves is the same God who created the universe, and these two divine ways of acting are intimately and inseparably connected: “Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you… You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders” (Jer 32:17, 21). “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless” (Is 40:28b-29).


74. The experience of the Babylonian captivity provoked a spiritual crisis which led to deeper faith in God. Now his creative omnipotence was given pride of place in order to exhort the people to regain their hope in the midst of their wretched predicament. Centuries later, in another age of trial and persecution, when the Roman Empire was seeking to impose absolute dominion, the faithful would once again find consolation and hope in a growing trust in the all-powerful God: “Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways!” (Rev 15:3). The God who created the universe out of nothing can also intervene in this world and overcome every form of evil. Injustice is not invincible.


75. A spirituality which forgets God as all-powerful and Creator is not acceptable. That is how we end up worshipping earthly powers, or ourselves usurping the place of God, even to the point of claiming an unlimited right to trample his creation underfoot. The best way to restore men and women to their rightful place, putting an end to their claim to absolute dominion over the earth, is to speak once more of the figure of a Father who creates and who alone owns the world. Otherwise, human beings will always try to impose their own laws and interests on reality.

A snail community, nest with chicks and invasion of the pontoon boat.

One of the challenges in protecting endangered species is to secure their habitat. That is sometimes far more difficult than imaginable. The Snail Kite is one of those species with not only a need for specific critical habitat, but, also a specialized diet.

Snail Kites require foraging areas that are relatively clear and open so that they can visually search for apple snails. That right, apple snails. Can it get any tougher? But, amazingly the good people of the conservation communities are able to preserve specific habitat that will not only support a small population, but, will provide the ability to thrive and return to a larger population and then be delisted. Without protecting critical habitat the species don't have a chance.

In providing critical habitat for the Snail Kite, a viable population of Apple Snails has to live and flourish within that habitat. It is fairly complicated stuff. I think most people can appreciate the reason scientists might be upset when a photographer disturbs nests and potentially causing the Kites to leave their nests.

Developing a plan for the classification of the species is tough enough, but, to have the species disturbed is nearly unthinkable and the laws provide for sentencing to leverage power so a citizen can come to understand the brevity of the law.

February 26, 2015
By Bob Kealing

KISSIMMEE, Fla. —A local wildlife photographer (click here for video) has entered a guilty plea to violating the Endangered Species Act.
According to court papers, the photographer in question was observed more than a half dozen times by a group of researchers harassing an endangered bird and violating federal law.
Lake Toho is paradise for lovers of exotic bird species. But in some cases, you must keep your distance.
The Endangered Species Act requires people to stay at least 500 feet from nests of the Snail Kite, an endangered raptor.
According to federal court papers, eight times between 2010 and 2011, a group of University of South Florida researchers observed Kissimmee wildlife photographer Jim Neiger wedge his pontoon boat into the reeds near snail kite nests.
The endangered raptors would fly off their nests, allowing Neiger and people on his boat to photograph them.
 On his website, Flight School Photography Inc., Neiger lists as a specialty instruction on how to photograph birds in flight.
In exchange for a guilty plea to a single count of violating the federal Endangered Species Act, Neiger could face a maximum of one year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines. In return for the plea, prosecutors say they won't oppose two years probation, but there are no guarantees.
WESH 2 News was unable to reach Neiger at his home-based business.
In lieu of turning over his boat motor and camera, Neiger has also agreed to pay $9,000 in fines.

I do not want to hear from any US Senator or Representative that claims to know 'the truth' according to God how precious life is in the womb but not when facing a fall in petroelum industry profits.

II. THE WISDOM OF THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS


65. Without repeating the entire theology of creation, we can ask what the great biblical narratives say about the relationship of human beings with the world. In the first creation account in the Book of Genesis, God’s plan includes creating humanity. After the creation of man and woman, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen 1:31). The Bible teaches that every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). This shows us the immense dignity of each person, “who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons”.[37] Saint John Paul II stated that the special love of the Creator for each human being “confers upon him or her an infinite dignity”.[38] Those who are committed to defending human dignity can find in the Christian faith the deepest reasons for this commitment. How wonderful is the certainty that each human life is not adrift in the midst of hopeless chaos, in a world ruled by pure chance or endlessly recurring cycles! The Creator can say to each one of us: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jer 1:5). We were conceived in the heart of God, and for this reason “each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary”.[39]


66. The creation accounts in the book of Genesis contain, in their own symbolic and narrative language, profound teachings about human existence and its historical reality. They suggest that human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself. According to the Bible, these three vital relationships have been broken, both outwardly and within us. This rupture is sin. The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations. This in turn distorted our mandate to “have dominion” over the earth (cf. Gen 1:28), to “till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). As a result, the originally harmonious relationship between human beings and nature became conflictual (cf. Gen 3:17-19). It is significant that the harmony which Saint Francis of Assisi experienced with all creatures was seen as a healing of that rupture. Saint Bonaventure held that, through universal reconciliation with every creature, Saint Francis in some way returned to the state of original innocence.[40] This is a far cry from our situation today, where sin is manifest in all its destructive power in wars, the various forms of violence and abuse, the abandonment of the most vulnerable, and attacks on nature.

Pope Francis is well versed in quoting Bible passage. I doubt there is much anyone can add to his words. I mean the Bible isn't any different between brands of Christianity. All branches of the faith work form the same text. What is in Genesis 1 in one bible, is in Genesis 1 in another bible. The King James Version has the same content if not the same text as the New American Version. 


67. We are not God. The earth was here before us and it has been given to us. This allows us to respond to the charge that Judaeo-Christian thinking, on the basis of the Genesis account which grants man “dominion” over the earth (cf. Gen 1:28), has encouraged the unbridled exploitation of nature by painting him as domineering and destructive by nature. This is not a correct interpretation of the Bible as understood by the Church. Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures. The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, (hermeneutic is a synonym for Biblical interpretation)  recognizing that they tell us to “till and keep” the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15). “Tilling” refers to cultivating, ploughing or working, while “keeping” means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature. Each community can take from the bounty of the earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but it also has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations. “The earth is the Lord’s” (Ps 24:1); to him belongs “the earth with all that is within it” (Dt 10:14). Thus God rejects every claim to absolute ownership: “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Lev 25:23).

During the years of the "W" administration fundamentalist Christians came to terms with conservation and a warming Earth through passage. It was their movement that came to openly state, protecting Earth is a mandate of God. They rejected the idea of exploitation of Earth's bounty for the wealth of one group of men. Earth belongs to those that live on it.


68. This responsibility for God’s earth means that human beings, endowed with intelligence, must respect the laws of nature and the delicate equilibria existing between the creatures of this world, for “he commanded and they were created; and he established them for ever and ever; he fixed their bounds and he set a law which cannot pass away” (Ps 148:5b-6). The laws found in the Bible dwell on relationships, not only among individuals but also with other living beings. “You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and withhold your help… If you chance to come upon a bird’s nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting upon the young or upon the eggs; you shall not take the mother with the young” (Dt 22:4, 6). Along these same lines, rest on the seventh day is meant not only for human beings, but also so “that your ox and your donkey may have rest” (Ex 23:12). Clearly, the Bible has no place for a tyrannical anthropocentrism (the belief that human beings are the central or most significant species on the planet) unconcerned for other creatures.

Extinction is a sin. The Endangered Species Act is moral.

A 2008 view of the leading edge of the Larsen B ice shelf, extending into the northwest part of the Weddell Sea. Huge, floating ice shelves that line the Antarctic coast help hold back sheets of ice that cover land. 

March 26, 2015
By Christopher Joyce

The Antarctic (click here) is far away, freezing and buried under a patchwork of ice sheets and glaciers. But a warming climate is altering that mosaic in unpredictable ways — research published Thursday shows that the pace of change in parts of the Antarctic is accelerating....

Remember this?

Pope Francis understands the 'condition' of the faith he emulates. A little birdie told him.

CHAPTER TWO

THE GOSPEL OF CREATION 

62. Why should this document, addressed to all people of good will, include a chapter dealing with the convictions of believers? I am well aware that in the areas of politics and philosophy there are those who firmly reject the idea of a Creator, or consider it irrelevant, and consequently dismiss as irrational the rich contribution which religions can make towards an integral ecology and the full development of humanity. Others view religions simply as a subculture to be tolerated. Nonetheless, science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter into an intense dialogue fruitful for both.

Pope Francis does not abandon the concrete world of reality to adhere to his religious devotions. He has room for the world as it is today and the need for it to recognize the BENEFITS of faith. He is not demanding allegiance to every word as a ruling authority, so much as a partner.


I. THE LIGHT OFFERED BY FAITH


63. Given the complexity of the ecological crisis and its multiple causes, we need to realize that the solutions will not emerge from just one way of interpreting and transforming reality. Respect must also be shown for the various cultural riches of different peoples, their art and poetry, their interior life and spirituality. If we are truly concerned to develop an ecology capable of remedying the damage we have done, no branch of the sciences and no form of wisdom can be left out, and that includes religion and the language particular to it. The Catholic Church is open to dialogue with philosophical thought; this has enabled her to produce various syntheses between faith and reason. The development of the Church’s social teaching represents such a synthesis with regard to social issues; this teaching is called to be enriched by taking up new challenges.

Is religion wisdom? Are the lessons in the Bible wisdom? Are the actors in the Bible human and translating their reality into the thoughts they understood?


64. Furthermore, although this Encyclical welcomes dialogue with everyone so that together we can seek paths of liberation, I would like from the outset to show how faith convictions can offer Christians, and some other believers as well, ample motivation to care for nature and for the most vulnerable of their brothers and sisters. If the simple fact of being human moves people to care for the environment of which they are a part, Christians in their turn “realize that their responsibility within creation, and their duty towards nature and the Creator, are an essential part of their faith”.[36] It is good for humanity and the world at large when we believers better recognize the ecological commitments which stem from our convictions.

Pope Francis is stating the natural world provides for all when it is viewed as one system rather than many systems that end at a country's sovereign border. Faith is inclusive of all faithful, not selective to those with residence in either powerful or vulnerable countries. 

If faith views Earth as a single system, did it's creation, be it defined in science or theology, not dictate the same? 

Northern hemisphere hot and southern hemisphere cold.

The percentage areas (click here) of the contiguous United States are computed based on the U.S. Climate Divisional Dataset. Those climate divisions having the monthly average temperature/total precipitation in the top ten percent (> 90^th percentile) of their historical distribution are very warm/wet and those in the bottom ten percent (< 10^th percentile) are very cold/dry.

The diagram above show the imbalance as it developed during the Industrial Revolution. It is damning. The very warm measurements in June of the 21st century far out ranks any very cold percentages. 

Monday, July 13, 2015
 
It might (click here) be called the Sunshine State but Queenslanders are shivering with Victoria and New South Wales thanks to the icy cold snap swirling across southeast Australia.

The blast of Antarctic air has already stirred strong winds in parts of Victoria and NSW and caused the temperature in Melbourne to drop to 7.7C on Saturday. The temperature in Brisbane was expected to dip to a low of 11C yesterday and 7C today and tomorrow.

For the first time in two years, parts of Queensland are anticipating snow....

VII. A VARIETY OF OPINIONS


60. Finally, we need to acknowledge that different approaches and lines of thought have emerged regarding this situation and its possible solutions. At one extreme, we find those who doggedly uphold the myth of progress and tell us that ecological problems will solve themselves simply with the application of new technology and without any need for ethical considerations or deep change. At the other extreme are those who view men and women and all their interventions as no more than a threat, jeopardizing the global ecosystem, and consequently the presence of human beings on the planet should be reduced and all forms of intervention prohibited. Viable future scenarios will have to be generated between these extremes, since there is no one path to a solution. This makes a variety of proposals possible, all capable of entering into dialogue with a view to developing comprehensive solutions.


61. On many concrete questions, the Church has no reason to offer a definitive opinion; she knows that honest debate must be encouraged among experts, while respecting divergent views. But we need only take a frank look at the facts to see that our common home is falling into serious disrepair. Hope would have us recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can always do something to solve our problems. Still, we can see signs that things are now reaching a breaking point, due to the rapid pace of change and degradation; these are evident in large-scale natural disasters as well as social and even financial crises, for the world’s problems cannot be analyzed or explained in isolation. There are regions now at high risk and, aside from all doomsday predictions, the present world system is certainly unsustainable from a number of points of view, for we have stopped thinking about the goals of human activity. “If we scan the regions of our planet, we immediately see that humanity has disappointed God’s expectations”.[35]

Pope Francis and his predecessors are not passive observers simply heralding a call to pay attention to God's law. Pope Francis and his predecessors are not reclining back to allow God to take care of everything enacted through only prayer. Pope Francis and his predecessors are active leaders in the call for action in humanity and the reality we have a responsibility to protect the common home provided to us.

Pope Francis didn't write this to pass the time of day. There is purpose in all his actions and there is a call to responsibility to God's order of the natural world including Earth's atmospheres.

Atmospheric CO2 for June 2015 is 402.80.

Mauna Loa CO2 Board (click here)

The Keeling Curve (click here)

The Mauna Loa (click here) carbon dioxide (CO₂) record, also known as the “Keeling Curve,” is the world’s longest unbroken record of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.  




The Hockey Stick

In 2015, communities and not individuality will bring together efforts to correct the path to protect Earth.

58. In some countries, there are positive examples of environmental improvement: rivers, polluted for decades, have been cleaned up; native woodlands have been restored; landscapes have been beautified thanks to environmental renewal projects; beautiful buildings have been erected; advances have been made in the production of non-polluting energy and in the improvement of public transportation. These achievements do not solve global problems, but they do show that men and women are still capable of intervening positively. For all our limitations, gestures of generosity, solidarity and care cannot but well up within us, since we were made for love.

Published 7/12/2015 (click here)
Wild Rivers Coast Forest Collaborative: WRCFC hosts forest management forum

The Wild Rivers Coast Forest Collaborative (WRCFC)has been working the past several years to provide a means for agencies, individuals, company’s and land owners to work together towards successful habitat restoration activities that provide ecological and economical benefits.

The group hosted an Ecosystem Services workshop on June 10 - 11 that culminated in a public review and discussion of proposed oak woodland restoration efforts in the Shasta/Agness planning area.

The restoration priorities the WRCFC has identified center around unique habitat resources, aquatic habitats, and increasing and enhancing recreational opportunities. Discussions between the WRCFC and the Forest Service found the Shasta/Agness project to be a great fit for both entities....

Community Gardens are a reality in the USA. Gardens begun in May are now getting ready for harvest. When people come together for a common activity, they become their own food cooperative and pick fresh fruits and vegetables for free.

Small efforts can create common interests, friends and ultimately a larger effort.


59. At the same time we can note the rise of a false or superficial ecology which bolsters complacency and a cheerful recklessness. As often occurs in periods of deep crisis which require bold decisions, we are tempted to think that what is happening is not entirely clear. Superficially, apart from a few obvious signs of pollution and deterioration, things do not look that serious, and the planet could continue as it is for some time. Such evasiveness serves as a licence to carrying on with our present lifestyles and models of production and consumption. This is the way human beings contrive to feed their self-destructive vices: trying not to see them, trying not to acknowledge them, delaying the important decisions and pretending that nothing will happen.

While the USA moves forward to protect Earth, will trade agreements demand it ?

July 6, 2015

Regulation will reduce GHG emissions, incentivize the use of greener refrigerants (click here)

The EPA has finalized a rule to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases that are commonly used in air conditioning and refrigeration. The new regulation will move certain HFCs and HFC-containing blends from being listed as acceptable alternatives to unacceptable for specific uses under the EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Plan.

In addition to moving the potentially harmful refrigerants off of the list of acceptable alternatives, the EPA will also approve several new alternatives that are designed to provide good refrigeration performance without harming the ozone layer or the climate. According to EPA estimates, the new rule’s implementation will reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 54-64 million metric tons by 2025, a significant reduction compared to the expected doubling of HFC emissions by 2020.

“This rule will not only reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, but also encourage greater use and development of the next generation of safer HFC alternatives,” says EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

Looking to improve your building’s refrigeration efficiency? Check out this guide that can help you cut costs as well!

Implementing the 2015-2019 Phasedown Step (click here)

VI. WEAK RESPONSES (click here)

53. These situations have caused sister earth, along with all the abandoned of our world, to cry out, pleading that we take another course. Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years. Yet we are called to be instruments of God our Father, so that our planet might be what he desired when he created it and correspond with his plan for peace, beauty and fullness. The problem is that we still lack the culture needed to confront this crisis. We lack leadership capable of striking out on new paths and meeting the needs of the present with concern for all and without prejudice towards coming generations. The establishment of a legal framework which can set clear boundaries and ensure the protection of ecosystems has become indispensable; otherwise, the new power structures based on the techno-economic paradigm may overwhelm not only our politics but also freedom and justice.

54. It is remarkable how weak international political responses have been. The failure of global summits on the environment make it plain that our politics are subject to technology and finance. There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good and manipulating information so that their own plans will not be affected. The Aparecida Document (click here) urges that “the interests of economic groups which irrationally demolish sources of life should not prevail in dealing with natural resources”.[32] The alliance between the economy and technology ends up sidelining anything unrelated to its immediate interests. Consequently the most one can expect is superficial rhetoric, sporadic acts of philanthropy and perfunctory expressions of concern for the environment, whereas any genuine attempt by groups within society to introduce change is viewed as a nuisance based on romantic illusions or an obstacle to be circumvented.

55. Some countries are gradually making significant progress, developing more effective controls and working to combat corruption. People may well have a growing ecological sensitivity but it has not succeeded in changing their harmful habits of consumption which, rather than decreasing, appear to be growing all the more. A simple example is the increasing use and power of air-conditioning. The markets, which immediately benefit from sales, stimulate ever greater demand. An outsider looking at our world would be amazed at such behaviour, which at times appears self-destructive.

This article is from The New York Times. It clearly illustrates the ravage ignorance of growing use of technology. The First World was once in this space, now there are billions of people in India and China yet to learn about the importance of protecting Earth.

Oh, you thought the Pope was making a funny? No. Serious business.

June 20, 2012

By Elisabeth Rosenthal and Andrew W. Lehren 

In the ramshackle (click here) apartment blocks and sooty concrete homes that line the dusty roads of urban India, there is a new status symbol on proud display. An air-conditioner has become a sign of middle-class status in developing nations, a must-have dowry item.

It is cheaper than a car, and arguably more life-changing in steamy regions, where cooling can make it easier for a child to study or a worker to sleep....

... Air-conditioning gases are regulated primarily though a 1987 treaty called the Montreal Protocol, created to protect the ozone layer. It has reduced damage to that vital shield, which blocks cancer-causing ultraviolet rays, by mandating the use of progressively more benign gases. The oldest CFC coolants, which are highly damaging to the ozone layer, have been largely eliminated from use; and the newest ones, used widely in industrialized nations, have little or no effect on it....

56. In the meantime, economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain, which fail to take the context into account, let alone the effects on human dignity and the natural environment. Here we see how environmental deterioration and human and ethical degradation are closely linked. Many people will deny doing anything wrong because distractions constantly dull our consciousness of just how limited and finite our world really is. As a result, “whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenceless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule”.[33]


57. It is foreseeable that, once certain resources have been depleted, the scene will be set for new wars, albeit under the guise of noble claims. War always does grave harm to the environment and to the cultural riches of peoples, risks which are magnified when one considers nuclear arms and biological weapons. “Despite the international agreements which prohibit chemical, bacteriological and biological warfare, the fact is that laboratory research continues to develop new offensive weapons capable of altering the balance of nature”.[34] Politics must pay greater attention to foreseeing new conflicts and addressing the causes which can lead to them. But powerful financial interests prove most resistant to this effort, and political planning tends to lack breadth of vision. What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power only to be remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so?

"It's Sunday Night"

Dogs go to heaven, too.

"Heaveny" by Mariah Carey (click here for official website)

Folks will taking advantage of you because
They believe you're too weak to speak up for yourself
You don't have to speak up for yourself
Be still and let God fight your battles
Somebody come and go with me, Amen!

There will be mountains that I will have to climb
And there will be battles that I will have to fight
But victory or defeat, it's up to me to decide
But how can I expect to win if I never try?

I just can't give up now
Come too far from where I started from
Nobody told me the road would be easy
And I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me

Never said there wouldn't be trials
Never said I wouldn't fall
Never said that everything would go
The way I want it to go
But when my back is against the wall
And I feel all hope is gone
I'll just lift my head up to the sky
And say, "Help me to be strong"

I just can't give up now
I've come too far from where I started from
Nobody told me the road would be easy
He's brought me this far to leave me

No you didn't bring me out here to leave me lonely
Even when I can't see clearly
I know that you are with me, so I can't

Oh, I just can't give up now
'Cause I've come too far from where I started from
Nobody told me (nobody told me that the road would be easy)
And I don't believe (don't believe)
He brought me this far to leave me

And I can't give up now
Yeah, just can't, oh
Can't give up now
Said I've come too far from where I started from
Nobody told me (nobody told me that the road would be easy)
And I don't believe (don't believe)
He's brought me this far to leave me

I just can't give up now
I've come too far from where I started from
Nobody told me the road would be easy (it's been a little rough but I don't believe)
Don't believe, he's brought me this far to leave me (no no, no no)

I can't give up now!
I just can't give up now
Said I've come too far
Come too far from where I started from
No one said it would be easy
Nobody told me the road would be easy
And I don't believe
He's brought me this far to leave me

I don't feel no waste time
(Be still and let God fight your battles)
I don't believe he's brought me this far
I don't believe he's brought me this far
I don't believe he's brought me this far
I don't believe he's brought me this far
I don't believe he's brought me this far
I don't believe he's brought me this far
I don't believe he's brought me this far
I don't believe he's brought me this far

Does the Coast Guard have munittions experts? Please no more accidental injuries for anyone including responding investigative teams.

No earthquake activity near Narragansett, Rhode Island. USGS monitoring is very accurate. (click here)

There are a few oil companies in the area of Narragansett, RI. But, the location of the disruption was really specific. If it were an oil holding tank or some sort of similar incident more people would have been effected.

This sounds right to me.

July 12, 2015

...One press report claims (click here) that the explosion may be tied to a unexploded 4th of July firework that may have detonated.

This story is developing....

If there were July 4th fireworks over the water there is always a chance one didn't explode and landed on or near the beach. I'd be curious if there are any more unexploded fireworks under the water, etc. I think an explosive expert needs to consider that possibility and how to safety look for any more rockets.

A three year old can teach the world a lession about identity.

July 4, 2015
By Eric Westervelt

..."It was May 15, 2014, (click here) and I remember the date because Jackie was out of school that day," she says. "We drove to drop her older sister off at kindergarten. And normally Jackie is quite happy and content to hang out with me and play."
Jackie was 3 then, and she was called Jack. Glancing into the backseat of her car, Mary noticed something different....

Sexual identity is huge.

Every one of these stories I read, regardless of the age of the child have one common denominator; the child is elated with big, wide smiles at the instant the parent(s) realize their current gender identity is false.

Parents play an incredibly intricate part of identity issues. Identity can be directly related to love. A child understands love as a matter of acceptance to the family. Love is also a gigantic trust relationship with a parent. So, parents have to be attentive to their children when they are significantly unhappy in an ongoing basis. 

As if young parents don't have enough to deal with including their own adjustments; now, the gender identity of their children can be a call to awareness of a parent's power.

This is from Purdue University.

Researchers (click here) who have observed how children begin to understand gender agree that children begin this process at a very early age. Children seem to have an understanding of gender by about age 7, but there are several stages they go through along the way.  It is important to have realistic expectations about gender related issues and to understand typical development and when to get more help.

The following outline describes how children understand gender at different ages.

7 months
Infants can begin to tell the difference between male and female voices. Infants can tell the difference between their mother’s and their father’s voices. They will often turn their heads toward mother or father when he or she is talking.

12 months
Infants begin to tell the difference between male and female faces. Infants will also spend more time looking at their mother and/or father than other less familiar people. At this age, infants will turn to a woman’s face if they hear a woman speaking. They will look at a man’s face if they hear a man talking.

2 years
Toddlers begin to use gender stereotypes in their play. Young girls begin to play with “female toys,” and young boys play with “male toys.” Parents also may treat their children differently. Many young girls are dressed in “pretty” clothing and treated very delicately. Young boys are often dressed in “cute” clothes that are easy to move around in. Boys are often encouraged to be active and strong.

2-3 years
At this age, young children are developing “gender identity.” This means that they begin to label themselves and others as male or female. They can use words to label friends, family, and themselves as a boy or a girl.

3-4 years
Children at this age begin to use “gender typing.” They like putting things in categories, and gender is one way to do that. For example, a three-year-old child may think that trucks are male toys, because boys usually play with trucks....

Cruz vs NY Times

The New York Times is a private sector company, end of discussion. The NY Times validates its facts in a manner that is not prescribed by any government.

Cruz is an elected Senator not allowed his own facts.

When asked (click here) about its omission of Cruz’s book, the Times replied cryptically: “We have uniform standards that we apply to our best seller list, which includes an analysis of book sales that goes beyond simply the number of books sold.” Later, after the paper came under attack for its apparent political bias, it added a more specific charge: “In the case of this book, the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.”

The use of books by political campaigns can easily move a book to the best seller list of any list. ie: Sarah Palin PAC.

A best seller list tells the reader it is a very worthy book to read. That means the political leanings of Ted Cruz is a very valid truth and worthy by a majority of readers of books. It is not a logical conclusion. 

As a matter of fact, it is fraud(ulent). 

Senator Corker is a man that makes up his own facts. ie: Volkswagen election of union.

One other thing. 

Voting is a right.

Driving is a privilege.

How can any state government demand a RIGHT be validated by a PRIVILEGE?

A voter registration is not a privilege. Think about it. 

This entire 'idea' is based in validating driver's licenses in a different paradigm. 

THINK PRECEDENT.

Greece is the next Ukraine.

July 12, 2015

Moscow (click here) is considering direct energy supplies to Greece, Russia's Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has said, adding that the country wants to help Greek recovery by expanding economic cooperation.

“Russia intends to support the recovery of the Greek economy by increasing cooperation in the energy sector. Therefore we are looking into options for facilitating direct energy supplies to Greece in the near future," the minister said. 

According to Novak, the Russian Energy Ministry is planning to come to an agreement on energy supplies to Greece “within weeks.”...