Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
United States of the Environment : The Good and the Bad
In Educational, Environment on September 7, 2011 at 03:10The Good and the Bad:
The Front Yard
In Educational, Environment on August 26, 2011 at 15:38California is an amazing place to live. Expensive, yes, but still stunning none-the-less. Over the last several months I’ve grown a new appreciation for our coastline – the way its etched and cut, the plants that build up its slopes, and the mountains that plunge into the sea. This appreciation has caused me to learn and attempt to differentiate native plant and tree species that surround us. Check out this video and let me know if a similar appreciation begins to stir (Brent Lancaster, Video):
Quoting John Muir
In Environment, Personal Health on July 21, 2011 at 15:34
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” – John Muir
He would know.
Sustainability – Sustaining Life for Today and Tomorrow
In Community, Educational, Environment on May 28, 2011 at 16:57
Do you need help making an idea sound more complex and thought-out than it actually is? Want to capitalize on the whole Green Movement thing? If you answered yes to either question, then here’s all you have to do – Just add the word “sustainable” to whatever you’re working on. For example, you know that marketing plan you’ve been working on that seems so boring? Instead of calling it “Marketing Plan,” try calling it “Sustainable Marketing Plan.” Or how about that business operations strategy? Call it “Sustainable Operations Strategy” and watch the heads nod in approval.
If that sounds contrived and disingenuous, that’s because it is. Yet it’s exactly what companies and people are doing everyday in order to appear more socially aware and environmentally conscious. The term “sustainability” has been so over-used that it’s lost much of its meaning and true value. People throw the term around similar to that of “love” – I love coffee, I love my wife, I love bubble gum, I love my daughter, I love the beach. Sooner or later it becomes so overused that it’s synonymous with multiple terms/ideas, and we forget what it was original intended to describe. That’s why I think it’s time to go back to the basics.
Sustainability is not a term that simply describes a single action like our recycling efforts and/or turning off the lights when we leave a room (Although, that may be part of it). Sustainability is a much deeper concept than just modifying behavior. It requires us to become visionaries and consider today, as well as tomorrow. “Sustainable” means doing something – Work, play, life – in a way that allows us to get our needs fulfilled today without compromising the needs of the future generations. In other words, it’s living a life that considers the lives to come.
What does it mean to “consider the lives to come?” It means looking at our lifestyle and measuring the full impact of our decisions. An example of this would be finding out what process, procedure, and labor conditions you’re “buying” into when you purchase a t-shirt from company “X” or food from farm “y.” It’s important to remember that we vote with our dollar. Every time we purchase an item we are essentially voting for that item, and the methods involved in its creation, to stay in production. Sometimes those methods are so thoughtless that they destroying the quality of life for us, as well as our children and grandchildren. Therefore, take the time to learn about the products you’re buying because how and what we consume plays a large roll in living a sustainable life. If you would like to read more about how sustainability and consumption are interconnected click here.
If living a more sustainable life sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is… at first. It’s takes time, effort, and intentionality in order to reprogram how we think and consume. However, after a short time, I promise you that you’ll find satisfaction in the realization that you can make the world a better place one decision at a time. Don’t worry about being perfect. Just try and do what you can with what you have.
Finding Walden Pond
In Environment, People, Personal Health on April 2, 2011 at 19:19
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”
It’s important that each of us find our “Walden Pond.” Thoreau found his and wrote about. We read it and talked about it, but not many took it further than that.
There is a place out there we need to discover, or perhaps, rediscover. It’s a place that offers solitude and wisdom. A place where one finds rejuvenation in simple, intentional, and purposeful living. Where man’s modern day worry – technology/communication overload, achievement, money, power – is cast aside in order to remember that which was once forgotten – joy, rest, love, peace.
Man needs to leave his cubicle, concrete, and car in order to reorganize and find himself. Nature has a way of speaking sense to us and reminding us of what’s important. Once immersed, it has a way of peeling back the facades and masks of conventional living, in order to reveal what is truly important. It reminds us that it’s not what we achieve in life that matters, but how we live.
I have my own “Walden Pond” that’s far away from the stress of modern living (I hope to find several more) . I go back there a hand-full of times a year in order to rest and rejuvenate. It’s a necessity for me and I challenge you to find a place where you can do the same.
Pray for Japan
In Environment, People, Spirituality on March 17, 2011 at 04:04
The recent events in Japan have left me spinning. It’s been dizzying to see one disaster ride in on the coat tails of another. First the 9.0 earthquake, then the tsunami, and finally the potential nuclear meltdown of several reactors. Is it going to stop, or is the domino effect just getting started? My hope and prayer is that the worst is behind us, and there will be no nuclear catastrophe.
Nuclear catastrophe. Interesting to think that less than a century ago the United States was dropping nuclear catastrophes (bombs) on Japan as a sworn enemy, but now we’re praying that they don’t have to experience any more tragedy whether natural or man-made. I find that kind of beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, the destruction and chaos is nothing but tragic. However, the fact that the hearts, minds, and pocket books of Americans and the world have turned toward Japan is nothing short of manifest reconciliation… and that is quite lovely. Why? Because reconciliation is one of the oldest forms of beauty, love, purpose, and identity.
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Cor 5:18-19)
Stewarding What We’ve Been Given
In Environment, Spirituality on February 26, 2011 at 19:24
“Consider that the very same God who set the earth into orbit and knit you together in the womb has entrusted you with the responsibility to manage his intricate creation. You are not a mere speck of dust in this vast creation. You are a ‘ruler,’ a steward, a manager in trust of, over all that God has made. And you have been crowned with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5-6) in this divine appointment. Human beings -created in the divine image – are the only creatures that God entrusted with the mandate and the capacity to unleash and harness creation’s potential (Genesis 1:26-29)” (YouVersion)
I read this snippet the other morning and was reminded of how important our role as stewards of the earth is. Inside Christian churches the debate continues as to what God meant when He said we are to “rule over creation.” Some believe “rule” means to do what we want, when we want, without worry of repercussion (i.e. climate change or pollution). While others, like myself, believe that “rule” means to carefully, consciously, and considerately manage the creation we’ve been entrusted with so each proceeding generation has a high quality of life. Where do you find yourself when it comes to this discussion? What does “rule” mean to you?
A Blessing of Abundance
In Environment, Spirituality on February 13, 2011 at 17:01
Genesis 27:28
28 May God give you heaven’s dew
and earth’s richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine.
Rain, Rain, come and stay… for awhile
In Educational, Environment, Spirituality on January 6, 2011 at 03:17
Southern California living can distort a person’s perspective. Like take the weather, or seasons, for example. We have this idea that it is/should always be sunny, and although we do get tons of sunshine, I’m always astounded at how little tolerance So. Cal-ers have for the rain (Even during years of drought). It’s like we don’t understand that all sun and no rain leads to a very unsustainable lifestyle. The only way that water continues to flow from our facets and produce continues to show up at the Farmer’s Market is by way of the Water Cycle.
Rain is a blessing, not a curse… lest we forget.
Isaiah 55:9-11
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
