The year ahead is impossible to predict. As with every year, many unknowns lie ahead. Most of us like being in control, and the unknowns are scary. What can we control in 2017? How we treat other people, and how we treat the earth are things we can control. What kinds of kindness can we spread?
As Wisconsin and the world have probably just experienced one of the warmest years on record, Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin, is deleting climate change from existence, or trying anyway. Sorry governor, climate change is not going away!
I have a cabin in Wisconsin, and can rattle off the climate changes I have seen in just the last few years: First I have lived through three very dangerous storms. All three were 100-year events with flooding and loss of many trees. Second, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, lakes surrounding Wisconsin, are warming at a pace never seen before. Third, good winter snow is a thing of the past. Either it doesn’t snow, or after it snows, it rains or warms up making winter sports icy and dangerous. We experience long droughts, then too much rain at one time. And finally, the night temperatures are rising; it doesn’t get as cold on winter or summer nights. Where I sit in Wisconsin the climate is changing!
The governor must feel the need for some attention, or maybe he is applying for a position in the Trump administration? What is the purpose, to waste taxpayer money?
As a taxpayer in Wisconsin I do not appreciate such a waste of time and resources. Can this be good for the Wisconsin economy? I know people who refuse to spend any money in Wisconsin. They drive through refusing to stop or spend a dollar. Why would businesses want to locate in such a backwards place?
Why should we care about climate change?
http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-deleted-dnr-website-2166939088.html
Good News! Humans No Longer Caused Climate Change, According to the State of Wisconsin
http://gizmodo.com/good-news-humans-no-longer-caused-climate-change-acco-1790641483
“In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship and never in want.” Celtic
“May peace and plenty be the first to lift the latch on your door, and happiness be guided to your home by the candle of Christmas.” Celtic
“Nollaig Faoi Shean Is Faoi Mhaise Dhuit” (Gaelic)
(pronounced) Knoll-ig f’wee haan ss f’wee shun-ah g-with
(translation) (A Christmas of Happiness and Joy to you)
(old Irish Saying)
“May you be blessed
With the spirit of the season, which is peace,
The gladness of the season, which is hope,
And the heart of the season, which is love.”
Irish blessing.
New Year Celtic Blessing
Slàinte maith, h-uile latha, na chi ‘snach fhaic!
Gun cuireadh do chupa thairis le slainte agus sonas.
A h-uile là sona dhuibh ‘s gun là idir dona dhuib.
Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
Good health, every day, whether I see you or not!
May your cup overflow with health and happiness.
May all your days be happy ones.
Happy New Year!
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Last year I did a series on reducing waste over the holidays. Read it here Maybe just do one thing different this year.Below is from the Minnesota Pollution Control: Holiday wasteThe presents have been opened and the festivities are over. What’s to be done with all the stuff and waste that’s left? Are there eco-friendly ways to keep it out of the trash? A lot, and you bet! The EPA reports that garbage increases 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, and it’s not hard to see why. Drive down any street or alley in late December or early January and you’re likely to see trash bins and bags overflowing with holiday waste. Some of these materials have potential value, which can be lost when they hit the waste stream. Even if your holidays weren’t the “greenest” on the block, there’s still time afterwards to engage the 5 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle, and Rethink. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/ Living Green 365 |
I love the solstice, the days are getting longer!
Below is a poem by John Caddy:
Snow and ice and whelming dark
sink mind and heart until
long Solstice night dies again.
Even beneath snow and ice
the elder greens of moss
stay bright, knowing in each cell
that growing days will once more
beat back dark, wake spirits,
bathe each waiting green in light.
John Caddy for Morning Earth http://www.morning-earth.org/
“Don’t buy me stuff that will wind up in a landfill. spend some time and make memories with me instead” Weatherman Paul Douglas
The shopping and entertaining season is upon us. How can we be more sustainable in our purchases and lifestyle?
Our choices can help people Thrive!
A Startibune.com letter to editor today:
“The holidays can make us feel trapped by traditions that dictate what we buy, where we travel and who we see. For those looking for more freedom of choice this season, I recommend scrutinizing how you spend money and what cultures and policies those dollars ultimately support. Was this gift made in America? How does that store treat its workers? Is my credit card helping finance the Dakota Access pipeline? While such choices may appear innocuous, their aggregate impact can shutter businesses and victimize people both near and far. Or — if we think critically — our choices can help people thrive.
The election has passed, but we can vote with every dollar for the type of world we endorse and wish to promote.” Robert Beets, Minneapolis
And ideas from Earth911 to make less trash http://earth911.com/living-well-being/zero-waste-how-to-make-less-trash/
https://www.givingtuesday.org/ 
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More on kindness and gratitude from a blog I follow. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for your attitude of gratitude! Every person who has every stopped to appreciate a flower growing along the side of the road, anyone who has smiled at another for a simple kindness offered, know that your gratitude has been felt all around the world. Whenever you have felt the need to and then have followed through with saying thank you, you have created a chain reaction whose vibration continuously circulates.
Affirmation: I am creating and living within the loop of continuously circulating gratitude
I appreciate you. Love, Annette Rochelle
Wishing you a week of kindness and gratitude
What is a climatarian? I get this question often.
“A climatarian is somebody who chooses their food with the climate in mind and, in particular, replaces beef and lamb with pork or poultry to cut their carbon footprint by a ton a year.” http://climatesnetwork.com/index.php
Read the entire essay here
Reducing your beef consumption is huge, but to me being a climatarian is much more. A climatarian thinks of the climate every step of the day! A climatarian also buys local, reduces their food waste, and reduces energy used in cooking. All this is easy to make part of a terrific Thanksgiving meal!
To me being a climatarian also means reducing energy for shopping trips. It is more difficult to walk or take public transportation to shop, but everyone can combine their car errands and leave out an ingredient instead of driving to get that one item!
Garbage is a terrible thing to waste!
On America Recycles Day, what commitment can you make to recycle more? I live in a community where my one-sort recycle bin is picked up bi-weekly and compost every week. It is easy!! However, every community has their own rules on recycling and composting. Find recycling information for your community http://earth911.com/
It is a horrible to waste valuable resources by putting recyclables in the landfill where they might sit for hundreds of years(We don’t know how long plastic will last, maybe forever in tiny pieces!)
http://earth911.com/ has a great article on the mistakes we make in recycling. Read it here
Some ideas to help you recycle more:
Health4earth 