Humans tend to attempt to twist nature into forms which are totally unnatural, which takes away from the natural symetry. When we allow nature to flow, without destroying her natural beauty, we can truly enjoy being part of nature’s balance. Enjoy this image of Beauty in Water, as my gift of the moment. This place is simply magical! What a great place to Dream…

I refuse to take blame for the mass destruction, wars, human suffering through neglect and purposeful harm, yet I too am responsible for allowing others to create such a hardship upon Nature. I too have lived a soft Life with luxuries which take a toll upon this planet to create. It is up to each of us to take a step back and look around at our own personal actions, and take responsibility for how we can make the changes which will save this planet and her inhabitants from certain destruction. Most certainly Mother Earth can shake, rattle, and roll, and our fragile human forms will cease to be. Yet in her compassion for all Life, she warns us in so many ways, if we are awake enough to pay attention.

I am heartbroken to know that I may never visit so many places on this planet which are being destroyed, and poisoned beyond recognition. The creatures which once abounded in this great and beautiful piece of ocean were not given a choice, nor warning of their imminent demise. The people who live along the coast are now devastated, their health and lives at risk, and now must decide what to do, and where to go. The beaches are poisoned beyond recognition. The air is full of toxins which place all in serious danger. This poison will be carried into the clouds and will rain down on the earth, creating even more sickness among the plants, animals, and people.

We need to seriously take action to prevent these disasters from occuring EVER again! How much will it take to wake this planet up? Must we destroy everything that flies, swims, walks, crawls and breathes? Are we really so foolish as to wait until it is too late to turn back? Our positive energy and actions can bring about powerful changes, in a good way, for this planet. If we stand together, instead of living in constant competition and judgement, then we CAN change our world Today! I know I create my own world, and I spend each moment sending out powerful Heart Energy to create a Beautiful World. I will keep striving for an awakening which will bring about the change and shift in this planets existence. I love this planet and all her wonders, and as long as I draw breath, I vow to walk in beauty, compassion, awareness, love, grace, balance, and with a greatful heart for all we are blessed with. Together, we can restore the Balance.

Pilamaye,

Aho Mitakuye Oyasin (All My Relations)

I would like to take this moment to give the latest report from those members from Defenders of Wildlife on the ground in Louisianna. On June 8th, 2010 Jamie Rappaport Clark reports on Day 49 of the Gulf Coast catastrophe, with a personal visit to the area. This is truly still only the beginning for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. My heart quails at the thought of what is soon to follow this giant spill.

Back on the ground and into the belly of the Beast

June 8th, 2010
Written by – Jamie Rappaport Clark
Defenders of Wildlife

It’s day 49 of the Gulf oil catastrophe and I am back on the ground, this time in southern Louisiana with Cindy Hoffman and Krista Schlyer to see for myself the true impact on wildlife.

We hit the road early this morning and headed to the BP incident command headquarters to meet with Rowan Gould, the acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kind of odd (and a bit disconcerting) to go into the belly of the beast, but once we were there, I was glad we entered. Lots of activity, a lot of intensity and even more security. After some negotiating by Rowan, we were able to get into the back rooms where all the action was happening. Before he negotiated with Mike Ulster, the head of the efforts for BP in Louisiana, the BP security would not even let us look in the windows of the rooms.

As Rowan toured us around, I was astonished at the number of people from all over the country and from numerous agencies that had been deployed to tackle this crisis. Mike Ulster, the overall incident commander for La. from BP’s north slope operation in AK, and I saw FWS staff from Florida, Tennessee, California, Virginia and many other points across the country (former colleagues of mine had left already full-time jobs back home to respond to this disaster). The place was also crawling with military, Coast Guard, National Guard troops, and Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries staff. I have to admit, I was impresed by how coordinated the effort actually seemed to be.

Rooms full of FWS, Coast Guard and other staff at computers and phones tracking the data on the spill, printing out real-time maps, and directing others on the ground where to go to deploy booms, skimmers and conduct wildlife rescues. Rowan told us that helicopters fly a grid every day to gather data on the oil and wildlife. They report back to this central command center, which then deploys boats out to where wildlife is being impacted the most. Over fifty boats are staffed with rescue personnel and are out on the water every day, throughout the day, to capture oiled animals and bring them in for rehab. Just yesterday, they had captured 170 birds, five of them dead. He said it is really hard to get the oil off the birds, it’s just like Jello. This oil is way different than the oil in Valdez, AK. It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen.

We would soon experience this all for ourselves, as he suggested that we head down to Grand Isle to meet up with some of the Fish and Wildlife folks that would take us out on a boat. So off we went, to Grand Isle, a small fishing and beach community that looked like every house on stilts was brand spankin’ new. We later learned from our boat captain that Hurricaine Katrina hit this part of the Gulf head-on and leveled most of the houses, so just about everything we were seeing was newly built. They were not even yet fully recovered from that natural disaster.

We boarded a small boat captained by one of the hundreds of fishermen recently hired by BP. He had been fishing these waters his whole life, (he told us he spends way more time on the water than on land) and now he and his son and their boats are employed by the very people that put him out of business. He was clearly from southern La. He was delightful to talk to, knew so much about the area and shared his knowledge about the whole reshaping of the region over the years, from the diversions of the mighty Mississippi River to the ongoing attempts to shore up the ecologically rich barrier islands scattered all throughout Barataria Bay. While the whole area is incredibly vast, the maximum depth is only about four feet, which make the globby oil all the more devastating to the ecology of the area.

He took us first to Bird Island, and boy was it! It was undeniably magical.

The island was teeming with birds, a busy rookery for pelicans, egrets, roseatte spoonbirds and others. The sounds coming from the island were amazing, it was truly like listening to a bird symphony. I will say though, the smells were quite a bit less enchanting! A whole lot of birds in one place aren’t the neatest housekeepers around. The island was boomed with two rings all around, but the oil had easily made landfall due to some severe storms over the past couple of days. Many of the birds looked surprisingly clean, but some were obviously covered in oil.

Among those was a family of pelicans, with chicks that were coated in a thick carmel colored oil. Even the brush they were perched on was covered in the slime. These chicks can’t fly yet, but their parents, in their effort to feed and care for their young, head out into these now deadly waters searching for food. When they dive down to make their catch, they get covered in oil. Once they get back to their nests, in the process of feeding and sheilding their young from the blazing sun, the oil on their feathers drips off onto the very chicks they are trying to protect. Combined with many of the nests being “waterfront” property and subject to the tidal surges of oil, this easily put these and other chicks directly in harm’s way. As a mother myself, this was heartbreaking. While it was obvious the parents were doing all they could to raise these chicks, I fear it will be all for naught given how compromised they already are.

Rescues of birds are very challenging, as you can imagine. Officials need to be careful that they don’t cause more damage to the thousands of other birds nesting and rearing young on the island by getting in close to try and rescue one or two. The rescue team recorded what they saw, but needed a smaller boat that would not spook the birds as much as the motor boats we were in, which they did not have at the time. They would go back later for the oiled chicks.

Sadly after the completion of the afternoon inspection, we headed out to Queen Bess Island. I was particularly interested in getting out to this island because of all of the press on this area over the weekend. With so many birds drenched in oil, I feared the site would be unbearable to see. Our boat captain told us that Queen Bess had recently been restored, adding land and a rocky coast to protect the thriving rookery. Apparently all of the rechanneling of the Mississippi River by the Army Corps had really impacted this thriving island, causing water to erode these bird hotspots to the point of almost totally disappearing. The rocks around the island were coated in the slimy oil, clear evidence of the impact that was reported in the papers. They had managed to capture many of the worst-off birds over the weekend, and replace the booms, although the booms we saw were already saturated with oil once again and globs of it were floating all around.

By the time we got to Queen Bess, our rescue team had managed to get the smaller boat they could paddle up to the island. One of the rescuers, donning a white hazmat suit, got into the boat and paddled towards shore. His mission: to gently flush the birds on the shore so he could see which ones were so covered in oil that they could not fly. Fortunately, this trip was better than those of the recent past, and he did not find any in such a debilitating state. With the rescue mission over for the day, we headed back to shore. As we crossed back over Barataria Bay, it was hard not to notice the flotilla of fishing boats that have been converted with long simmers that almost look like wings hanging off each side of the vessels. These “fisherman” spend all day out in the Bay skimming the oil off the surface trying to “clean” the area. It’s hard to imagine ever getting an area that vast with such fast moving water ever clean, but you can’t help but be overwhelmingly impressed with the fortitude and determination and comraderie of all those hard working folks who are working tirelessly in unbelievably harsh weather conditions to get this job done. The daily temperatures and heat index rose above 112 degrees F, high enough to wither most humans, including me.

Driving back through Grand Isle at sunset, we decided to check out the beach and see what was happening there. We ran across a large clean-up crew that was packing up for the day. There were big man-made berms of sand that had recently been mounded all along the coast line. Huge culvert-like tubes fronted the sand berms for as far as we could see in either direction along the once (I’m sure) densely populated swimming area. Cars with Coast Guard and others were driving up and down the beach. It reminded me of the border wall, along the Mexico/US border. A safety officer came over to us to warn us not to touch anything or attempt to crawl over the berm to the ocean (why in the world would we do that?!). The whole area is now considered contaminated and if we got too close, we would be required to go through decontamination procedures. That was enough to discourage me from any significant exploration.

We headed back to New Orleans for the night, overwhelmed by what we saw but incredibly impressed by all the people working so hard to beat this beast of a spill. It’s so clear that this region is overwhlmingly impacted on so many levels for the future as far as we can see it. Let’s just continue to hope the the spectaular wetlands and incredible biological diversity can hang on while humans work hard to right this horrible wrong on the landscape.

Click here to visit Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Surely others feel the wonderful bond we humans have to nature, and can understand the integral part they play in Life on this beautiful planet Earth? We are conscious stewards who must remember to walk softly, with a great respect for these sacred lands. Because truly, all places on this planet are sacred, and we can each make a difference when it comes to preserving the pristine wild places. Please take a few precious moments to offer your support in caring for the land which provides for all of our needs. The following letter is the latest news from Oregon Wild. I give grateful thanks for your time.

Oregon Wild Supporter,

Here’s a quick quiz for you:

The Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman, and Umatilla Nation Forests in northeast Oregon cover 5.3 million acres of land. In the new draft Forest Service plan that will chart the course for their future management, how many acres of Wilderness is the agency recommending?

a)    1,800,000 acres
b)    953,000 acres
c)    16,000 acres

Click here to find out the answer and make sure your voice is heard as the Forest Service continues to draft their new plan.

Collectively, these national forests make up the spectacular and diverse Blue Mountains where Ponderosa pine forests and sweeping vistas are home to elk, steelhead, and now wolves. Out here, the forests are more open and the chance of running into another person out in the backcountry is slim.

The opportunities for expanded Wilderness protection are vast.

With only 4% of the state of Oregon permanently safeguarded with the highest level of protection Congress can bestow on public land, we have a long way to go to make up our Wilderness deficit. Sadly, the Forest Service (even with new leadership in the Obama administration) doesn’t seem to understand how vital Wilderness protections are to Oregonians today and for future generations.

Click on the chart below to see the numbers and find out what the Forest Service is recommending for Wilderness protection in the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revisions.

From Hell’s Canyon west to the headwaters of the John Day River, the national forests that make up the mighty Blue Mountains need your voice.

Write to the Forest Service today and urge them to protect the remaining wild places of northeast Oregon.

Thank you.

For the wild,
Erik Fernandez
Wilderness Coordinator
Oregon Wild

PS: The Forest Service doesn’t always move quickly. The Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision has been years in the making. Throughout the process, Oregon Wild staff have been diligently monitoring the process, attending meetings, and now holding the Forest Service accountable for a lackluster plan. We couldn’t keep the Forest Service honest without the support of people like you. Please donate or become a member today to support our work protecting our remaining wild forests. Thanks.

Wilderness protection for Oregon’s Yellowstone

By Guest Columnist
April 19, 2010, 7:00AM
By Erik Fernandez

The Siskiyou Wild Rivers area in southwest Oregon is one of the most important and unique natural areas in the state. Sadly, as The Oregonian editorial board recently pointed out it’s also one of the most threatened.

As the largest, most intact and most biologically diverse wild area in the state, the Siskiyous are Oregon’s very own Yellowstone. Known historically for healthy salmon runs, the region is gaining an unfortunate reputation of late for anything-goes mining. Congress and the Obama administration need to act to ensure that this natural treasure receives the protection it deserves.

Southwest Oregon has a history of mineral extraction, but we need to ask ourselves if harmful mining should take place in one of the most sensitive natural areas in Oregon. Should diesel-powered suction dredges be set loose to excavate critical spawning habitat for steelhead and chinook and coho salmon?

This isn’t the first time this corner of our state faced threats from harmful extractive industries. And those who care about clean water, wildlife and quiet recreation haven’t always been able to beat back misguided schemes.

In 1994 Congress green-lighted logging without laws with the infamous “salvage rider.” When President Bill Clinton signed the salvage rider, many acres of ancient forest in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers were toppled by chainsaws. After the Biscuit Fire of 2002, the Bush administration proposed the single largest logging project in Forest Service history.

Today, the area faces threats both new and old. No doubt, until Oregon’sYellowstone is permanently protected, private special interests will always work to reap a profit from these public lands. That’s why Congress should pass Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers legislation for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers. Wilderness designation remains the surest and most lasting way to ensure no further harm comes to this internationally significant landscape.

While Oregon has a green reputation, we don’t always live up to it. Nowhere is that more true than when it comes to protecting our natural legacy. Sadly, only 4 percent of the entire state has been permanently protected as wilderness, compared to 10 percent in Washington, 15 percent in California and 8 percent in conservative Idaho.

Protecting Oregon’s Yellowstone as wilderness would safeguard amazing salmon runs in the Chetco River, the unparalleled wildflower diversity of Rough and Ready Creek, and the only redwoods in Oregon that grow to a massive 15 feet in diameter.

Luckily, momentum is already building. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Rep. Peter DeFazio and Gov. Ted Kulongoski have all called for increased protections for this area. In the short term, the Siskiyou Wild Rivers need an immediate timeout on mining so that Congress can address the broader need for wilderness protections. The Obama administration could easily and quickly enforce a mining timeout through an administrative withdrawal for the threatened wilderness areas.

While a timeout on destructive plans for this unique region is certainly necessary, it is but a short-term fix. For the salmon that swim its wild rivers, the rare flowers that bloom only from its unique soils and the many thousands who camp, fish and hike along its trails, wilderness is the long-term solution for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers.

Erik Fernandez is the wilderness coordinator for Oregon Wild.

We have the technology, and solar energy can eliminate so much of the pollution which occurs through the harvesting of fossil fuels, which in turn is creating havoc with the Earth’s natural environment. Humans have clearly failed in their attempts to harness a planet that already has a built in system which was designed to allow the planet to grow without humankinds clumsy interference. Our integrity is surely lacking if we do not allow ourselves to become responsible stewards of such a wonderfully beautiful living planet, as our Mother Earth.

I am actually quite suprised that Solar power has not yet been implemented around the world, as our main power source, long before now. I believe this option has been on the table long enough, and we need to move forward into the 21st Century with some positive improvements in our lifestyles. Green is the color of living growing things, and the Earth’s Sun is what places the power of green all around us. It is about time we stop talking about it, and take positive action to reverse the damage, and promote new growth.

Alternative energy is what makes us cool in the modern age. Let’s create a good image for those looking at us from other parts of the Universe, and set some good examples, for the young ones so they will actually WANT to follow in our footsteps where some things are concerned.

Here is an interesting article called “What’s stopping us getting solar power from deserts?” written by Mark Jansen, that I would like to pass along.

If we can get past our self imposed price barrier, and allow technology to help us build some mega power grids, and share the vast amount of solar energy available to us, well then we will be well on our way. Check out the article, and then ask yourself what you can do to help this ideal solution move from dream to reality.

I ran across this very interesting article over at Organic Consumers Association, written by Ronnie Cummins and Will Allen. Please take a few moments to read, and follow the link provided at the bottom of this message to read more, and visit Organic Consumers Association to learn about ways to promote a beautiful and healthy planet Earth. We are each of us equally responsible as stewards on this planet. We do not deserve such beauty and wonders if we take no heed of the preventable damage being done to Mother Earth on a large scale.

“Climate Catastrophe: Surviving the 21st Century” written by Ronnie Cummins and Will Allen

Climate Stabilization Requires a Cultural and Political Revolution

The climate, energy, and political catastrophe we are facing is mind-boggling and frightening. Yet there is still time to save ourselves, to move beyond psychological denial, despair, or false optimism. There is still hope if we are willing to confront the hydra-headed monsters that block our path, and move ahead with a decisive plan of action. The inspirational message we need to deliver is that we’re not just talking about drastically reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, but rebuilding society, creating in effect a New Woman and a New Man for the 21st Century. What we are witnessing are the early stages of a mass grassroots consciousness-raising and taking back of power from out-of-control corporations, banks, corporate-controlled media, and politicians. This cultural and political revolution will empower us to to carry out a deep and profound retrofitting of industry, government, education, health care, housing, neighborhoods, transportation, food and farming systems, as well as our diets and lifestyles.

The scale of human and physical resources needed to turn our current suicide economy into a green economy is daunting, but absolutely necessary and achievable. The only viable roadmap for survival-an 80-90% reduction in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050-means we must force a drastic reduction in military spending (current wars and military spending are costing us almost one trillion dollars a year). We must tax the rich and the greenhouse gas polluters, and bring our out-of-control politicians, banks, Federal Reserve System, and corporations to heel.

The good news, as Van Jones and others have pointed out, is that this 21st Century green economy will not only stabilize the climate, but enable us to retrain and reemploy the U.S. workforce, including low-income youth and 16-25 million unemployed workers, as building retrofitters, solar and wind installers, recyclers, organic gardeners, farmers, nutritionists, holistic health care providers, and other green economy workers.

Please visit –> Organic Consumers Association <-- to read more on this very important subject of our Climate and the Environment, and what we face on a Global level today.

Dear Teri,

Last fall, we told you about Oregon’s 10 Most Endangered Places. Coming in at #8 on the list were the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests, threatened by a proposal to ramp up clear-cut logging.

Now, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) is set to approve this logging increase, and they need to hear from you! Tell them our state forests are vital for the salmon, wildlife, clean water, and recreational opportunities they provide!

Write a letter to ODF today and tell them to protect clean water, salmon, and recreation opportunities in our state forests.

Oregon prides itself on protecting its natural heritage, but what is being done to our state forests should be an embarrassment to every Oregonian. Instead of a legacy of abundant wildlife and clean water, we are leaving our children a heritage of clear cuts, mud slides, and wrecked rivers.

For decades, all forests in Oregon (including the Tillamook, Clatsop, Elliot, and Santiam state forests) were managed primarily for industrial timber production. As a result, most of our old-growth is gone and the species that rely on complex native forests are still vanishing.

Finally, in the 1990s, forest managers began using science to determine how their logging activities would impact things like salmon populations and water quality. Not surprisingly, clear-cutting doesn’t do wildlife and favors and doesn’t keep streams more pristine. Recognizing this, ODF refocused some of their management plans towards restoring more old-growth forest habitat, calling for an even 50/50 split between timber emphasis and forest protection.

Now, they plan to do away with any sense of balance and ramp up clear-cutting on up to 70 percent of State Forest land.

We need to tell them that protecting only 30 percent of our state forests isn’t enough. Write a letter before the January 29th comment deadline here.

With approximately 50% of Oregon’s forests in private hands (and subject to a constant rotation of industrial logging), it is imperative that we protect the small portion of forest land that we all own as Oregonians.

Thanks for standing up for the Tillamook and other state forests.

For wild forests,
Sean Stevens
Communications Associate
Oregon Wild

Salmon survival is at stake in the ODF decision to ramp up clear-cutting. (photo courtesy Wild Salmon Center)

The Clean Air Act has effectively regulated some of the most dangerous pollutants for the past 40 years. This amendment would put public health at risk and jeopardize long-overdue action to hold the biggest polluters accountable, reduce America’s oil dependence and jump-start a vibrant clean energy economy.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Clean Air Act is a tool for tackling the pollution that causes global warming, and President Obama has begun acting — with clean car standards and clean-up requirements for power plants and factories — to protect our health and our climate.

A vote for the Murkowski amendment is a step backward for public health, for protecting our planet, and for our children’s future. It would put our communities at risk, undermine the new clean energy economy and overrule sound scientific decisions.

Instead of standing in the way of progress, Congress should move this year to enact the energy and climate legislation the country needs to build a clean energy economy, create jobs and protect the environment.

Please visit NRDC’s Action Fund today, for more information on how you can do your part to prevent this disasterous attempt to weaken the Clean Air Act. Time is running out, and we need to act Now!

Tell your senators to vote NO on Murkowski’s Dirty Air Act!

Note – This Action is for US Residents only! Do not act if you do not have a US Address.

If we do not at least give it our best shot, those of us with the compassion and foresight to care, then we will never know until it is too late. Please consider joining myself, along with Jeff Corwin, in taking action to defend and protect the creatures on this planet during these transitions into a new global climate.

Please visit Jeff Corwin and Defenders of Wildlife and help us with this struggle to help wildlife threatened by global warming. We all carry the responibilities for good stewardship on this planet, whether we believe so or not. This is our home, and there is a reason for every season, and every creature on this planet.

I worry deeply about what kind of world awaits my two young daughters if we fail to address this threat.

– Jeff Corwin

The damage to the environment and precious wildlife is a travesty which has been visited too many times upon this planet. In the heart of Wyoming’s heavily developed Powder River Basin lies the area’s last pristine haven for wildlife: the 120,000-acre Fortification Creek region, home to sage grouse, pronghorn, bobcats, songbirds and elk.

With more than 25,000 natural gas wells already surrounding Fortification Creek, agency officials are now targeting this rare wildlife oasis for industrialization. The Bureau of Land Management is drawing up a plan for coalbed methane gas development in the region, but it has begun issuing drilling permits before a full environmental analysis is completed. Without a thorough scientific review, the agency has no way of knowing the full impact of roads, power lines, pipelines and other infrastructure on this sensitive wildlife habitat.

We need to Take Action Today to prevent this from occuring. Wildlife habitats are in danger whenever we choose to gather resources in such a reckless manner, and develop in places where such actions will devestate the natural order of Life. Mother Earth is a living being, and will not tolerate this destruction much longer.

Please take a few moments to send a message to the Obama Administration with your objections to this latest move to gather resources from our pristine wildlife habits in Yellowstone and the Greater Rockies!