Our highest priority is keeping our bodies healthy, and our environment clean and Life promoting. In caring for this earth by moving through this Life in an environmentally responsible manner, we ensure a future with very little disease, and a planet that can sustain Life without depleting our natural resources. Everything is already in place, as intended by the original creators, and we just need to slow down and really take a look around at how we care for our surroundings on this planet. Each of us have a profound impact on the natural world, and we must remember to walk softly and respectfully. I love this planet, and will do all in my power that I can to protect her and encourage awareness.

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.

Mitaku ye oyasin (All my relations)… I would like to pass along a very important message, from a sister who walks the Lakota path as I do, concerning our Sacred Earth. Prayers are needed, as well as action from those who know what to do, to help save the land from unnecessary desecration. Please look into your hearts and find the time to send out a message to preserve our lands… Pilama ye for your time in this urgent matter.

“Good Morning,

Carolyn Gray”

EarthWorks takes Action

Rio Tinto and BHP – Billiton have created a subsidiary that is proposing to mine a rich copper vein more than 7,000 feet below sea level east of Superior, Arizona. As a first step, Rio Tinto is currently shopping around a land exchange bill that would end an executive order banning mining from Oak Flat Campground and privitize more that 3,000 acres of public land.

Concerned citizens are worried about the loss of Oak Flat Campground, a very popular recreation area. Birders, climbers, campers, canyoneers, bikers, and hikers enjoy the area throughout the year, all of whom would be greatly harmed if these lands were forever taken from public access. Western Apache people have traditionally used the area for cultural, spiritual, and subsistance. The land exchange would include Apache Leap, a cliff where more than 80 Apache warriors chose to leap to their deaths rather than surrender to the US calvary.

Both the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the White Mountain Apache Tribe has passed unanimous reslutions opposing the mine and land exchange. In addition, the Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Association in Superior, AZ has been meeting regularly opposing the land exchange and is circulating a petition.

Sometimes my favourite thing to do is to dream of those places on this beautiful planet in which I would love to someday visit. In my explorations I run across some of the most lovely and interesting natural wonders. I simply cannot resist the pull to see more, and I do love to share!

One such place is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as the Isles of Scilly. Here we will surely find enough to explore to satisfy even my adventurous nature! From what I have learned, the Isles of Scilly lie fewer than 30 miles off the Cornish coast, but visitors might sometimes imagine that they had travelled to a different country. There is plenty on the Isles of Scilly that you simply will not find anywhere else, whether it’s wildlife, archeology, landscape, tranquility, an almost sub-tropical feel or just the islanders’ friendliness.

According to the NAAONB Website for the Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly comprise of around 200 rocks and islands, five of which are currently inhabited. Part of what makes the Islands so distinctive is their wide diversity of plant and animal life. Summer temperatures are slightly cooler than the mainland’s (although winters are milder, too).

These conditions are kind to the sub-tropical plants that have made the Islands their home. As the atmosphere on Scilly lacks the dust and industrial pollutants seen almost everywhere these days, the light has a striking brightness and clarity.

Like the air, the sea’s also unusually clean, which helps explain the profusion of marine life, from anemones and kelp to seals, porpoises and dolphins. Scilly has a large number of migrating birds and supports a greater density of song thrushes than anywhere on the British mainland, due to its small fields and hedges.

These same fields show the signs of human activity which, since beginning over 4,000 years ago, continued through the Bronze and Iron Ages as humans settled, farmed land and – from 500BC to the second world war – protected the Islands from the threat of invasion.

Tourism dominates the economy with, on average, around 120,000 tourists visiting the islands each year. Flower farming and fishing remain important, although both these sectors have struggled in recent years.

As well as being an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the islands are protected by a range of designations which include a heritage coast and a conservation area, as well as – amongst others – a Special Protection Area (under the EC Birds Directive), a Marine Special Area of Conservation (under the EC Habitats Directive) and 26 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Quite apart from which there are well over 130 listed buildings and 238 Scheduled Ancient Monuments.

Final Thoughts

Oh yes, there is definately a great amount of curiosity building up inside of my being to visit such a treasure trove of areas to explore! The uninhabited islands are an absolutely fascinating subject with the thought of many wondrous hours of observing nature in her finest detail. Ummm… yeah… the magically beautiful Isles of Scilly are definately a place to add to my growing list of future adventures!

To find more places of beauty and wonder, you may wish to take a look at Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]

Living on this planet creates many challenges. Not the least of which is taking care of the world in which we live in to preserve the natural balance. It never ceases to amaze me how much the majority of people living on this Earth take for granted. How can one possibly believe that our fleeting existence on this ancient planet is more important than the rest of the creatures placed here to keep this world in balance? Every action has a reaction, and we are all responsible for the footprints we leave behind.

The one reality which stands out most in my mind, is how much wisdom went into the process of creating this world, and how much attention to detail our Creator (and the Creators helpers) put into creating such a wonderful and (to my thinking) magical balance. It is not all pretty, or very friendly, in the natural world, yet I get a feeling of wild wonder in viewing all that occurs without the interference of mankind. I do love to adventure out on my own, yet when I am not able to I like to hit the local library, or pop in a DVD. I am getting ready to check out Mother Earth Blu-ray 5-Pack (IMAX) [Blu-ray] from Amazon.

This is something I have had my eyes on, and so I figure I had better take the time to satisfy my Earth loving nature and soak up some nature scenes. According to the data I have collected, the Mother Earth Blue Ray Edition will take you on an amazing journey of beauty and wonder as never experienced before. Each title is independently produced to provide viewers with an up close and personal experience with our Mother Earth. Providing an understanding of our beautiful planet and the need to preserve it.

Titles included in this 10-Disc collection

Africa, The Serengeti
Alaska, Spirit of the Wild
Antarctica, An Adventure of a Different Nature
Ocean Oasis
Australia, Land Beyond Time

I will be sure to comment on my experience with these amazing DVD’s. I welcome all thoughts and comments from those who have had the pleasure of watching these as well. Nature deserves our courteous observance, and the little bit of energy it takes to walk softly and respectfully. Our Mother Earth is ancient, and we are not truly part of the Great Balance in nature. We are very lucky to have such a paradise to live in, and it is a shame how much damage humans have caused on this giant and wondrous garden we call Planet Earth. Let’s remember to create a space which enhances the natural world, instead of tearing apart and polluting that which gives us Life.

To find more places of beauty and wonder, you may wish to take a look at Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]

Our lovely planet Earth is full of such natural wonders and beauty. I find no greater pleasure (besides playing with the little ones in my family), than to explore and discover yet more awesome places to enjoy. One such place that has caught my attention is Tamar Valley in England. Here follows an enchanting description as gained from the National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).. and such that I felt compelled to pass along…

Rising on the borders of Cornwall and Devon, the rivers Tamar, Tavy and Lynher, form one of the last, unspoilt drowned valley river systems in England. On their passage to the broad estuary near Plymouth, the rivers flow through a series of deep meanders, steep gorges and wooded valleys. A ribbon of woodland extends along the Estuary margin although it is often no more than a mature hedgerow above a steep earth bank. In the middle valleys where the ridges are wide the high land has an almost plateau character and there is a feeling of remoteness and solitude. The landscape contains a wide variety of wildlife habitats, including many ancient woodlands and wetlands that provide important wintering grounds for wildfowl and wading birds.

The Tamar Valley AONB can provide advice to land managers on looking after their hedges, orchards and woodlands. We can help obtain funding through Natural England’s Environmental Stewardship Schemes. We can also help to put together projects to look for new ways to support farms and those who work the land.

A Beautiful place on Mother Earth to Cherish

I am personally impressed with the pride and love for the land which seems quite apparent and abundant in this fertile and ancient valley. It is so vital to cherish, preserve, and protect these places of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and strive to create or preserve many more such places all around our beautiful Mother Earth. This is what Life is meant to be. Full of natural and wonderful places to visit! I get truly excited when I discover a place on Earth which carries the mysterious energy one can only find in ancient groves, valleys and other such areas. This Earth has many hidden magics, percieved as each individual wishes, yet magical all the same. I see nature as a very magical and wonderful part of Life on Earth. It is my heartfelt energy which goes forth to bring about enough thought and care, from my fellow human beings, to give proper attention to preserving and promoting new growth of our giant garden lovingly known as Mother Earth.

To find more places of beauty and wonder, you may wish to take a look at Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]

Now I have a new goal for my traveling adventures! I have discovered a place to visit which intrigues me greatly, and looks as if it will give me much pleasure in satisfying my love of exploration. The Isle of Wight is a British Island, located south of the county of Hampshire. The island is known for its Outstanding Natural Beauty and for its world-famous sailing based at Cowes. Here is a place one can lose themselves in for a while, visiting the sites and seeking quiet places to enjoy the scenery.

Rich in history and lore, the Isle of Wight has been invaded many times. Due to it’s particular lack of a defensive landscape, it was not easy to hold when invaders attacked. It changed hands several times, throughout the last thousand years or so, being ravaged by the Vikings until the Danes were defeated by the Saxons. Eventually the isle came under the full control of the Crown, and Queen Victoria made Osborne House on the Isle of Wight her summer home for many years and, as a result, it became a major holiday resort for fashionable Victorians including Alfred Lord Tennyson, Julia Margaret Cameron, Charles Dickens (who wrote much of David Copperfield there) and members of European royalty.

Known as one of Europes most important areas for Dinosaur fossils, apparently the eroding cliffs often reveal previously hidden remains. From a wildlife point of view the island sports a flourishing and stable population of the Red Squirrel, which is rare in most parts of England. While there are no deer on the Island of Wight, rare and protected species such as the dormouse and many rare bats can be found, as well as the Glanville Fritillary butterfly whose distribution in the United Kingdom is largely restricted to the edges of the crumbling cliffs.

Well then, here is a place on Mother Earth which totally fascinates me, and begs for the attention of my exploratory and adventurous nature. Biking my way from one end of the island to the other, seeking out the best places to view island and sea, sounds simply lovely. I do believe I will be adding the Isle of Wight to my ever growing list of favourite places to visit!

To find more places of beauty and wonder, you may wish to take a look at Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]

Our fight to save the wild places, and those that inhabit the lands all around us, is still in full swing. We have much to do to turn around the devestation caused through neglect and natural disasters. Our future depends upon how well we Steward this planet, whether people are aware of this or not. Education is as important as bringing about awareness of our surroundings and the plights of the Animal Kingdom. Here is some news that I feel is vital to pass along…

As soon as tomorrow, President-elect Obama will give what is being billed as a major address on creating jobs and stimulating America’s economy.

Here’s a forward-looking, wildlife-friendly way that he and Congress can create tens of thousands of green jobs: Saving wolves, river otters and other imperiled wildlife and safeguarding our public lands.

Urge President-elect Obama and your U.S. Representative and Senators to support smart investment in wildlife conservation to create green jobs to protect endangered wildlife, habitat and public lands.

Investing in America’s conservation infrastructure could help…

• Keep local construction, electrical, landscape and other companies working throughout 2009;
• Provide the next generation of workers with the skills they need to lead a green revolution in our economy; and
• Support vital efforts to safeguard river otters, other imperiled wildlife, habitat and our national wildlife refuges, forests, monuments and other public lands.

In fact, America could put nearly 60,000 people to work within 90 to 180 days… all while protecting the wildlife, habitat and public lands that help make our country so special.

These projects are especially important in places like Louisiana’s Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, which was devastated by Hurricane Rita and is currently closed to the public.

The Refuge once hosted more than 280,000 visitors each year and is home to wildlife like river otters, American alligators, pelicans and egrets. But now Sabine is in dire need of repair. Clean-up and restoration efforts could create good local jobs that help Sabine’s wildlife.

And that’s just one example. Across the country, many national wildlife refuges and other public lands have been effectively shuttered as essential projects have been left unfunded and vital wildlife conservation staff positions left vacant.

Transportation projects can also provide great benefits to wildlife and local economies. Done properly, they can create jobs and reconnect wildlife habitat across highways to allow safe passage and help animals migrate in response to climate change and other pressures. 

For instance, building wildlife crossings like those proposed in Washington State’s Snoqualmie Pass would help animals like wolves, grizzly bears, cougar, elk and bobcats move safely through their habitat without endangering their lives — and those of motorists — by crossing the highway.

Take action to put Americans to work restoring essential wildlife habitat and our national wildlife refuges, forests, monuments and other public lands.

Projects to restore wetlands, reconnect habitat across highways, combat harmful invasive species, repair damaged watersheds, rehabilitate native forests and prairies, make facilities and buildings more energy efficient, and install alternative energy systems would have tangible benefits for imperiled wildlife and local communities. Many of these projects also would help wildlife adapt to climate change and reduce global warming pollution by making America more energy efficient.

Together, we can protect the natural legacy we’ll leave our children and grandchildren and put Americans to work. Please take action now to help put America on the right path forward.

For the Wild Ones,

Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife

Well then, Happy New Year! It always gives me a sense of starting upon a new Journey when the Seasons change, and when the days start to become longer. Although we are having many real Winter moments of snow mixed with rain (we usually get mostly rain here in Oregon), I feel a freshness in my Spirit and am looking forward to each new moment with a spring in my step. I have a strong feeling that this year will bring many new changes around the Earth, and some will not be so good. Yet I am ready to walk forth with courage and am up to the sometimes overwhelming challenges we will need to face, and I shall keep my faith that we can save the wild places and creatures that the creator has placed beside and around us. I wish to explore this planet, and it is my goal to travel to new and beautiful places, enjoying many new adventures.

As I look back I am reminded of how far I have come in the past year, and this serves to encourage me to set new goals. Although I am still young, I am the Matron of my family and my actions serve to create a certain positive energy which flows to all of my family members. This is a great responsibility, yet there are so many teachings yet to evolve, and in these uncertain times we need to all be aware of what is at stake on this planet as a result from our actions. We cannot sit back and let fate just take its course… it is up to each of us to put forth our intentions in a good way and follow through. My warrior spirit guides me to honour and protect those around me, and I can do no less.

Human beings tend to fall into the trap of focusing inward, which is good at times to keep our bodies and spirits in balance, yet we need to focus on the world and happenings around us in order to help create the positive changes which will help us grow and develop as human beings. We all have choices to make as our path unfolds, and sometimes it is vital to take the harder path in order to encourage others to follow suit in honoring this planet and all her gifts. There is much peril and danger unfolding for humans as well as all the living beings that inhabit this world. Keeping our eyes open and our senses aware of the changes around us may spell the difference between life and death, or circumstances which are totally unacceptable to live with.

I will, as always, keep my thoughts and actions positive. In doing so I will be doing my own small part in creating a world in which Life on this planet is worth living. I will be aware of my surroundings and that which I am called forth to do in helping to restore the Balance. There will always be the good and the bad, the Ying and the Yang, as this is what the Balance means. Yet I am hopeful in bringing back the balance on this beautiful Mother Earth, as the balance has become distorted and there is more bad than good at this time. I do not wish to see this planet as only bad to help the Balance elsewhere in the Universe, as this is home to many billions of creatures who need to survive in a good way. We can all do our part if we set our minds and hearts to this task, as honourable stewards of this planet, before it is too late and the Earth decides to take matters fully into her own actions of cleansing.

So today I wish to set forth my intentions of staying alert to the changes around me, and stepping forth on my path with a good heart. I shall honour the true friends I meet as they help to Light my Path. May we each honour the Earth and walk softly on this wondrous and Sacred gift of a planet we have been placed upon to call home for such a short time. May each moment create a new feeling of Love for our fellow beings, and let us walk forth with excitement for just being alive!

Pilamaye,

Teri
~

As we wind down in 2008 and prepare for the new year ahead, it gives us the opportunity to look at our accomplishments throughout the year. As we live and grow, we learn much from our percieved mistakes, and try to put into perspective that which we have learned. As a person I have grown much in this past year, and I can honestly say there is more positive than negative in my Life.

One of my most passionate goals is to help protect this Earth and her inhabitants. As such I am happy to say that throughout this year one of my favourite champions of this cause, Defenders of Wildlife, has helped stop planned wolf hunts in Greater Yellowstone, secured protections for America’s vanishing polar bears under the Endangered Species Act, saved imperiled wolverines from trapping plans and won dozens more victories for our wildlife. Although there is still much to do in preserving our wild places and we have a long way to go in ensuring protection for all the wild creatures who roam this planet alongside us, I do believe we have a good chance of success. For this, I would like to extend a warm thank you to all who have helped in this important and worthy cause. Without all of you, it would not have been possible to do as much as we have thus far.

A Dangerous time for Wolves

We still have a great battle ahead of us, and it is especially alarming to note that Sarah Palin is planning what could be the bloodiest aerial wolf killing season yet in Alaska.

Already this winter, aerial gunners in Alaska have slaughtered at least 47 wolves. More wolves were killed this past November than in any November in the past five years. And, under Governor Palin’s out-of-control wolf-killing program, nearly 600 more wolves could die before this year’s season is finished.

Wolves are dying right now, and we need your help to stop the killing!!

Please let the start of 2009 be a positive move in the right direction. With new leadership in Washington and unprecedented awareness about Governor’s Palin’s senseless killing programs, we’re now in a better position to stop this terrible, needless practice and save wolves.

With the support of fellow Earth and animal lovers we can…

* Forcefully oppose efforts by Governor Palin and her Board of Game to arbitrarily kill even more wolves just to boost game populations for out-of-state hunting interests

* Shine the national spotlight on Governor Palin’s brutal wolf-killing programs and pressure her to end them

* Work with the incoming Obama/Biden Administration to close the loophole in the Federal Airborne Hunting Act that Governor Palin is exploiting to continue Alaska’s unfounded aerial wolf killing programs

* Build support in Congress for the reintroduction and passage of the Protect America’s Wildlife Act (PAW), federal legislation to end aerial killing of wolves once and for all.

With your help, I know we can succeed. Together, we were able to stop Governor Palin’s ghastly $150 bounty for the severed paws of slaughtered wolves, block Palin’s stealth campaign to stifle the voice of Alaska’s citizens on wildlife issues and spotlight Palin’s support for aerial killing and other anti-wildlife policies in the national media.

And, with the help of caring people like you, Defender’s sister organization Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund was able to help stop Palin from becoming our next Vice President and spreading her anti-wildlife politics across the country.

We can win, but we can’t do it without the help of loyal supporters like you. Please make a tax-deductible contribution of whatever you can today to help us save wolves. This is a Gift of Life in which we can all take part in.

Here’s to hoping 2009 is a Healthy, Prosperous, and Happy New Year. Let that which you do count for something, creating a positive present and future for all of us. May each of you be blessed with the fruits of Life, with many true friends to help Light your Path.

Teri
~