Our World and Everything in It

I’m getting e-mails for coming concert events in Michigan this summer, and even though my husband and I are, ur um, “old” we usually catch a few concerts in the summer. But, I doubt we’re still up to the youthful exuberance of a three-day affair on behalf of the environment that will happen in Rothbury, Michigan this summer. 

The Rothbury Festival will be July 3-6, 2008, and headlines Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, John Mayer, and many, many more. I live in Michigan and couldn’t tell you where Rothbury is, so I looked it up. It’s smack in the middle of the shoreline of the west side of Michigan. Muskegon is 12 miles south. I went camping long ago in Muskegon and it’s a nice area for camping, lots of woods. I remember inner tubing down a river along the campgrounds. Nice place for a Fourth of July weekend camping/concert extravaganza with a ton of music and it’s fully sustainable, which means it shouldn’t have a negative environmental impact.

This isn’t just rock-n-roll either. The promoters of this concert “promise a 21st century circus and theater experience that will include the Establishment, a new world cabaret show” according to an article about it in the Muskegon Chronicle. Interesting! If all goes well more concerts of this type will follow to raise awareness that we desperately need to move forward with new sources for alternative energy rather than more American oil wells and drilling. I hope the message is not too late.   

There were log homes and cabins available for this concert called the Back Forty with gourmet brunches, showers, and electricity—Sold Out!  I should have posted more about this concert earlier when I first heard of it. But there is still room at the Back Forty RV Park, and the Ranch bunkhouse. After that, you will more than likely be roughing it in a tent somewhere. The price is still $199.00 for an entire weekend, but once those tickets are gone it jumps to just shy of $245.00, still a great value considering the entertainment. Pray for good weather for everyone.  

And catch the website for this concert. Give yourself something to look forward to on the Fourth of July this year. The environment can always use promotion and this concert is about citizens creating community, and community being involved in change for the earth. If you don’t have the money but want to be involved and participate, I think the concert is still looking for workers for the Rothbury street team. 

Check it out: http://www.rothburyfestival.com/.  

I know I have a tendency to print only the dire accounts of global warming, and I still don’t think it bodes well for our future, but there are some good points about it while it still hasn’t gotten out of hand. Some mighty fine wine is being produced in places that were not conducive to vineyards before!

U.S. New and World Report reported in an article that Canada is producing pinot noir, Belgium, a chardonnay, and England has a sparkling white wine. In the U.S. The Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest ‘has a great future ahead.’

The article went on to say that climate change has affected areas farther away from the equator with greater warmth. Changing climate makes more areas ideal for vineyards. It takes at least 4 years for a small patch of vines to produce decent grapes. Hopefully we’ll conserve, and the weather won’t become too hot or dry before the grapes make it to bottle.  What a waste.

It’s a good little article that gives some ideas for a few, new and different wines but references the book The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson to really get a current worldwide view of the grape! I looked around on the Internet and found the website below that has world wine maps, probably not as current although it does include the latest Canadian vineyards. There should be enough here to give you an excuse to drink a few bottles—just testing of course, and to make for one very, very happy New Year.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/50-ways-to-improve-your-life/2007/12/20/the-wine-warm-up.html

http://www.kobrandwine.com/maps/index.php
Peace

 On Christmas Eve I think it’s important to remember where the Christ Child was born, AMONG THE ANIMALS in a manger. Every nativity scene is one with animals. A manger in those days was: “a feed trough found in a stable. In Bible times mangers were made from clay mixed with straw or from stones held together with mud; sometimes they were carved in natural outcroppings of rock,” http://www.padfield.com/1999/manger.html. There is an actual picture taken of a manger at Megiddo used in the stables of King Ahab on the linked website.

So the King of Kings was placed in the feed trough of the animals of a stable. This is a quite a statement about the beasts of the earth, that they were worthy of such an event. This Christmas take the time to reflect not only on mankind, but peace for the earth and all of the living things that are in jeopardy of extinction. The “beasts” as in animals of the earth are written about in the old and new testament over 200 times. Their importance is undeniable. We weren’t meant to live in a world without animals, especially those that have been here for centuries that are now in danger.

PEACE

Happy holidays. For many it’s a season of faith for their God. And the faithful attend services. The main theme of which is peace on earth. Do we really mean what we pray, or is it just a recital?  Christians say heaven on earth amen, and world without end amen.  The bible begins with the creation of earth.  The word “earth” is in there almost 700 times, and the word “world” over 200 times. Yet, I don’t see the faithful embrace environmental issues with the same fervor as other moral issues. The disconnect is evident. Our lifestyle does not include a conscience for the environment. “Earth” has become a monotonous repetition at the end of prayer. And like so many things we are closest to, we neglect.

So in this our most earnest time of year, when we reflect on the events behind us and look to those ahead, be more aware that while the Lord sustains our spirit, the earth sustains our life. As the faithful, adopt a moral conscience for the earth above all. It is our first gift from our Maker. It is our inheritance and the origin of man.

The Lord named Adam. It is Hebrew for “adamah” or “the earth.”  Islam and Judaism both share the prayer “ha’ adamah.” It is a blessing for the food from the “earth.” Our Maker makes it clear. Peace everyone. 

Last minute shopping for Christmas? If you have someone concerned about the environment or their energy bills, or bills in general here are some stocking stuffers to give:

 

• Five CFL light bulbs, (the twisted looking kind), and offer to change them out from regular bulbs.

 

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  • If every household in America switched just 5 light bulbs to CFL’s it would be the same as taking 100,000 CO2 emitting cars off the road for a year!

 

• A Pur or Brita water filter for the tap and offer to install it.

 

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  • Think of sparing the trash dump all those plastic water bottles.

 

• A set of solar lights for outside and offer to change them out.

 

• A programmable thermostat and offer to install it.

 

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  • Dialing down just 2 degrees will spare us 9% of overall CO2 emissions.

 

• A gift card to Lowe’s or a hardware store.

 

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  • Urge the recipient to use the card to purchase new furnace filters.

 

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  • A hot water blanket can spare our air 4-½ % of overall CO2 emissions.

 

• Finally, only buy Energy Star appliances if you’re in the market.

These stocking stuffers not only save the environment extra abuse, they also save the homeowner money. The solar outdoor lights operate for free. CFL bulbs will lower your electric bill.  They come in 3-way. I even bought a CFL outdoor floodlight to shine on my wreath for the holidays.

The money we spend on bottled water is ridiculous and a waste. I’m talking experience here. I quit drinking tap water over 25 years ago, so I’m ahead of everyone with this clean water thing. I’ve never purchased 8 packs ever. I would buy 2 ½ gallon containers of water with their own spigot. Those jugs were much easier to take to a recycling center. When Pur and Brita came out with a tap filter, I ran to buy one. I’ve used them ever since. The obsession with bottled water is an ironic act. We’re afraid our tap water isn’t safe to drink because of pollution, so we buy non-recyclable bottled water and pollute the ground with plastic instead.

Dialing down the thermostat is a no brainer for savings as are furnace filters. The hot water blanket acts like a cozy cover. It takes less energy to keep that water hot. And if the power goes out, the water stays hot much longer.

Notice I didn’t suggest we simply buy the products but also offer to install them. Many of us know older people or someone who can’t change their light bulbs can’t install a tap filter, or a programmable thermostat. Giving someone a gift is not always a good measure of love or kindness. Buying is easy. We’re a nation of shoppers. Investing time and patience to do something for someone is a better measure of our true feelings. Time is something we never have enough of. To share it is a real act of giving.