Tell Congress: Protect Against Toxic Coal Ash

Coal ash has contaminated over a
hundred sites across the country. We can’t afford any more delay. Tell your Senators to oppose any effort to delay federal coal ash regulations today!

Take Action Today!

It’s no mystery: coal ash is a dangerous toxic waste that poisons drinking water supplies all over the country. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2273, a bill that would block the EPA’s attempt to adopt the first ever federal regulation for coal ash disposal. This week, the newest threat is in the U.S. Senate.

Our elected officials are considering plans to cut any effort the EPA makes to regulate coal ash dumps and landfills and install important safeguards that protect our water and our health. Coal ash—the byproduct of coal-fired power plants—is filled with dangerous heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, lead, selenium and much more. Living near some unlined coal ash ponds puts nearby communities at a 1 in 50 risk of developing cancer, 2,000 times greater than what is deemed acceptable! 140 million tons of coal ash are generated every year, and this waste is often dumped into unlined and unprotected ponds and landfills. Our household garbage is better regulated than toxic coal ash.

Please take a moment to contact your Senators and tell them to oppose any effort to scuttle federal regulations for coal ash. Coal ash has contaminated over a hundred sites across the country. In 2008, a massive coal ash dump in Kingston, TN, spilled over a billion gallons of coal ash, damaging two dozen homes and destroying nearby rivers and streams. There are dozens more sites just like this one, tragedies waiting to happen.

We can’t afford any more delay. Tell your Senators to oppose any effort to delay federal coal ash regulations today!

Thank you,

Earthjustice.org

https://secure.earthjustice.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&cmd=display&page=ActionAlertTakenPage&id=1205#startform

What is your Medicine? -Legend of Jumping Mouse

The story of Jumping Mouse (a lengthy chew, and so worth it!)

An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown

Once there was a mouse. He was a busy mouse, searching everywhere, touching his whiskers to the grass, and looking. He was busy as all mice are, busy with mice things. But once in a while he would hear an odd sound. He would lift his head, squinting hard to see, his whiskers wiggling in the air, and he would wonder. One day he scurried up to a fellow mouse and asked him, "Do you hear a roaring in your ears, my brother?"

"No, no," answered the other mouse, not lifting his busy nose from the ground. "I hear nothing. I am busy now. Talk to me later."

He asked another mouse the same question and the mouse looked at him strangely. "Are you foolish in your head? what sound?" he asked and slipped into a Hole in a fallen cottonwood tree.

The little mouse shrugged his whiskers and busied himself again, determined to forget the whole matter. But there was that roaring again. It was faint, very faint, but it was there! One day, he decided to investigate the sound just a little. Leaving the other busy mice, he scurried a little way away and listened again. There it was! He was listening hard when suddenly, someone said hello.

Hello little brother," the voice said, and mouse almost jumped right out of his skin. He arched his back and tail and was about to run.

"Hello," again said the voice. "It is I, brother raccoon." And sure enough, It was! "What are you doing here all by yourself, little brother?" asked the raccoon. The mouse blushed, and put his nose almost to the ground. "I hear a roaring in my ears and I am investigating it," he answered timidly.

"A roaring in your ears?" replied the raccoon as he sat down with him. "What you hear, little brother , is the river."

"The river?" mouse asked curiously. "What is a river?"

"Walk with me and I will show you the river," raccoon said.

Little mouse was terribly afraid, but he was determined to find out once and for all about the roaring. "I can return to my work," he thought, "after this thing is settled, and possibly this thing may aid me in all my busy examining and collecting. And my brothers all said it was nothing. I will show them. I will ask raccoon to return with me and I will have proof."

"All right raccoon, my brother," said mouse. "lead on to the river. I will walk with you."

Little mouse walked with raccoon. His little heart was pounding in his breast. The raccoon was taking him upon strange paths and little mouse smelled the scent of many things that had gone by his way. Many times he became so frightened he almost turned back. Finally, they came to the river! It was huge and breathtaking, deep and clear in places, and murky in others. Little mouse was unable to see across it because it was so great. It roared, sang, cried, and thundered on its course. Little mouse saw great and little pieces of the world carried along on its surface.

"It is powerful!" little mouse said, fumbling for words.

It is a great thing," answered the raccoon, "But here, let me introduce you to a friend."

In a smoother, shallower place was a lily pad, bright and green. Sitting upon it was a frog, almost as green as the pad it sat on. The frog's white belly stood out clearly.

"Hello, little brother," said the frog.

"Welcome to the river."

"I must leave you now," cut in raccoon, "but do not fear, little brother, for frog will care for you now." And raccoon left, looking along the river bank for food that he might wash and eat.

Little mouse approached the water and looked into it. He saw a frightened mouse reflected there.

"Who are you?" little mouse asked the reflection. "Are you not afraid of being that far out into the great river?"

"No, answered the frog, "I am not afraid. I have been given the gift from birth to live both above and within the river. When winter man comes and freezes this medicine, I cannot be seen. But all the while thunderbird flies, I am here. To visit me, One must come when the world is green. I, my brother, am the keeper of the water."

Amazing!" little mouse said at last, again fumbling for words."

Would you like to have some medicine power?" frog asked."

"Medicine power? Me?" asked little mouse. "Yes, yes! If it is possible."

"Then crouch as low as you can, and then jump as high as you are able! You will have your medicine!" Frog said.

Little mouse did as he was Instructed. He crouched as low as he could and jumped. And when he did, his eyes saw the sacred mountains.

Little mouse could hardly believe his eyes. But there they were! But then he fell back to Earth, and he landed in the river!

Little mouse became frightened and scrambled back to the bank. He was wet and frightened nearly to death.

"You have tricked me," little mouse screamed at the frog!"

"Wait," said the frog. "You are not harmed. Do not let your fear and anger blind you. What did you see?"

"I," mouse stammered, "I saw the sacred mountains!"

"And you have a new name!" frog said. "It is Jumping Mouse."

"Thank you. Thank you," Jumping Mouse said, and Thanked him again. "I want to return to my people and tell them of this thing that has happened to me."

"Go. Go then," frog said. "Return to your people. It is easy to find them. Keep the sound of the medicine river to the back of your Head. Go opposite to the sound and you will find your brother mice."

Jumping Mouse returned to the world of the mice. But he found disappointment. No one would listen to him. And because he was wet, and had no way of explaining it because there had been no rain, many of the other mice were afraid of him. They believed he had been spat from the mouth of another animal that had tried to eat him. And they all knew that if he had not been food for the one who wanted him, then he must also be poison for them.

Jumping Mouse lived again among his people, but he could not forget his vision of the sacred mountains.

The memory burned in the mind and heart of Jumping Mouse, and one day he went to the edge of the place of mice and looked out onto the prairie. He looked up for eagles. The sky was full of many spots, each one an eagle. But he was determined to go to the sacred mountains. He gathered all of his courage and ran just as fast as he could onto the prairie. His little heart pounded with excitement and fear.

He Ran until he came to a stand of sage. He was resting and trying to catch his breath when he saw an Old Mouse. The patch of sage Old Mouse lived in was a haven for mice. Seeds and many things to be busy with.

"Hello," said Old Mouse. "Welcome."

Jumping Mouse was amazed. Such a place and such a mouse. "You are truly a great mouse." Jumping Mouse said with all the respect that he could find. "This is truly a wonderful place. And the eagles cannot see you here, either," Jumping Mouse said.

"Yes," said Old Mouse," and one can see all the beings of the prairie here: the buffalo, Antelope, Rabbit, and Coyote. One can see them all from here and know their names."

"That is marvelous," Jumping Mouse said. "Can you also see the river and the great mountains?"

"Yes and no," Old Mouse said with conviction. "I know the great river, But I am afraid that the great mountains are only a myth. Forget your passion to see them and stay here with me. There is everything you want here, and it is a good place to be."

"How can he say such a thing?" Thought Jumping Mouse. "The medicine of the sacred mountains is nothing one can forget."

"Thank you very much for the meal you have shared with me, Old Mouse, and also for sharing your great home," Jumping Mouse said. "But I must seek the mountains."

"You are a foolish mouse to leave, there is danger on the prairie! Just look up there!" Old Mouse said, with even more conviction. "See all those spots! They are eagles, and they will catch you!"

It was hard for Jumping Mouse to leave, but he gathered his determination and ran hard again.

The ground was rough. But he arched his tail and ran with all his might. He could feel the shadows of the spots upon his back as he ran. All those spots! Finally he ran into a stand of chokecherries. Jumping Mouse could hardly believe his eyes. It was cool there and very spacious. There was water, cherries, and seeds to eat, grasses to gather for nests, holes to be explored and many, many other busy things to do. And there were a great many things to gather.

He was investigating his new domain when he heard very heavy breathing. He quickly investigated the sound and discovered its source. It was a great mound of hair with black horns. It was a great buffalo. Jumping Mouse could hardly believe the greatness of the being he saw lying there before him. He was so large that Jumping Mouse could have crawled into one of his great horns. "Such a magnificent being," thought Jumping Mouse, and he crept closer.

"Hello, my brother," said the buffalo. "Thank you for visiting me."

"Hello Great Being," said Jumping Mouse. "Why are you lying here?"

"I am sick and I am dying" the buffalo said.

"And my medicine has told me that only the eye of a mouse can heal me. But little brother, there is no such thing as a mouse."

Jumping Mouse was shocked. "One of my eyes!" he thought. "One of my tiny eyes." He scurried back into the stand of chokecherries. But the breathing came harder and slower.

"He will die." Thought Jumping Mouse. "If I do not give him my eye. He is too great a being to let die."

He went back to where the buffalo lay and spoke. "I am a mouse." he said with a shaky voice. "And you, my brother, are a Great Being. I cannot let you die. I have two eyes, so you may have one of them."

The minute he said it, Jumping Mouse's eye flew out of his head and the buffalo was made whole. The buffalo jumped to his feet, shaking Jumping Mouse's whole world.

"Thank you, my little brother," said the buffalo. "I know of your quest for the sacred mountains and of your visit to the River. You have given me life so that I may give-away to the people. I will be your brother forever. Run under my belly and I will take you right to the foot of the sacred mountains, and you need not fear the spots. The eagles cannot see you while you run under me. All they will see will be the back of a buffalo. I am of the prairie and I will fall on you if I try to go up the mountains."

Little mouse ran under the buffalo, secure and hidden from the spots, but with only one eye it was frightening. The buffalo's great hooves shook the whole world each time he took a step. finally the came to a place and buffalo stopped.

"This is where I must leave you, little brother," said the buffalo.

"Thank you very much," said Jumping Mouse. "But you know, it was very frightening running under you with only one eye. I was constantly in fear of your great earth-shaking hooves."

"Your fear was for nothing," said buffalo, "For my way of walking is the sun dance way, and I always know where my hooves will fall. I now must return to the prairie, my brother, You can always find me there."

Jumping Mouse immediately began to investigate his new surroundings. There were even more things here than in the other places, busier things, and abundance of seeds and other things mice like. In his investigation of these things, Suddenly he ran upon a gray wolf who was sitting there doing absolutely nothing.

"Hello, brother wolf," Jumping Mouse said.

The wolf's ears came alert and his eyes shone. "wolf! wolf! yes, that is what I am, I am a wolf!" But then his mind dimmed again and it was not long before he sat quietly again, completely without memory as to who he was. Each time Jumping Mouse reminded him who he was, he became excited with the news, but soon would forget again.

"Such a great being," thought Jumping Mouse, "but he has no memory."

Jumping Mouse went to the center of his new place and was quiet. He listened for a very long time to the beating of his heart. Then suddenly he made up his mind. He scurried back to where the wolf sat and he spoke.

"brother wolf," Jumping Mouse said. ....

"wolf! wolf," said the wolf ....

"Please brother wolf," said Jumping Mouse, "Please listen to me. I know what will heal you. It is one of my eyes. And I want to give it to you. You are a greater being than I. I am only a mouse. Please take it."

When Jumping Mouse stopped speaking his eye flew out of his head and the wolf was made whole.

Tears fell down the cheeks of the wolf, but his little brother could not see them, for now he was blind.

"You are a great brother," said the wolf, "For now I have my memory. But now you are blind. I am the guide into the sacred mountains. I will take you there. There is a great medicine lake there. The most beautiful lake in the world. All the world is reflected there. The people, the lodges of the people, and all the beings of the prairies and skies."

"Please take me there," Jumping Mouse said. The wolf guided him through the pines to the medicine lake. Jumping Mouse drank the water from the lake. The wolf described the beauty to him.

I must leave you here," said wolf, "For I must return so that I may guide others, but I will remain with you as long as you like."

Thank you, my brother," said Jumping Mouse. "But although I am frightened to be alone, I know you must go so that you may show others the way to this place."

Jumping Mouse sat there trembling in fear. It was no use running, for he was blind, but he knew an eagle would find him here. He felt a shadow on his back and heard the sound that eagles make. He braced himself for the shock. And the eagle Hit! Jumping Mouse went to sleep.

Then he woke up. The surprise of being alive was great, but now he could see!

Everything was blurry, but the colors were beautiful.

"I can see! I can see!" said Jumping Mouse over again and again.

A blurry shape came toward Jumping Mouse. Jumping Mouse squinted hard but the shape remained a blur.

"Hello, brother," a voice said. "Do you want some medicine?"

"Some medicine for me?" asked Jumping Mouse. "Yes! Yes!"

"Then crouch down as low as you can," the voice said, "and jump as high as you can."

Jumping Mouse did as he was instructed. He crouched as low as he could and jumped! The wind caught him and carried him higher."

"Do not be afraid," the voice called to him. "Hang on to the wind and trust!"

Jumping Mouse did. He closed his eyes and hung on to the wind and it carried higher and higher. Jumping Mouse opened his eyes and they were clear, and the higher he went the clearer they became. Jumping Mouse saw his old friend upon a lily pad on the beautiful medicine lake. It was the Frog.

"You have a new name," called the frog. "You are Eagle!"

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheStoryofJumpingMouse-Unknown.html

How Often Can We Forgive?

Image borrowed from Young Women of Virtue.

Homily remembering September 11th,

It has been exactly 10 years now since the events of September 11^th 2001, came to pass. I am certain that each one of us can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing that day. When we saw the images of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania, when we saw these something changed inside us. Perhaps it was a deep fear, perhaps a shocking look from the bottom, perhaps a sinking realization of just how vulnerable we could be, even here in the United States of America. After these 10 years, with so much war, violence, and acts of counter terrorism as well as moments of dialogue, visits for peace, and new relationships that span across nation, culture, and religion. I am wondering...

Can we choose a life of Forgiveness because we follow the Prince of Peace?

In today's gospel Peter asks, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus, answers, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

As many as seventy-seven times we are invited to forgive...!

Of course what happened on September 11^th was terrible. The destruction was beyond words, and so many people lost their lives to these acts of terrorism. So many people suffered in New York, Washington, and across the United States! Perhaps on that day you knew someone who was near the destruction. And you wondered painfully were they going to be OK? After such terrible destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon, and the hijacking of four jet liners all in the U.S. We should be upset! We should feel angry, frustrated, depressed, pained, and perhaps eventually some resolve for action. So many of the psalms in our Old Testament show a real lament to God over the suffering of Israel. Oh God why have our enemies conquered us!? Where have you been oh God?! Yet after expressing such deep and painful grief the psalmist always returns to remember God's persistent faithfulness. Always God has been faithful to us. Eventually we could come back around to trust. So Yes, let us grieve and lament all the terrible that has happened after 9-11. But let us consider our response more critically.

“how often must I forgive?” And Jesus responds...77 times.

Of course nations have the right to defend themselves. Actions of self-defense and security within the nation make sense. Yet it seems to me this nation reacted quickly and with more than a little self-righteous anger. An attack on the organization that caused the events of 9-11 made some sense when seeking Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. But the unilateral strike on Iraq justified by the possibility of weapons of mass destruction, this was War for the sake of striking at an elusive enemy. I just have trouble understanding how a nation such as the U.S. that claims to be so influenced by Christian values can act so contrary to Christ, the Prince of Peace!!

In today's gospel Jesus uses a parable to teach how we should be merciful servants because the master is merciful. The master forgives the loan because of his servant's petition. Yet the same servant does not offer the same mercy to his debtors who beg him for forgiveness. Don't be the unforgiving servant!!

More than this, the whole life of Jesus taught us a life of Peace. Although he spoke deep truths, Jesus refused to enter violently over disagreement. Early on Jesus chose to disappear when the crowds showed up with angry violence to him. Eventually, the truth and power through which Jesus taught, and the call God invited for his life, brought him to such conflict with the powers of the nations that Jesus would be condemned. Yet, he did not strike out against his attackers. He prayed that God might forgive them in their ignorance. For me Jesus Christ's ultimate act was to have the courage to trust that God's love was enough to absorb all this abuse he experienced, even to death on the cross. Jesus believed and loved God and all of us enough to be truly faithful to the end. Jesus responded each time by having faith in the way of life, the way of love, the way of peace.

So how do we respond after terrible acts of violence? I believe there is room for outrage, for anger, for feeling all manner of painful emotions. Yet a healthy response can't come precisely from the place of pain. Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest says, “If we don't transform our pain, we transmit it.” Without learning how to befriend and learn the way of healing we will simply perpetuate the cycles of violence and continue spreading suffering. Nearly 3000 people died in the 9-11 attacks. Since then in the Iraq war, justified largely by 9-11, over 4000 U.S. Soldiers have died. And in this same Iraq war well over 1,000,000 (million) Iraqi people have been killed. It sure seems to me, as a nation, we have a lot of healing to do!

So how might we learn to forgive seventy-seven times? Do you remember the Amish community in Pennsylvania who were grieving the slayings of five children in their school? Then they chose to reach out to the family of the killer who committed suicide. The Amish people practiced forgiveness even when they were hurting from the murder of their children. To me this is what it means to be a Christian, this is what it means to truly forgive, this is what it means to follow the Prince of Peace. Even through the midst of grief and suffering we can learn to seek forgiveness and healing so we may live the way of true love.

Walmart Not so Bright and Shiny!

I just sent a letter to Walmart to help bring justice to falsely charged labor advocates in Bangladesh, and I hope you'll join me by doing the same.

This action is part of a campaign by the International Labor Rights Forum, calling on Walmart to compel its subcontractor and the Bangladeshi government to drop charges against Kalpona Akter, Babul Akhter, Aminul Islam, and other peaceful labor advocates. If convicted of the baseless criminal charges, these labor leaders could face lifetime in prison, or even death penalty.

Instead of respecting workers' demands for decent wages and working conditions, Walmart's subcontractor has brought falsified charges against advocates who educate workers' about their legal rights and Walmart's code of conduct.

Here's the action link: http://action.laborrights.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2033

More info here, http://www.sweatfree.org/bcws

The Right to work and organize for living wages should be a given right. Please support our fellow workers on the other side of the globe.

EcoClean Watch -Sprout

I just love the concept of these watches made of 80% + biodegradeable materials. They're constructed mostly from corn resin in the body and the band. They look pretty sweet too! Some reviews show mixed reliability, but for a $24 watch I'm willing to give it a shot and support such a bold attempt at sustainable!

Made by Sprout. http://www.sproutwatches.com/

My favorite Sprout found at Amazon.com.

Congress Keep Our Air Clean!!

Invitation from Interfaith Power and Light:

Please send Congress a message with this easy form...

Right now, Congress is debating a bill that will prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. It must be stopped. Here is how you can help: http://bit.ly/fyXoyB

We've been pushing for safer, clean energy alternatives for years, and for a long time it seemed as if no one was listening. But because of the tragic coal mining tragedy in West Virginia and the gulf oil catastrophe, the world is finally waking up to the pressing need for action.

You and I can make a difference in this fight. Join me in contacting your elected officials today to urge them to put a stop to this bill and allow the EPA to protect the climate.

Now is the time for people of faith to push our elected officials to care for Creation and the world's poor who are disproportionately affected by climate change.

Thanks for standing with me today.

In View of Downtown LA

So I'm settling in at Saint Agnes Church, Iglesia de Santa Ines in Los Angeles.
I'm excited to serve as a deacon here for the next six months!

We can see downtown LA from the house (between the palm trees).

Saint Agnes Church Building

The University of Southern California is just a few blocks away.


I love the palm trees out front of the rectory and offices.
For a Midwest farm boy, who would of thought February could look like this? 60degrees and sunny!

Kentucky Rising!

Activists in Kentucky

14 Activists including Wendell Berry protest Mountain Top Removal Mining by sitting in at the Governor's office in Kentucky over the weekend.

What a heartening sign that it's not enough to simply let our soil, water, and mountains be destroyed without calling out the injustice!!

More updates at Kentucky Rising Blog

How You can help Kentucky Rising against MTR!

Sojourner's Coverage, Very Interesting!:
http://blog.sojo.net/2011/02/14/wendell-berry-wont-quit-trying-to-save-the-mountains/

Show you Love Mountains and see How to Challenge MTR Here:
http://www.ilovemountains.org/

Joyfully Ordained

My Family in Celebration!
The beautiful deacon stole I'm wearing was sown in love by my mother.

I feel incredibly blessed to be ordained as a deacon and called to serve as a Precious Blood missionary in our church. My family, friends, and the PB community have been so loving, encouraging, and supportive as I've grown and learned over these last years of seminary! I feel grateful to God, and through the ordination I sensed just how much this vocation is much larger than me. Somehow we are all called forth in the grace of God through the sacrament of ordination. May the deep life of God continue to flow through us!!

Deacon Ordination

Home Film

hot springs of primordial life

How can we live in such a way that everyone and everything can truly live???

Check out the film Home that gives some perspective on the big picture facing our global community.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

Open Enough When Christ Comes

I am clearing a space—
here, where the trees stand back.
I am making a circle so open
the moon will fall in love
and stroke these grasses with her silver.

Here I will stand with my hands empty,
mind gaping under the moon.

I know there is another way to live.
When I find it, the angels
will cry out in rapture,
each cell of my body
will be a rose, a star.

If something seized my life tonight,
if a sudden wind swept through me,
changing everything,
I would not resist.
I am ready for whatever comes.

But I think it will be
something small, an animal
padding out from the shadows,
or a word spoken so softly
I hear it inside.

It is dark out here, and cold.
The moon is stone.
I am alone with my longing.
Nothing is happening
but the next breath, and the next...

-Morgan Farley

Coal Ash Testimony

Coal Ash Spill near Kingston, Tennessee December 2008
By the way, that flood of sludge is toxic too!!

October 11, 2010

Coal Ash Testimony

Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640

Dear Administrator Jackson,

I want to graciously thank the Environmental Protection Agency for moving to create safeguards in toxic coal ash disposal.

I ask you to support “Subtitle C.” This is the only option that will better protect people, planet, and the livelihood of all created things.

I am a seminarian preparing to be a Catholic priest and a supporter of Restoring Eden. I feel it is my duty as a citizen and faithful person to both care for my home on the Earth and for my sisters and brothers who call our Earth home.

In light of this I wish to speak up for the people who are suffering, the land that mourns, and the integrity of life that is violated by toxic coal ash waste.

The people of Town of the Pines, Indiana know the cost of toxic coal ash. Their community is now a superfund site because dangerous chemicals like arsenic, lead, selenium, and mercury have contaminated their well water. Cancer, birth defects, and learning disabilities are just a few of the illnesses that the children of Town of the Pines are suffering. The well water was even known to be contaminated long before public officials warned the people of the serious dangers of their tap water! How can we let this continue while the people are paying with their health and lives? Support coal ash regulations. Support “Subtitle C!”

Our land, the land we live upon and love is being destroyed by toxic waste. Coal ash waste is poisoning air and water in over 130 places in 34 states.ⁱ These toxic sites contain, “aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, strontium, thallium, vanadium, and zinc.”ⁱⁱ Many of these chemicals are released into aquifers and atmosphere. The dangerous chemicals that enter streams leave fish highly vulnerable. Fish exposed to selenium have been deformed sometimes suffering “S”-shaped spines or maneuvering with mutated organs. Not only do fish and other animals that survive carry the chemicals in their bodies, but the chemicals are passed on when eaten by predators. In this way the toxic waste moves through the food chain damaging animals and plants all along the way. Truly our land, plants, and animals mourn because of our toxic coal waste. Support “Subtitle C!”

Call it Karma, call it the Golden Rule, but whatever we do to the weakest parts of our creation we can expect to happen to us in return! What happens to the land, creatures, and all people when the massive dam of toxic coal ash waste breaks loose in Kingston, Tennessee, affects me in Chicago, Illinois. What happens when working people suffer from coal ash poisons leeching into watersheds in Town of the Pines, Indiana, affects us in Chicago, Illinois. What happens when coal companies blow up mountain tops in West Virginia destroying forests, driving out animals, dumping toxic wastes, and bullying people whose very homes have been the mountains for generations, affects all of us from New York to Los Angeles from Fargo to New Orleans. Whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, we have life because of the intricate network of life that flows through all beings. From water systems to climate systems, from photosynthesis to respiration, from unicellular organisms to complex animals, we are part of our environment and our environment is part of us. Unless we begin to see that we are all connected in the unity of life on Earth, we are doomed to the destruction we enact on all things!

Coal ash is toxic waste and it is killing us, killing our land, and killing all creatures. We can choose regulations for the safety of life. At this time and in this moment choose “Subtitle C” for the life of all!

With All Sincerity,

Joseph J. Grilliot, CPPS

i- http://unearthed.earthjustice.org/blog/2010-september/new-report-coal-ash-linked-cancer-and-other-maladies

ii- http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/view/23

More info on Town of Pines waste problems here:

http://www.pineswater.org/index.htm

Restoring Eden's Website, See "What's in Your Electricity? Hazardous Coal Ash"

http://restoringeden.org/resources/fact-sheets

The EPA Website with more info. on Coal Ash Regulations:

http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/ccrfaq.htm

The EPA is accepting testimony on Coal Ash Regulation until November 19th.

You can email them to support real regulations with "Subtitle C" at rcra-docket@epa.gov and note Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640!!

Pilgrimage for the Earth -Reflection

Chris Merkel shows us gardens at Michaela Farm.

--The Way of the Cross, the Way of the Earth--

Today our Earth follows the way of Jesus to the cross. Forests are clearcut; habitats are contaminated; mountains are completely destroyed by mining; the gulf of Mexico is overwhelmed with billowing pools of oil. It's as if the Earth itself is bleeding from the depths, hemorrhaging from years of abuse. Who will hear the cry of the Earth? The Earth is suffering, abused, dying. Who will hear the cry of the Earth?

Believing the way of the Earth need not end at the cross, we gathered for the Pilgrimage for the Earth on June 18^th and 19^th 2010. We gathered to dream of resurrection, to dream of food and soil sustainability. We sought better ways to grow food in cooperation with nature. We came together as Precious Blood folks at Salem Heights in Dayton, to pray, learn, and journey together.

Friday Evening Mr. Jim Hoorman, a soil scientist from the Mercer County OSU extension office, joined us. He shared with us a dialogue on healthy soil, cover crops, and conservation farming.

For healthy soil Mr. Hoorman recommends limited soil tillage. No-till is better than conventional tillage because it holds nutrients, retains organic matter, and decreases compaction. Hoorman confessed however that most topsoils on farms in the U.S. are being depleted. This happens when the soil is tilled breaking down plant matter and releasing nutrients. When plants aren't already growing to absorb the nutrients they are released to the atmosphere or washed with topsoil in water and wind erosion. Erosion also creates problems like in Grand Lake St. Marys when nutrients become too concentrated and cause toxic blue green algae to proliferate. On the other hand, when soils are healthy, untilled, and uncompacted they better absorb rainwater and hold fertilizing nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen.

After no-till Mr. Hoorman recommends cover crops as the second step in conservation farming. He says that most farmland is covered with crops only about a third of the time. In the winter months the land is sometimes plowed and usually unplanted. Why not sow plants that will capture the nutrients, prevent topsoil erosion, break up compaction, and augment soil nutrients for the next year's crop? Some cover crops fix nitrogen in the soil, others release phosphorous, and others just do an incredible job of pushing roots deep, aerating the soil. Mr. Hoorman recommended cover crops as he tipped his hat, “Just like farmers cover their heads, soil deserves to be covered.”

Through Jim Hoorman's talk we learned how the soil suffers when over-tilled and left uncovered during much of the year. With no-till and cover crops we learned faithful ways to respond to the cry of the Earth.

Continuing to listen to the Earth, on Saturday morning we traveled to Michaela Farm sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg, Indiana. As the summer breeze kept us cool in the hot sun, we explored the large restored barn, the acres of gardens, and the animal pastures. There Sr. Carolyn Hoff and Mr. Chris Merkel gave us a tour and shared their experiences in natural farming. They showed us the large produce and herb gardens on the rolling hills. They grow many kinds of vegetables, fruits, and spices. They raise Beefalo, a lean cow and buffalo mix, on the nearby pastures. Chickens are pasture raised for meat and eggs while also serving as insect and weed control. Like any farm there is no end to the hard work!

Sr. Hoff and Mr. Merkel gave us quite an education on natural farming. Although they gave up their certified organic standing due to extensive costs and paperwork, they continue in ways of natural farming that best care for land and resources. They use crop rotations, cover crops, compost, mulch, and non-chemical pest control. Mr. Merkel shared with us how some weeds showed signs of better soil quality and which cover crops worked well. We were learning how everything affects everything else.

Hoff and Merkel also explained their Community Supported Agriculture program, CSA. They have grown a network of people who want fresh produce and meat. People pay a monthly or yearly fee to support the farm and receive regular baskets of produce during the growing season. This way the farm has secure income throughout the year, and the people are assured fresh products regularly. This balances well the costs and risks between farmers and consumers. Michaela's natural farming practices showed us more faithful ways to respond to the cry of the Earth.

After exploring the way of the earth at Michaela Farm we returned to Dayton to visit a parish garden and enter a time of prayer. Ms. Sue Sack of Englewood, Ohio, showed us God's Garden that she coordinates at St. Paul's Church. They donate all the produce from the medium size garden to local soup kitchens. Ms. Sack shared with us how her family has journeyed in hands-on ways from fixing up their house all the way to growing their food in ways that honor human and earthly life. She shared the challenges of gardening when the weeds get too big as rain is frequent and the joys of growing food when the produce is plentiful. Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi and Teilhard de Chardin, she led us through a prayer time attentive to our brothers and sisters among creation. I was especially moved by the way her prayer and life show a real integration between living in good relationship with nature, the poor, and coming to live at peace with self and loved ones. I could tell that Ms. Sack has come to hear well the cry of the Earth.

From soil sustainability with Mr. Hoorman to natural gardening at Michaela Farm to Ms. Sack's witness of life lived in harmony with nature we have come to know more deeply the way of the Earth.

I offer many thanks to the planning team who brought the pilgrimage together. Sr. Mary Wendeln, Mr. Joe Gigandet, Sr. Judy Niday, Br. Nick Renner, and I contributed many hours to dreaming, planning, and sharing our stories. I also thank the Precious Blood Sisters of Dayton who hosted our time at Salem Heights and the Missionaries of the Precious Blood who contributed generously from the Fr. Brunner Peace and Justice Fund. Finally, thank you to all the folks who participated in the pilgrimage making such a great experience possible.

Although the Earth is suffering and we are suffering from mining, industry, oil spills, and injustice, perhaps we can still come to live more faithfully. How we grow and eat our food can be an act of living in right relationship with the world. May our journey toward eating and farming wholeness continue to pull us more deeply into the way of the cross, the way of the Earth, the way of new life!

The whole crew at Michaela Farm

From Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, Smart Farming

Satellite Image of Mississippi River Emptying in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is quite a read. Very interesting how this smart farmer in Minnesota knows how his farming practices affect the ecological health of the Gulf of Mexico!


Minnesota Farmer Battles the Gulf 'Dead Zone':

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/08/30/gulf.dead.zone.minnesota.farm/index.html?hpt=C1

More on the Science of Hypoxia, how nutrients deplete oxygen in the water creating the Dead Zone in the Gulf and the problems with Cyanobacteria (blue green algae) in Grand Lake St. Marys:

http://www.epa.gov/owow_keep/msbasin/hypoxia101.htm

Appalachia Rising!

Charleston Press Conference for Appalachia Rising. And News Release.

Come to Washington, D.C. and challenge the scandal of Mountain Top Removal!

Many Thanks to Appalachia Rising for organizing a mobilization in D.C. to challenge our government to stop the destruction. Join the demonstration September 25-27, 2010 in Washington DC.
http://appalachiarising.org/

I hope to make the trip to act for justice. But either way I will stand in solidarity with those who are fighting for their homes and livelihoods and the healthy life of the mountains of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. I will be praying for the protesters and those who meet their politicians. I will write letters to congress, use less electricity, and share with others how terrible this kind of mining and coal use is for people and planet.

Will you join us?!

My Connection to Mountain Top Removal??!

clear photos here: http://www.mountainroadshow.com/gallery/index.html

What's your connection to mountain top removal? Visit http://ilovemountains.org/
and type your zip code to find out!

More on Mountain Top Removal

A delegation from Chicago visits Coal River Mountain and Marsh Fork Elementary, West Virginia. What risks, destruction, and health problems people live with in the Appalachian Mountains every day because of mountain top coal removal!



"Some things are better with their tops left on.":
http://www.toplessamerica.org/

Great Website, Take Action:
http://ilovemountains.org/

Stop Mountain Removal Coal Mining!

This video gives a clear overview of the problems with Mountain Top removal coal mining. It's actually not just the top, but whole mountains and whole communities that get destroyed!


Take Action to Support the Clean Water Act and Say No to Mountain Top Removal:
http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/cleanwater_0809?qp_source=blog

La Oroya Part 2

Thank you, Juan Acuña for sharing this amazing video that shows how terrible the situation is!




More Info and what to do to stop Ira Rennert and Doe Run:
http://savelaoroya.org/

Lead Refining Pollution from Missouri to Peru

-La Oroya, Peru Playing Children, Doe Run smelter in background

-Herculaneum, Missouri Doe Run smelter

What do the towns of Herculaneum, Missouri and La Oroya, Peru have in common? Serious lead pollution!

The Doe Run Mining Company produces lots of lead from smelters in these two towns seriously damaging the environment with toxic lead and many other chemicals that stunt development in children and create many health problems for all things that live nearby.

La Oroya located high in the Andes mountains of Peru is also where my religious community has been serving for quite a few years. Lately there have been many conflicts between the workers trying to make a living and the mining company that is trying to get out of paying workers their wages and avoiding environmental fines owed to the Peruvian government. Even though the company has been finding ways to export its major income from Peru to the parent Doe Run St. Louis it is still trying to leave the most suffering people in La Oroya with the deepest problems.

I find this an incredibly sick problem. So many hard working, poor, and generally hopeful people suffer because of the greed of large corporations on which they depend to make a living. Yet people suffer and die, animals and plants suffer and die because of the irresponsible actions and often veiled collusion of government agencies that are supposed to regulate environmental standards (regulate not really enforce).

I'm not sure living an energy and device intensive lifestyle with so many luxuries is really worth such suffering on the part of the poorest and least powerful! In fact I know it's not worth it. But how am I to live differently?

Check out the links below for more to learn about these communities.

-Herculaneum, MO Lead Warning Sign

An American in Lima's blog post gives a clear overview of the health and environmental problems people suffer in La Oroya.
http://americaninlima.com/2008/12/10/toxic-la-oroya-mine-profiled-dec-11-on-cnns-planet-in-peril/

Paging Dr Gupta's blog on CNN Planet in Peril outlines some of the issues between health and livelihood:
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/category/planet-in-peril/

Mother Jones ran a very clear and detailed article connecting Herculaneum and La Oroya:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2006/10/lead-astray

Brief history on Herculaneum, Missouri; hosted by Saint Louis Community College:
http://users.stlcc.edu/jangert/herculaneum/herc.html

Video on La Oroya's problems with health and environment and the Doe Run Smelter shared by EarthJustice.org:
http://www.youtube.com/v/gY6WXa9aKrM

A post from EarthJustice.org on La Oroya:
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/press/2008/doe-run-smelter-in-peru-loses-enviornmental-certification.html

We don't live where they mine, they mine where we live!

Mountain Removal Mining Destroys the mountains, the families, and local ecology. Act today to save people and planet!

Take Action!

Excerpt from an Email from Interfaith Power and Light:

"My name is Lorelei Scarbro, and I'm a Climate Convert. That means I've made a commitment to stand up and fight for creation.

I wasn't always a fighter. But I'll tell you this — there's nothing like seeing your home, your community, and your culture destroyed to make you into one.

I'd been a perfectly happy stay-at-home mom for 26 years. I had my own craft store, and was content to sit in that shop day in, and day out. My husband had a pretty decent union job. A lot of us around our part of West Virginia did.

The trouble was, we were working for a killer — Massey Energy. And that killer took everything in its path — the trees, the wildlife, and even the very mountaintops — squeezing every last bit of life out of our corner of West Virginia until it looked like a place so barren you'd never guess it used to be filled with life. It even took my husband. I lost him to black lung.

That killer is coal mining. And mining — dominated in our community by Massey Energy — won't stop. It won't stop its relentless efforts to devour yet another 6,600 acres of our home in another mountaintop removal mining project. It won't stop its stranglehold on our local economy. And it won't stop using its deep pockets to fund the lobby for keeping things just the way they are.

It won't stop until we speak out. ...

Sincerely,

Lorelei Scarbro, Coal River Wind
on behalf of Interfaith Power & Light"


Take Action and Sign the Petition Here:

http://action.interfaithpowerandlight.org/site/c.dmJUKgOZJiI8G/b.6073045/k.1840/Had_enough/apps/ka/ct/contactcustom.asp?msource=ccemail&auid=6435103

Pilgrimage for Earth

Come join us for an enlivening experience learning how to grow healthy food and restore the soil.

Be inspired by energizing speakers who care about living sustainably on the Earth.

Pray with us as we learn how God roots us in the natural world.

Visit Michaela Farm Oldenburg, Indiana managed by the Sisters of St. Francis.

Details:

June 18-19, 2010

Salem Heights, 4960 Salem Ave, Dayton, Oh 45416

Registration 6:30PM Friday June 18

Cost $75.00; $50.00 for Commuters

-Don't let inability to pay discourage, scholarships are available.

Friday night, comfortable guest rooms of Salem Heights are available.

The Pilgrimage will finish by 8:30pm Saturday.

Adults 18 years and older are welcome.

-Reserve your space by the June 6 deadline!

Send an e-mail with your name, address, phone number and need for a guest room to:

pilgrimage4earth@gmail.com

Story of Bottled Water

Another enlightening installment from the Story of Stuff series!!

See the Video here:
http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

What to do about Bottled Water:
http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/what-you-can-do/

More Critique on Arizona Law SB. 1070

Arizona Immigration Law Violates Constitution, Guarantees Racial Profiling

By Mary Bauer, SPLC Legal Director

"Arizona’s newly adopted immigration law is brazenly unconstitutional and will undoubtedly trample upon the civil rights of residents caught in its path.

By requiring local law enforcement to arrest a person when there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is in the country illegally, Arizona lawmakers have created a system that guarantees racial profiling. They also have usurped federal authority by attempting to enforce immigration law."

For the whole article click SPLC

Arizona Immigration Law Proclaimed a Social/Racial Sin

Jim Wallis of Sojourners speaks boldly about the unjust law just passed in Arizona that would force police to question anyone reasonably suspected of being in the country without permission for their paperwork. Basically this forces racial profiling and discrimination while demanding that everyone must carry their documents about their migration status in the state.

While we might be afraid of the serious changes happening in our contemporary world, we cannot justify discrimination and further injustice just to appease our fears. Immigrants are a source of life and can be a real blessing if only we can learn to embrace them. I'm not advocating that there be no criteria for migration, but only that we go much deeper than exploitative security measures and build comprehensive immigration reform.

-Read more on the God's Politics blog. Link and excerpt below.

Jim Wallis on Arizona Law

"Arizona’s SB 1070 must be named as a social and racial sin, and should be denounced as such by people of faith and conscience across the nation. This is not just about Arizona, but about all of us, and about what kind of country we want to be. It’s time to stand up to this new strategy of “deportation by attrition,” which I heard for the first time today in Arizona. It is a policy of deliberate political cruelty, and it should be remembered that “attrition” is a term of war. Arizona is deciding whether to wage war on the body of Christ. We should say that if you come after one part of the body, you come after all of us."