INTERESTING TIMES

Even those too lazy to vote feel it their birthright to blast our elected representatives from every direction.  We complain bitterly when we do not get all we want as if it were possible to have more services with lower taxes, broader health care coverage with no federal involvement, a cleaner environment without regulations, security from terrorists with no infringement on privacy, and cheaper consumer goods made locally by workers with higher wages.  In short, we crave all the benefits of change without the costs.  When we are disappointed, our response is to retreat into cynicism, then start thinking about whether there might be a quicker, easier, and less democratic way to satisfy our wants.

--Madeline Albright on page 116 of Fascism, A Warning.  This quote comes on the heels of a section about globalism and about the manipulation of public opinion using the internet.  The first part of this book was the best short history of Europe I have ever read--for once it made sense.  Excellent read: recommend.

For elitist liberals, the times got so interesting last week that folks are sunk in depression.  The changes that our incoming presidential administration will implement look to be the undoing of generations of work in environmentalism and human rights.  Militant authoritarian nationalism is on the rise world wide.  We have reason to be troubled.

Still, just as before, the world is an amazing place.  It is possible to step back from trying to save it for a few minutes and focus on enjoying it.  We only have this one life, as far as I know, and we can spend it suffering or celebrating.  That is a choice.  To focus on gratitude is to wire your brain to enjoy what you have.  For most of us in this rich nation, we have plenty.  We do not need more.  We are not just making do, we are wasting time playing games or being entertained when we could be doing something productive.

I gain solace from backing away from worrying about my nation, or even my species or my planet.  The Universe is a big place.  Even if this planet experiences nuclear holocaust, something will survive.  Life will persist.  Beauty will rise with each sun.

There is a certain freedom in admitting powerlessness.  I cannot do anything about our new government.  Thus I am free from worrying about it.  I can do something about what happens in my back yard, I have a little more power there.  I will use that power.  If each of us uses our small power to foster love, beauty and joy where we can, we will at least not be miserable.  Life is short and worrying is wasteful.  Act, or don't act.  Or like Yoda says, *There is no try; there is do or do not.*

There is one tool that I'd like to bring back into people's consciousness, and that is NonViolent Communication.  Marshall Rosenberg wrote a book by that title, after studying the Jewish survivors of the Nazi regime.  He discovered that by speaking from a place of our deepest humanity, we can communicate with anyone.  Feelings and needs, we all have them, and we can find consensus when we start from that place.  If you have not read the book I highly recommend it.  If you have read it, I recommend that you refresh your mind on what are Universal feelings and needs, and start using the technique.  At the very least, stop saying "I feel like" when really you are expressing a thought.  It is a misuse of language that leads down a dangerous track.

Last night we watched just a little bit of an old Adam Sandler movie, which was supposed to be funny.  It occurred to me that his style and his movies were a harbinger of what has since come.  His dishonesty, manipulativeness, and ignorance as expressed in his movies are too much like the dominant culture now. It is time to partake in inspiring or educational media or none at all.

Lots more thoughts swirling but I must go.  Be well, and do good work, as Garrison Keillor used to say.

Anything else you're interested in is not going to happen if you can't breathe the air and drink the water. Don't sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.
--Carl Sagan

1) Avoid TRICLOSAN. It's toxic to nearly everything in our waterways. It must be listed among the active ingredients if it is present in a soap or cleanser. Often it is found in antibacterial soaps.
2) Only buy green cleaning products. Here's a resource.
3) Make your own cleaning products out of vinegar, lemon, etc. Here's their recipe. Ingredients: ¼ cup white vinegar, 2 tsp. baking soda, 3 ½ cups hot water, 20 drops of essential oil (eucalyptus, lemon, or peppermint work great), ¼ cup liquid castile soap.
Mix ingredients in a 32 oz. spray bottle, add castile soap last. More recipes here.

SOURCE
http://www.oeconline.org/our-work/rivers/love-your-river/love-your-river-challenge-green-cleaning

Marc Gunther's post about this ad is right on:
http://www.marcgunther.com/2011/11/27/maybe-the-best-retail-ad-ever/.

HOMEWORK ATSDR CSEM
Taking an Environmental Health History
atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=17&po=o (or pdf on moodle
complete post-test questions 1-8 by next class

class on week 11 is when we get the take-home final
due friday week 12
homeworks will be reviewed over Thanksgiving
and notice given to students who haven't complete them
no homeworks will be graded late

ACAM & AAEM conference in PDX this week
Marianne Marchese is speaking, 2002 NCNM grad
her book: 8 Wks to Wmns Wellness
( notes (melanoma notes integrated from this date back, radiation notes integrated from this entry to radiation protocol) )

Pesticides, etc.
( notes )

and including Persistent Organic Pollutants and Plastics
Kids with exposure to nature have less ADHD
( notes )