The Rainforests—Who Knows? 
                 Brigid O’Meara, CSJ

Things are looking really bad for our rainforests, so fabulously rich in plants, animals, and insects
(30 million species!).

 Take a look at how fast they are dying out:

•        Two football fields per second

•        149 acres per minute

•        The area of New York City per day

 Think about that.

 About six species of trees per hour become extinct, primarily because of destruction of their habitat through logging, mining, clearing for cattle ranching, building of dams and roads and uncontrolled development. At root are the materialistic demands of industrialized countries.  If we continue down this road, all tropical rain forest ecosystems will be only a memory by 2030.  
Think about that.

 But all is not lost.  We humans are still capable of protecting our own environs, our own future. It will require repairing damage done and ensuring needed biodiversity to provide for generations yet unborn.

•      We must stop destruction of the rainforests and vastly  expand  areas to be protected.

•      We need to improve gene banks, which store seeds, embryos or germplasm.  Although 
  this is a stopgap and imperfect way of preserving species, it is a start.

• .         Most importantly, we must support national and international organizations’ efforts to advise and inform governments.  Power of government is necessary to tame the onslaught of corporate rape of our rainforests,

 Surely all this seems so big and so beyond the power of the individual, but individuals can do 
something by thinking twice.

•        We can cut back on the use of paper.  Skip paper plates, towels, etc. and use cloth bags for shopping.  Buy recycled paper products.

•       We can curb our use of oil by using cars with good gas mileage, trying to do several 
  errands in one trip, and car pooling when possible.  

•          We can reduce our consumption of beef.  Cattle require huge tracts of grazing land, which cause the further destruction of the rainforests.

•      We can push for the funding of mass transit.

•            We can keep our eyes open to hold corporations accountable.

•           We can write letters to express concern for the rainforests. (www.ran.org)

•            We can support actions to protect endangered areas( www.ran.org).

•             We can support the Rainforest Action Network, which coordinates actions among 
  interested individuals (www.ran.org).

God has worked out such a wonderful  home for us on this earth, incredibly complex and 
interdependent.  The harm we humans have done to this splendid plan has endangered not only 
the forests and their inhabitants, but our own well being as well. You can help.

Think about that.

By Patricia A. Monahan

What aspect of water delighted you most this summer? Was it sitting beside a stream listening
to the comforting sounds of water gurgling over rock? Was it a friend’s offer of a cold glass of 
water after a stint of gardening? Perhaps it was a swim at the ocean, or a walk along the beach. 
Maybe you recall the soothing relief of soaking tired feet in a pan of warm water. Whatever your
water delight, during this International Year of Fresh Water, we are reminded that water heals, 
refreshes, soothes, cleanses, and blesses.

Though colorless, water enables us to see the colors of the rainbow. While having no form itself, 
it gives form to everything. Billions of years old, water is constantly renewing itself. Water has the 
ability to confer life, uphold life, and to transform death into new life. Every drop of water is a
microcosm of the universe, carrying information from ancient eras and from worlds we have 
yet to imagine. Water is everywhere and in everything. Water is sacred.

In today’s fast-paced society there is a deep desire to reconnect with the sacred in everyday life. 
The ordinary and commonplace can be sacred. This idea has always been central to many belief
systems from the East, and it is no accident that many Eastern societies have a more respectful
attitude toward water than that shown in the West. From similar roots Eastern and Western 
societies developed along markedly different paths over the last two thousand years. While 
the West pursued economic dominance and power for hundreds of years, the second half of 
the 20^th century saw a renewed interest by Westerners in Eastern beliefs and practices, and 
a renewed search for spirituality.

Regardless of religious belief, water is a magical, mysterious, and powerful substance that 
bestows life. Every ancient culture revered water. Indeed, all ancient deities were water gods.
The Sumerian’s word mar meant sea, but it was also the word for womb; a was the word for
water, and also meant sperm, conception, and generation. The Hebrew language includes the
ideogram Mem, deciphered as mother, life, womb, or sea. "Everything was water," say Hindu 
texts, and in the Tamtric manuscripts water is prana, the vital breath that brings life. Water and
life were one and the same. Living in dialogue with water connects the physical, emotional, and
mysterious worlds.

Throughout history "holy" water has been understood to heal symbolically, and in some instances,
physically. Baptism is probably the universal symbol of purification and regeneration. It was first
introduced in the rites of Egypt. It is also rooted in Shinto, Confucian, and Hindu customs of 
bathing in sacred waters to symbolically cleanse all sin. The baptism of Jesus by John prepared 
him to accept his mission on Earth as the Son of God. In Western culture, baptism may be the 
only ritual associated with water that is recognized as having a spiritual element. While there are
many who practice their faith, others who may never step inside a church for religious reasons 
still want their children to be baptized even though it may seem unconnected to other aspects of
their life. There remains a need to recognize our spiritual nature, a desperate desire to find
meaning on a deeper level within the context of the Earth community.

Modern industrialized people, detached from the land and the seasons, often forget the connection.
When it rains, we complain of the inconvenience, or how it interferes with our plans. Yet, lack of rain
causes the greatest complaints when authorities impose limitations on water usage and people
can no longer water lawns and gardens. God forbid that water be turned off for even a few hours 
during major plumbing and construction jobs. The link between water and fertility is only recognized 
when it impinges on private demands.

The irony is that because water has been taken for granted for so long, water shortages even in
the Western world are threatening human health and the health of the environment. Humans have
forgotten their dependence upon water. Until we regain an attitude of respect and reverence,
the entire planet is at risk.

If we reflect upon our dependence on water, we will begin to use it more carefully. Unfortunately
it retains only the faintest vestige of the sacred for most of us. Our exploitation of water has been 
continuing for centuries, but has become more obvious in the last 65 years. Now much of the 
world has piped water, and piped sewage systems, too. We no longer think about how we get 
clean water, how we dispose of it once we have dirtied it, or how much of it we use. If we take the
time to appreciate the marvelous substance water is in itself, we will readily realize that water is
the source of life, and if we appreciate its qualities we can become empowered by it.

That doesn’t mean we have to completely change our lifestyles, but we have to become more 
conscious of the world around us and reconnect with the more spiritual side of life in nature. Take
 time to reflect on or meditate by water… a stream, a lake, a river, an ocean. Realize that water is
alive. It has reflected and carried the beliefs of every society since time began. It works in 
mysterious ways, but, without it, all life stops. Once we begin to understand the true nature of 
water, we will realize that it is the key to our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. As we
reconnect with this sacred element, we may be closer to reconnecting to the true Source of
Divine Life.

References: Ryrie, Charlie. The Healing Energies of Water. Charles E. Tuttle Co. Inc. 
North Clarendon, VT. 1999.

Pharr, Virginia. Growing in Care of the Earth. Saint Mary’s Press. Winona, MI 1998.

                                               Pollution and Climate Change 

                                                               Joan Gallagher, CSJ   

Climate can be defined as the “expected weather” of a region or zone on Earth.  Earth’s climate has 
changed during its 4.2 billion years of existence.  During the evolving years of Earth as we know it, the major
causes of climate change were due to: 

Ø      Changes in Earth’s orbit around the sun 

Ø      Changes in the amount of energy coming from the sun 

Ø      Changes in ocean circulation 

Ø      Changes in the composition of Earth's atmosphere 

Energy from the sun drives Earth’s weather and climate and heats Earth’s surface.  In turn Earth radiates
energy back into space.  Atmospheric greenhouse gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, 
nitrous oxide, trap some of the outgoing energy. 

   For the past 10,000 years these greenhouse gases have maintained an average and hospitable 
temperature of 59°on our planet.  However with the industrial revolution there has been a larger emission of 
greenhouse gases.  The increased concentration of these gases has enhanced the heat trapping 
capabilities of Earth’s atmosphere.  

 Over the past century it has been observed that the major causes of climate change have shifted as a 
result of human activities.  These activities have raised the levels of greenhouse gases as follows: 

Ø      Burning of fossil fuels have increased carbon dioxide by 30% 

Ø      Energy and transportation have increased nitrous oxide by 15% 

Ø      Land use and food have more than doubled concentrations of methane 

The overall affect of the unnatural accumulation of these gases has increased the global surface temperatures
 1.0º.  The 20^th Century’s 10 warmest years have occurred in the last 15 years of the century.  The 
increased temperature has caused sea levels to rise 4”-8” this past century.   Worldwide precipitation
 over land has increased 1%.  In the   United States  the frequency of extreme rainfall has increased.  
Remember the spring of 2003? 

These changes validate the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports of what we 
can expect if emissions of greenhouse gases do not change: 

Ø      Greater weather extremes, i.e., stronger storms, longer and drier droughts, heavier rains and
increased numbers of floods 

Ø      Altered patterns of climate and weather-less rainfall in the interior continents 

Ø      Increase in sea levels 

Earth’s atmosphere does not distinguish where emissions come from.  A greenhouse warmed world
 sets off the natural climate changes of the planet to more drastic climate changes for the planet.  
The impact on the global community: 

Ø      Displacement of persons due to rising sea levels 

Ø      Unpredictable fresh water supply 

Ø      Reintroduction of diseases such as malaria 

Ø      Loss of ecosystems and biodiversity 

Ø      Diminishment of ocean phytoplankton which supply 70% of the oxygen we breathe and which 
are a major consumer of carbon dioxide 

Ø      Food insecurity with diminished agricultural production which in turn can set off the world’s 
economy (It should be noted that genetically engineered food do not have the natural coping 
mechanisms to deal with changes in temperature, sun and moisture) 

  In December 1997, the world’s national governments met in   Kyoto , Japan  , to negotiate a treaty 
to start dealing seriously with climate change.  The framework of the treaty reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and sets emissions caps.  The Kyoto Protocol will only become international law when it is ratified by at least 55 countries
To date 22 countries have signed on, the   United States of America  not being one of them. 

 What can one do locally to assist global efforts to halt unnatural changes in climate: 

Ø      Write government officials encouraging the   United States  to sign onto the Kyoto Protocol 

Ø      Shift mindset from dominance and power to one of reverence and respect 

Ø      Acknowledge worth of creation 

      Recognize the other and one’s responsibility towards the other 

Ø      Seek to employ alternative forms of renewable energies, i.e., Solar, Geo-thermal, wind, etc.   

        “In retrospect it will be clear.  A hundred years from now, people may well 
         remember the 1990’s not as the decade of the Internet’s spread or the Dow’s 
        ascension but as the years when global temperatures began spiking upward-
        as the years when rain and wind and ice and sea water began irrefutably to
        reflect the power and heedlessness of our species.  But how bad it will get 
        depends on how deeply and how quickly we can feel.” 

                                                                        Bill McKibben, author of “The End of Nature” 

  Resources: 

 Hawken, Paul, Lovins,  Amory,  Lovins, L. Hunter.  Natural Capitalism:  Creating the Next Industrial 
Revolution.  Little, Brown & Company,   New York  . 1999 

 Wackernagel, Mathis & Rees, William.  Our Ecological Footprint:  Reducing Human Impact on the
Earth.  New Society Publishers,   Gabriola Island ,  BC  . 1996. 

 Nattrass, Brian & Altomare, Mary.  The Natural Step for Business:  Wealth, Ecology & the Evolutionary 
Corportation. New Society Publishers,   Gabriola Island ,  BC  . 1999. 

   http://www.unep.org 

    http://www.nrpe.org 

The Oil Industry Eyes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Again

"The Bush Administration, Congress, and the oil industry are at it again, pushing to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling, a move the Senate rejected last year. Known as "America's Serengeti," the Arctic Refuge is home to polar bears, caribou, migratory birds and other wildlife. Despite widespread public opposition to drilling in sensitive wildlife habitat, the battle could start again in early 2005. Speak out - tell President Bush and Congress that Americans oppose trading wilderness and wildlife for more global warming pollution and a mere six-month supply of oil."  Take action!

America's Waters: Vulnerable to Development Pollution

Bush administration policy dubbed "Reckless Abandon".

"Nearly two years after the Bush administration issued a policy directive instructing federal agencies not to protect the  bulk of America's waters, a new report from Earthjustice and three other environmental groups shows that clean water protections are being withdrawn from streams, wetlands, lakes, and rivers across the country.Reckless Abandon: How the Bush Administration is Exposing America's Waters to Harm is based on federal documents obtained by the four groups from the US Army Corps of Engineers.  Through 15 case studies, the report demonstrates how the administration's January 2003 directive has prompted federal regulators to stop using the Clean Water act to protect waters including an 86-acre Lake in Wisconsin, a 150-mile long river in New Mexico, a 4000-acre tract of wetlands in Florida, and a 70-mile long canal in California that even serves as a drinking water supply.
The directive made clear that no prior permission is required for EPA or Corps field staff to ignore Clean Water Act protections and allow industrial facilities, developers and others to pollute, fill, or destroy these waters. In addition,the policy excludes from protection several types of waters found across the country that provide critical habitats for an array of migratory birds, amphibians, and other wildlife.

The report is available online at: http://www.earthjustice.org/

" The Endangered Species Act States that when an agency plans to do something that might have a deleterious effect  On a protected species it must consult the agencies that employ wildlife specialists, namely the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service. The issue recently surfaced when Earth Justice sued the EPA for failing to protect salmon bearing streams from a wide
range of toxic pesticides. That suit resulted in a court order requiring the imposition of a buffer zone and the placing of warnings in places where the pesticides are sold. Soon after the court issued its order, the EPA issued regulations announcing that it will no longer consult NMFS or FWS but will instead ask itself whether the various pesticides will harm salmon and other protected species.  this has
profound implications for scarce wildlife in every corner of the land and appears to be in violation of the law.

For more information on this administration's environmental record:  
www.earthjustice.org

www.foe.org

Long Island Water and Organic Gardening

                                               Mary Lou Buser, CSJ

We are all aware of the importance of water.  We know we can’t live without it. We are
also aware that potable (drinkable) water is becoming scarce; in some parts of our world
it is almost non-existent.  We here on LI have always had plenty of water which
we pump from underground aquifers.  These aquifers have been in place since the
glaciers receded about 10,000 years ago and are replenished by precipitation
 – a wonderful water cycling process.  With the increase in population, farming and industry
over the last hundred years or so  water is taken from the aquifers at a faster
pace than it can be replenished. This is causing the salt water of the Atlantic Ocean 
and Long Island Sound to encroach upon and shrink the fresh water supply within
the aquifers. There is additional concern about toxic chemicals which are leaching
into and contaminating our water supply.

We know we must conserve water.  Though conservation by individuals is important,
conservation by farmers is even more important. It is estimated that 60 – 70% of
potable water is used to irrigate farmland in the United States. Organic farmers and
gardeners are on the forefront of conserving water.  Since soil rich in organic matter 
tends to hold moisture, organic farming and gardening requires less watering.
Also, these farmers and gardeners try to use water more efficiently by directing
the water to where it is needed -- at a plants roots.

The organic garden in Brentwood uses a drip watering system. Thanks to our volunteer,
Ernie Herrington, we have a very effective drip system which  Ernie hopes to make 
even more effective next year.

This is but one way we can help to conserve water on Long Island .

Organic Garden

Many people are becoming more aware of the nutritional advantages of eating food shortly after it’s harvested.  They are also aware that the energy derived by eating lettuce or spinach shipped from California is dwarfed by the energy spent in processing, packaging and shipping that lettuce cross country. 
We work a natural garden on our Brentwood grounds because we are aware that all of God’s creation is sacred and should be treated with respect and care.  One way we can do this is to counter the industrial agricultural industry which grows monocultures of soy, corn and wheat etc. These industrial farmers use chemical (petroleum based) fertilizers and chemical pesticides.  Both of these ultimately deplete the soil of its natural life.  Lifeless soil tends to erode very easily and of course requires ever more chemicals.
Our choice is to engage in diversified gardening as a model of sound, natural gardening.  We plant a variety of crops, rotate them regularly, and use the spent plants, weeds, grass and leaves (all rich in nutrients) to fertilize the soil. Nothing is wasted.  Our natural garden is a good example of sustainability.  As a bonus, diversified gardening attracts very few harmful insects and those that do come are quickly repelled by the beneficial insects that are attracted to our flowers. 
Gardening in this manner keeps ever before our eyes the wonders of God’s creation: the good relationships and cooperation between the plants and animal life; the diverse dying and rising within a vegetable garden, and the beauty of the plants, flowers and tress. 
We welcome you to visit our garden.  In season, come and taste strawberries picked that very day, peas that can be eaten right from the bush and tomatoes picked at the peak of ripeness.  We also grow squash, potatoes, eggplant, lettuce and herbs which you probably would not want to eat at the garden, but are available for you to take home for cooking. 
If you wish you may come to the garden to just sit and relax.  You’ll be entertained by the bees which journey from our bee hives (which are at a safe distance) to partake of the nectar provided by the flowers in the garden.  In return the bees do a good bit of pollinating as do the butterflies and various birds that come to visit.  We