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Thursday, March 9
St. Francis and the Birth of Earth Day
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 09 Mar 2006 11:00 AM CST
 St. Francis and the Birth of Earth Day
by John McConnell, Earth Day Founder and Iowa Native
This article was submitted to Blog for Iowa
by the founder of Earth Day himself, Iowa native John McConnell.
WHAT WOULD ST. FRANCIS DO NOW?
The
global celebration of Earth Day on March 20, the first day of Spring,
is a matter directly related to St. Francis and the amazing results of
his vision and life. Were he here today, he would undoubtedly
focus all his prayer and effort on achieving Earth Day's original
purpose.
A little about Earth Day history will illustrate this.
Earth
Day is on the March Equinox, which determines the annual date of
Easter. (Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon
following the March equinox.)
Not only
that, the equinox is also the New Year in Iran and other Islam
countries, which makes possible attention for a common purpose - the
sustainable care of Earth, with justice and peace for all.
This will help us show real love for our world neighbors and the web of life that covers our globe.
ST. FRANCIS AND THE BIRTH OF EARTH DAY
The
first Earth Day was inaugurated in San Francisco - The City of St.
Francis. I had long been familiar with the Prayer of St.
Francis: "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where
there is hatred, let me sow love..." In 1969, we obtained backing
of the mayor, city officials, churches, schools, businesses - a really
all-out event with massive coverage in media. While the event was
backed by Franciscans and Catholic churches, participation included
synagogues and many other denominations. The Red Cross delivered
plants to schools for children to take home.
In
succeeding Earth Days at the United Nations, we demonstrated that
people of diverse creeds and cultures can leave room for their
differences and come together for "peace, justice and the care of
Earth."
A factor
in the choice of the date was my own history. In 1957, I obtained
global attention for an editorial in my weekly North Carolina "Toe
Valley View" newspaper. The first Sputnik Satellite had just been
launched on October 4th. None of the media seemed to note that
this was the "Feast Day of St. Francis." And launched by the then
Godless USSR! (The person who chose the date must have been a
secret Christian.)
My
editorial called for a visible "Star of Hope" satellite. It would
be launched as a symbol of hope to further understanding and peace on
our planet. It obtained front page attention around the world.
My own
study and prayer life led to the conviction that we needed a common
purpose that would appeal to people of all creeds and cultures - and a
way to get attention for it. We needed something that would
end history's terrible record of war and injustice.
These thoughts planted the seeds that led to Earth Day.
Another
factor was my efforts in 1963 to get global participation in a
daily "Minute for Peace." I was responsible for the Minute
for Peace on radio world-wide, which followed the period of mourning
for President Kennedy. "Peace begins in the mind." We asked
for a one minute radio spot on all stations that would carry the sound
of a bell and a thought or prayer for peace. We invited all
listeners to join in this special minute - to deepen their
commitment and increase their efforts for world peace.
Minute
for Peace became the centerpiece of Earth Day. When we ring the
UN Peace Bell we invite people world wide to join in two minutes of
heartfelt prayer that we will overcome "doubt with faith" and strive to
be a responsible Trustee of Earth.
Pray
that every year St. Francis Day and Earth Day will bring a new sense of
identity with the whole human family and a commitment to see peace
through understanding and love. And may we put feet to our
prayers with action to help make it happen.
John McConnell
www.earthsite.org
ONE LAST GLOBAL WARMING WARNING
by
Molly Regan
on Thu 09 Mar 2006 05:00 AM CST
 ONE LAST GLOBAL WARMING WARNING
From the New York Times ….March 5, 2006, Comes this article entitled : "WARM, WARMER, WARMEST"
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
"One of the hottest environmental battles has been over oil drilling in
the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the sad
reality is that much of the Arctic plain will probably be lost anyway
in this century to rising sea levels. That should be our paramount
struggle: TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING. It threatens not only the Arctic
plain, but also low-lying areas around the world with 100 million
inhabitants. And it could be accelerating because of the three scariest
words in climate science: positive feedback loops.
"Bear with me now: a positive feedback loop occurs when a small change
leads to an even larger change of the same type. For example, a modest
amount of warming melts ice in northern climates. But the bare ground
absorbs three times as much heat as ground covered by snow or ice, so
the change amplifies the original warming. Even more ice melts, more
heat is absorbed, and the spiral grows… perhaps the biggest single
source of uncertainty about whether Lower Manhattan will be underwater
in 2100 has to do with the glaciers of Greenland. If Greenland's ice
sheet melted completely, that alone - over centuries - would raise the
oceans by 23 feet. And those glaciers are dumping much more water into
the oceans than they did a decade ago, according to two satellite
surveys just published, but the studies disagree on the amounts…
"The Arctic permafrost may hold 14 percent of the world's carbon, but
as it melts, some of its carbon dioxide and methane are released,
adding to the amount of greenhouse gases. So more permafrost melts.
Likewise, millions of years ago, warming oceans with vast amounts of
methane in their depths had great episodes of methane belching, which
added to the greenhouse effect then. I don't expect the oceans to burp
in the same massive way tomorrow, but if they did, no one would know
how to fit those unmannerly oceans into a climate model.
Part of the challenge in modeling climate is that we're already off the
charts with greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and
methane. "We've driven them out of the range that has existed for the
last one million years," noted JAMES HANSEN, NASA's top climate expert.
"And the climate has not fully responded to changes that have already
occurred."
"In fairness, there are also negative feedback loops, which could
dampen change. For example, warmer temperatures could mean more snow
over Antarctica, implying an initial buildup of the Antarctic ice
sheet. The added ice could slow global warming and rising sea levels.
But a new study just published in SCIENCE EXPRESS says that the
Antarctic ice sheet is already thinning significantly - raising more
alarms and casting doubt on that negative feedback. In any case, it's
clear that negative feedback loops in climatology are much less common
than positive loops, which amplify change and leave our climate both
unstable and vulnerable to human folly…GLOBAL WARMING MAY ULTIMATELY BE
THE GREATEST TEST WE FACE AS STEWARDS OF OUR PLANET. AND SO FAR WE'RE
FAILING CATASTROPHICALLY.
"Historians of science will be brutal on us," said Jerry Mahlman, a
climate expert at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "WE ARE
RIGHT NOW IN A STATE OF DEEP DENIAL ABOUT HOW SEVERE THE PROBLEM
IS. Political people are saying, 'Well, it's not on my
watch.' They're ducking for cover, because who's going to tell the
American people? We know what to do: energy conservation, gas taxes and
carbon taxes, more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power…
But our political system is paralyzed in the face of what may be the
single biggest challenge to our planet.
"Are we an intelligent species or not?" Dr. Mahlman asked. "Right now, the evidence is against it."
I SAY TIME FOR ACTION…LET'S GET ON WITH IT… CPR…CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE
Sunday, March 5
FEBRUARY LEGISLATIVE FORUM/PART B
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 05 Mar 2006 03:36 PM CST
 FEBRUARY LEGISLATIVE FORUM/PART B
As promised, I am giving a second report on the Senators' and
Representatives' Legislative Forum held at St. Ambrose University,
Davenport, IOWA, which took place Saturday, February 25th.
A question from a young man, Andrew, drew applause from many in the
audience. He wanted to know, especially from the Republicans,
what was going to be done in the state of IOWA regarding
bullying. Andrew said gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender
persons (GLBT's) are not given the same protections as "other minority"
groups. He wanted to know what was going to be done to protect
him and others of the GLBT group.
First to respond was Rep. Jim Van Fossen (R), "…they (school
administrators) all say there is a bullying policy in place, and is
this something that the state of IOWA needs to get involved?…We try to
allow the school boards to set their own policies on hours, numbers of
days that they're working…" Take a stand here Jim, take a stand.
(((It is going to be so sweet to see your opponent, the articulate
ELESHA GAYMAN, take you to task on so many issues, including this
one.)))
Andrew said, "Kids now use 'gay' in a slang term as something
bad. We don't go around saying: 'That's so black. That's so
Asian. That's so Jewish.' We don't do that…I'm just wanting my
officials of the state of IOWA regardless of party to do something to
insure my rights as an American citizen."
When asked by the senior Rep. Jim Van Fossen what rights Andrew himself
did not have that he, Van Fossen, had, the young man's answer was that
he lost his job. He was "actively and maliciously sought out for
being a homosexual."
Senator Joe Seng (D-Davenport) said he was on the Davenport city
council when they passed a law regarding no discrimination on credit,
housing, and employment. He said we (Democratic legislators) are
working on getting a law standardized. Although, Sen. Seng said
he was not sure the Republicans were working on one. "We're
working to try to get a statewide anti-bullying bill. I am.
I think it's needed." He thanked Andrew for coming forward
with his concerns.
But it was Representative Jamie Van Fossen (R-Davenport) who really
seemed out of touch. He said he didn't understand the problem
after Andrew had described being fired from his job for being gay and
for nearly being run off the road 5 times by the same individual just
because he was gay. Andrew said he learned that the IOWA hate
crime law does nothing to protect him as a gay person.
So, for Rep. Jamie Van Fossen not being more aware, more in touch, more
inclusive-thinking about this, well, I guess it's time to step aside
and let someone govern who does. Step down Jamie, step down.
Though this episode has nothing to do with environmental issues, please still take time to CPR…CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE.
FALLON WINS DELEGATE COUNT IN POLK, JOHNSON AND STORY COUNTY CONVENTIONS
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 05 Mar 2006 12:07 AM CST
 FALLON WINS DELEGATE COUNT IN POLK, JOHNSON AND STORY COUNTY CONVENTIONS
In
results from three Democratic county conventions that broke into
preference groups for governor on Saturday, State Representative Ed Fallon finished above all his opponents, including Secretary of State Chet Culver and Mike Blouin. Here are the results:
Polk
Story
Johnson Total
Fallon
82
20
28
130
Uncommitted
74
0
17
91
Culver
60
16
14
90
Blouin
Not
viable
10
18
28
“These
are three of the most important counties in a Democratic primary,” said
Fallon. “While the chance of the nomination being decided at the
state convention is slim, these results indicate the strength of our
grassroots organization and continued momentum across the state.”
Fallon
pointed out further that these numbers show a particularly weak
grassroots organization in the Blouin campaign. “Big money and
big name endorsements don’t necessarily translate into victory,” said
Fallon.
Wednesday, March 1
Industry Study Withheld Data on Carcinogen: Report
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 01 Mar 2006 06:31 PM CST
 Industry Study Withheld Data on Carcinogen: Report
by Deborah Zabarenko
Published by Reuters.com
Workplace
watchdogs and industry advocates agree: too much hexavalent chromium --
the same chemical at the heart of the movie "Erin Brockovich" -- puts
people at risk for lung cancer. But how much is too much?
The
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is set to rule on
that on Tuesday. But in the run-up to the decision, the journal
Environmental Health reported that industry-commissioned scientists
withheld data suggesting even small amounts of the known carcinogen,
which is used in the steel, aerospace, electroplating and industries,
can be deadly.
"We
think we have an example in which all of the standard elements of
scientific distortion are present: hiding behind the lawyers,
statistical manipulation, failure to publish ... all that kind of stuff
which comes right out of the tobacco industry playbook," said Dr. Peter
Lurie, one of the report's authors.
Kate
McMahon-Lohrer, an attorney at the firm Collier Shannon Scott and
counsel for the industry group Chromium Coalition, vehemently disagreed
with the Environmental Health report.
"That charge is absolutely and completely false and it's outrageous and libelous," she said.
In
a telephone interview, McMahon-Lohrer acknowledged that hexavalent
chromium raises workers' cancer risk at high doses, but said there was
debate about the risk from low doses. She denied any industry-sponsored
research was withheld from OSHA.
David
Michaels, who heads the project on scientific knowledge and public
policy at George Washington University and was a senior author of the
report, said studies commissioned by a chromium industry group showed
even low doses elevate cancer risk.
"Industry
had commissioned a study which looked at newer facilities where
exposures were much better-controlled and that study showed that
workers with relatively low exposure to hexavalent chromium had greatly
increased risk of lung cancer," Michaels said by telephone.
HIDDEN DATA
"Industry
criticized OSHA for not having data about the effects of low-level
exposure, when industry in fact had that data and was hiding it,"
Michaels said.
The
film "Erin Brockovich" focused on the dangers of contact with
hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium VI, through polluted water.
The current matter deals with airborne chromium VI that some 380,000
U.S. workers might inhale on the job.
At
present, there is no OSHA standard for how much chromium is acceptable
in American factories; the only standard that exists dates from 1943,
when the maximum on-the-job dose was set to prevent "nasal perforation"
and skin irritations.
That
63-year-old standard is 52 micrograms per cubic meter of air. In 2004,
OSHA proposed a standard of 1 microgram per cubic meter, and has been
collecting data on it since then, from industry and other groups. The
watchdog group Public Citizen asked for a 0.25 microgram per cubic
meter level.
OSHA
estimated that a 1 microgram level would cause two to nine excess
deaths for every 1,000 workers exposed during their lifetimes, above
the agency's target of one excess death per 1,000 workers.
If the level is raised to 5 micrograms, OSHA estimated it would cause five to 45 excess deaths for every 1,000 workers.
An
OSHA spokesperson declined to comment about what the decision might be,
except to say the agency expected to meet the Tuesday deadline, as
ordered by a federal court.
Michaels said the issue is broader than the chromium VI case.
"I'm
hoping that the entire system rethinks the role of industry in
providing scientific data," he said. "I'd like to see rules that say
... if industry participates in regulatory proceedings, they have an
obligation to provide all relevant data, not just the data that
supports their position."
LEGISLATIVE FORUM IN SCOTT COUNTY
by
Molly Regan
on Wed 01 Mar 2006 04:07 AM CST
 LEGISLATIVE FORUM IN SCOTT COUNTY
Saturday, February 25th, the most recent Legislative Forum was held at
St. Ambrose University in Davenport. It is held the last Saturday
of each month that the legislators meet in session.
It was attended by the three state senators who represent parts of
Scott County and by 5 of the 6 state representatives from the Scott
County and southern Clinton County areas.
An audience of about 120 was there to listen as the elected officials
spoke of pending legislation and research being done in
committees. Questions from the patient audience followed.
Where money is spent and where money is cut were the prime concerns
that morning. One teacher asked whether or not there would be
additional funding this year for early childhood programs in public
schools.
Senator Maggie Tinsman (R-Bettendorf) said yes and no. She said
there are already millions of dollars going into these programs.
The senator felt a task force should be set up in which corporations
and private money could be funneled towards helping those who cannot
afford early childhood education.
Senator Joe Seng (D-Davenport) responded, "(We) hate to put a
lot of money into it then all of a sudden we can't do it… it's maybe
our mistake that this started and we're going to shut it off.
Going along four or five months and all of a sudden we're going to stop
it, we say what happened? I don't think anybody knew that bill
when it was passed that the latitude would be there is a typical
example of a bill …when they write the rules and regs (regulations) and
they just completely expanded the scope of what I think the
legislatures thought of it…."
Regarding a question about teachers' pay, Representative Cindy Winckler
(D-Davenport, District 84) said when teacher compensation was discussed
in 2001 it turned into a teacher quality, student achievement
issue. A teacher's license is tied to their evaluation in their
local districts. "I don't think there is any other profession that we
have done that with….Now it is time to pay up. We absolutely have got
to keep our promises. We cannot set up a system, and then fail to
fund it. And that is exactly where we are with the teacher
quality. I will do everything I can to make sure that adequate
dollars are there in order for you to do the job that we expect you to
do."
Per Senator Frank Wood (D-Eldridge), in 2002 (IOWA) teacher's salaries
ranked 36 in the nation, 38th in 2004, and currently in 2006 the
ranking is 41st. The senator said we are going the wrong way.
Senator Wood said he hasn't seen a pay-for-performance system that
works…"We are currently making our teachers do, right now,
portfolios. Personally, as an administrator, I think it's
all right…You tell me what I can do to make you a better teacher so that
our student achievement is on the rise…I do believe that we have to do
something first of all to make sure that we get the brightest into the
teaching field so that our kids get the best teachers that we can
afford."
Teachers' salaries was just one of the many complex issues brought up
that day. More to come later on that days discussion.
To contact your senator or representative, go to www.legis.state.ia.us
Remember to also CPR…CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE
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