Blog Posts - Trees of Life:Forests In Peril

Trees of Life:Forests In Peril

TREES OF LIFE UPDATE!

10/24/2018

We just posted a new video that was produced by PBS out of Harrisonburg, Virginia. The video is now on this website and youtube. It is a brief interview to call attention to the need for changing the way we manage our remaining forestlands. The number of page reviews the blog has been getting has been encouraging and has given us the interest to continue our efforts to communicate our concerns. We are grateful for your support and hope you will help spread the word. It was suggested that we consider publishing a children's book to help reach our youth. We decided to undertake this task and are working on a book entitled, "I am Just a Tree". The book will focus on the elements trees contribute to the sustenance of life on Mother Earth.
We have a meeting this week with the video producer, to discuss other options for advancing our communications efforts. If you have any thoughts or ideas, please contact us. I am sure you were aware, we considered working with a film company that has been producing documentaries for worldwide distribution. The company thought the topic worthy of a one hour documentary entitled, 'Tree of Life", however we would require financial support of about $200,000. It is still an option, if we could find the support that is necessary. Again, please share you ideas!

October 21st, 2018

10/21/2018

                                 MANAGEMENT FOR THE FUTURE PART II
    First, I must admit, I am primarily focusing on public forest lands. Individuals and corporations that own forested lands, obviously, have the right to manage to meet their goals, which will obviously focus on profitability. This is the reason the management of public forested lands will become ever increasingly important, with the passing of time. Remember, we have already lost over half of the acres of forest cover that once occupied the land base of our planet and, the expanding world population will intensify the demand to clear forested acres for food, shelter and other human needs.
    Since the 1960’s, there has been a great deal of pressure, from folks that support the principles of “Preservation”, which has resulted in significant reductions in timber harvesting on the 193 million acres of National Forest System lands. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting we need to increase harvesting of forest wood products but, I believe it indicates a lack of management and degradation of forest community health. Shifting management responsibilities to nature is no longer an option. With our expanding population, proper management of our remaining public forestlands is essential but, requires major adjustments. I just cannot accept tree farming as a desirable management process for public lands, particularly when they almost always involve non-indigenous species. I am reminded of Peter Walenben’s book, “The Hidden Life of Trees”, where he describes how the social life of plant communities is destroyed when we domesticate plants by converting them to row-crops for the production of food. The same thing happens to trees when we grow them in nurseries, and plant them as row-crops in plantations. Forest management is certainly, much more than a simple agricultural process. Individual forest stands are complex living communities with a multitude of organisms, going about their daily duties required to support the relationships that sustain the many life systems on this planet.
    We recently made a trip to Michigan where we had the opportunity to observe acre after acre of non-indigenous plantations, visible from the inter-state highways through Ohio and Michigan. Most were Norway Pine, Austrian Pine, Scotch Pine or Colorado Blue Spruce. A few, I am sure, were planted for Christmas tree production and have out grown their use. Some were on private lands where they may be meeting the land owner’s goal but, the majority were on public lands following clear-cutting operations or regenerating abandoned agricultural lands. I was reminded of feelings I have had, when walking through these plantations, feelings of a dark dense enclosure where life has disappeared or is dying. Everything is in orderly rows, uniform size, deadly quite and I feel alone in a biological dessert.
   A couple weeks before our Michigan trip, we took a leisurely drive through southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina where we were treated to a very different experience. Several people told stories about how their ancestors passed on pictures and tales of how the mountainsides were mined for the timber required for homes, farms and communities. Pictures from the 1800’s presented a devastating vision of the mountainsides nearly void of the larger hardwood trees that once existed. I call it the Extraction Period. The United States population was only 11% of our current population and the science of forestry was non-existent, so the barren land was ignored and nature was allowed to do the job of reforestation. Today, we observe second growth central hardwood stands of indigenous species exhibiting similar diversity to the original old growth. Since the physical site properties have not changed much and local seed sources were relied on, it is fortunate that today’s communities are very similar to the original forest communities. Yes, there is an occasional conifer plantation but, they are the exception not the rule. The major changes we did observe, were the increased population density and significant increase in the number of people living in the area. Our country has gone from 3.8 million in 1790 to 330 million today, and human impacts on the natural world, have grown to the point nature can no longer do the job without help. If our natural world is to continue to provide the life sustaining elements for our future, it will require human assistance which means proper management, far more intense than previously provided.
I see an exciting future for natural resource managers! Are we able and willing to accept the challenge? NATURE’S WAY requires reading the land, identifying the forest communities, preparing scientific management objectives, prescribing management treatments to encourage diversity and copying natures regeneration processes using local seed sources. To put it a different way, the ecological concerns and considerations must out weight the demand for what we can take from the forests. What path will we choose, spirituality and balance or materialism?

Natures Way

Humans Way

October 03rd, 2018

10/3/2018

   MANAGEMENT FOR THE FUTURE!

    Diversity, diversity, diversity! It is accomplished by recognizing and managing individual forest communities and using techniques that rely on local natural seed sources! Silviculture is the application of harvesting treatments designed to keep forest communities healthy and vigorous. Carl Schenek went to work for George W. Vanderbilt about 1895, to manage the 120,000-acre, Biltmore Estate near Ashville, North Carolina. In 1898, he started the Biltmore Forestry School which offered a one year-course focused on silvicultural theory. Basically, each silvicultural treatment is humanities way of applying a harvesting technique to copy various ways nature might re-establish vegetation, as the tree stands mature and individuals begin to die. I have previously discussed how forestry has been considered an agricultural process since Gifford Pinchot defined forestry in the 1890’s, and later became the first Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in 1905. I have also presented my opinion that forestry is far more complex then a simple agricultural process, due to the complexity of the unique communities and the important elements provided by our natural world, which sustain life on our planet.
    About 1963, the U.S. Forest Service research branch published a report suggesting that even-aged management, using clear-cut harvesting techniques, would increase productivity and help provide a sustained flow of products from the remaining forested lands. I personally, remember some very heated discussions over the scientific support for this conclusion. I can confirm that timber harvesting was the driving goal of the Agency at the time, and I can confirm the recommendations by the research division were fully accepted and implemented. Even complex central and northern hardwood stands were to be managed using even-age principles. It was a bitter pill to swallow, as I believe it seriously limited the scientist in meeting site-specific objectives for individual communities and worked to accelerate the destruction of bio-diversity. Educated professional forest scientists need to be able to read the land and developing management objectives and treatments for individual forest communities, and they need a full tool box to accomplish these objectives. We simply cannot dictate treatment methods prior to establishing management objectives. The development of site-specific management objectives is where the public participation process must start, and we must realize our public forested lands are going to play an increasing role in providing the required elements from the natural world in the future.
   My life time of observation and experience has convinced me that even-aged management may be desirable in maximizing wood fiber production but, results in major destruction of critical bio-diversity and will have devastating effects on Earth’s life systems. Once again, I believe diversity is the single most important element that has been incorporated into the natural world and the complex story of “Creation”.
    Even-age management, clear-cutting, tree plantations and efforts to maximize wood fiber production, I believe, are humanities efforts to dominate and manipulate the natural world, and will eventually lead to disastrous results for life on our planet! The management philosophy that I call “Nature’s Way”, relies on first reading the land to identify the physical features that define a forest community, followed by a scientist establishment, with the public, of management objectives for the individual forest community. Once these objectives are defined and accepted, the scientist must have the flexibility to prescribe the proper treatment to accomplish the objectives and must exercise close over-sight of the implementation process. The over-riding goal must be to maintain or improve diversity and health of the treatment area, which usually will involve natural regeneration by local seed sources. If Nature can do it, we can to! I have seen Nature’s Way and it is far better than Human’s Way!

September 15th, 2018

9/15/2018

OUR PASSIVE WAY

We have been discussing the necessity of playing a more aggressive role in initiating changes in our relationship with the Natural World. Why do we need to change and how do we change it? We know adult human beings tend to be opposed and somewhat frighten of change due to the uncertainty of the results. Our comfort level remains highest with the status-que. We start life unaware of failure and ready to experiment and learn. Aging continues to reduce our flexibility and willingness to try new ways. When faced with major issues and concerns, it is more comfortable to remain passive and accept the current status, rather than change course to resolve the problem. It is better to ignore the problem than risk the outcome of change! So, we stick our heads in the sand and hope for a better tomorrow but, tomorrow never comes. Improvement does not happen without action!
What will tomorrow bring if we fail to care for Mother Earth? What can we expect if we continue to remain innocent of the historical data that proves civilizations fail and collapse when their environments are destroyed? The passive positions of our leaders, even religious scholars, have failed to initiate actions to enlighten and protect the natural world from its rapid decline. E.O. Wilson states,” Civilization was purchased by the betrayal of Nature “. He goes on to point out, “Even if the rest of life is counted of no value beyond the satisfaction of human bodily needs, the obliteration of Nature is a dangerous strategy “. Urbanization has betrayed Nature for a second time! Much of our population now live in cocoon like environments, found in the cities and suburbs, believing this life-style capable of satisfying human fulfillment needs. Human needs go much deeper and broader than the artificial environments of urban living. Without a spiritual relationship with Mother Earth and our Natural World, can we expect people to understand the importance of protecting our majestic planet? Can one appreciate the necessity of our Natural World without the knowledge of the complexity and detail of the story of creation?
Much work is ahead, and it must start with the people! It must come from the bottom up, as leadership is too busy satisfying their individual needs and desires. Neither the secular nor the spiritual communities have effectively dealt with the issues of our Natural World and our dependency upon that world. There still exists tensions between the interpretations of the scientific community and religious community. Are these tensions standing in the way of resolution? We must recognize science has only provided a deeper appreciation of the facts within the story of creation and allowed us to better understand the detail of Creation. With this expanded knowledge base, we must now come together to re-kindle our spiritual relationship with Mother Earth! Religion must accept that the scientific facts about Creation are not in conflict with our deeply held religious beliefs and, science must incorporate the human element into the scientific decision-making process so we can redeem our spiritual relationship with our earthly home! Life is truly a circle, all things are connected and every organism contributes in a small way to the cycle of life. Together we can provide a more desirable future!

September 03rd, 2018

9/3/2018

                                                   WHY AND WHAT ACTION?
        Our last article talked about the need to convert words to action, but requires more discussion of why and how we can accomplish these actions. I have presented numerous facts that describe the decline of our natural world but, feel compelled to provide more detail. Tropical rain forests are actually more important than other forested lands as they house an estimated 50% of all life on Earth yet, cover only 2% of Earth’s land surface. Some tropical forest communities have over 400 tree and plant species present. We have currently identified almost 10 million unique species of organisms and scientists suggest we have discovered less than 80% of species occupying our land base and less than 90% of our sea organisms. The estimated number of different species on our planet reaches as high as 50 million. It has been projected that our tropical forest will be eliminated within the next 100 years. These statistics provide additional supporting data for defining the complexity of creation and rationale for why we need adjustments in our relationship with the natural world.
I found an appropriate quote from Dr. E. O. Wilson, renowned educator and author on survival of life on this planet. “According to archaeological evidence, we strayed from Nature with the beginning of civilization roughly ten thousand years ago. That quantum leap beguiled us with an illusion of freedom from the world that had given us birth. It nourished the belief that the human spirit can be molded into something new to fit changes in the environment and culture, and as a result the timetables of history desynchronized. A wiser intelligence might now truthfully say of us at this point: here is a chimera, a new and very odd species come shambling into our universe, a mix of Stone Age emotion, medieval-self-image, and godlike technology. The combination makes the species unresponsive to the forces that count most for its own long-term survival”. This seems to explain, as best we can, why intelligent people continue to be passive while our life sustaining Natural World continues to disappear! Is it not greed that breeds this passiveness?
Step number one is to re-define our vision and goals of management for our natural world. The science of forestry must first recognize that forests are so much more than just a group of trees. The science of forestry is far more complex than a normal agricultural process. Many tree species have life expectancies of hundreds, even thousands, of years and contribute life sustaining elements far more critical than wood products. Forests are the home for 80% of the worlds terrestrial bio-diversity. The story of creation is extremely complex and, we must never forget that the element of “Diversity” is the single most important element that allows this majestic planet to function day-to-day. The question is how do we manage for diversity? We first re-establish the goal of forest land management to forest health, vigor and diversity, we stop applying management treatments to large land units and start treating individual forest communities. Read the land! I have defined what I mean by a forest community in the past, but let me expand. Agricultural lands are divided into square units for purposes of land subdivision for ownership identification. This has resulted in dividing the property into fields that are usually square and frequently fenced. The equipment that has been developed to till and pick the crops, are designed to function well on these individual field shapes. The trouble is that not every acre is the same within the field, so production varies acre by acre. Today’s farmers explain they have fixed the problem by putting a disc in the computer so each individual acre is treated based upon the needs of that particular acre. Someone had to be able to read the land to develop the computer disc! The same principle applies to forested lands. Every forest community is different and demands an individual treatment thus providing for the natural diversity of forest communities. The object is not to make each community the same but to maintain or enhance the natural diversity that is natures way! One can still package treatments of several communities to offer a large enough project to attract commercial operators. Even natural western conifer communities have 4 to 8 different species within the community and usually a variety of age classes, not to mention the diversity of other living organisms within each community. Northern hardwood and central hardwood communities have even more diversity within each unique stand. I now live in Shenandoah valley of Virginia where over harvesting a hundred plus years ago, left the mountains almost void of trees. Today the mountainsides are covered with beautiful second grow central hardwoods. Fortunately, the vast majority of these stands were allowed to regenerate with natural seed sources from indigenous tree species thereby, providing diverse conditions similar to the original communities. In addition to a variety of age classes, you can identify 15 to 20 different tree and shrub species within each community. We learn through observation! If we truly care about future generations, we must observe and take action! Science and technology will not provide the desired future we seek! Nature's Way copies the story of Creation!

CONVERTING WORDS TO ACTIONS!!!

8/18/2018

My last article raised the concern that we are not ignorant of the problems our human community faces but, seem unwilling to take actions for resolution. I have been working on a program for a church group and discovered some interesting material about the official position of this particular church. These documents make it clear that there are knowledgeable people in leadership positions that understand the issues we face at home and abroad. The shocking thing is that this information is not being adequately communicated to the people so, little if any thing, is being done to work toward resolution. The same is true outside the church where extremely knowledgeable individuals have been warning us, through their writings, of the significant damage that is occurring to our natural world and the consequences we face. Why is this knowledge not being presented to the people along with positive recommendations for reasonable steps to improve our life systems?
When I read the published word, I am encouraged, yet when I search for actions they seem not to exist.
Let me quote a few lines from the paper prepared by the leadership of the United Methodist Church," All creation is the Lord's, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. ….. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect. ……. Therefore, let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social. and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God's creation ". Great words!
" We recognize science as a legitimate interpretation of God's natural world. We affirm the validity of the claims of science in describing the natural world and in determining what is scientific. ……. We find that science's descriptions of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution are not in conflict with theology." I am impressed again!
I have read several of Dr. Jerad Diamond's and Dr. Thomas Berry's books and found them extremely insightful yet, it is difficult to understand our reluctance to even accept the disastrous impacts we humans are having upon the natural world. In the past two years, we have eliminated may of the standards which have been established over years of research, to protect our natural surroundings we depend upon for the sustenance of life on Earth. It is difficult to understand why we continue to refuse to accept the scientific facts that present a clear picture of the destruction humans have, and are having, on the future survival of our own species.
I have spent many hours contemplating the problem and searching for ways to alert the people to the need for change. Several individuals have been attempting to sound the alert, with little success. This is the reason I have concluded the problem is not new or better science but, rather the influence of cultural values that have been developed over many centuries. Our western culture is totally focused on the needs of the individual. As our culture has matured, we have moved past the concern for food and shelter to a desire for a more affluent life style and wealth, which in reality is greed. Today, we see concerns for the Natural World as interfering with our ability to achieve our needs and desires. Corporate leaders see regulations as to costly for current operations and therefore unacceptable.
Another factor that influences our unwillingness to accept the need for change, is the fact that adulthood creates a certain fear of the unknown that change will bring. Just because we have done it this way for a long time, doesn't mean there are not better ways. Younger people seem to understand this and are far more willing to try something new. Age seems to restrict our willingness for new or different adjustments.
I believe one of the major problems, in finding a more desirable path to the future, is our current political system. Our Constitution provides for a system where the 535 elected representatives of the people are to find solutions that will provide a more desirable future for the people. Our political system certainly seems to have lost it's way!! What can we do to change great words into actions?

Church AND STATE

8/2/2018

Enough on the political picture, I only hope all eligible voters will realize the importance of voting in a democratic system and providing the direction to our elected representatives as to the needs of the people. Change will not come from above unless the people take charge and insist our public servants carry out the job as defined by our founding fathers.
I have been attempting, these past 10 years, to alert the public of the consequences of our greedy demands on the natural world and the probable effect it has upon the Earth community. It is apparent, particularly today, that profit making out weighs efforts to prolong human life on our planet. There are some that hold out hope of locating another planet that will support life when we have destroyed Earth. Personally, I believe properly managing our existing planet, Earth, offers the best opportunity for future generations however, it will necessitate serious adjustments. I have stated before that the most important environmental element in the Story of Creation is DIVERSITY! Diversity is the one critical element that allow our planet to function and this is true for every living system that exists.
The two top issues we face worldwide are population expansion and deforestation. There have been efforts to control birth rates in the past, with unacceptable results. It is true that the birth rates in developed countries are declining however, people are living longer thereby slightly off setting the reduced birth rates. We are told today, that the fastest growing age group worldwide are people 90 and over.
Deforestation rates are also slowing somewhat but, we have already deforested over half of the original forest cover leaving only 30% of our land base still covered with trees. Current rates of deforestation will still result in serious issues related to survival of life systems within the next 100 years. The picture is even more concerning when we realize that in addition to lose of forest cover, we are rapidly destroying the bio-diversity of the remaining forested acreage. After a life-time of observation and study, I have come to realize that the most critical element in the story of creation is "DIVERSITY". This is how every species was created and able to survive on this planet.
Forest science is focused on a sustainable flow of products from our remaining forested lands and we can do this by following an simple agricultural process where we harvest no more than we grow annually. I am sorry but, that will not result in the acceptable desired future we seek. We must realize the importance of our reliance upon the natural world for the sustenance of life and develop management systems that rebuild the diversity of our natural surroundings. This will only occur when the scientific community and spiritual community come together and re-establish our spiritual relationship with our natural world!
In my effort to research the subject, I discovered a paper prepared by the United Methodist Conference in 2006, entitled, " Social Principles: The Natural World". The paper starts by saying, " All creation is the Lord's, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it." It goes on to state that " God has granted us stewardship of creation". The paper provides the position of the Church on numerous environmental concerns such as water, minerals, plants, animals, energy resources, global climate, food safety and science and technology. It states," We find that as science expands human understanding of the natural world, our understanding of the mysteries of God's creation and word are enhanced".
I am impressed by the words and intent however, I found no knowledge of this position from church members including local pastors. In 2012 the same National Conference passed a resolution #3324 entitled, " Trail of Repentance and Healing". This resolution is intended to reach out to our Native American people and re-build relationships. Again, beautiful words and intent. These two papers convey the exact path I have been emphasizing for years. The problem is, that unless you have some awareness of the Conference work and dig to find these papers, no one seems to be aware of the official position of the United Methodist Church. Words are great, and I am sure well intended, but until they are converted into actions nothing changes. Greed and individualism seems to take precedence over the need to join hands and follow the 7th Fire Prophecy of the Anishanabe by choosing the path of spirituality and balance. We need your help!

THE LONG STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND EQUALITY

7/19/2018

Independence Day and current politics triggered my interest this month and lead me to review the problems we have encountered in our search for an egalitarian democratic system of government. The concept of democracy has a long history dating back to the 4th and 5th century BC. Democracy basically, defines a system which provides for the people of a tribe to participate in the decision making for the tribe. It literally means, rule by the people. If a democratic government is to be established, at least five fundamental questions must be addressed; what is the appropriate unit or association within which the government will exist, who among its members should enjoy full citizenship and which members will participate in governing, which organizations and institutions will be needed, when citizens are divided, who will prevail and how is a majority defined.
History confirms that early efforts to set up a democratic decision-making process, by the people, were initiated in the Roman Empire and ancient Greece as far back as late 400BC. During this period, the world was governed primarily by Anarchists, Monarchs and Oligarchies. Oligarchies are government units controlled by a very small group of influential people, usually closely associated with a single Anarchist or Monarch. Early efforts to establish democratic systems were isolated to small units such as tribes or communities, which are a part of a larger Empire. There is no evidence of an attempt to govern a country or empire using democratic principles.
Efforts by the indigenous people on the American continent to implement democratic principles, started decades ago and appear to have been more successful. The indigenous people of the America's were a more matriarchal society, allowing for a more equitable involvement of the people, including women. The elder women, of the Native American tribes, played key roles in the tribal decision-making processes and the tribe functioned under the concept of balance. Probably, the best known and studied democratic system on the North American continent was developed by the Iroquois Nation and known as the Iroquois Confederation. The confederation initially involved 5 nations but later expanded to 6, resulting in a governing body representing the Mohawk's, Oneida's, Onondaga's, Cayuga's, Seneca's and Tuscarora's.
The struggle for democratic government for the people and by the people, took decades to develop and a democracy for an entire country did not occur until the 18th century. In 1744, Chief Canasattego of the Iroquois Nation in a speech to the Council of Governors of the Thirteen Colonies, recommended the formation of the Confederation of the Thirteen Colonies. Benjamin Franklin spent considerable time studying the Iroquois Constitution in preparation for the writing of the Constitution of the United States of America and concluded, " for all their government is by counsel of the sages; there is no force, there are no prisons, no officers to compel obedience or inflict punishment." Equality for each member of the tribe was clearly stated in the Constitution of the Iroquois Confederation, and initiated the concept of "Egalitarian Democracy".
Based on the Iroquois Confederacy, our founding fathers set out to establish the first Egalitarian Democratic government for an entire country, an experiment the world had never experienced before. It was a long hard road but, under strong leadership by dedicated patriarchs and the example of our Native American brothers and sisters, we completed the task and developed the United States of America which became the most affluent Nation on the planet. In the beginning, only the men were allowed to participate in the governing process. Not until 1870 where people of different races recognized as full citizens with the right to vote, and not until 1920 were women recognized as voting members of the government. Yes, it has been difficult but, for the past 242 years it has worked reasonably well. We did find it necessary to amend our constitution to improve and protect the rights of all citizens and provide for a growing population.
I am convinced we must understand the long struggle we have experienced in establishing this democratic system, in order to appreciate the historical significance of how the United States of America achieved it's world leadership position and a government that represents and protects the rights of ever individual member of this great country. Our ancestors have literally given their lives to protect this democratic process that allows each of us the opportunity to live free in a country where all members are to be treated equally. Historically, democratic concepts have been challenged to survive for extended periods of time. Two-hundred forty-two years represents one of the longest democracies on record. Changes that are occurring in our government today, require the close attention of every eligible voter in our country. Our founding fathers wrote the Constitution to include checks and balances to assure an equable distribution of power designed to prevent un-acceptable changes to our government that could result in deterioration of our democratic principles. We must never forget that the government is us, you and me, and it is our responsibility to determine who will represent our interests and what solutions are acceptable to solve the complex issues we face as a Nation. When our government was established, the elected representatives were labeled as "Public Servants ". I wonder how many would classify themselves as public servants today! We must remain on high alert for efforts to limit our citizens access to their voting rights, efforts to discredit the free press, actions to destroy the rule of law and control our judicial system, proposals to expand and control our military and outside efforts to influence our election of people to represent the citizens of our democratic union. The right to vote, guaranteed in our Constitution, is our method of protecting the egalitarian democratic principles our country is based upon. When we become apathetic and followers rather than leaders, the opportunity for loss of our individual freedom and equality will be threatened.
Protecting the freedom and equality of our citizens and incorporating the advanced knowledge of the scientific and spiritual communities, which we have discussed before, provides our hope for the future of life on this majestic planet!! Future generation are depending upon us!

INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM

7/4/2018

I usually try to stay focused on concerns for the natural world but, today as we celebrate Independence Day, I feel the need to re-trace our footsteps and consider the changes we have, and are experiencing in our political institutions. It has been 242 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and changing times are concerning many Americans.
Most of us are unaware, that our Democratic form of government did not originate with our early European settler after their arrival to the new continent. They were actually attempting to escape the Anarchy and Monarchy forms of government that were prevalent throughout Europe. They were searching for religious freedom and freedom of choice. Our Egalitarian Democratic form of government was actually patterned after native democracies of North America. The early eighteenth century was a period of struggle for the colonists, against the empires of France and England. The colonists turned to the Iroquois for support against The French. This provided their initial exposure to the Iroquois and other native leaders and their political systems. In 1744, Chief Canassatego advised the assembled colonial governors on the Iroquois concepts of unity and recommended the formation of the Federation of the Thirteen Colonies, following the principles of the Iroquois Federation. This was the beginning of our egalitarian democratic system that vaulted the United States to a world leadership role. Listen to the words of the great chief Canassatego, " Our wise forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations. This has made us formidable; this has given us great Weight and Authority with our neighboring Nations. We are a powerful Confederacy; and by your observing the same methods, our wise forefathers have taken, you will acquire such strength and power. Therefore whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another." Yes, it was the Native Americans that introduced us to the free democratic form of government, which spread to Europe after they observed the success of our country. It was now necessary to develop a governing body capable of implementing this democratic government based on equality, freedom and independence, a government by the people and for the people. This was accomplished by electing individuals known as public servants, to represent the citizens. To begin with, these representatives spent only 2 to 4 months on the job. With the passage of time, these representatives became known as politicians and spent their entire year as a governing body. Term limits were placed on the President but, members of the legislative branch had no limits and their goal became election and re-election. We must remember the purpose of the government was to protect our freedom, equality and independence by establishing reasonable rules and regulations for our society, and pooling our financial resources to solve major complex problems, unsolvable by individuals.
It was not long before efforts to influence the decisions of our government began to surface. With no limits on time in place or costs to secure an elected position, the wealthy began buying influence by financing candidates and hiring lobbyists. Today, there are 3 lobbyists for every elected representative in our Nation's Capital. We now spent as much as 2 BILLION dollars per candidate in a Presidential election that pays $400,000.00 per year for four years. One candidate spent 49 million dollars just to secure the party nomination in the primaries. Campaign financing is resulting in elected candidates being committed to the sources of the financing rather than the voting public.
For the past several years, we have observed attempts to influence the vote by gerrymandering districts to include people that tend to vote for one party or the other. Major efforts have been implemented to restrict voter access by restricting the number of voting sites, particularly in areas of minority and lower income populations live. Stricter voter registration requirements that tend to restrict some members of our society have been debated and implemented.
Yes, much has changed in our political systems and it seems many recent changes are moving toward a more autocratic approach to maintaining power. How do we re-focus our political system on freedom, equality and independence of the people and for the people? It was the people of this country that provided the leadership when we were establishing the frame-work for the foundation of our egalitarian democratic government and it is the people that must provide the direction for our elected representatives, public servants, through the power of their vote.
Looking back historically, we can view some of the changes implemented in the formation of autocratic governments. Movements toward autocracy requires control which is done by a variety of restrictions tending to control the voting process, increased emphases on military might, efforts to discredit the rule of law and political roles for the military leaders. Think about it! What kind of future do we want? It is up to the people but, for me, I want to hold on to what we have built and work to improve it!

Environmental Education and Nature's Way

6/18/2018

Do you ever pause and consider the changing society we live in today? I now look back over my live and see dramatic adjustments and differences in how our lives have changed, both good and bad. The majority of our population has become urbanized and we are rapidly losing our opportunities to observe and connect to the natural world, a world we depend upon for the sustenance of live. Urbanization concentrates people in metropolitan areas where the jobs are more prevalent and services are more available. It is now common-place for both spouses to pursue careers, complicating family relationships, particularly for children. School children now must cope with issues of school security, discipline and drugs. Management of employees now requires different considerations as mobility of two career families is now limited, if even possible. The reliance on computers and smart phones has reduced the personal interaction between people and the need to learn by observation and experience. Probably the most critical change has been the fact that the concert jungle of city life has removed our daily connection to the natural world and our appreciation for the life sustaining relationships we share with that world!
Many of our urban adults can still remember their connection to rural life during their early childhood or visits to their grandparents that might have lived in rural America but, what about today's children? I talk with young folks that have no idea how the grocery store shelves get stocked and where the food comes from. We talk about what children need in their development such as food, shelter, love, security, etc. but, usually overlook the need to connect with our natural surroundings. My concern with the science of forestry led me to a deeper understanding of the connections we share and depend upon with the natural world and then, to a desire for a more in-depth knowledge of the story of creation. It is apparent that we are losing our intimate relationship and appreciation for the natural world and the life sustaining elements provided ONLY by that world, and have been doing so for some time!
A few advanced environmental education experts are beginning to recognize the importance of experiencing nature in childhood development. Research has demonstrated that experiencing the natural world helps children intellectually, socially, physically and emotionally. The professional literature states that nature's experiences can reduce stress, improve creativity, provide more positive relationships with others and improve concentration. There are strong indications that spending time in nature reduces symptoms of attention deficit disorders and improves problem solving and observational skills. There seem to be no question that eliminating a child's opportunity to connect with nature will result in major changes in how that person will value the natural world as an adult. The responsibility for this necessary educational experience, cannot be left just to our educators but, also requires the help of parents. When is the last time your child told you that trees can talk or rocks can feel? The magical wisdom of children is amazing! Today, we know that trees do communicate with each other and maybe even with humans through bio-rhythms, and rocks are a part of the circle of life as they weather and deteriorate to rich soils that provide life for millions of organisms on our planet. Everything is connected and children growing up without a connection to nature can develop fears and prejudices against our natural surroundings. Linking the story of creation to our Environmental education is critical but must transition from a scientific course to an ecological presentation that identifies and creates an appreciation for relationships. Our youth need to spend time outside in NATURE! I call it "NATURE'S WAY". What do you think? How do we improve our educational processes? Is todays affluency more important then the future for the next generation? Talk with your friends and let me know how you feel! Maybe sharing our thoughts can make a difference!