Beautiful LED’s
This is fantastic…and energy efficient.
Elephant Picasso
This elephant was probably trained to do this, but the simple fact that it can remember how and that it was able to be trained to do this shows that humans are far from the only species on this planet who are intelligent.
Drawn To Life
It was a distinctly chilly day as my 10 year-old daughter and I walked through the grass in the stretch of countryside near to our house looking for something to draw. We stopped halfway up the hill, sat down on the damp turf and started to sketch. We could hear birds all around, the distant yapping of dogs, the hum of traffic; we felt the wind biting our faces, the soft ground beneath us. It wasn’t wild, it wasn’t wilderness, but for a short while it was just the two of us, sitting together drawing what we saw in our little patch of green.
The cold made a mockery of our coats, and our hands started to go numb. We had finished a drawing each — they weren’t masterpieces, but that didn’t matter at all. We had taken ourselves to a different place for a while, and that was wonderful. Life can be wonderful when you make an effort.
Book Review : “Tree Talk” By Ana Salote
If a tree could talk to you, what would it say? I suppose it depends on where you are asking the question - an urban tree starved of space and water, or a high canopy tree in a lush, moist forest - and also which period in history you are talking to the tree during. Our current period of history would certainly be the least likely in which you would obtain a polite response from a tree, and that is the point that Ana Salote, in her beautifully written book “Tree Talk” is making.
The basic premise of the book is a world in which humans have brought themselves, and the planet, to the brink of catastrophe. The deus ex machina comes, not in the shape of a god or an angel, but in a tree called Ash who has developed a mental link with a boy called Charlie. Only Charlie, of all humans, can hear what Ash is saying - and Ash, for his part, wants to learn more about humans in order to understand why they are treating the natural world in such an awful way. Tree Talk is ostensibly a children’s book, but I was entranced by it as soon as I began reading. So many lessons abound in this rich tale of hope, dispair, belief and loss, and I would challenge any person to close this book unmoved.
I asked Ana, the author, whether it was right to “burden” children with such deep messages, and how parents should put such messages across. She said: “Tree Talk’s main purpose is to show how deeply interdependent all life is, and to urge the kind of respect and fellowship with other species that encourages a new set of values.”
“I think that children should be told the facts about climate change but within a context of hope and opportunity. They should be educated about the lifestyle changes which are necessary. The most important thing parents can do is to present these changes as life-enhancing.
“Teach children to breathe the day, not to view it through glass with car-stagnant blood. Teach them to connect with nature. Seasons are not commercial festivals where nothing changes but the tat and the chocolate moulds on the shop shelves, where the forms of the glucose and trans fats we are encouraged to pump ourselves with morph from witch to Santa to bunny. I have a 1927 magazine which says: ‘October is the month in which the Dartmoor ponies are rounded up, when the Harvest Moon shines, when you enjoy the blackberry jam made from the fruit you gathered.’ Now there’s a mental canvas for a child’s autumn.
“The next generation must be unhitched from the real burden which is consumerism. The counter-messages are so strong and insidious we need to seduce children with deeper satisfactions. Last night I was up in the Somerset hills, fully alive, cradled in sunset with deer leaping against it. I’m sorry, you can’t buy that in a supermarket.”
One thing that struck me as particularly magical about the book, was the use of “Gnosis”, to allow different species to communicate with each other. When asked about it’s origins, Ana said: “Gnosis was inspired by a moonlit ash outside my window. It had a fleshy cast to its trunk and a definite air of sentience about it. I got into bed and started writing Tree Talk. I believe that consciousness is a continuum which does not start and end with humans, or even with animals. Our arrogance makes us unimaginative. I hope that the book encourages children to realise that all life has a viewpoint which deserves consideration and respect. Symbiosis is planetary. Breathing is communal. Gnosis represents that connectivity. ”
The only part of the book that jarred with me was the apparent use of genetic engineering as a short-term way out of the ecological crisis. Ana explained that she had struggled with this concept herself, and while against the use of GMOs in general, does see a place for technology, if only to avert catastrophe: “I think we need to build arks, like the seed bank at Svalbard and Kew, and I think we need to pursue the science of adaptability because we, and other species, may need it. In the book genetic engineering is symbolic. It represents the need for the utmost wisdom and circumspection to be used in all future human interventions. Ecosystems and not ourselves should be the beneficiaries of a new utilitarianism. There is a difference between developing tools for exploitative reasons and developing them for protection and conservation. Knowledge is not dangerous in itself, it’s how it is used.”
Tree Talk is available now from many online outlets. I thoroughly recommend it for all parents, and those who want to feel like wide-eyed children again.
Keith Farnish
www.theearthblog.org
www.greenseniors.org
The Ditty Bops
Wow. Thats what I have to say about these two young ladies(Amanda Barrett, and Abby DeWald.
). They ride their bikes on cross country tours, they do farm aid shows, promote plastic reduction, and on top of all that they sing and play really well! (they are also very cute, but that hardly matters.)
I highly recommend you check them out. (blog, site, store)
They even have their own tv show here is an example (hell one of them even has a sketch comedy show ) There is also the vegetarian recipe pin up calendar.
We seriously need more people like this in the world, do you know of anyone like this? If you do leave a comment.
Recycling CardBoard
I often see dumpsters full of cardboard waiting to be hauled off to the recycling center, and I think “that stuff is so cool, I wonder what else we could make with it” Chris Gilmour it seems can make anything he wants.
My favorites are the bicycles.
check out his site for many many more awesome creations.
Happy PARK(ing) day, And An Early Happy World Car Free Day As Well (Tomorrow)
Today is PARK(ing) day. For those not in the know, PARK(ing) day was
“Conceived by REBAR, a San Francisco-based art collective, PARK(ing) Day is a one-day, global event centered in San Francisco where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.”
Just because it started in SF doesn’t mean that you can’t do it in your own city. Imagine if all of those parking spaces were instead nice green parks, just think how much nicer everything would look.
You don’t have to let the car free party stop, because tomorrow is World Car Free Day “Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighborhood blocks to remind the world that we don’t have to accept our car-dominated society.”
Of course if you ride your bike as your major mode of transport you get to have all this fun every day!
Video from last years PARK(ing) day. If you don’t get a chance to participate this year be sure to mark your calendars for next year.
The “What I Did This Summer” Giveaway Contest
With the passing of Labor Day, the unofficial end of the summer is upon us. The summer is a great time to get out and do something good for the world, from tree planting, to trash pickups, to communal gardening, it is just easier to do great things during the summer. Wouldn’t it be great if we could collect some of these stories to share with the world? With that in mind The Sietch is throwing it’s first ever giveaway contest!
You are probably asking yourself, “what is he giving away?” Well, I have come into possession of not one, not two, but three copies, of the amazing full color hardback book Reef!
Now you are most likely asking yourself, “Cool! How can I get one?” Well its easier than you think. You know all the sweet things you did this summer to create positive change, well we want to hear about them. Write an essay about what you did this summer to make the world a better place. We want to hear about the time you volunteered at the assisted living center, or the time you helped clean up the beach, or the solar panels you installed. Surprise us! Feel free to include pictures, video (post videos to Youtube, or point us to a link someplace on the net we can download it), or audio. We will highlight the best stories here on the blog, and archive them in the positive stories archive on the main site.
The writers of the top three stories will each receive a copy of Reef (a very nice coffee table book). The best story author will also get 25 bucks, cold hard American cash. Who ever said that nice people finish last! We will be judging on how well you tell the story, what you did, and how well you articulate why you did it. We encourage you to be as creative as you want.
The Contest will run from today (Thursday September 6th) until Thursday September 20th. Giving you plenty of time to go out and do something amazing, if you haven’t already. Submit entries to SietchContest@gmail.com by midnight eastern standard time on September 20th, we will announce the winners by Monday September 24th. If you have any questions leave them in the comments. Can’t wait to hear your great stories of positive change!
The Canary Project Seeks To Highlight Dangers Of Climate Change Through Pictures
The canary in the coal mine was supposed to warn miners of potentially lethal gas leaks in the mines. The idea was the small bird would die long before the much larger humans, giving the miners time to escape. There are modern parallels to the little yellow bird in the world today. Instead of warning us about gas, they are warning us about climate change. The Canary Project seeks to show these “dead birds” of the environment in the hopes that we will open our eyes and start to take action. These are some of the saddest pictures you will ever see, but also in their own way stunningly beautiful.
Check out these and more pictures at The Canary Project, it is not all doom and gloom the site also highlights some solutions.
Blast From The Past - All In Perspective
Because I am not around here is a post from last year in August.
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