Archive Fever: Writing and thinking with oceans, memory, and attention.

Note the content and style (calligraphic and otherwise)...

Part of my summer research and writing agenda focuses on tapping back in to my science writing (e.g., WID) roots and affinity.  As such, I have been doing my whole information foraging thing and am discovering a ton of really cool (pun intended) research on climate change and public health.  Among the most notable is Preparing a People: Climate Change and Public Health by Catherine M. Cooney, a very nice intro to climate change intersections in public health that appeared in NIEHS' Environmental Health Perspectives about a year ago. Given my preoccupation with place and sustainability (for whatever that means now), there is a passage of most noteworthy import for me.  It reads: Chicago is one of several large cities with climate action plans in place—others include New York City, San Francisco, Sydney, and Mexico City.  Like Chicago’s, these plans promote mitigation and sustainability. Much of the adaptation portion of these initiatives is aimed at the bui...

In my effort to profile up and coming airplane poets, I present the latest by chinook...I believe in her. Somewhere Over Montana Somewhere over Montana:  over Bozeman, just south of Missoula (waves at Jeff).  Crossing into Idaho shortly… Ground speed 466mph Headwind 78mph 36,000 feet. One hour 12 minutes left in flight. Outside air temp: -45. Hold me close.

Ok, think back to last week's presentations. What particular presentations still remain with you, that is which ones are memorable? Why so? A presentation may stick out in your memory because it was "good" or "bad"...share accordingly. Please give some details, and maybe even respond to one of your classmates as they remark on presentations that impacted them.

Briefly describe similarities that you see (or would have like to have seen) in the two articles, "Mapping Everyday" and "Indigenous Resistance". Feel free to expand/expound on themes introduced by others on this post.

Read Bill McKibben ’s blog post at http://tinyurl.com/7yav953 . Next, identify one sentence that seems to characterize a main point that Mckibben is trying to get across to readers. Write this sentence below. With this sentence in mind, answer the following two questions in 1-2 sentences each. Post your remarks to the class blog or use the space below to do this. Who is MciKibben’s intended audience (or audiences)? What statements or characteristics exist in the blog post or blog that suggest this audience? In what ways do you find McKibben’s argument to be compelling (or not)?

What are we educating for? And, how do we answer simple questions?

I love the holidays. Yesterday I saw three different people cut off an elderly woman three different times for three different parking spots AND at least two of the perpetrators saw the others ace this woman. The older woman was waiting for a parking spot at a local shopping area in Carrboro, NC. I actually said something to the last person who snaked her and the response (she was a college-age female) was that she was "here" before the woman was. Of course, there was a parking/security guard watching all of this; he intimated to me that his role was to make sure cars did not get broken in to, not to regulate traffic. Now for context, this is a very small lot (maybe 60 spaces) in a small "progressive" town next to Chapel Hill. The stores there are anchored by a local co-op (i.e., Weaver Street ), an outdoor shop, and a fusion restaurant that's owned by the co-op's president. I could go on and on about these places and what irks me about them, but I wo...

I start with a simple question: What sort of consciousness does it take to change the world? Yes, we need a changed world, now. But, too, what sort of consciousness has it taken at various times throughout time and space? And, how might we map such paradigmatic shifts in thought onto current times? One could even posit that, with 2012 mere days away (and 12/21/12 about a year away), this is an extremely apropos time for such meditations and (conscious) actions. For me, it's this critical preoccupation with the environment and the ruin we are currently inflicting upon it. But, too, one can't simply say I want to stop environmental and ecological violence but neglect other atrocities (that are most always inextricably linked to our assault on the natural world and non-human others). It's a matter of social justice, if you will, where one cannot choose to dismantle certain forms of oppression (e.g., racism) while letting other forms of oppression slide (e.g., sexism)....

It's the end of the semester and my dutiful students are crafting their final research papers analyzing behavior and environment. Supposedly all eyes are trained on how students' chosen environments might be made better, maybe even "sustainable" (for whatever that word means now and in the future). To that end I came across this article in the Oregonian and am wondering what thoughts may be. I like it because of the slouching toward social science inquiry (our final course unit). There's a poll to assess the effectiveness of the Rose City's sustainability efforts...some of my students have used similar survey methodologies themselves and I'm interested in their comments.

Eco-spirituality is a problematic moniker. It's construction intimates a (false) partition between spirituality and the environment...which, to me, seems quite bogus. I would assert that for any spirituality to be viable, just, and essentially "good" it must include (maybe even privilege) the ecological/environment.

Stewart Brand has always been an environmental thought leader and progressive iconoclast. In this video he suggests a shift in the environmentalists' dogmatic approach, and describes a process of reasonable debate and experimentation. His iconoclastic proposals include transitioning to nuclear energy and ecosystem engineering, and are sure to provoke widespread debate. He has helped define the collaborative, data-sharing, forward-thinking world in which we live. Brand is the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, the Global Business Network , t he Long Now Foundation and the Well. Check this out!

What is Charles C. Mann's central premise in his article, 1491 ? Provide a quote to illuminate your response. And, to wit, what does Mann's article suggest about the state of what we have historically considered (Western) knowledge? What is the relationship between scientific revolution and re-evaluation of Western knowledge and "development" (compared to the pre-Columbian Americas)? Feel free to suggest or link to outside sources or web sites.

Why do Americans still resist the consensus among research organizations that humans are warming the globe. Check out this piece in Scientific American...it's a good example for our upcoming unit. Make some notes on belief in science, etc. OR post a comment below.

Bill and Dave...

This seems really cool, and much needed. Colorado has an environmental literacy plan , a coordinated strategy between PreK-12 teachers, environmental education providers, and leaders that aims to: Restore and increase field experiences as part of the school curriculum Improve state-wide access to existing environmental education programs and materials Make connections with Colorado Academic Standards and 21 st Century Skills to support classroom instruction Create opportunities for enhanced and ongoing professional development of educators

Willie Nelson covering Coldplay for Chipoltle....cool and weirdly unsettling at the same time. All that said, it is basically good music, (really) nice animation, and shoots for a the supremely reasonable cause of eliminating factory farms.

So, what do you think? Like? Dislike? Are there points that you dislike, but seem to be good points? Why do you feel this way? Post remarks below.