As I said last week, President Biden has signed an executive order on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies, which calls for a review of forest management practices on federal lands, especially the mature and old-growth forests. This executive order pertains to National Forests, not state or private lands, and specifically calls out the… (read more)
Last October I wrote On the Importance of Forests: “Our world’s forests are one of the most effective nature-based solutions to climate change and the wildlife extinction crisis. Forests are home to 80% of all land-based wildlife species. They function as a massive carbon sink for Earth and are also key to maintaining regional rainfall patterns. Despite this, forests are undervalued… (read more)
Quakers share a common practice of “holding someone or something in the light”. If you ask Friends what that phrase means you will get many different interpretations, because we each practice holding in our own peculiar way, and even the interpretation of the light varies: The light we refer to is described as an immense force, as a transcendent… (read more)
End the oil age. Salvage paradise. Now we must live in the grace of the sun. Grace of the Sun is a solar powered light poem created by Scottish artist Robert Montgomery, for the UN climate conference (COP26). The artwork was constructed using 1,000 solar powered Little Sun lights and stands 11 metres wide and… (read more)
In December I wrote about the nurturing darkness, so now, as we near the summer solstice, it is only fitting that we give attention to the light. Light from the sun makes it possible for life on this planet. Natural light from the sun is vital to the health of every living thing – either directly or… (read more)
We can probably most agree that we (people on this planet) need to reduce fossil fuel use – and many of us are personally working on doing that – by installing solar panels, trading in our gas lawnmowers, and reducing our dependence on gasoline-powered cars. Every trip you make by walking, biking, or car-pooling is… (read more)
We should all be aware by now that transportation accounts for around a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that we need to transition away from fossil fuels. And millions of people around the world have embraced the electric car as the answer to that problem. However, even such an obvious and necessary solution deserves critical… (read more)
Americans have a vast and insatiable love of cars. Cars define coming of age for many young people, and symbolize freedom and prestige. They seemingly make our lives simpler and more efficient… But they also have an enormous cost: They determine the use of our streets, affect the quality of the air we breathe, cost us time and tension with traffic jams,… (read more)
May is National Bike Month, sponsored and promoted by the League of American Bicyclists, and celebrated in communities from coast to coast. Established in 1956, National Bike Month is “a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling — and encourage more folks to give biking a try.” I like to include all active modes of… (read more)
Quakers have become vegetarians for many reasons throughout history. Some Quaker abolitionists in the 1700s, for example, were deeply committed to vegetarianism as an integral part of their spiritual path at a time when vegetarianism was very rare in the broader culture, because they had a commitment to respecting all of God’s creatures. (Read more in… (read more)
Click the picture for information about community group use of the Meeting House.
