Sustainable – Page 3 – let kindness win

Just One Battle

There are no longer many battles to wage. There is just one.

The Amazon is burning. People in China want to eat more meat and Cattle Ag is destroying the “lungs of the Earth” to provide it to them. Leaders at the G7 climate summit made perfunctory nods and inadequate gifts of money to stop the fires, while the president of Brazil held his ground and refused their help. The indigenous president of Bolivia also turned a blind eye to the raging fires, as the Amazon burns.

The “Leader of the Free World” skipped climate meetings but let us know that he knows more than most about the environment. All this, while his band of followers continues to chant “drain the swamp” and we all sink in the quagmire.

But where was I? Oh yes, there are no longer many battles. There is just one. It’s not Chinese meat eaters, Big Ag, and not even the man who would be king. It is not the Republicans or the Democrats nor is it all the people who are so very willing to play ping pong in the duopoly that has eroded whatever hope Democracy had in this troubled land.

No, none of these are worthy opponents for battle. There is only one. We knock that out and the rest will tumble like dominoes.

It is the war on ignorance*.

To battle ignorance we need clarity**. We need to remember who we are. We need to stop seeing our differences and take stock of our similarities. We need to remember this Earth is our home. And reckon with the reality that it is up to each one of us to protect her.

The ally of ignorance is doubt. The ally of clarity is peace. The choice is always before us. Find clarity and fight like hell.

Photo is from Wikipedia Commons on the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires

*Ignorance definition is – the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness. – Merriam-Webster

**Clarity definition is – the quality of being coherent and intelligible and the quality of transparency or purity. – Oxford

Return Local Control

When people visit our farm here in the Driftless, I am usually surprised by their lack of awareness concerning sustainable farming practices versus industrial agriculture. When large-scale animal compounds are compared to small sustainable and multi-dimensional farms, it’s apparent the regulations that govern them should differ. Run off and ruptured manure lagoons of large-scale operations have killed fish and disturbed eco tourism. The nuisances of smells, sounds and sights have diminished property values and have caused significant strife among neighbors. The jump to become a large-scale producer is pricey and has left a lot of small farms in the wake. Yet somehow they have been labeled “progress” and have, for the most part, been given a pass by Wisconsin regulators.

Now for the first time in over ten years the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection is seeking input from citizens regarding the rules that govern large livestock facilities. The rules are known as ATCP 51. These public hearings begin today, August 15th and run through September 5^thin six locations throughout the state. Wednesday, September 4^thin Onalaska is our region’s nearest hearing.

If you live rurally, and would like an opportunity to have your voice heard on the issues raised by unchecked confined animal feed operations, or if you live in the city and enjoy visiting the beauty of rural Wisconsin, this is your moment to help preserve it.

In recent years, our state’s laissez-faire towards regulating corporate business has put numerous strains on local communities and neighbors trying to protect the environment and their homes from unwanted nuisance. The deck has been stacked in favor of corporations, as a systematic crippling of local control has gone largely unnoticed. It’s time to notice.

For more detailed information on the proposed changes to ATCP51 visit: Wisconsin Farmers Union.

Say “NO” to 5G

There is something new on the horizon. AT&T has joined forces with Bug Tussle to bring the world-touted 5G to our doors in the Driftless of southwestern Wisconsin. Here is what I have learned:

The towers need to be placed every five to ten miles and most certainly will be 300 feet tall. They emit microwaves. That is the kind of radiation you try to avoid as you pass through airline checkpoints, but now will be living around and under full time.

It won’t mean a lick of difference to most people as far as usage is concerned, but it will be great for machines. Machines, however, won’t suffer from radiation poisoning, as humans, animals and plants will.

I know it is hard to read all the scientific jargon and everyone I talked to in the industry assured me that while they have not read the negative press, they are also sure we cannot stop the inevitable.

People who are offered a monthly sum for placing towers on their properties are exchanging green hills for green bills. And they are uncertain to what they will help usher in. What will become of our local phone companies who bring underground broadband to our doors? I am not talking of Century Link. I am talking about companies like Hillsboro Phone Company. How many people will keep their landlines when Bug Tussle waltzes in? Who will cry for those lost jobs? And who will pay the medical bills of increased cancers and other abnormalities in our area?

The time to decide is now. Will we continue to self-destruct in the name of progress, or will we demand better ways to treat the earth and one another?

I am holding out that we are not as greedy or as foolish as the snake oil salesman would like to believe.

Brussels has it right. They said No to 5G due to health risks.

photo is courtesy of Wikipedia Commons licensing.

Dependency

The Amish had it right. They did not want to become dependent on electricity. It wasn’t to make their lives harder. It was to not become dependent on a government or any other body who would seek to rob their independence or their character.

I have been thinking of this a lot lately as I weigh the urgent need for immigration reform in this country. There are many people who do not want to live in the United States, but would like to work here for a while and return to their countries of origin.

Considering labor shortages on farms and elsewhere, this would make good sense. But the current short-term work programs are severely outdated. Even the George W. Bush Center’s website, “A Nation Built by Immigrants” suggests the need for new worker programs.

Instead the current administration urges us to fear these people. We are encouraged to ignore our sense of humanity and continue to allow the separation of children from parents, overcrowded and dehumanizing detention centers, and perhaps worst of all, we ignore simple solutions because of our fear.

Creating humane worker programs would be one solution. Another would be to remove United States military from these countries, and instead offer aid to help them rebuild.

Many of the immigrants and asylum seekers are being forced from their homelands and ways of life because of extraction of resources – resources that our government and military pay heavily to protect. This “protection” has in recent years cost the lives of numerous environmental activists trying to protect their homelands and their communities.

No, it is not the immigrants we should fear; it is our ignorance. We must move towards becoming citizens of the world and realize how our choices directly affect others. Let us end our dependency on stolen resources protected by blood money. On this, the Amish had it right.

Resiliency

The melting snow that brought the most recent flooding added to the widening creeks and changed topography of the Driftless. As I surveyed the battered roads and considered where to place culverts, I realized we are embarking on a dynamically changing time. The new flood planes have already forced many from their homes with more likely to come. And discussions of relocating businesses have taken on a whole new meaning as rural towns face the inevitable decisions that lie ahead.

Politicians talk of dams. And I wonder if they are seriously considering this costly and limited solution that seems akin to putting a finger in the dyke.

It makes much more sense to me to hear old time farmers talk about growing varieties of grasses that root deep into the soil and help absorb runoff, rather than build costly fixes like dams.

Then came the news of the wipeout in Nebraska and surrounding Midwestern states. Water is showing us who is king. We have gone horribly astray as we tried to outmaneuver Mother Nature instead of living in sustainable harmony with her.

Unprecedented flooding has also crippled the Pine Ridge, Rosebud and Cheyenne River Reservations wiping out roads and corrupting water supplies. Help there is also desperately needed.

We are being forced to reckon with this new reality. We are being asked to think in new ways and to help one another. We are coming to the realization of the preciousness and the destructive nature of water and the clock is ticking.

Here in the Driftless we are cleaning up our waterways. We are helping neighbors relocate; and we are talking about community in very real terms.

The differences among us are melting along with the snow and that is how it needs to be as we face this new day and discover our resiliency.

Check this site for more updated information on recovery / resiliency efforts in the Driftless.

You can listen to the hour WDRT program “Conversations” with Jen Schmitz as we discuss resiliency and recovery happening in the Driftless.

You can listen to this WDRT broadcast of “Consider This” on Soundcloud

Engaging Community

A quote by Helen Keller reads: “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.”

The obvious truth of these words can only be known as we engage in community. And while it appears that some are lost in independent silos and more interested in entertainment than in civic responsibility, that has not been my experience.

Even before the horrible floods that devastated our region last year, many were engaged in trying to find ways to curb the rising tide of farm loss, homelessness and hunger, and the isolation of people due to drug and alcohol abuse.

Then came the floods making mockery of our efforts and forcing us to reckon with the reality that there is very little we can do alone. We need one another.

And so I, like many, have sought community and ways to lend a hand. It is not always easy to offer support. As a whole we have learned to be distrustful. We have bought the story line that says, “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” and we are ashamed to admit it does not always work. The truth is, we need one another.

Today it seems we are engaging in a great renaissance of community. For me it involves organizing the Ontario Farmers Market. Or showing up to discuss the importance of protecting the natural resources in our area from unwanted usury. It means writing these two-minute posts for our community radio station in hopes that someone will be inspired to act.

This renaissance of caring means we must be willing to listen to one another as well as ensure that we are heard. If we do, we just might find this quote by Margaret J. Wheatley to be true, “There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

photo: planting trees, 2016

you can listen to Consider This on WDRT Community Radio every Thursday, 5:30pm, CST or listen hear on Soundcloud

Ethical Hunting

By the time you are reading this, the proposed ban on wildlife hunting contests may likely be silenced. Senator Fred Risser, a Wisconsin Democrat is the sponsor of the bill and as of this writing there is little support to move it forward.

Let’s be clear, this is not a bill restricting hunting. It is a bill that would ban the gratuitous killing of coyotes, rabbits, squirrels and other wildlife. Most of you have never heard of these contests. They are generally organized by bars, gun enthusiasts and venues looking to capitalize on the revenue of the sport. Prizes are given to the highest number of kills.

According to a news release from Risser “These contests use various tactics to attract, manipulate, confuse, and even temporarily blind wildlife in order to kill as many animals as possible.”

Dogs, semi-automatic weapons, ATVs, traps, snares, and snowmobiles may be used.

Rizzer’s bill prohibits the following: participation in a wildlife hunting contest; organizing, conducting, or sponsoring a contest; and providing a venue for a contest. The bill does not include fishing tournaments.

A few states have been successful in banning these contests. The Humane Society, as well as many hunters, welcomes Wisconsin to follow suit.

Numerous studies dispel the need to hunt predators in this way. Studies also point to the importance of coyotes in reducing the mice and deer populations that host disease carrying ticks.

This bill will not stop the hunting of nuisance predators. But it is widely recognized that preventive measures, from fencing to guard dogs, are the most effective remedies in stopping predatory kills of farm animals.

This bill is a stopgap measure, offered in the hopes that gratuitous killing will end and unnecessary violence will no longer be welcomed here.

You can contact Senator Rizzer at 608-261-6931.

Another perspective on ethical hunting.

Above logo of the National Coalition to End Wildlife Killing Contests.

You can listen to it here.

The Greatest Sacrifice

I was recently invited to speak to a sustainability class at the UW La-Crosse. It is the end of the semester and the professor wanted to motivate them to act and to not see sustainable choices as sacrifice. I agreed, but first I had to wrap my head around the idea that I was sacrificing something. I looked closely at my choices to live on a community-sustained farm and to move towards energy independence. While the choices are not the norm, I could see no sacrifice. As my Mother once observed and said to me, “You know where your food comes from, you know where your water comes from and you are surrounded by loving people, there is nothing bad in that.”

I began the class by asking each student to tell me their name and what was their take away. They are majors in environmental studies and I was impressed by their understanding and conviction towards fostering change. However, one theme that stood out was the sense of difficulty that lies ahead in moving our society to one that is sustainable.

Here is where my homework paid off. I reminded them that the word sacrifice comes from the word sacred and therein is the key. The greatest sacrifice is not following your heart. The heaviest burden is to live in compromise.

When we move towards a more sustainable life, we are moving towards something, not away from something. It is a massively creative act and definitely a challenging one. As we move towards that which we love, life simplifies and appreciation grows.

When you wash your hands, to wash off dirt, you don’t wash off skin. You need that skin. In the same way as you walk the path of sustainable living, you discard what you can as you can.

Seek knowledge. Observation of life is the greatest teacher. When we come to understand that our lifestyle choices are harming the water, the air, and the food we consume, we will choose a different way. When we realize the privileged life we lead has been on the backs of human beings and at the cost of our precious environment, we will find new ways to proceed.

Living sustainably is not a sacrifice; it is about falling in love again.

Farming Today

On March 15th, the Coalition of Immocalee Farm Workers concluded their Freedom Fast. However, their demands to stop sexual violence against women in the fields will not end. This boycott is against Wendy’s – the last of the large food chains to resist joining the Fair Food Program. The Fair Food Program is a partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retailers that ensures humane wages and working conditions.

Wendy’s has decided not to sign on and instead is going to Mexico for their tomatoes, where laws remain lax and conditions for the farm workers are often deplorable.

Such is the battle for economic and humane equity in farming.

Reading news from Family Farm Defenders, I was saddened by the statistic that the numbers of farmers committing suicide is on the rise. Couple that with the fact that in 2017, western Wisconsin had the highest numbers of farm bankruptcies in the nation and the stark realities of what farm life has become is apparent.

While massive amounts of money are poured into military budgets, political campaigns, and entertainment, our food security is being destroyed. Pipelines, fracking, transmission lines and oil spills are cutting through the heart of rural farms adding salt to wounds. Organic farmers now face increased rates for licensing, with little to no increase in revenue.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “The small landholders are the most precious part of a state.” He recognized farming as national security. Apparently today’s government doesn’t agree, rather it seems hell bent on bringing back servitude.

Our farming communities are facing enormous challenges in every way. Even the famously promised broadband access still eludes 61% of our people. I know. I’m one.

While popular TV shows herald more of the same old rugged individualism, pitting man against nature…it seems to me today’s heroes are the farmers and the rural communities trying desperately to maintain a good life. The way out is not in conquering nature, but in working with it and with one another.

This is a moment for cooperation to re-emerge.

So while Alaska calls itself the last frontier and people knock themselves out to prove they are survivors…we need look no further than the small sustainable farms here in the Driftless to see devotion to land and community, resilience to climate change, and the finest of the human spirit.

This aired on WDRT‘s “Consider This” on March 15. You can hear it here.

And please watch this video of the struggle to save clean water in Kewaunee County WI.

But Not a Drop to Drink…

Most likely today you reached for a glass of cool refreshing water. If you took it from the tap it is because you are certain it is government approved, scientifically tested and safe. If you grabbed a designer bottle you are also trusting you will be getting the one thing that after air is the most essential for life – clean water.

Me, I drink water from a spring and enjoy some of the best tasting, cleanest water I have ever had…but then, this isn’t about me and my good fortune, it is about what is happening to far too many people in our country and around the world.

What if you lived in Flint Michigan, where elected officials consciously provided tainted water for nearly two years? Or the Reservation in South Dakota, where the recent oil spill has people questioning the unknown – how long does it take until oil seeps into the aquifer and harms drinking water?

The Nebraska PSC has approved the Keystone XL pipeline to course tar sand oil through their state – from Canada to the Gulf to be sold on the foreign market. We will get a drop of the $$ exchange – but not enough to run the risk of polluting one of the most important aquifers in North America – and jeopardize the water for millions of people and life there.

But before I glaze your eyes over with details… My point to you is this: the most sinister of all factors in this ugly assault of man over earth and greed over common sense… is about the fact that far too many of us do not care. We have our glass, it is easily filled and what’s a little oil spill in Nebraska or the Gulf have to do with me?

The enemy, my friends, is not the oil or the faulty pipelines or the lies about energy security and jobs…the enemy is that we can turn our backs on one another. The enemy is that we are willing to debate that which is not debatable: we all need clean water.

We still have a chance to get this right. Let’s make it right.

This piece aired on “Consider This” Dec 7. You can listen in to WDRT 91.9FM every Thursday at 5:28 pm CST.

photo: compliments of NOHO

Category: Sustainable