IAIA Spring Pow Wow

IAIA announces spring powwow

A variety of dances will be performed when the Institute of American Indian Arts hosts its 2009 Spring Homecoming Powwow on May 9 at the campus, 83 Avan Nu Po Road. The event is free and open to the public, but the school encourages guests to bring their own chairs. The powwow will include Head Man Kit Julianto and Head Lady M.J. Schenandoah, both IAIA students; Otis Halfmoon; Arena Director Bryan Tsosie, an IAIA staff member; Head Gourd Dancer Mark Swazo Hinds, an IAIA alumnus; Northern Drum, Black Eagle from Jemez Pueblo; and Southern Drum, the Zotigh Singers from Albuquerque. Gourd dancing is scheduled at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., while the Grand Entry takes place at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. A community potluck dinner featuring multicultural foods is set for 5 p.m. Among other activities, an academic open house is planned from noon to 5 p.m., so visitors can learn more about the four-year college. For more information, call 424-2300 or visit www.iaia.edu/map.php

http://www.iaa.edu/

http://www.iaia.edu/college/info.php

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Photos of Mdewankanton 2006 Pow Wow by Charleen Touchette for Mixed Blood Radio Archives

Posted by Charleen Touchette for Mixed Blood Radio Archives

http://www.touchart.net/

http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Energy News from Bill Brown at NM Global Warming

Energy News from Bill Brown in Taos, New Mexico

Earth photographed by Astronaut Ron Evans, USA Apollo 17 Mission, December 7, 1972. In this image, now known as "The Blue Marble," Antarctica is at the top. Other prominent features include the eastern coastline of Africa, the Island of Madagascar, the Red Sea, the Gulf of

Aden, and the Arabian Peninsula.

The sacred Zia Sun Symbol of New Mexico’s Zia People is a circle from which four sets of rays radiate. The rays symbolize Earth, with its four directions; the year, with its four seasons; the day, with the sunrise, noon, evening, and night; and life, with its four divisions -- childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age. All of these are bound together in a circle of life and love, without beginning, without end.

Santa Fe National Forest

Photo by Charleen Touchette April 2009

Wind Turbine Farm near Cabazon California in dust storm.

Photo by Charleen Touchette March 2009

Labels: Adapting To Climate Change, Climate Change Education Posted by Climate Change Solutions: Our New Energy Economy at 4/20/2009 08:49:00 AM

Solar panels, Xcel/SunEdison 8.24 MW Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant, Mosca, Colorado. These panels are supported by north-south aligned axles that rotate the panels from east to west throughout the day to track the sun. View is northeastward in the afternoon towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that form the eastern border of the San Luis Valley. Photograph by L.A. Brown, March 18, 2009.
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Good Evening,

Here is the latest from TouchArt's friend scientist Bill Brown up in Taos at New Mexico Global Warming. Bill Brown, Ph.D. Stanford University has decades of public energy policy experience and was one of the first thousand scientists trained by Al Gore on Global Warming and is one of the Climate Change speakers on science for a sustainable future.

Everyday is Earth Day.

One Earth. Think About It/Act Like It.

Charleen Touchette

OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com



Check out Bill's website a

Email: nmglobalwarming@yahoo.com

Weblog: http://billbrownclimatesolutions.blogspot.com/

Web: http://www.sagewestconsultants.com/

Web: http://www.theclimateproject.org/
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Hello, All -- California takes aim at the oil industry. Go to the link for the graphic accompanying the article showing pie charts for transportation fuels consumption and greenhouse gases sources by sector.
"The regulation requires producers, refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel by 10% over the next decade. And it launches the state on an ambitious path toward ratcheting down its overall heat-trapping emissions by 80% by mid-century -- a level that some scientists deem necessary to avoid drastic global climate disruption."
"The regulation calculates the life cycle of fuels from their extraction -- or cultivation, in the case of biofuels -- to their combustion."
"Meanwhile, U.S. oil industry representatives were also divided. The Western States Petroleum Assn. opposed the rule, disputing the air board's contention that it will lower the cost of fuel to consumers."

"But James Uihlein, a Chevron representative, endorsed the standard, and its indirect land-use provisions, as "sending the right signal to innovators" to produce advanced fuels."
-- Bill Brown
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-green-fuel24-2009apr24,0,1347527.story

Los Angeles Times

California to limit greenhouse gas emissions of vehicle fuels

The Air Resources Board adopts a landmark regulation expected to slash gasoline consumption by 25% and encourage development of low-carbon fuel sources for cars and trucks.

By Margot Roosevelt

April 24, 2009

California took aim Thursday at the oil industry and its impact on global warming, adopting the world's first regulation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the fuel that runs cars and trucks.

The Air Resources Board voted 9 to 1 in favor of the complex new rule, which is expected to slash the state's gasoline consumption by a quarter in the next decade. It seeks to expand the market for electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles and jump-start a host of futuristic biofuels to replace corn-based ethanol, as well as oil.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the "first-in-the-world low carbon fuel standard," noting that 16 other states are looking to California as a model and that President Obama has called for a national standard.

It will "not only reduce global warming," he said, "it will reward innovation, expand consumer choice and encourage the private investment we need to transform our energy infrastructure."

The regulation requires producers, refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel by 10% over the next decade. And it launches the state on an ambitious path toward ratcheting down its overall heat-trapping emissions by 80% by mid-century -- a level that some scientists deem necessary to avoid drastic global climate disruption.

Experts say California faces droughts, fresh water shortages, rising sea levels and widespread extinction of plants and wildlife species from growing carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.

Scores of industry executives and environmental activists testified on the hotly debated fuel regulation at a daylong public hearing in Sacramento before the vote. Corn ethanol producers complained that the rule unfairly exaggerated the effects of using food crops for energy. Cattlemen argued that diverting corn to ethanol has upped their feed costs.

Canada's consul general in San Francisco charged that the rule discriminates against oil from Alberta tar sands. And former Gen. Wesley Clark, testifying for the ethanol industry, said the board failed to account for carbon-intensive effects of U.S. military forces protecting oil reserves in the Middle East.

The regulation calculates the life cycle of fuels from their extraction -- or cultivation, in the case of biofuels -- to their combustion. But the indirect effect of replacing cropland used for energy will also be included, and the board's calculations of those land-use effects is strongly disputed by corn ethanol producers.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil industry representatives were also divided. The Western States Petroleum Assn. opposed the rule, disputing the air board's contention that it will lower the cost of fuel to consumers.

"This is the most transforming regulation any of us has ever undertaken," said Catherine Reihis-Boyd, the group's Sacramento lobbyist, noting that it involved "fuels that haven't even been envisioned and certainly not commercialized."

But James Uihlein, a Chevron representative, endorsed the standard, and its indirect land-use provisions, as "sending the right signal to innovators" to produce advanced fuels.

Not all of the alternative fuel companies were in sync, however. An executive from Fulcrum BioEnergy, a Pleasanton, Calif., company that makes cellulosic ethanol from post-recycled garbage, said it will "create a market" for his product. But a representative of Verenium, a cellulosic ethanol company with offices in San Diego, asked the board to hold off on counting land-use effects.

Board members acknowledged that the science of evaluating the carbon footprint of all fuels is still developing. It asked staff to further study the land-use issue and report back in January 2011. The standard is scheduled to take effect in 2012, gradually ramping up to the 10% reduction by 2020.

"We have done a lot to make cars cleaner and more efficient, but the petroleum industry, which has a lot more reserves, has gotten off scot-free with respect to greenhouse gases," said board Chairwoman Mary D. Nichols. "Now we are creating the framework for a new way of looking at automotive fuels. No longer will petroleum be the only game in town."

Some environmentalists who favor a stronger emphasis on electric vehicles said the rule did not go far enough in questioning the land-use effects of ethanol from nonfood crops such as switch grass or farmed trees. Others urged the board to monitor the construction of advanced fuel facilities so they would not increase inner-city air pollution.

Roland Hwang, transportation director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, criticized the board's delay of final action on land-use impacts, which he said were "critical safeguards for our native forests . . . and scenic wild lands."

But he added that the new standard means "the handwriting is on the wall: Big Oil needs to stop investing in dirty, high-carbon fuels and move to produce more advanced biofuels."

margot.roosevelt@

latimes.com
William M. BrownSage West Consultants & The Climate Project Energy Science, Law, ArchitectureTaos & Arroyo Hondo, New MexicoTel: 575.776.1479Email: nmglobalwarming@yahoo.comWeblog: http://billbrownclimatesolutions.blogspot.com/Web: http://www.sagewestconsultants.com/Web: http://www.theclimateproject.org/

SUBSCRIBE to Bill Brown's Blog at http://billbrownclimatesolutions.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

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Morning on the Mountain

Morning on the Mountain in Northern New Mexico.
Photos by Charleen Touchette 2009

William Means Led Tree Blessing Ceremony at Boston University

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Means will lead a tree blessing and speak today

From Wounded Knee to Comm Ave
William Means will lead a tree blessing and speak today
By Vicky Waltz
22 Apr 2009

A merciless wind blew across the frozen South Dakota prairie as soldiers surrounded the town of Wounded Knee. Huddled in a storefront, William Means peeked out a window and tried to calm his racing heart. Flashbacks to the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, when the U.S. 7th Cavalry slaughtered more than 300 of Means’ Lakota ancestors, haunted him. Is it happening again? He couldn’t help but wonder.

On February 27, 1973, Means and 200 other members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) seized Wounded Knee to protest treatment of the American Indian. The standoff lasted 71 days, left two American Indians dead, and focused the nation’s attention on crippling problems facing American Indians — from the South Dakota grasslands to the Arizona deserts.

“We organized ourselves as a community,” Means recalls. “At Wounded Knee, people were married and babies were born. We made a sweat lodge where our people could pray in our own way and in our own language. The Elders came every day to represent us in our negotiations, and we talked about treaties and human rights. It was probably one of the greatest feelings of liberation I’ve ever felt.”

More than 35 years later, Means is still fighting for the rights of the American Indian — and for indigenous cultures worldwide. Founder and president of the International Indian Treaty Council, he is also the cofounder of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.

Means will speak tonight at 7 p.m. at the George Sherman Union and earlier in the day, at 1 p.m., will lead the BU community in a tree blessing behind Marsh Plaza.

BU Today: How did you become involved in the American Indian Movement?
Means: My journey to political activism began in South Vietnam, when I was a soldier. In 1968, I read about AIM, and I realized that there was an active and organized movement of Indian people fighting for treaty rights, civil rights, and human rights. As a U.S. soldier, I felt I was almost becoming the cavalry, as opposed to maintaining my Indian identity, and I realized that a lot of military tactics and policies used in Vietnam were the same that Americans had used against Indians in the last century. When I returned from Vietnam, I learned that AIM had taken over Mount Rushmore to draw attention to the treaty rights that state the Black Hills still belong to the Lakota Nation. Thus began my AIM experience.

What led up to the incident at Wounded Knee?
Shortly after President Nixon defeated George McGovern in the 1972 election, AIM members took part in a march across Washington, D.C., called the Trail of Broken Treaties, which culminated in our taking over the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), where we presented the president with a list of demands. We demanded the restoration of treaty-making, a review of treaty commitments and violations, and federal protection for offenses against Indians, among other things. Negotiations between the White House administrators and AIM members resulted in an agreement that included a pledge to deal with economic, social, and educational grievances of American Indians. For almost three months we were inside Wounded Knee to protest poor conditions on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The goals outlined by AIM leaders included support for the reformation of tribal government and congressional investigations into conditions on all reservations and the corruption of the BIA.

What was your role at Wounded Knee?
I was a community organizer, but I wasn’t in any leadership role. My brother, Russell Means, was one of AIM’s leaders. But after the occupation ended, more than 500 of our people were charged with various federal charges, and I spent the following year gathering expert testimonies, finding witnesses, and getting lawyers.

What happened after Wounded Knee?
We decided to challenge the international community and the United Nations specifically on issues that affect indigenous peoples. In June of 1974, 4,000 Indian delegates from throughout the hemisphere gathered to form the International Indian Treaty Council. It was one of the largest Indian gatherings in recent memory. We set up two mandates: establish an office in New York City so we could work with the United Nations on a daily basis, and use our treaties, in particular the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, as a basis for our legal standing. So what started as a small band of Indians defending their land in 1973 at Wounded Knee developed into a worldwide movement of 400 million indigenous peoples, culminating on September 13, 2007, when the United Nations General Assembly passed the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People.

What is the most important issue facing American Indians today?
Treaty rights. Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution states that treaty law shall be supreme. Treaties are not signed between cities and states. They are signed between nations. That is why Indians have a special legal and political relationship with the U.S. government that no other minority has. People need to understand that Indian people are a nation within a nation. People get the idea that we’re getting something for nothing, when in fact we gave America everything we had. Through these treaties we ceded millions and millions of acres for the meager services we now get on reservations. We have had to overcome a tremendous amount of stereotypes and racist and biased education just to let people know that we do indeed have legal standing in this country and that our cultures are alive and well.

What are the biggest issues facing indigenous cultures worldwide?
Many of the world’s greatest natural resources are on our land. That means that our land and resources are under constant attack by multinational corporations seeking oil, gold, timber, and hydroelectric power. The companies that exploit and mine coal on Navajo land in Arizona are the same companies that mine uranium and coal in Australia and New Zealand. We have a phrase in our Lakota language: mitakuye oyasin, which in English means “we are all related.” Now that governments around the world have determined that global warming is indeed a threat to humanity, they’re beginning to embrace this principle of mitakuye oyasin.

Where are indigenous cultures most oppressed?
Almost every area of the world. Latin America, Africa, and Asia are probably worst. And, of course, the American Indian is horribly oppressed. In some areas of the world, indigenous people aren’t even recognized under the law. Because they’re considered citizens of the country in which they reside, they have no rights to their native land. For example, in Mexico, if you leave your village of origin, which may be a 100 percent Indian community, you lose your identity as an Indian. You become a Mexican.

What can individuals do to improve conditions for indigenous cultures?
Education is the most important thing. You have to understand the indigenous people who live or who once inhabited the area where you live. You have to know their history. And you have to become active in your community. This activism can take many forms. Join the Sierra Club. Work against industries polluting our Earth. Make your relatives and friends aware of environmental challenges threatening humanity.

What strides have been made in eradicating human rights violations?
The most profound advance occurred in 2007, when the United Nations passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. The declaration emphasizes the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their institutions, cultures, and traditions and prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples; 143 countries voted in favor, 11 abstained, and 4 voted against: the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This isn’t surprising, because they are all countries that have significant numbers of indigenous people. But two weeks ago, Australia, under new leadership, adopted the declaration.

Do you think the United States will adopt the declaration?
I think that we have an excellent chance under President Obama. We now have more Indian people appointed to higher positions than ever in the history of the United States. We have two people on the White House staff.

What have we learned from Wounded Knee 36 years later?
When people organize from a grassroots community level, they can bring about tremendous change.

Has life on the Pine Ridge Reservation improved since you were a child?
Oh, yes. We have a larger hospital. We have schools controlled by the communities in which the schools exist, rather than by the BIA or the Church. Even the Catholic schools are made up of community boards that reflect our values. We still have many of the same conditions: high dropout rates, abuse of chemicals, obesity, and diabetes. But services are more available, and education has improved. We now teach languages and the history of our people, and we no longer have to follow the state’s mandated guidelines. The tribal government has also become more politically powerful.

As part of BU’s observance of Earth Week, Means will lead the BU community in a tree blessing today, April 22, at 1 p.m. behind Marsh Plaza, and will speak tonight in the Conference Auditorium at the George Sherman Union, 775 Commonwealth Ave., from 7 to 9 p.m. A reception precedes his lecture at 6 p.m. in the GSU’s Back Court. The School of Theology and the BU Environmental Student Organization are cosponsors. For more information, contact Maggie Keelan at 617-353-8972 or mkeelan@bu.edu.

Posted by Friends of Leonard Peltier at 10:37 PM
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Reposted by Charleen Touchette who is grateful for how Bill Means always had an open heart and helped whenever I called him for the Portland Urban Indian community when I worked for Six Directions in the 1980s.
www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
www.TouchArt.net

News from Realizing the Dream

Realizing the Dream Roundtable
50th Anniversary Visit to India
Realizing the Dream in Kenya
roundtable
Realizing the Dream Roundtable

In February Realizing the Dream took a significant step forward in developing its Five Year Initiative, a strategic plan that will guide Realizing the Dream's work over the next five years. Slated to be released in mid-2009, the plan will issue a national call to action on the problems of poverty, civic disengagement, and violence.

In order to develop the initiative Realizing the Dream has been relying on the combined expertise of national thought leaders from the public, private, and civic sectors. It is our belief that by amalgamating the insight of these diverse actors, Realizing the Dream will be able to create a unique and powerful strategy for its future direction. The first step in the plan's creation was last October's Summit to Realize the Dream, which attracted over 300 participants to Washington, D.C. to brainstorm these important concerns.

The 2009 Realizing the Dream Roundtable was the follow-up to that Summit. Its primary purpose was to convene a small number of renowned, creative leaders for a private discussion of Realizing the Dream's role in the coming years. Focusing on the themes of redressing poverty through opportunity, building community through civic engagement, and fostering peace through nonviolence, the Roundtable sought to build on the conclusions of the October Summit by articulating a clear agenda of actionable items.

Approximately 25 experts from across sectors joined Martin L. King III for this leadership summit, among them Stephanie Jones from the National Urban League's Policy Institute, Dorothy Stoneman from YouthBuild, Diana Wells from Ashoka, Dr. Jonathan Schell from the Nation Institute, Dr. Charles Phillips from Service for Peace, and Lisa Donner from Half in Ten. There were several other prominent names as well, including Alan Khazei from Be the Change, Inc., who made time after a meeting at the White House to deliver the keynote address.

india
Marking the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King's Pilgrimage to India

In 1959, Dr. King embarked on a momentous pilgrimage to India, where he learned the methodology of Gandhian nonviolence and discovered how it could be used to achieve social change in the United States. For the 50th anniversary of that event in February 2009, Mr. King III led a State Department delegation of congressmen and humanitarians for a two-week junket that would retrace the steps of that historic journey. The trip to India provided an unprecedented opportunity for Realizing the Dream to introduce its mission and vision to a broader global audience, as Mr. King III drew enormous crowds at every stop and engaged the Indian people in a myriad of different ways.

Upon arrival in New Delhi the delegation visited the Rajghat Gandhi memorial site, where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated and some of his ashes preserved. After Mr. King III and his wife Andrea laid a wreath on Gandhi's tomb as Dr. King had done 50 years prior, they signed the same guestbook as his parents. The Kings then attended an official reception hosted by then US Ambassador David C. Mulford, and visited the American Center Library for the opening of the "Journeys toward Freedom" exhibit. Later in the trip, the delegation joined an emotional meeting with victims of November 2008's terror attacks in Mumbai, and also visited the Vatsalya Shelter, an NGO that provides Indian street children with food, housing and job training. One of the highlights of the visit was a lecture by Mr. King III on "The New Nonviolent Revolution," which was hosted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and attended by some of the country's major political and academic figures.

Mr. King III also engaged in dialogue with several prominent Indian officials and leaders, including a number of Gandhi's living relatives---some of whom may prove to be future members of the Generation II Global Peace team. Realizing the Dream's delegation was most honored to meet with the President of India, Prathiba Patil, as well as Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress Party and granddaughter to the late Prime Minister Nehru, and Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishan, the first dalit or "untouchable" to serve in his post. The Kings also met with Mahatma's granddaughter, Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, and later toured Gandhi's residence with Tushar Gandhi and Usha Gokani, great-grandson and great-granddaughter of the Mahatma.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the trip was that Mr. King III was able to bring together conflicting parties around a common dream of tolerance and peacebuilding. In the Indian state of Kerala, where communist rule still exists today, Mr. King's visit marked the first time that faith leaders from all facets of the Kerala religious community have joined in the same room to discuss the potential for interfaith collaboration. This ability for Realizing the Dream to break down barriers was also witnessed through the actions of Kerala's communist government, which before this trip had refused to engage in dialogue with U.S. officials. However, in preparation for Mr. King's journey, The state government of Kerala opened the lines of communication with the U.S. and even hosted an official state reception that included every chief official and party leader in the state, as well as top American officials. The state bestow the official title of Guest of state to Mr. King III, which marked the first time that title had been bestowed on a U.S visitor.

kenya group
Alleviating Poverty & Developing Young Leaders in Kenya

From March 18-22, Realizing the Dream's staff joined Mr. King in the African nation of Kenya, where we are currently developing an innovative program to fight chronic poverty and conflict in that country. During the visit, Mr. King officially announced the formation of a partnership with two of Kenya's most prominent humanitarians - Abbas Gullet, Secretary General of the Kenya Red Cross Society; and Dr. PLO Lumumba, renowned advocate, lawyer and founder of the PLO Lumumba Foundation. The partnership was unveiled at an official reception attended by Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, officials from Kenyan government and the US Embassy, as well as several notable names from Kenya's private sector and civil society.

The full details of this partnership's work are currently in development, but two of the main areas of focus will be housing construction for Kenya's internally-displaced persons and leadership development and conflict resolution for its young leaders. With this partnership, Kenya joins Israel/Palestine and India in Realizing the Dream's ever-growing international network. Additional efforts are currently being planned for Bosnia Herzegovina, South Africa, Costa Rica and Brazil, with the goal being to have a RTD program on every continent by the end of 2010. These countries will form the initial corps of The Poverty Program's international component, which is Realizing the Dream's initiative to combat poverty and promote nonviolence around the world.

Along with this exciting development, March's visit to Kenya was the second major deployment of Realizing the Dream's International Youth Corps (IYC), which enlists young leaders, aged 18-35, from across the globe to the further develop their leadership skills and enhance their understanding of Kingian nonviolence through international service. Ten young leaders from India, Kenya, Ghana and the U.S. accompanied Realizing the Dream to Kenya, where they engaged in a number of enriching tasks. Highlights included in-depth training in Kingian nonviolence, service-learning projects with the Kenya Red Cross and International Young Leaders Summit, and an official reception where the Corps met Prime Minister Odinga, Abbas Gullet and Dr. PLO Lumumba.

The IYC also received the benefit of ongoing dialogue with Mr. King III, who continuously commented on the strength of RTD's new IYC recruits. Realizing the Dream believes that this crop of new IYC members will be an integral piece of the program's future development, as their feedback from the Kenya trip will be used to further inform and improve upcoming deployments. Realizing the Dream is currently organizing IYC visits to Israel/Palestine, India, Bosnia Herzegovina and Brazil, where in each country we are planning to enlist scores of proven young leaders to join the Corps. As it continues to grow, the Corps should prove to be an innovative and effective tool for Realizing the Dream to honor Dr. King's legacy of poverty-elimination and nonviolent conflict resolution worldwide.
To Learn More...

Visit our website at www.realizingthedream.org.

If you would like donate to our cause, please follow the link provided:
www.realizingthedream.org/donate.htm.
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Posted April 23, 2009 by Charleen Touchette New Mexico Coordinator Realizing the Dream
charleen.touchette@gmail.com

What We Do to the Earth

What We Do to the Earth

What we do to the earth, we do to ourselves and our children and our children's children and all our relations to the Seventh Generation.
Think about it. Choose natural renewable products that don't damage the earth, sky and water in production, distribution and use.
When you hear Clorox advertise its "Green" Cleaning Products, don't buy it or them.
Substitute toxic cleaners with vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, and olive or jojoba oil. You'll get cleaning power, antiseptic, anti-fungal protection and cleaner air and water and spend lots less. Re-use the vinegar gallon bottles for pet water and food servers, scoops for pet poop, watering jugs for plants, bottle walls and plenty of creative projects.
You can even save some bottles and make your own vinegar with a vinegar starter from the health food store.
Add ¼ cup white vinegar and a few drops biodegradable dish soap to a spray bottle of water for sparkling clean windows and mirrors.
Save read newspapers to wipe windows clean. Old newspapers are also great for starting fireplace fires and mulching in the garden, and of course for picking up puppy messes.
Soap on a washcloth is the best way to clean bath oil and scum from the ring around the tub. Works better than toxic de-scummers for shower glass too.
The plastic net bags produce comes in make great scours. Just bunch them into a ball and fasten with a rubber band. Good for tough hard water stains on glass and shower when loaded with natural bar soap.
The Earth is our mother. She gives us everything we need to live.
Honor and care for earth, air and water and respect our home.
One Earth. Think About It/Act Like It.
Charleen Touchette
www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
www.TouchArt.net
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Photos by Charleen Touchette 2009

Spring Dawn on the Mountain

Spring Dawn on the Mountain

It can help to remember that the dawn always brightens the sky and replaces the dark of night.

Remember what Ghandi said -

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always."
Mahatma Gandhi
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

Spring follows winter and day never fails to follow night. So take heart that difficult challenges will be followed by joy and laughter in the cycle of life.

Peace,
Charleen Touchette
www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
www.TouchArt.net
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Photographs by Charleen Touchette 2009