United States to Regulate CO2

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the EPA would have reached this conclusion a long time ago, but at least we've gotten our heads this far out of the sand on global warming. While I'm not saying the everything being claimed on either side of the issue is correct, it seems like we could have reached a general consensus on carbon dioxide before it reached the critical stage we're faced with presently. At least the rest of the world can make some headway now that the U.S. is not standing in the way.

http://blogs.edf.org/greenroom/2009/04/17/epa-finds-that-global-warming-endangers-human-health/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8004975.stm

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Go Green Expo in NYC

The Go Green Expo will be in New York City this weekend, April 17-19th at the New York Hilton in Midtown Manhattan. Exhibitors include: Disney's Earth movie, The Sundance Channel's The GREEN, DELL, Home Depot, Food Network's Good Food Garden, and Honda’s all-new Honda Insight. Over 10,000 people attended last year and they are looking forward to an even better turn out this year. For more information, click on the link below:
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/39678

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Junior Getting and Giving Goosebumps During First Game Back with Mariners

My apologies to any other baseball teams and fans who might have wanted to keep or acquire Ken Griffey, Jr., but we are so glad to have him back on our Mariners' team. He's as much a Seattle icon as the Space Needle or Starbucks, and we really missed him. If you don't live in the Seattle area, care for the Mariners, or like happy homecomings, then don't bother reading the link below because it's not likely to make you tear up the way it did me, because it's a story about coming home, and home in this case is Seattle. You kind of just have to live here to get what a special city it is.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrybrewer/2009054851_brewer15.html

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Good Banking News

Before you condemn "bankers" as a group, you need to realize that the problems that brought our economy to its knees were not caused by your neighborhood banks and definitely not by the nearly eight thousand credit unions throughout the nation. To learn more, go to the article linked below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/heres-a-switch-some-good_b_186455.html

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U.S. Captain Richard Phillips Rescued from Pirates

I was delighted when the news alert email broke through yesterday, informing me that Captain Richard Phillips of the hijacked Maersk Alabama had been rescued from captivity among the Somali pirates. I have to admit that while growing up, I never considered pirates a serious threat to the safety of contemporary mariners. Having lived through the Bay of Pigs, the seemingly never-ending spate of airplane hijackings, and the ongoing threat of nuclear war, I admit that I had relegated piracy on the high seas to a long-gone place in history. I never thought we'd have to worry again about sword-brandishing pirates boarding ships.

Times have indeed changed and come full circle at the same time. Yes, there are pirates again, only now they come armed with automatic weapons. What is even more difficult to comprehend than the pirates themselves is that the ship that was hijacked was carrying food aid whose destination points were Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda. Ships transporting international aid to stricken countries should not be facing risks like this. Nobody should. This is clearly a threat that will require nations to join together to confront. I am glad to hear that President Obama plans to address this international issue.

After the rescue, the crew of the Maersk Alabama found a safe harbor in Mombasa, Kenya. Many thanks to the people of Mombasa for taking in these beleaguered merchant mariners from the United States. Below are several links to articles, audio recordings, and videos telling the story of the captain and his crew. There are even more links once you get to the main site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7996087.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7996723.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7996214.stm

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Spring Updates

Finally, the cherry blossoms are coming out of hiding. My other cherry tree hasn't yet awakened from it's slumber, but it'll come around soon, no doubt.


Daffodils and narcissus still showing off their sunny yellow blooms. I simply love the sight of them. I particularly like it that nearly everywhere you drive in this area, you come upon random acts of daffodils. People plant them everywhere out here, and then the wildlife rearranges some of them a bit to suit their tastes.


Ah, finally, the tulips begin to emerge from their sleepy beds. Have to wonder how they're doing now at the Tulip Festival in Skagit County.




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Jody Bergsma Title Contest Follow-Up

It took me a while to get to the post office to collect this, but I finally got it and was quite pleased that Jody not only signed the print, but had personalized it as well and included the title I had suggested for the work. I am hoping to catch a signing event with her soon, so I can introduce myself to her as the "Tahoma Breach" lady. If you didn't catch the original story about Jody Bergsma, I recommend you go back a couple weeks and find the article about her title contest. I've repeated some of the information below in case you haven't checked out her work yet. If not, what are waiting for? Go now. You can always come back. We'll still be here.

http://www.bergsma.com/

You can find Jody's prints, cards, bookmarks, mugs, and books, etc. in many bookstores and gift shops around the U.S., both online and in stores. If you are an artist or would like to explore the possibility of learning to paint, I highly encourage you to sign up for her blog. She's giving art lessons through her blog, which you would do well to investigate. Jody is an outstanding artist and a good teacher as well.

http://artwithheart.wordpress.com/

I've included links to her Amazon.com book listings in the margins of this blog.

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Green Highlights

There has been so much good news in the area of green technology and green initiatives that in order to pass on a lot at once, I've combined several articles together in one post. You can read more about each one at your leisure.

The EPA has stopped mountaintop mining permits until water quality impact studies can be conducted. Now there's a concept for you: looking before you leap. Always seemed like a good idea to me, since it's really hard to leap back to where you were before you jumped off that mountaintop, or better yet before you stripped it from beneath your own feet.

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4625


This next link takes an in-depth look at green investments. I have been interested in green investing for years, but this article gives you some good information about which types of green technology are likely to expand. It also points out that these might move slowly at first, so the impatient investor is liable to get bored with green investing until necessity moves us away further from fossil fuels.

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4581

Tied into the idea of green investments is another item that talks about a new kind of green bank. Headquartered in a suburb of Philadelphia, E3bank "will actively encourage its customers to live sustainably by offering preferential rates on green investments."

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/39399

An article posted a couple weeks ago about the EPA establishing rules for monitoring carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Obama's EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, states that the new reporting requirements "would cover the nation’s 13,000 or so largest fossil fuel-burning facilities that produce some 85 to 90 percent of U.S. global warming pollution."

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4616

China has launched a massive project to improve water quality. This measure is the largest of environmental protection measure then the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. The estimated budget is more than 30 billion Chinese yuan (around 4.4 billion US dollars) to be applied over twelve years.

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/39464

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Different Ways to Handle Life's Challenges

Nothing can diminish the extent of the tragic loss that has met the Italian people in and around L'Aquila in the wake of the recent massive earthquake and aftershocks. Buildings can be rebuilt and reinforced, but the echoes of the grieving survivors will be heard for years to come. From the midst of all that destruction arises a particularly awe-inspiring story worthy of notice.

Everyone reacts to an emergency situation differently. Some people panic. Some people throw up their hands and give up hope. Some people simply make the best of a terrible situation. My hat is off to the 98-year-old Italian woman who chose to crochet in bed until rescuers could dig her out from underneath all the rubble that covered her when the earthquake destroyed the city of L'Aquila. I bow my head to the strength of such a triumphant and courageous spirit, as well as to all those rescue workers who continue their grueling efforts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7988423.stm

I found an update to this story today that has a video of the woman who was rescued. This article says that she was knitting. Anyone who has knitted or crocheted knows that there is a difference, but the details are insignificant. The point is that this 98-year-old triumphant spirit not only survived, but kept her hands and mind busy on something other than the piles of rubble surrounding her. She found a way to engage in something enjoyable to her instead of panicking and giving up hope.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7989938.stm

In response to the immense grief of the survivors, I penned this haiku:

The earth shudders for mere seconds.
World suddenly bleak.
Even the flowers are silenced.

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Jaguar Protection Reconsidered

If you haven't heard yet, the last remaining jaguar in the United States was killed recently by the very organization that should have been protecting it. A researcher has come forward with the testimony that she was told by an Arizona Game and Fish representative to bait a trap with female jaguar scat. The trap was intended for Macho B, the last known jaguar in the U.S. Macho B was captured and later euthanized rather quickly with the claim that he was experiencing kidney failure. But it seems that the real failure was to protect Macho B from mismanagement and mishandling. As you'd expect, this awakened suspicions and protests, which has led a federal judge to order the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service "to revisit its decisions not to designate habitat and create a recovery plan for jaguars in the United States." For more information, click on the articles below:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/tucson-citizen-03-31-2009.html

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/arizona-daily-star-04-02-2009.html

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