ranting, feel free to move along

Finally getting around to reading the Feb 22 issue of Science News, p. 120. An article called "Proof of Burden" in which two teams of scientists report that the blood and urine of most Americans contain toxic cocktails of metals, artificial hormones, and chemical ingredients of plastics, flame retardants, pesticides, herbicides, and disinfectants. The references can be found at http://www.sciencenews.org/20030222/bob9ref.asp

It isn't that I don't know about about this. Goddess knows I've been an environmental activist for over 30 years. The good news is that "body burdens of current banned or restricted chemicals" have dropped since earlier studies. This means that our efforts have paid off. But so many new chemicals are created each year and we seem to have an "innocent until proven guilty" feeling about them instead of asking that their safety be proved before they are applied. I do what I can, but it is all one biosphere and none of us are disconnected from the whole.

Speaking of which, there is a conference on water use in Kyoto coming up. Blue Planet Project is trying to get folks to sign a statement urging that water be considered a public trust and not a commodity to be controlled by corporations. This is something I have been following to some degree since Dr. Gerald Barney of the Millenium Institute spoke of water (and other ecological matters) to the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions. The trend toward the corporate control of water resources wasn't among his predictions that I recall and I think it is a chilling circumstance.

There are so many systems failing on spaceship earth. There are so many people doing such good work to help us along. But there are so many unconsious choices made every day. I just have to count myself amongst the crew and keep on doing what I can. But some days are harder than others to believe that we can make the world a better place.
e

so what's up with *me*

Well, now that I've gotten my ranting out of the way... what is happening in my life, you might ask.

Work is crazy-busy as we get to the end of the fiscal year. The tech reports for the year have to all be in today. Naturally all of the groups but one waited until the last moment. I have over a score of reports to register waiting for me this morning. And then I have to track down all the electronic copies, rename them and get them to the next person along with lists and such for the annual report.

Yesterday after work instead of going to bellydancing I drove up to San Francisco to have dinner with Josh Borkin of the CPWR since he is the coordinator of their youth programs. Jan Chaffee cooked a wonderful dinner attended by Josh, Paul Chaffee, Don Frew, David Ponedel and me. The Parliament is coming ever closer and so many cool things are in the works. They are coordinating with seminaries to do interfaith courses that have Parliament tie-ins. Don & I are hoping to get Cherry Hill and Ardantane somehow involved in that effort. I have sent my press release to a score of campus Pagan groups and I need to send out a bunch more. (There are 81 listed at the RPI Pagan student group site but of course many of the links are dead. Campus groups are so hard to maintain as the enthusiasts graduate. :-) I do feel very plugged into one of the really important currents of goodness happening in the world!

Tonight I drive to Berkeley for AMUH's Exu devotional and tomorrow to Berkeley for the Pagan Pride Parade planning meeting. Eeek! Meetings are eating my life again. In fact, looking at my calendar between now and our trip to England at the end of April I am prett darn booked from here to there. And I heard about a Pagan conference on 5/10 in London (Croydon). We will be on a train from Bruges to Paris that day and my brain is whirling trying to figure out if there is any way I can fly from Belgium to London to Paris and make the conference. I'd love to give a presentation on Pagans in interfaith. The folks in the UK are so far behind us in that dialog. And they are so much closer to Barcelona! We *really* need the Pagan Federation or someone to be the Pagan on-site host committee for Barcelona. It will be very sad if there isn't a host committee.

Mantra - I can't be everywhere, I can't do everything, what I am doing is enough and just exactly what needs doing. Trust your teammates!
y