"Rethinking Schools" Hits Hard on Coal and Climate Change (Shame on Scholastic, Inc.)

A push-back has been made. Rethinking Schools has made clear in its Spring 2011 issue that the condition of our pale blue dot needs to take center stage in education. Beyond the editorial comments, Bill Bigelow has opened up particulars regarding coal education, and Scholastic, Inc. in particular.  Three articles are critical to resiliency education of coal.

Opinion: Our Climate Crisis is an Educational Crisis


Where is the climate change in our curriculum? Rethinking Schools is cinching up the need for action at all school levels to deal with climate change and, in one specific case, coal. This editorial unequivocally pushes schools' disciplines to collaborate with one other for broader understanding of climate change in the present and future.


Scholastic Inc : Pushing Coal  (Bill Bigelow)

"Simply put, the coal industry is renting Scholastic's credibility and recognition."

"I grew up thinking that Scholastic was the most trusted name in children’s books—endorsed by the holy trinity of school, teacher, and parents."

"Scholastic has partnered with the American Coal Foundation (ACF, www.teachcoal.org), the nonprofit arm of the coal industry, to publish a slick, full-color packet of elementary teaching materials designed to paste a smiley face on the dirtiest form of energy in the world."

Coal at the Movies: Classroom DVD's on Coal and Mountain Top Removal


Bill Bigelow reviews a number of films that lay out the coal production scenarios that accompany both natural resource and cultural issues.  

A Different Bike Education for Kids

KIDS  ->  BIKES  ->  SCHOOLS  ->  FUTURE BEHAVIOR. 


The bicycle really hasn’t changed all that much over a century: two wheels, pedals, chain, handlebars. For the most part we associate it with leisure and, of late, maybe international racing. But for the most part, we think kids.  

It’s the transportation of children; something that marks a developmental turning point in their ability to balance and steer. They ride to a friend’s house or down to the store for candy. Bikes sprawled on a front yard shows an after school gathering.

In the USA the car culture has, for the most part, limited the bicycle to this image. Sure, there have always been adult road racers and Sunday bike clubs, long distance touring and some commuters. But our great regional distances and the building of suburbia have prevented the bike from moving out of the leisure mold and into bonafide transportation. A mindset change is necessary.


It's not hard to conjure up images of cycling in most other parts of the world. (I'm sure you don't need more photos.)  All ages. All types of trips. All types of items carried. All sharing the urban streets with cars and respected as such.

Pedal Power   =  Good Health + Zero Emissions + Zero Fossil Fuel Use

And

Pedal Power   =  Slowing Down Life + The Will To Improve Life For All

Downsizing from the current car culture to a cleaner and healthier alternative transportation will take a change in personal perspective; a change in habits of the mind; an education. Just like cutting back on home electrical power. Just like driving easy for the best mileage. Just like buying locally. Just like boycotting bottled water. Just like bringing high speed rail to Wisconsin.

What more natural way to make this transition than by showing every kid the practical aspects of their two wheels, then setting the expectation (through modeling) that the bike will be their close friend for the rest of their lives.

An increasingly vibrant bike culture needs to make an appearance in this country very soon. How can we add the image of transportation to the image of leisure?

Animation: "Thoughts On My Bike"    (!!)

Resources: For starters
The Bike Federation of Wisconsin - statewide voice for all cycling
Share and Beware - road safety skill program (BikeFed)

Safe Routes To School - planning and practicing riding to school (BikeFed)
Madison Dept of Public Works - Bicycle Safety Educator Steve Meiers
Wheels for Winners of Madison; helping kids

DreamBikes - used bikes, helping kids
Transcontinental Touring Blog - taste the life on the road

History of Trek Bikes in WI  - our own two-wheeled manufacturer

Race Across America - the ultimate endurance race

Adventure Cycling - everything long distance since 1976

Pedal Power Machine

Bike Parking - community grocery store parking

Bike Rental Article - hot off the press from Middleton, WI

"Will the Post Oil Future Be Bicycle Free?" - provocative article re: auto roadways and bikes
"Extreme Human-Powered Delivery" - wait till you see these pedal-powered resources (photos)
"The Future of Travel" - biking perspective from the Huffington Post

Moving On, Like A Waxing Moon

The President told us tonight that focus on the oil gusher deep in the Gulf of Mexico will not fade; that those responsible will pay; that renewable energy is now really officially on the table.  It was a fair speech, but my blood pressure began to rise.

It makes me crazy that nowhere in the frenzied media (including tonight’s complete cast of the “best journalists in the business” crammed behind a desk in the CNN newsroom), nor in Congress is there talk of serious oil conservation, peak oil realities and greenhouse gas calamities on the horizon. Nowhere is there talk of the ethics of oil usage in this country. 

I will be attending the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in central Wisconsin this coming weekend.  Such topics will be spread throughout the presentations and discussions. I assume my nerves and stomach are in similar states to those thousands who will be there; including Bill McKibbon of 350.org.


So, as the TV pundits pundicized, I took my churning frustration out to the darkening backyard. Right on cue, the waxing crescent moon loomed over our dark roof and next to the silhouetted spruce tree out front.  The evening sliver was slowly descending in the darkening western sky.  Venus sparkled a few degrees to the north at the same elevation.  

And then, in its erratic egocentric dance routine, the first firefly of the season darted around blinking, “Look at me! Look at me!” Cute, but not quite Venus, fella.  I sighed. Three very different "little" natural lights had combined to settle me down.

Down-came-the-blood-pressure.

The newest of the waxing crescent moon has always been my favorite phase.  I wrote this poem almost a decade ago to gather thoughts of this little sliver.


RENEW

The new crescent succeeds
the dark void of new moon nights.
It defers to greater luminescence
in the low west at day’s end
and patiently awaits the sun’s departure.

Emerging like the mirage of a clean white thread,
the moon becomes its own elusive twilight show.

Sun and Earth and Moon 
will continue to blend movement 
so this infant moon
develops its presence
into brighter nights.


Sometimes it appears suddenly. 
I feel an ephemeral tug, like a twenty-nine day tide.
Beauty so powerfully delicate.
Spiritually so symbolic of growth. 
A reminder to revitalize.

Refocus on mindfulness.
Reaffirm love for self.
Recommit to compassion. 
Regenerate the soul with wisdom.
Renew.


Short minutes. 
The crescent succumbs to the horizon.
Higher and fuller tomorrow.


This is the way I need to deal with my frustrations of the present and fears of the future.  Regroup, take a deep breath, and smile at the moon.   

Short History of UN Involvement In Climate Change

Just what is the history of international cooperation in terms of tackling greenhouse gas build-ups and other global challenges?  


The United Nations, naturally, has taken the lead.  There are four itemized “purposes” for the existence of the UN outlined in its 1945 charter.  Nearly all pertain to health and peace-keeping and cultural respect, but item three mentions specifically, “To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems...”  Indeed, we are now into global health problems which have a good chance of straining peace. What better institution than the UN to pull members to the discussion table.


(The UN, itself, has a wealth of information within its expansive web pages. A few are listed here, but take some time to check through other sections of culture, peace and science.)


After initial concerns from scientists during the ’60’s and ’70’s, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was formed in 1988 to assess climate change.  Their report was published in 1990.


In 1992, environmental summits were held in Rio de Janeiro to address biodiversity, desertification and climate change.


The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change began its work in March of 1994. The participating nations were “encouraged” to sign on to the stipulations and timelines set by this body as regarding greenhouse gases.


The UNFCCC (above) issued a further Protocol in Kyoto in 1997, "committing and legally binding" nations to reduce gas emissions outlined in the previous convention.  The US government made it clear during that period that it would not ratify the Protocol.  Documents and articles of the time indicate why the government, including both the White House and the Senate, conditionally supported Kyoto, but refused to ratify.  


In brief, the US was concerned that “developing” countries were not being held accountable to the extent of the developed world.  (Think about that argument in terms of who created this problem...) The US was very concerned about the implications this treaty would have on our domestic economy.  The Protocol, however, does recognize that developed countries are essentially responsible for most of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally.

Green = Ratified Kyoto Protocol