"perfectly" sustainable

Speaking of earthships... and Platonic perfection, Apollonian order, Nietzsche and Sartre...

"This isn't just in housing; it's in clothing and food and transportation and energy... We may have invented excess, but the problem of waste is worldwide.We're in trouble. What we need to do is reconnect with those really primal parts of ourselves, with who we really are." 

earthships

Earthships, "built to utilize the available local resources, especially energy from the Sun," make a terrific sustainability statement-- in perfect harmony with the native wisdom that we ought to make our container boxes as seamless, green, & light as can be. Harrison told us about them in NW today. 


We need lots more of  'em, including a campus demonstration project. And if you can't own, maybe you can rent...

a new Congressional climate

I've been told there are "well-respected scientists" who deny the reality of anthropogenic global warming. I've not read them, and I'm pretty sure these guys (as reported by Elizabeth Kolbert)-- the new GOP leaders in charge of solving the problem--  haven't either. 

“The idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen, that it is harmful to our environment, is almost comical.” John Boehner, Speaker-elect

“'As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.' I believe that’s the infallible word of God, and that’s the way it’s going to be for His creation.” John Shimkus, candidate to chair the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

“When it rains, we find shelter. When it’s hot, we get shade. When it’s cold, we find a warm place to stay.” Joe Barton, also a candidate for that post 

Well, I'm glad somebody's being honest about climate change. But that's not them. 

Maybe they just need a few reading suggestions, to supplement their Good Book. Some other good books: Kolbert's own Field Notes from a Catastrophe, Jim Hansen's Storms of My Grandchildren, James Garvey's Ethics of Climate Change, and many of the titles on Grinning Planet's list. Climate Debate Daily is a good resource too, with a whole (misleadingly-symmetrical) column devoted to "dissenting voices."

If there's still a debate to be had, let's have it. Let's not allow our "leaders" to pass the buck to God.

 

"Environmental ethics course to be offered next semester"

On p.1 of today's Sidelines newspaper:

The philosophy department is adding a new "Environmental Ethics and Native Wisdom" class to its curriculum next semester that will offer a Native American perspective on how to live holistically.

Phil Oliver, a philosophy professor in the College of Liberal Arts, said he will teach the course, which will include curriculum from his past environmental ethics classes, such as climate change and industrial agriculture, but the new class will now include a section on indigenous people's philosophies.

Oliver said he was inspired to teach the class with a native twist after Scott Pratt, a philosophy professor at the University of Oregon, visited MTSU to lecture about how modern day Americans can learn more about environmental sustainability by examining nature through the eyes of ancient civilizations... (continue reading)

native wisdom

NOTE to students:


A reporter for the campus newspaper Sidelines is doing a story for Monday's edition on the upcoming "Environmental Ethics and Native Wisdom" course, and wants to include some students' perspectives.  If you're interested in sharing, you can contact her directly: Jeb3w@mtmail.mtsu.edu.