Scientists tell us that the neurological mechanisms of memory appear to be same as the mechanisms by which we anticipate, and plan for the future.  It's one of those ideas that, once you hear it, immediately makes sense.  What is politics, after all, than controlling the future by retelling the past in a way that distinguishes "us" from "them"?  The term "identity politics" always strikes me in the same way as the phrase "fiery conflagration";  what other kind is there?  

Wall-E is a movie with a political message.  But no political message has the power to persuade, even if it is wrapped in a story.   A story needs to illustrate a theory.

Sometimes we dismiss filmmaking and the way it can impact the way we view the world.  But great films can challenge us to think about problems differently, to address real world issues, and to reconsider our place in the world.

Simple films that rely on a basic parable have worked as children's storytelling for years.  These films try to get across easy to understand concepts - be nice, treat others fairly, work together, etc. in order to help make a point while at the same time telling a story that kids can easily grasp.

WALL*E is, outside of being incredible filmmaking, one of those films that expresses complex social issues like environmentalism, individuality, conservation in a way that is accessible and easy to understand to children without being preachy.

I wanted to share with you all a video about a new project I am leading up and give you a first glance at our new website. The video is embedded below:

No, I am not making that up.

Link

He [Greg Pal] means bugs. To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.

Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Mr Pal holds up a small beaker of bug excretion that could, theoretically, be poured into the tank of the giant Lexus SUV next to us. Not that Mr Pal is willing to risk it just yet. He gives it a month before the first vehicle is filled up on what he calls “renewable petroleum”. After that, he grins, “it’s a brave new world”.

SlyDi's recent diary about the national impact of the Midwest floods, has moved me to post a diary that I've been meaning to write for a number of days. SlyDi points out, among other things, that over the decades our nation has slowly destroyed what was once the greatest rail system in the world. And we're now paying the price for it.  The Midwest floods only highlight this self-inflicted crisis that will become more and more apparent...especially as gas prices continue to soar.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the trucking interests that it largely represents have been busily trying to write another sad chapter in this saga for the last several years.  ODOT has been working to build a huge, new highway through Oklahoma City. This ten-lane monstrosity is conveniently routed in such a way as to require the destruction of the old Union Station railyard, which might otherwise serve as a hub for rail transportation locally and throughout the state.

But now, thanks to the efforts of a group of citizen activists, the destruction has been put on hold.      

But not my faith.  Yes, you can lose one and still have the other.

I saw The Happening this weekend.  I had no clue what it was going to be about; I was surpised at the environmental take Shyamalan took with the film.  I started thinking about some things that have bothered me for most of my life. This movie brought these things to a head. I do want to mention that DebraG wrote about the same movie earlier.  My take is similar...yet different.

I have made the dramatic decision to go vegetarian, taking in as little dairy as I can and allowing a little fish during the tranisition. It all started with hearing that Oprah is doing a 21-day Cleansing Diet that is vegan, plus caffeine-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free. She is using a plan promoted by author Kathy Freston. I read this onCompassionate Cooks:

Recently, Oprah announced - on her show, on her site, and on her blog - that she is adopting a 21-Day Cleanse outlined in Kathy Freston's new book, Quantum Wellness." Some of you may be familiar with Kathy, whose popular article "Veganism is the New Prius" made its way around the web about a year ago. She is a beautiful and eloquent ambassador for veganism, and I'm thrilled she will be guiding Oprah on her journey. This cleanse includes avoiding gluten, sugar, alcohol, and animal products, but it's not just for health reasons that Oprah is giving this a try.

More below the fold.

Hey everyone,
I have been shirking my normal blogging on account of summer law classes and work. On the side I have begun work on my own blog. Right now I have a blogspot but it is certainly nothing impressive. I am also working on a new website for the NDLSC (currently www.lawschooldems.org)

Never forget that the DOE is currently being run by the same environmentalists who have been doing such a bang-up (so to speak) job in Iraq.

I've been asked to host today's dawn chorus, so in the spirit of the season, bearing in mind the title of the series I've chosen to talk about the chorus itself.  

For most of North America's neotropical migrants (far more birds nest in Boreal Canada and Alaska than in the lower 48) this is the week the females make camp.  So those birds that haven't already bred will now begin courtship, nest building, and raising young'uns.  Join me below the fold for some hot-bird action!

For those that haven't seen "Blue Planet" or other shows about the nature of our oceans, it's probably worth your time to do so.  "Black Smokers" exist at the heart of their own ecosystems at the base of both the Atlantic and Pacific ocean, following the depths like threads.  These vents are thought as part of the start of life, and the continuation of life on our planet.  And now, organizations are looking at something new for the vents: Mining them.

The editors at Wired magazine stirred up some commentary with their 15th anniversary cover story, Inconvenient Truths: Get Ready to Rethink What It Means to Be Green. Some of us thought it was dominated by too many breezy clichés, and others took it more seriously. Seriously wise. Or seriously deluded.

Author Michael Shellenberger wrote Wired Calls for the Death of Environmentalism that’s worth your time, including, of course the comments. And Dave Roberts, over at Grist had some things to say, too, under the headline: Tired.

The Daily Kos Environmentalists can be found here.

ANIMALS

perky mcjuggs reported on Alarming Declines in Animal Populations!: "According to a joint study released today by the Zoological Society of London, in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Footprint Network, animal populations are declining at historic rates since 1970 and - it's our fault. Tracking about 1,500 species, the report shows the devastating impact of humanity as species populations have plummeted by almost a third in the 35 years to 2005.  Measured were populations of land, ocean and freshwater ecosystems."

Qshio gave us the skinny on why Sarah Palin Hates Polar Bears and Wants Them to Die: "Yes, she's on many McCain veep shortlists, yes she's a charming, affable, and talented politician, and yes she looks sweet and innocent, like a perky librarian (are there perky librarians?), but Alaska's governor Sarah Palin has a dark side colder than the icy tundra which she oversees."

In a parody, Richieville found a solution to two problems at once in Arctic Drilling Continues – Polar Bears To Get a Cut: "Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne sought to answer critics of expanded drilling in Arctic wilderness areas by announcing a new oil revenue profit-sharing plan. The plan, to go into effect May 21, mandates that 1.5 percent of all proceeds from Alaska North Shore oil sales be deposited into an account under the name, ‘polar bears.’ ‘This plan gives the bears a financial stake in the further exploitation of their habitat,’ Mr. Kempthorne said in a statement released today. ‘We get to plunder the environment for oil and they get a steady flow of cash. It's a win-win situation.’"

Nothing to be light-hearted about in matthew fogarty’s said call to action, Idaho will slaughter 428 wolves this year unless you help: "I want to make a plea for people of conscience to support a federal lawsuit by 12 prominent conservation groups to challenge the federal governments delisting of gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act. These groups need our financial support to succeed at this lawsuit and prevent the slaughter of hundreds of wolves this year alone. This decision leaves the fate of the wolves in the northern Rockies in the hands of myopic and irresponsible state agencies in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.  These state agencies are all but owned by wealthy incredibly influential hunting and ranching lobbies who could not care less about the fate of wolves, except to see to it that they are persecuted right back into near extinction.  This year alone the Idaho Fish and Game agency has agreed to allow 428 wolves to be killed, most by hunting."

lineatus was on hand for another Dawn Chorus Birdblog: Big Sur (education vacation): "Since many of us will be enjoying the long weekend, this is a sort of vacation edition of Dawn Chorus.  I just got back from a week of studying molt patterns in passerines and other smaller birds.  Most of the other participants were biologists; a few were volunteer passerine banders.  I felt a bit like a bio-groupie, wanting to learn a bit more about some birds who I haven't spent much time with."

matching mole took us a little farther afield in Birds, education, ecotourism and conservation in Ecuador: "I first traveled to Ecuador in July 2004.  Some colleagues of mine had been taking students down for a couple of years for a biology field course and they asked me to join them, bringing students from my own institution.  We visited two sites in the Amazon basin (locally called the Oriente).  Since then I have been back twice more, once with a course and once on vacation. Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries on earth.  I believe in ranks 4th in terms of recorded bird species with almost 1600 which is about twice the number for North America north of Mexico."

I want to make a plea for people of conscience to support a federal lawsuit by 12 prominent conservation groups to challenge the federal governments delisting of gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act. These groups need our financial support to succeed at this lawsuit and prevent the slaughter of hundreds of wolves this year alone.  See the end of this diary for links you can follow to make contributions that will help stop this slaughter.

Many of you may know already, but the Bush administration delisted the gray wolf from the endangered species status that had facilitated it's partial recovery from catastrophic population decline.

This decision leaves the fate of the wolves in the northern Rockies in the hands of myopic and irresponsible state agencies in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.  These state agencies are all but owned by wealthy incredibly influential hunting and ranching lobbies who could not care less about the fate of wolves, except to see to it that they are persecuted right back into near extinction.  This year alone the Idaho Fish and Game agency has agreed to allow 428 wolves to be killed, most by hunting.

(The following diary is not actually mine, but was written by Melanie, my wife. She has a degree in physics, and is now pursuing a second degree in environmental science with an emphasis in aquatic systems. She will have diary privileges next week, but we wanted to post this sooner. If this is not acceptable under dKos rules, please let us know. We will be sure to identify ourselves appropriately in the comments. -patrickz)

It happened almost a month ago, as I was sitting out on the lawn in front of one of my college's many plain, modern and depressing edifices, eating lunch, sipping my latte and reading P.J. O'Rourke on the Wealth of Nations with a dandelion tucked behind my ear. The book is fun; it's interesting. O'Rourke's conservatism comes out often, but most of the time I can brush it off. It's nothing personal, he's a humorist. Then I come across a certain phrase. I can't remember the precise context (something snarking about wetlands, I think), but he used the term 'ecological activists'.

Cutting red meat and dairy from the diet does more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than being a locavore (eating locally produced food).

A study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology entitled Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States concludes that the choices we make as to what we eat have a much greater impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with getting food to our table than the idea of buying our food locally does.

And, no surprise to vegans like myself, the production of red meat and dairy products once again turn out to be the worst offenders when it comes to food that has a terrible environmental impact. This study shows that the production of red meat and dairy accounts for fully 50% of the total greenhouse gas emissions involved with getting food to Americans tables, regardless of whether they are produced locally or not.

There was a great ruling for environmentalists today.  A federal judge ruled  that the US government can not stall any longer on ruling whether polar bears are an endangered species.

The full story from the BBC is
here

This is a great step towards hopefully gaining protection for polar bears, which in turn would be an important step towards starting to undue some of the damage the Bush administration has done to the environment, and it could very well be a critical step for many future battles surrounding drilling for oil on the North Slope and ANWR, stopping and reversing global warming and many other critically important issues.

I became aware of the CASE Project  (Community for Alternative Sources of Energy) and the students who founded it in January and wanted to write about them here to inform people about some pretty amazing high schoolers and to promote their Earth Day fundraiser, Green Scene, which is happening on Saturday, April 19 from 12-5pm at Northside Prep in Chicago.  They are part of a trend that is dedicated to teaching individuals how they can make better choices that will have less of a negative impact on Planet Earth.

Occaisonally there comes a time to turn one's attention back to life's little questions.  A moment taken from days spent educating young minds to think more critically, to see the world through a more compassionate lens, to help them with the trials and roadblocks set in their path on a daily basis.  Many of the global and domestic problems we face come from a view of the world that has us (humans) as outside, controlling, owning, using and then ultimately fighting over the meager resources left.  We (the worst among us) see each other as adversaries in a fight for survival and we use war, torture, lies, and waste human capitol as a means to this end.  So, to teach from an environmental and holisitc point of view is not to put the great concerns of the day aside. Rather, it will hopefully produce humans who see the interconnectedness of us all and treat the situation accordingly.
Having said all this; class is now in session