MISCellaneous odds and ends--books, online videos, jumbled impulsive entries:
The Neo-American Church--
The philosophical position which Neo-Americans call Solipsistic Nihilism means, roughly, that life is essentially no more real than a dream. Nothing exists outside of one's mind...the Void is the truth beneath the illusion. They make a stand for religious freedom for psychedelics such as was granted to the Native American Church for peyote. They also warn against casual use of psychedelic substances by the unprepared.
It should be legal to alter one's own state of consciousness.
I personally have not used cannabis for twelve years and do not plan to again, for both my mental and physical health. Nevertheless, I support full legalization, without advertising, for adult use of it as well as for other psychedelic substances. No advertising...these things can be habit forming if not addicting, and have other problems. In my case, cannabis aggravates inflammation and sidetracks my mental processes in ways I no longer enjoy). (Cathy)
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Global Earth Repair--just how it sounds--lots of videos from their first (2019) conference.
Light pollution-- Did you know that unnecessary lights not only block out the stars and use energy, they also kill migratory birds and hurt our health? Turn them off, please!
Suggested Books:
Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life by Edward O. Wilson @2016"In order to stave off the mass extinction of species, including our own...Half-Earth proposes a solution commensurate with the magnitude of the problem: dedicate fully half the surface of the Earth to nature." (from Amazon review)
Very readable and full of ideas. Highly recommended although we disagree on GMOs.
Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence (2011), by Christian Parenti (son of Michael) explores how climate change is already causing violence as it interacts with the legacies of economic neoliberalism and cold-war militarism. The book involved several years of travel and research in conflict zones of the Global South.
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American Bird Conservancy
These guys are more focused on protection even than Audubon: Why are we feeding feral cats? Audubon in Portland sanctions this, American Birders disagree. (Cats in Australia are being trapped and killed because of their devastating effect on wildlife. Here, too, they kill even more than birds, such as frogs and other small species).
www.abcbirds.org/
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These two hold monthly meetings in a lot of places:
Audubon Society
www.audubon.org/
Native Plant Society
www.plantsocieties.org/
To calculate your footprint, here's a fun website:wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/webfieldtrips/ecological_balance/eco_footprint/ There are others out there as well...enter "ecological footprint" in your search.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT7nKUUCnnc James Workman talks about his book, The Heart of Dryness @2009. Drought and resistance to colonialization in present day Africa. What water really means to us as a species.
http://www.panna.org/ -- Pesticide Action Network North America--part of the worldwide movement, with local links and much more.
Ecosystem processes: the water cycle--videos, etc.
http://managingwholes.com/eco-water-cycle.htm