tagged w/ Earth Healing Initiative
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See Links to vote below:
Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's nonprofit environment projects in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Vote for the story by Donna Kumpula about the EarthKeeper Initiative and the Zaagkii Project
It was weekly winner in April but now its competing against about 19 others for the big prize . Money that would help fund the projects for a year.
You'll need to register - or login if you have voted before.
Its entitled:
Creating numerous environment projects that bring together diverse groups, students, American Indians
Link to story is near end of list on lower right hand side of page.
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends.asp?action=register
Or go directly to story – and register or log-in:
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/SingleSensations.asp?action=readStory&story=70
Brief summary of projects your vote would support:
The interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative:
The interfaith EarthKeepers planted twelve thousand (12,000) trees across northern Michigan for Earth Day 2009 thanks to over 100 churches/temples from 12 religions.
During past Earth Day projects, the EarthKeepers have recycled or properly disposed over nearly 400 tons of waste including cellphones, computers (and related equipment), printers, car batteries, poisons, pesticides, oil-based paint, pharmaceuticals and much more.
The Zaagkii Project:
This summer Native American youth and at-risk teens are repairing the ecosystem along a Lake Superior beach, built dozens of Mason Bee houses including some to be placed at the U.S. National Gardens in D.C.; Native American teens this month are helping build a greenhouse for native species plants on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.
Last summer the teens built dozens of butterfly houses for migrating Monarchs.See Links to vote below:
Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about... more
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Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's nonprofit environment projects in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Vote for the story by Donna Kumpula about the EarthKeeper Initiative and the Zaagkii Project
It was weekly winner in April but now its competing against about 19 others for the big prize . Money that would help fund the projects for a year.
You'll need to register - or login if you have voted before.
Its entitled:
Creating numerous environment projects that bring together diverse groups, students, American Indians
Link to story is near end of list on lower right hand side of pagfe.
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends.asp?action=register
Or go directly to story – and register or log-in:
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/SingleSensations.asp?action=readStory&story=70
Brief summary of projects your vote would support:
The interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative:
The interfaith EarthKeepers planted twelve thousand (12,000) trees across northern Michigan for Earth Day 2009 thanks to over 100 churches/temples from 12 religions.
During past Earth Day projects, the EarthKeepers have recycled or properly disposed over nearly 400 tons of waste including cellphones, computers (and related equipment), printers, car batteries, poisons, pesticides, oil-based paint, pharmaceuticals and much more.
The Zaagkii Project:
This summer Native American youth and at-risk teens are repairing the ecosystem along a Lake Superior beach, built dozens of Mason Bee houses including some to be placed at the U.S. National Gardens in D.C.; Native American teens this month are helping build a greenhouse for native species plants on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.
Last summer the teens built dozens of butterfly houses for migrating Monarchs.Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's... more
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Mark 16:15 John 1-5 Ephesians 1: 3-4 & 1: 9-10
(Valparaiso, Indiana) - Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana delivers a Sunday homily about “the major evils of today – genocide and ecocide” entitled “Repent or the Time is Near” on May 31, 2009 at the Union Community Church in Valparaiso, Indiana.
In this two part homily video series, Rev. Cairns discusses the “Cosmic Christ” and a related story in “The Lutheran” magazine by Elaine Siemsen, the United Nations definition of genocide, the loss of language and other heritages in Indigenous peoples like the American Indian, Ecocide, the acclaimed ABC News Special “Earth 2100” and how many experts believes the Earth and its inhabitants are facing the “the Sixth Great Extinction” of the world.
Cairns talks about the results of the American Museum of Natural History national survey on Ecocide that “reveals a biodiversity crisis” and is entitled “Scientific Experts Believe we are in the Midst of Fastest Mass Extinction in Earth's History: Crisis Poses Major Threat to Human Survival; Public Unaware of Danger”
With the statute of limitations up, Rev. Cairns confesses his childhood antics to prevent a highway construction project from ruining the woods in which he played - now an interstate freeway has “vaporized” those woods that meant so much to him while growing up.
The other homilies on Celtic Christianity take a look at several topics including the European roots of the Celts (primarily Scotland and Ireland) and how Earth-based cultures can impact the future of civilization including actively protecting the environment, respecting fellow humans, different cultures and nature.
Cairns works closely with Rev. Gregory Jones on several social fronts.
Rev. Jones is the pastor of the Union Community Church and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theology at Valparaiso University.
Founded in 2007, The non-profit Turtle Island Project is known for its ongoing work with Native American issues and the other wing involves other Earth-based religions like the Celts. Dr. Cairns is the co-founder of the nonprofit Turtle Island Project.
Rev. Cairns continues to work closely with the foremost Celtic group in the world, the Iona Community in Scotland.
Celtic Christianity Today
www.celticchristianitytoday.org
youtube & bliptv:
http://celticchristianity.blip.tv
www.youtube.com/celticchristianity
Rev. George Cairns, Spirit Cafe blog, United Church of Christ
http://i.ucc.org/FeedYourSpirit/SpiritCafe/CafeBlog/tabid/83/Default.aspx
Iona Community
www.iona.org.uk
www.isle-of-iona.com
www.iona-nwf.org/links.htm
Union Community Church, Valparaiso, IN
http://unioncommunitychurchucc.blogspot.com
Rev. Gregory Jones, Theology Department Valparaiso University
www.valpo.edu/theology/faculty/gregoryjones.php
http://faculty.valpo.edu/gjones
The Lutheran Magazine: Who is the Cosmic Christ? By Elaine Siemsen
www.thelutheran.org/article/article_buy.cfm?article_id=2696
United Nations: genocide
www.preventgenocide.org/genocide/officialtext.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocides_in_history
www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/p_genoci.htm
www.hawaii-nation.org/genocide.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide
Native American Genocide:
www.nemasys.com/ghostwolf/Native/genocide.shtml
www.exiledmothers.com/babies_taken_for_adoption/native_american_babies.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_death
www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/01/a-native-american-language-goe.html
Ecocide:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocide
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1574160052/bookrags
American Museum of Natural History survey on Ecocide:
www.well.com/~davidu/amnh.html
www.well.com/~davidu/extinction.html
www.well.com/
www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/02/is-mass-species.html
ABC News Special “Earth 2100”
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Earth2100
Sixth Great Extinction:
http://rewilding.org/thesixthgreatextinction.htm
www.nerc.ac.uk/research/issues/biodiversity/sixth.asp
www.well.com/user/davidu/sixthextinction.htmlMark 16:15 John 1-5 Ephesians 1: 3-4 & 1: 9-10
(Valparaiso, Indiana) - Rev. Dr.... more
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(Valparaiso, Indiana) - Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana delivers a Sunday homily about “the major evils of today – genocide and ecocide” entitled “Repent or the Time is Near” on May 31, 2009 at the Union Community Church in Valparaiso, Indiana.
In this two part homily video series, Rev. Cairns discusses the “Cosmic Christ” and a related story in “The Lutheran” magazine by Elaine Siemsen, the United Nations definition of genocide, the loss of language and other heritages in Indigenous peoples like the American Indian, Ecocide, the acclaimed ABC News Special “Earth 2100” and how many experts believes the Earth and its inhabitants are facing the “the Sixth Great Extinction” of the world.
Cairns talks about the results of the American Museum of Natural History national survey on Ecocide that “reveals a biodiversity crisis” and is entitled “Scientific Experts Believe we are in the Midst of Fastest Mass Extinction in Earth's History: Crisis Poses Major Threat to Human Survival; Public Unaware of Danger”
With the statute of limitations up, Rev. Cairns confesses his childhood antics to prevent a highway construction project from ruining the woods in which he played - now an interstate freeway has “vaporized” those woods that meant so much to him while growing up.
The other homilies on Celtic Christianity take a look at several topics including the European roots of the Celts (primarily Scotland and Ireland) and how Earth-based cultures can impact the future of civilization including actively protecting the environment, respecting fellow humans, different cultures and nature.
Cairns works closely with Rev. Gregory Jones on several social fronts.
Rev. Jones is the pastor of the Union Community Church and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theology at Valparaiso University.
Founded in 2007, The non-profit Turtle Island Project is known for its ongoing work with Native American issues and the other wing involves other Earth-based religions like the Celts. Dr. Cairns is the co-founder of the nonprofit Turtle Island Project.
Rev. Cairns continues to work closely with the foremost Celtic group in the world, the Iona Community in Scotland.
Celtic Christianity Today
http://www.celticchristianitytoday.org
youtube & bliptv:
http://celticchristianity.blip.tv
www.youtube.com/celticchristianity
Rev. George Cairns, Spirit Cafe blog, United Church of Christ
http://i.ucc.org/FeedYourSpirit/SpiritCafe/CafeBlog/tabid/83/Default.aspx
Iona Community, Scotland
www.iona.org.uk
www.isle-of-iona.com
www.iona-nwf.org/links.htm
Union Community Church, Valparaiso, IN
http://unioncommunitychurchucc.blogspot.com
Rev. Gregory Jones, Theology Department at Valparaiso University
www.valpo.edu/theology/faculty/gregoryjones.php
http://faculty.valpo.edu/gjones
The Lutheran Magazine: Who is the Cosmic Christ? By Elaine Siemsen
http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article_buy.cfm?article_id=2696
United Nations: genocide
www.preventgenocide.org/genocide/officialtext.htm
www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/p_genoci.htm
www.hawaii-nation.org/genocide.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide
Native American Genocide – then and now:
www.unitednativeamerica.com/aiholocaust.html
www.nemasys.com/ghostwolf/Native/genocide.shtml
www.exiledmothers.com/babies_taken_for_adoption/native_american_babies.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_death
www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/01/a-native-american-language-goe.html
Ecocide:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocide
American Museum of Natural History survey on Ecocide:
http://www.well.com/~davidu/amnh.html
http://www.well.com/~davidu/extinction.html
http://www.well.com/
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/02/is-mass-species.html
ABC News Special “Earth 2100”
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Earth2100
The Sixth Great Extinction:
http://rewilding.org/thesixthgreatextinction.htm
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/issues/biodiversity/sixth.asp
http://www.well.com/user/davidu/sixthextinction.html(Valparaiso, Indiana) - Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana delivers a... more
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(Valparaiso, Indiana) - Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana delivers Sunday homily entitled “The Cost and Joy of Discipleship” on May 3, 2009 at the Union Community Church in Valparaiso, Indiana.
The homilies on Celtic Christianity take a look at several topics including the European roots of the Celts (primarily Scotland and Ireland) and how Earth-based cultures can impact the future of civilization including actively protecting the environment, respecting fellow humans, different cultures and nature.
Cairns is working closely on several social fronts with Rev. Gregory Jones, pastor of the Union Community Church & Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theology at Valparaiso University.
Celtic Christianity Today
http://www.celticchristianitytoday.org
Celtic Christianity Today youtube & bliptv:
http://celticchristianity.blip.tv
http://www.youtube.com/celticchristianity
Rev. George Cairns on Spirit Cafe blog, United Church of Christ
http://i.ucc.org/FeedYourSpirit/SpiritCafe/CafeBlog/tabid/83/Default.aspx
Iona Community, Scotland
http://www.iona.org.uk
http://www.isle-of-iona.com
Iona Community New World Foundation: Iona associates, friends in U.S.
http://www.iona-nwf.org/links.htm
Union Community Church, Valparaiso, IN
http://unioncommunitychurchucc.blogspot.com
Rev. Gregory Jones, Theology Department at Valparaiso University
http://www.valpo.edu/theology/faculty/gregoryjones.php
Turtle Island Project TV (bliptv & youtube)
http://turtleislandtv.blip.tv
http://www.youtube.com/MunisingWhiteHorse
email:
TurtleIslandProject@charter.net
Artwork of Saint Columba, Wikipedia: Saint Columba, Apostle to the Picts
Saint Columba banging on the gate of Bridei, son of Maelchon, King of Fortriu.
Source: Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall, Scotland's Story
Saint Columba banging on the gate of Bridei, son of Maelchon, King of Fortriu.
Created by illustrator John R. Skelton in 1906.
Copyright expired
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Wikipedia Iona Island (Scotland) topo map
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona
Iona Abbey photo, Wikipedia
Image owned by John Naisbitt & licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/72548
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Old Iona map showing sites of monasteries and abbey from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona
Image from a book or document for which the American copyright has expired and this image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other countries.
Source: Celtic Scotland, p.100
http://books.google.com/books?id=oJoQAAAAYAAJ
Author: William Forbes Skene in 1887
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August 1983 wide panorama shot of Iona Island from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona
Iona (island), Scotland, view from the Fionnphort-Iona ferry
This image has been released into the public domain by its author, Dr. Torsten Henning, who grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DrTorstenHenning/photogallery
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Coracle boats on Wikipedia: Small coracle in Wales:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coracle
This image is hereby released into the public domain worldwide by its author, LinguisticDemographer at the Wikipedia Project.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:LinguisticDemographer
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Author Ian Bradley biography of Saint Columba:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/divinity/rt/staff/icb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Bradley
http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/0947988815
http://ionabooks.com/0947988815-Columba.html
http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Christianity-Making-Chasing-Dreams/dp/0748610472
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Photo of Stained Glass Window of Saint Columba in St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh Castle from Rampant Scotland Website:
http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow30.htm
Saint Columba & Celtic Spirituality websites:
http://www.columbacommunity.com/files/saint_columba.htm
http://leadershipinministry.com/an_introductory_reading_li.htm
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Contemplative Prayer/Centering Prayer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C(Valparaiso, Indiana) - Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana delivers Sunday... more
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12th Anniversary Retreat
Spirit of Place
Encounters of Spirituality and the Environment
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Wisdom in Wilderness: The Poetic Vision of Mary Oliver, a Spirit of Place kayaking trip retreat
Kayaking 40 miles along the shores of Lake Superior coastline
August 3-7, 2009
Cost: $850 (Limited to 10 persons)
Interfaith kayaking trip along 40 miles of Lake Superior shoreline, while reading journals of 16th Century Jesuit Missionaries to the Ojibwa tribe; discussions of spirituality and nature; hearty meals including smoked fish and homemade bread; Lodging in an Historic Inn and rustic lakeside cabins.
Facilitators: Rev. John Magnuson & Rev. Lee Goodwin
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God and the Bomb
Science, Faith and the Future of Nuclear Technology
Nov. 12-15, 2009
Pecos Benedictine Monastery, New Mexico
(20 miles north of Santa Fe and 60 miles from Los Alamos)
Historical perspectives on the development of the Atomic Bomb
Small group dialogues on the faith and science with psycho-social insights on the challenge of nuclear technology
Prayers and reflection with members of the Benedictine Community
Ethical considerations for the promise and threat of nuclear energy
Afternoons in Santa Fe and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory with daily hikes in the Sangre de Christo Mountains.
Presenters:
Larry Rasmussen, PhD., Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary
Robert Kraus, PhD., Deputy Director of Research and Development, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Facilitator:
Rev. Jon Magnuson, Director, nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute,
Cost: $850
Limited to 12 persons
Registration Deadline: September 1, 2009
Requires a $250 deposit
Nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute:
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.com/kayaktrips.html12th Anniversary Retreat
Spirit of Place
Encounters of Spirituality and the... more
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(Marquette, Michigan) - National harmonica champion "Hurricane" David McChesney and folk singer Michael Waite will perform at a free candlelight benefit concert on February 23 for the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute.
Everyone is invited to attend the 7 p.m. "Songs of the Earth" concert this Monday at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette.
Twice named one of the 15 hardest working non-profits in America by World Magazine, the Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) was founded in 2004.
"To show respect and honor the environment 100 votive candles will be glowing during the concert," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, the co-founder of the Earth Keeper Initiative and CTI director.
Best-known for its interfaith and youth-related environmental projects, the CTI founded the Great Lakes Earth Healing Initiative, the Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project involving teens and Native American youth protecting pollinators and the Manoomin Project that is restoring wild rice across the central U.P. Other CTI efforts include the Janus Project for hospice workers.
A songwriter from Joshua Tree, California, McChesney has played the harmonica for nearly four decades and performs under the name "Hurricane" David. An avid wildlife photographer, McChesney recently published the book "Muir Roots: At One with the Wild," a collection of 176 color images and various tales about his adventures in the wilderness including the Galapagos Islands.
The son of a gourmet cook and an English professor from the Milwaukee area, Waite has always lived in the U.P. Waite, who plays guitar, and two friends recorded the 2007 album "Let it Go."
Waite said he will play some ballads and original songs about a "stark winter" that were inspired by his home in the forest near Halfway Location between Marquette and Big Bay.
Both performers said they are helping to raise funds for the CTI because of its dedication to protecting the environment.
"Taking care of the earth and what's around us is part of living on the Earth," Waite said. "What ever you do you should include that as part of your work."
McChesney, who lives near the Joshua Tree National Park, said "everything I have done has been nature and wildlife oriented."
"I have been an environmentalist for years and years," McChesney said. "My home is a wildlife sanctuary with 95 species of birds, bobcats on the roof, coyotes in the yard and roadrunners looking through the window."
There is no charge to attend however donations are welcome.
For more information call 906-228-5494
Related websites:
CTI:
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
"Hurricane" David Jesse McChesney
http://www.outmywindows.com
Michael Waite
http://www.michaelwaitemusic.com(Marquette, Michigan) - National harmonica champion "Hurricane" David McChesney and... more
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(Marquette, Michigan) - While Upper Peninsula residents endured an arctic blast, two Northern Michigan University students started the New Year learning about Fair Trade during the peak of the coffee growing season in Nicaragua.
Since their return on January 12, Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson have begun a series of presentations at U.P. churches to encourage Americans to buy Fair Trade coffee that ensures poor Nicaraguan farmers don't lose money in the labor-intensive industry of coffee production.
In part 1 of a three-part video series, the students look at the role of faith communities, Nicaragua coffee farmers, and coffee cooperatives in Fair Trade movement; Northern Michigan University students talk about work that goes into growing coffee including wet mills, dry mills and the process of quality/taste testing called "cupping."
From staring into the mouth of the Masaya Volcano to traveling narrow mountain roads to stay with coffee-farming families to picking beans and participating in all phases of coffee production, the trip was a myth-shattering experience.
The students are the latest of hundreds of faith community representatives traveling to Central American over the last decade with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to get a quick course on Fair Trade while erasing misconceptions about Nicaragua's hard-working low-income farmers who take pride in their coffee.(Marquette, Michigan) - While Upper Peninsula residents endured an arctic blast, two... more
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Two Northern Michigan University students started the New Year learning about Fair Trade during the peak of the coffee growing season in Nicaragua.
Since their return on January 12, Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson have begun a series of presentations at U.P. churches to encourage Americans to buy Fair Trade coffee that ensures poor Nicaraguan farmers don't lose money in the labor-intensive industry of coffee production.
The NMU students among 13 Americans on Lutheran World Relief Study Tour.
In the final part of a three-part video series, The students describe how the women of Nicaragua are treated with respect, the importance of families and the environmental protection efforts of one Nicaragua’s organic farmers.
The group visited the capitol of Managua, and the villages of Matagalpa, Jinotega and La Reyna.
Fair trade ensures fair wages, and protects women's rights and human rights plus fights poverty.
Arriving at the peak of the coffee harvest, the students visited many aspects of the industry including dry mills, wet mills and coffee cooperatives.Two Northern Michigan University students started the New Year learning about Fair... more
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Two NMU students - Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson - are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about fair trade.
The NMU students among 13 Americans on Lutheran World Relief Study Tour.
In part two of a three-part video series, the students look at the Fair Trade movement efforts of Lutheran World Relief, Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education.
A look at Fair Trade Principals including prohibiting child labor, protecting the environment, the need for fair wages and help the entire community not just coffee farming families. The students describe staying with coffee farming families in a small village in a mountainous area, interacting with the children and some of the interesting and inspiring people they met.
The group visited the capitol of Managua, and the villages of Matagalpa, Jinotega and La Reyna.
Fair trade ensures fair wages, and protects women's rights and human rights plus fights poverty.
Arriving at the peak of the coffee harvest, the students visited many aspects of the industry including dry mills, wet mills and coffee cooperatives.
They spoke on January 13, 2008 to a group at the St. Mark's Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Marquette, MI.Two NMU students - Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson - are giving presentations across... more
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Northern Michigan University students Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson are giving presentations across the Upper Peninsula on their recent Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about fair trade.
The NMU students were among 13 Americans on Lutheran World Relief Study Tour entitled NICARAGUA: Pour Justice to the Brim from January 5-12, 2009
The group visited the capitol of Managua, and the coffee growing regions of Matagalpa, Jinotega and La Reyna.
Fair trade ensures fair wages, and protects women's rights and human rights plus fights poverty and protects the environment.
At the peak of the coffee harvest, the students visited many aspects of the industry including dry mills, wet mills and coffee cooperatives.
They spoke on January 13, 2008 to a group at the St. Mark's Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ) in Marquette, MI.Northern Michigan University students Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson are giving... more
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Photo by Lisa McCarthy
Two Northern Michigan University students are promoting Fair Trade for Nicaragua coffee farmers and others during presentations at churches across the Upper Peninsula.
In January 2009, the students were among 13 Americans on a Lutheran World Relief trip to Nicaragua during which they met with coffee farmers and learned about Fair Trade.
Fair trade ensures fair wages, and protects human and worker’s rights plus helps fight poverty and protect the environment.
The students, Lisa McCarthy of Greenville, WI and Sarah Swanson of Rapid River, MI, returned from Nicaragua on January 12, 2009 and spoke the next day to a group at the St. Mark's Lutheran Church (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in Marquette, MI.Photo by Lisa McCarthy
Two Northern Michigan University students are promoting Fair... more
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The Native Village website does stories on Native Village youth and education. Each month this unique website puts out an issue of news about Native youth.
http://www.nativevillage.org
In the November 2008 issue, Native Village takes an extensive look at the Zaagkii Wings & Seeds Project in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
The Zaagkii Project thanks and honors Native Village and its Editor Gina Boltz for the excellent story and all the work and effort that went into creating the impressive layout.
To contact Native Village staff or for more info, please email:
NativeVillage500@aol.com
Native Village is a supporter of the Link Center Foundation:
http://www.linkcenterfoundation.org
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This summer, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) youth and Marquette, MI teens built the first of dozens of butterfly houses and planted 26,000 native plants that help pollinators thrive.
The three-year project is important because bees are disappearing around the world at a shocking rate.
It's called Colony Collapse Disorder and the cause is unknown although human impact is suspected.
If all the world's bees disappear - all plant and human life will vanish in about 4 years.
The second biggest pollinator are butterflies - and that's why the Zaagkii Project is protecting butterflies and teaching youth about bees.
The Zaagkii Project contributors include the Marquette Community Foundation, the Negaunee Community Fund, the Negaunee Community Youth Fund, the M.E. Davenport Foundation, the Kaufman Foundation, the Phyllis and Max Reynolds Foundation, with assistance from the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum in Marquette and the Borealis Seed Company in Big Bay.
The Zaagkii Project was founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) in Marquette whose other environment projects have included wild rice restoration (Manoomin Project) and Earth Day hazardous waste collections (Earth Keeper Clean Sweep).
The Zaagkii Project is sponsored by the KBIC, CTI, Marquette County Juvenile Court and the United States Forest Service (USFS).
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Keweenaw Bay Indian Community:
http://www.kbic-nsn.gov
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Rev. Jon Magnuson, Zaagkii Wings and Seeds founder & Executive Director of non-profit Cedar Tree Institute
906-228-5494
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
CTI volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson:
906-401-0109
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Jan Schultz, Botany & Non-native Invasive Species Program Leader
USFS Milwaukee, WI
(414) 297-1189
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Terry Miller, forest botanist
Hiawatha National Forest
Escanaba, MI.
906-789-3319
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Deb LeBlanc, WestSide Plant Ecologist
Hiawatha National Forest
Munising, MI
906-387-2512 ext. 19
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Marquette County Juvenile Court:
http://www.co.marquette.mi.us/probate.htm
http://www.co.marquette.mi.us/courts.htm
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Upper Peninsula Children's Museum
http://www.upcmkids.org/
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Monarch Watch::
http://monarchwatch.org
Monarch Author Lynn M. Rosenblatt
http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Magic.htmThe Native Village website does stories on Native Village youth and education. Each... more
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The Michigan Earth Keeper Initiative and the Earth Healing Initiative promote interfaith connections.
America's top Muslim Imam brought that message to Marquette, MI on Oct. 22, 2008 at the Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) Lothlórien House.
Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of America, says all religions, people are basically the same.
Northern Michigan University (NMU) Professor Mohey Mowafy introduced the Imam:
Imam Hassan Qazwini:
“I was born in Iraq (1964) in a city called Karbala. It’s a holy city in Iraq. After that I went to Kuwait and then to Iran. (studied in Iran). In 1992 I came to the United States.
Up until I came to the United States in 1992, I knew there were Christians in Iraq but I never had any interaction with Christians. I never had any interaction with Jews in Iraq. I lived my own inner world. In Karbala, everybody is Muslim. There were Christians, there were Jews and obviously other denominations in Iraq, but I lived my own inner world. In Karbala, everybody is Muslim, so I really did not have any interaction beyond my little world.
It was in the United States when I have my first encounter with non-Muslims.”
Imam Qazwini told a story about riding in a car with his brother in California and stopping into a busy Christian church - and discovering that all religions believe the concept of love.
He said to Muslims - Jesus is as respected and revered as Mohammad.
Imam Qazwini said all religions and peoples basically “hold the same values - the same beliefs.”
“We passed by a church in a city called West Covina. So I see a church, it was Sunday, it was a church and the parking lot was full. Probably there was over 300 to 400 cars. So I asked my brother ‘What was going on here?’ He said the pastor is giving a sermon.”
“He said ‘Are you sure you really want to go inside the church?’
I said ‘Yes.’ He said “What do you do?’ I said ‘Come on, I’m not going to covert to Christianity. What’s going on here?” (laughter) I said ‘I have a chance to see what does the pastor have to say when he speaks to this congregation.’
“And I listened ...”
“All I heard him talking about was love. Jesus loving you. You love Jesus. And about the concept of love. So as he’s talking I am listening.”
“I said to myself ‘Look, in our religion we also talk about love.”
“Muslims believe that God has 99 names. And one of his names is Al-Wadud. And Al-Wadud is “The Loving One.”
“I said to myself ‘Look almost everything he is talking about is there in my religion.’ And how similar we look. And for every word he says quoting Jesus. I have a word to quote from Mohammad. As Muslims, Jesus to us - he is a prophet as well. He is as respected as Mohammad and as revered as Mohammad because we Muslims believe there are five superior messengers - Mohammad, Jesus, Moses, Noah and Abraham.”
“So we place Jesus almost in the same place - or status - as we place Mohammad.”
“In my mind as I am listening (to the Christian pastor) These words he was uttering are resonating in my mind. And reflecting my own faith system.”
“When we do not see each other, when we do not interact with each other. We think of each other - that we are weird. I think you are weird. You may think that I am weird. You may thing that I harbor some very weird thoughts. I could be a very weird person. I could be someone who does not think like you think. And probably I would have the same thought about you.”
“But when we meet, and we mingle, and we exchange thoughts, we find how striking our similarities are.”
Be Muslims, Christians, Jews or what else - non-denominational - basically we hold the same values - the same beliefs. And we worship God with different tongues and different languages and different styles - but the direction is the same.”
www.icofa.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Al-QazwiniThe Michigan Earth Keeper Initiative and the Earth Healing Initiative promote... more
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Ashland, Wisconsin residents Alissa Weitz, 26, and Brian Castillo, 23, will soon be completing their 1,300 mile journey around Lake Superior.
They are a couple in love with Lake Superior and each other - on a modern day lover's adventure.
They arrived in Marquette in late July and spent Lake Superior Day hiking with friends and swimming including jumping off the tall cliffs at the city’s “black rocks.”
A big part of their quest is educating the public about the environmental value of Lake Superior.
Averaging 25 miles a day - with their longest day over 40 miles.
They encountered water temperatures as low as 38 degrees, fog outside of Marquette, rough waves outside of Houghton, Michigan that prevent them from rounding the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula - and instead cut through the Keweenaw Waterway.
They left Ashland, Wisconsin on July 1 and hope to complete their two-month journey around the first week of September.
Weitz is a native of Dubuque, IA & Castillo is a native of Madison, WI.
Graduates of the Northland College outdoor education program in Ashland, Wisconsin, the couple were competitors working for different kayak guiding companies when they met two years ago and fell in love.
They are documenting their adventure at:
http://www.sessiononsuperior.blogspot.com
Thanks to Down Wind Sports in Marquette, Brian picked up a new kayak due to problems with the one used during the first part of the trek. Sea Kayak Specialists of Marquette provided tools and space to repair their equipment.
This video was made in cooperation with the Cedar Tree Institute, Earth Keeper Initiative, Earth Healing Initiative and Turtle Island Project, all northern Michigan non-profits protecting Lake Superior.
Special thanks to the Lake Superior Binational Forum for helping make this video possible.
News coverage of Alissa, Brian:
Marquette:
http://www.miningjournal.net
http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/513083.html
BlogsMonroe:
http://www.blogsmonroe.com/expatriate/2008/07/25/pair-attempts-to-circle-lake-superior-in-kayaks
Ashland paper:
Marquette Photo:
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2008/07/24/news/doc4888981f7b087681234763.txt
Story prior to trip:
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2008/07/02/news/doc486b8dfe3df63322933742.txt
WX Channnel:
http://uservideo.weather.com:80/item/GY56YQ4K0TH0B3CS
Lake Superior Binational Forum
Lissa Radke, LSFB US Coordinator
715-682-1489
http://www.superiorforum.info
Northland College in Ashland, WI:
http://www.northland.edu/Northland
Clean Wisconsin:
http://cleanwisconsin.org
Down Wind Sports:
http://www.downwindsports.com/index.html
http://www.downwindsports.com/about.html
http://www.downwindsports.com/paddling.html
Owners: Bill Thompson, Todd King, Jeff Stasser and Arni Ronis
Marquette: 906-226-7112
514 N. Third Street
Marquette, MI
49855
Houghton: 906-482-2500
308 Shelden Ave.
Houghton, MI
49931
Sea Kayak Specialists:
http://www.seakayakspecialists.com
http://www.seakayakspecialists.com/html/about_sks.html
http://www.seakayakspecialists.com/html/contact_us.html
Sea Kayak Specialists
PO Box 94
Marquette, MI
49855
Sam Crowley
http://www.glsks.org/sam_crowleypage.htm
Nancy Uschold
906-250-4238
Other links:
http://caskaorg.typepad.com/caska/2008/07/superior-sessio.html
UM Sea Grant
http://www.seagrant.umn.edu
http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/ais/fieldguide
EcoSuperior Enviro:
http://www.ecosuperior.com
Environment Canada:
http://www.ec.gc.ca
Turtle Island Project official website:
http://www.turtleislandproject.org
Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute: Michigan Earth Keepers, Manoomin Project & 2008 Zaagkii Wings & Seeds project
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
Earth Keeper TV
http://www.youtube.com/yoopernewsman
Turtle Island TV (youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/MunisingWhiteHorse
Earth Healing TV
http://www.youtube.com/user/EarthHealingTV
Ashland, Wisconsin residents Alissa Weitz, 26, and Brian Castillo, 23, will soon be... more
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Menominee Tribal School students in Keshena, Wisconsin are learning valuable lessons about protecting the environment and learning their tribe’s heritage including keeping native language alive.
In April 2008 the tribal school’s 180 students participated in “Clean Up the Rez Day" by picking up garbage around the reservation. The many environment projects at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin were part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day challenge. During a drum & feast to honor the students, teacher Beth Waukechon and culture teacher Dana Warrington explained the importance of taking care of Mother Earth. During a field trip to Green Bay's Pamprin Park, students climbing a replica of the Planet Earth were reminded of their reservation clean up. The 234,000-acre reservation has thick forests and 24-miles of the pristine Wolf River. Sturgeons spawned in reservation portions of the river until two dams were built blocking annual migration. Fifth grader La-Rie Corn hopes to form an Earth Club at the tribal school. After whitewashing gang graffiti at a popular skateboard park, students replaced negative symbols with American Indian art. Corn, 11, knows about 500 Menominee words thanks to teachers & elders that care about saving their native tongue. Fourth graders Tahekiah Bourdon, Raven Webster, Shae Perez, Naneque Latender, & Sherlinda Nahwahquaw learned the importance of respecting the Earth and how it fits their heritage.
Teacher Beth Waukechon said students will hopefully continue environment friendly practices as they grow older. MITW Restorative Justice Coordinator Claudette Hewson said the Menominee Teen Court Panel picked up litter & removed graffiti from roads signs in the Middle Village housing area. Tribal school students learned about the sturgeon, a vital part of Menominee heritage. Named the “People of the Wild Rice,” Menominee legend calls the sturgeon “the protector” of the grain that grows in water.
Corn said sturgeon hold a high place in Menominee culture because they're one of three gifts the creator gave to the Menominee people. Language arts instructor Joe Awonohopay said Earth Week 2008 classes were devoted to the sturgeon including the effects of pollution on life cycle, habitat, biology and more.
The College of Menominee Nation Implementing Sustainable Development Class collected electronic waste & pharmaceuticals. Students collected 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills. The college students won 50 recycling bins in the Coca-Cola National Recycling Coalition Bin Grant. The class participated in the 10-week Recycle Mania project for the second year in a row. College Prof. Dr.William Van Lopik said the class is “actually doing something." Including curbside collections, Menominee reservation residents recycled over four tons of electronics.
Sponsors: Community Resource Center, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic, Maehnowesekiyah Wellness Center, Probation & Parole, Recreation Department, Community Recycling Project; Menominee County Sheriff’s Department, Keshena U.S. Post Office.
The Earth Healing Initiative assisted some challenge organizers with interfaith liaisons & encouraged churches/temples to participate in Earth Day events. Videos on 2008 Challenge projects made possible ban US Environmental Protection Agency grant, EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes, churches/synagogues, other faith traditions working to heal, protect and defend the environment.
Websites:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
http://mtsbia.edu
http://www.menominee.edu
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org/keshenahtml
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/healthFamily/maehnowesekiyah/maehHomephp
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/healthFamily/youthDevel/youthHomephp
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain/Interfaith Resources/Special Ideas:
http://www.interfaithresources.comMenominee Tribal School students in Keshena, Wisconsin are learning valuable lessons... more
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(Marquette, Michigan) - It’s a 1,300 mile, two month odyssey - kayaking around the always beautiful and sometimes treacherous Lake Superior
Ashland, Wisconsin residents Alissa Weitz and Brian Castillo are promoting the protection of Lake Superior - the world’s largest freshwater lake.
The twenty somethings departed Bayfield, Wisconsin on July 1 and hope to complete their journey by September.
The kayaking duo left Marquette, Michigan on Tuesday afternoon, July 22, 2008 to continue their journey.
They arrived in Marquette for Lake Superior Day 2008 - this year that was July 20 2008.
Lake Superior Day is sponsored by the Lake Superior Bi-national Forum and is held annually on the third Sunday of July.
Alissa and Brian spent Lake Superior Day hiking with friends and swimming including jumping off the tall cliffs at the city's "black rocks."
A big part of their quest is educating the public about protecting Lake Superior and why the largest of the Great Lakes is so important..
The trek takes them through the Canada and the United States including Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Averaging 25 miles a day - with their longest day was about 40 miles.
They encountered water temperatures as low as 38 degrees, fog outside of Marquette, rough waves outside of Houghton, Michigan that prevent them from rounding the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula - and instead cut through the Keweenaw Waterway.
Thanks to Down Wind Sports in Marquette, Brian picked up a new kayak because of problems with the one used during the first part of their trek.
Weitz is a native of Dubuque, Iowa and Castillo is a native of Madison, Wisconsin.
Alissa is 26 years old and Brian is 23 years old.
Graduates of the Northland College outdoor education program in Ashland, Wisconsin, the couple were competitors working for different kayak guiding companies when they met two years ago and fell in love.
The Kayaker's (Alissa Weitz, Brian Castillo) "Session on Superior" blog about trip around the lake:
http://www.sessiononsuperior.blogspot.com
This video was made in cooperation with the Cedar Tree Institute, the Earth Keeper Initiative, the Earth Healing Initiative and the Turtle Island Project – all northern Michigan-based non-profits seeking to protect Lake Superior.
And special thanks to the Lake Superior Binational Forum for helping make this video possible..
Greg Peterson for Earth Keeper, Earth Healing and Turtle Island TV
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News coverage of Alissa, Brian:
Marquette paper:
http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/513083.html
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Ashland paper:
Marquette Photo:
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2008/07/24/news/doc4888981f7b087681234763.txt
Story prior to trip:
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2008/07/02/news/doc486b8dfe3df63322933742.txt
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WX Channnel:
http://uservideo.weather.com:80/item/GY56YQ4K0TH0B3CS
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Lake Superior Binational Forum
Lissa Radke, LSFB US Coordinator
715-682-1489
http://www.superiorforum.info
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Northland College in Ashland, WI:
http://www.northland.edu/Northland
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Down Wind Sports:
http://www.downwindsports.com/index.html
Owners: Bill Thompson, Todd King, Jeff Stasser and Arni Ronis
Marquette: 906-226-7112
Houghton: 906-482-2500
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Sea Kayak Specialists:
http://www.seakayakspecialists.com
Sam Crowley, Nancy Uschold
906-250-4238
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EcoSuperior Enviro:
http://www.ecosuperior.com
Environment Canada:
http://www.ec.gc.ca
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Video made in cooperation with:
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Turtle Island Project official website:
http://www.turtleislandproject.org
Earth Healing Initiative official website:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute: (Michigan Earth Keepers, Manoomin Project and the 2008 Zaagkii Wings & Seeds project)
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
Earth Keeper TV
http://www.youtube.com/yoopernewsman
Turtle Island TV (youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/MunisingWhiteHorse
Earth Healing TV
http://www.youtube.com/user/EarthHealingTV(Marquette, Michigan) - It’s a 1,300 mile, two month odyssey - kayaking around the... more
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Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceutical collection later this month.
Old and unwanted medicines and personal care products will be accepted on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo.
The event is sponsored by Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provided a grant for the project.
The collection is part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge involving over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.
Southwest Michigan residents can rid their home of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals plus personal care products.
Items that will be accepted include:
Prescription medication, such as antibiotics, birth control, and insulin
Medication samples and over-the-counter medication, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, cold medicine
Personal care products, such as medicated ointments, lotions, and shampoos
Veterinary medications
Items that will not be accepted include:
Medical waste like sharps and syringes and products containing mercury like thermometers.
The collection is free to southwest Michigan households.
Organizers say the collection is important to protect Lake Michigan and other lakes/streams like Arcadia Creek.
An investigation by the Associated Press found a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers and hormones, in the drinking water of 41 million Americans.
Most medications pass untreated through wastewater treatment plants because those facilities are not designed to remove the chemicals.
The pharmaceuticals are discharged into local rivers or groundwater.
For more info call 269-373-5211.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was collecting/recycling of one million pounds of e-waste plus the collection/proper disposal of a million pills. The goals were exceeded by 500 percent..
The Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) offered interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches/temples to participate in the Earth Day events in their area.
This video on EPA Challenge projects was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago with the non-profit Interfaith EHI in Marquette MI
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.
I’m Greg Peterson Earth Healing TV
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Related Links
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Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs
Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Bureau
http://www.kalcounty.com/eh/index.htm
Kalamazoo County
http://www.kalcounty.com
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EPA Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp
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EPA Region 5 Office
http://www.epa.gov/region5
Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
Southwest Michigan First
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/index.cfm
Kalamazoo Downtown Central City website
http://www.central-city.net
Wikimedia
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo%2C_Michigan
Kalamazoo River
www.kalamazooriver.net
Loy Norrix High School
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/school/school.php?sectionid=24
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loy_Norrix
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
1-847-733-3559
Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect... more
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Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
Marquette, Michigan - A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in interfaith Earth Day recycling projects for four years in a row said.
"Celebrate - what a great day Earth Day has been 2008," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "The Earth Healing Initiative has been a great success this year."
"Congratulations Earth Healers - you've done it, it has been a success," Bishop Skrenes said. "The EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a great success."
"Computers have been recycled, pharmaceuticals have been brought together for proper disposal," Skrenes said. "Congratulations to those members of the faith communities and others who have been a part of this."
"We are all environmentalists," said Skrenes of Marquette, MI. "All of us want clean air to breathe, all of us want clean drinking water. We all enjoy the outdoors and nature."
"No matter our political understandings are, no matter where we are on the liberal and conservative line - no matter what we think of any of the big issues facing thee one of us - world today - all of us can agree that it is in all of our interests."
"We can all certainly conserve and save and bring back and then give to the next generation what has been given to us."
Bishop Skrenes said interfaith environment projects like the challenge ensure a better future for all humans.
"It is a sign of great significance that people can join hands and work together," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes thanked the EPA, faith communities and "people of goodwill throughout the upper Midwest who have been a part of this work."
"Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency for their help and assistance in all of this work," Bishop Skrenes said. The EPA challenge "has been a part of the lives and will be a part of the future of this whole area."
"It is a wonderful opportunity to begin to look at what it is that we hold in common," Skrenes said. "What we hold in common is this wonderful Great Lakes basin."
"This is a wonderful place with lakes and streams and forests everywhere in the Midwest, and the great plains and the great fields," Skrenes said. "We have been a part of saving some of this and making a difference."
"Sometimes we become so focused on what divides us, what disconnects us, what separates us - and there are important things that sometimes do that - but yet we can all have loyalty and allegiance to this world that has been our home and this of the world that we have been blessed with by God."
"God has given us the privilege of living here in the midst of these lakes and all of this beautiful nature," Skrenes said.
"When people of faith, whether they be of Christian traditions or of other traditions, gather together to work on what connects us. One of those things that connects us is respect and awe for the creation that surrounds us."
"We are part of a movement together in these early years of the Twenty-first Century to save what has been given to us by the generations before us and what God has provided to us," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes is one of nine faith leaders who signed the Earth Keeper Covenant in northern Michigan in 2004 that lead to many interfaith projects.
The Cedar Tree Institute co-founded the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that works closely with ten faith traditions on a wide range of environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
The EHI is developing the same relationship with faith communities across the Great lakes.
The faith communities include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, the Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers) and Zen Buddhist.
"Everyday is Earth Day," Skrenes said.Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge... more
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EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals from eight states.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills.
These goals were exceeded many times over.
A few examples:
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In Milwaukee, WI: 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned in.
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At the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin near Green Bay: Approx. 4 tons of e-waste was collected plus thousands of pounds of other trash cleaned from reservation Tribal members turned in over 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills, more than 25 computers and dozens of related components like hard drives, printers, keyboards and speakers; televisions, radios, DVD players, 12 cell phones and over 100 small batteries.
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In Traverse City, MI: Over 28,750 pounds (over 12.5 tons) of computers and other e-waste was collected.
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The electronic waste is recycled, and the pharmaceuticals are incinerated in state-of-the-art EPA -license facilities.
So why is this important?
The old and broken electronics - like computers, cell phones and TVs - contain heavy metals that can leach into the groundwater if dumped into landfills.
The unused pharmaceuticals can end up in your drinking water if they are flushed or poured down the drain.
That’s because most wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove chemicals from these pharmaceuticals including hormones, narcotics, seizure medication and many more - that end up back in your drinking water.
In an April 2008 press conference in Milwaukee, EPA and other officials explained why the Great Lakes Challenge and similar projects are important to protect the environment and your health.
Pharmaceutical chemicals are sent back out into the Great Lakes, rivers and other places were people recreate and are the intakes for drinking water.
Studies show that the chemicals are appearing in the nation’s drinking water in small amounts - the long term effects are not known - however they have been linked to mutations in fish and other wildlife.
Also - these medicines can be stolen, diverted or accidentally ingested by children - if they languish in your medicine cabinet.
Around the country many e-waste and pharmaceutical take back programs have been developed by governments and local businesses.
Please check with your local officials to find out details for your area.
Because every day should be Earth Day.
This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, Michigan.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said EHI founder Rev Jon Magnuson of Marquette.
I’m Greg Peterson and you’re watching Earth Healing TVEPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and... more
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