Creation Corner Column for February 2022
Lunar New Year; Quotes, Anniversaries; Help the Climate Crisis; 2022 dates; books
February 2022 marks the Chinese New Year of the Tiger. "Today there are as few as 3,200 tigers remaining in the wild, with some subspecies in rapid decline. Three tiger subspecies have become extinct in just the last century!" World Wildlife Fund.
Quotations for Consideration
"The end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience."
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them." Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Albert Einstein.
Anniversaries
50th (1971-2021) for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that you may associate with the name Morris Dees, its founder. Based in Montgomery Alabama, its Vision Statement is "A world in which everyone can thrive and the ideals of equity, justice, and liberation are a reality for all."
Its mission statement is that "The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people."
Also celebrating 50 years is the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), America's Food and Health Watchdog. CSPI "envisions a healthy population with reduced impact and burden of preventable diseases and an equitable food system that makes healthy, sustainable food accessible to all. CSPI values independence, scientific rigor, and transparency."
Among its 2022 priorities are emphases on food labeling, navigating the COVID crisis, improving access to nutritious food, additive dangers (salt, sugar, chemicals, dyes), food supply safeguards, etc.
Ocean Conservancy notes its 50th year in 2022. As a non-profit environmental advocacy group located in Washington, D.C., it helps formulate ocean policy at the federal and state levels, based on peer reviewed science. Projects include trash-free seas; coastal clean-ups; sea turtle, whale shark, and manatee protection; and initiatives to replace the single-use plastic retail bag, among other efforts..
Defenders of Wildlife celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Founded in 1947, it is one of the country's leaders i science-based, results-oriented wildlife conservation. Its mission is to protect all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Defenders has field offices all around the country and represents nearly 1.8 members and supporters nationwide.
Common Cause at its 50th year continues to promote participatory democracy, acts against the spread of disinformation, helps shift the power away from wealthy special interests in formulating public policies, and works on behalf of people everywhere whose voices and perspectives too often get lost in the politics and actions of elected and appointed officials seeking to secure and consolidate unearned power.
Greenpeace, on its 50th anniversary, is known for not accepting money from corporations or government, thus permitting it to pursue peaceful protest, non-violent action, and creative communication in advocacy for people and the planet as it challenges the systems of power and privilege that result in pollution and the prioritization of profits.
Among its campaigns are those that put our economy on a climate-safe trajectory, protecting at least 30% of the high seas as ocean sanctuaries by 2030, and tackling the drivers of deforestation. One recent report is "The Climate Emergency Unpacked: How Consumer Goods Companies are Fueling Big Oil's Plastic Expansion".
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Twenty-five things you can do to help in the climate crisis. "Some are big, some are small; pick your thing, don't do them all. The crisis is large and often bleak, but find your strength with action each week."
Vote for real climate action.
Hold your leaders accountable.
Commend politicians when they support meaningful change.
Share and contextualize important climate stories.
Encourage friend to talk about the climate crisis.
Amplify climate voices.
Call out companies with poor environmental stewardship.
Understand emissions.
Tackle your biggest household emissions: fleet, heat, meat.
Can you go far without a car?
Push for public transit, safe streets, and more bike lanes.
Hey Leader, clean the grid (please).
Insulate, insulate, insulate.
Plug your leaks.
Change your lights.
Fly less (or not at all).
Eat less meat.
Waste less food.
Eat what's in season.
Understand your carbon footprint, because individual action inspires systemic change (and because the average American emits 2.5x as much as someone in the United Kingdom).
Replace clothes and devices less often.
Mend before you spend.
Maintain your things.
Don't idle. Don't pollute.
Combine trips.
(List derived from the "100 Things You Can Do to Help in the Climate Crisis" column "Small Works" by Sarah Lazarovic in the Winter 2022 issue of Yes! Journalism for People Building a Better World, with permission). To be continued in future columns.
Calendar Dates in 2022 Worthy of Consideration, past, present, and future.
January 10, 5th anniversary of Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
January 13, 5th anniversary of Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
January 24, 100th Anniversary of Great Basin National Park
February 11, International Day of Women and Girls in Science
February 22, World Spay Day
February 27, International Polar Bear Day
March 3, World Wildlife day
March 8, International Women's Day
March 19, Save the Florida Panther Day
March 20-26 Lobo Week
March 22, World Water Day
March 30, Manatee Awareness Day
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Climate Change Books Worth Considering
The Case for Climate Hope. Katharine Hayhoe.
Fire and Flood: A People's History of Climate Change. Eugene Linden.
Environmental Books Worth Considering
Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace. Carl Safina.
Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. Carl Safina.
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Mike Ochs finds common ground between religion and politics in his concern for the environment.
Politically he self-published the first "Greens Bibliography" of the English-language literature on the international Green Party movement (1989), the project for his Master of Liberal Arts in International Studies degree at Lock Haven (PA) University. He also helped plant the seeds for the Green Party of PA at that time, and remains a cyber-activist with it.
For a monthly newsletter of the ecumenical United Churches of Lycoming County (PA), he has written the "Creation Corner Column" since 1997. It became a blog in 2011 at
He received a B.A. degree from Gettysburg College in 1965.
