In December 2011, I wondered if the opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline project was truly just, given that Americans do not have the same kind of reaction to actual oil spills in places like Brazil and Nigeria, as to the potential for spills in the United States. Since then, I have learned more about the climate impact of tar sands (which admittedly is still not entirely clear),and given more consideration to the justice and ethics. Thus while I still hold to the main points of my previous blog post — we need to focus on reducing energy consumption, and Americans should be equally concerned about ecological impacts of oil production / transport outside the United States — I am now firmly opposed to the construction of this pipeline, and have signed onto Interfaith Power & Light's letter-writing campaign against the pipeline (dead link removed; SF 2025).

Also see: Op-Ed: Preserve Local Parks Grants, adapted from this essay

Like many in my parents' generation, my Gen-X childhood was spent outside whenever possible, with the freedom to roam the neighborhood and explore the vestiges of "the wild" wherever they could be found. In southern Missouri, that meant playing in small valleys, not fit for home construction, that still teemed with minnows, crawdads, and the occasional alligator snapping turtle. Even the backyard offered something wild: instead of a fence separating us from our neighbors, we had an old farm tree line; some of the larger horse apple trees still had bits of barb wire encased in their bark. The trees sheltered squirrels and chipmunks, birds and bats.

And then we moved to the Dallas area, in the middle of 7th grade. Again our home was on old farmland, but there were no vestiges other than the flatness of tilled cropland. White Rock Creek was perhaps a mile away, but there was no access without obviously trespassing — and it wasn't compelling enough to risk getting in trouble. I turned inward and focused on my studies; perhaps that was for the best. But I felt lost. A part of me was missing.

Submitted to the Dallas Morning News today....

Funding for Local Parks Grants needs to join the State Parks program in receiving strong support in this year's budget. While the State Parks have received a positive boost through a recommendation of additional funding to avoid closures, the Local Parks program looks to be in danger for this budget cycle. That, despite the presence of a dedicated - but under-utilized - funding source in the "Sporting Goods Tax".

Lately, I have been in such a mode of doing that being has taken a back seat. As I try to enter a more contemplative mood, particularly regarding social action in response to global climate change, I feel so saturated with facts and obvious conclusions that new inputs are no longer enriching my knowledge or perceptions, and mere contemplation feels hollow. But reflection on action... that may yet have some bearing on the course of future action. So, let's look at today's action: a workshop on choosing a power provider.

Sometimes you need to go back to the basics - including basic technology. In this case, I mean sticky notes. Yes, they are a remarkable form of technology. I like doing everything the digital way. I abhor using paper when not necessary, because of the waste factor. Although I love the idea of note cards for user story development, I've been thankful that they are impractical for my development team. But, I think it is time to heed good advice.

In an editorial published last weekend, Power, Privilege, and Climate Change: A Tale of Two Presidents, Vassar College professor Joseph Nevins contrasts the lifestyles of the richest and "poorest" presidents in the world, in the context of global climate change: those of the United States and Uruguay. It is a powerful reminder that we in the U.S. can't look at climate change, point the finger elsewhere, and keep going about our lives.

The National Preach-In on Global Warming is coming up - Feb 8 - 10 — and I am excited to say that the Bahá'ís of Grand Prairie have signed on! This event is a project of Interfaith Power & Light; its purpose is to "help clergy bring attention to this key moral issue [global climate change] of our time". We may not have clergy in the Bahá'í Faith, but that need not stop our Spiritual Assemblies from participating.

This is an age, in America, when to see people teaming across an open space that is not a ball field, is to see protest — most likely on the news, in a far away place. New York, Oakland; Cairo, Tunis; Barcelona, Athens; Delhi. Or perhaps it is the bustling crowd under the sodium light of a parking lot, in the wee hours after Thanksgiving dinner has been packed into the refrigerator. Waiting for this year's must-have bargain.

Winter was once a midly depressing time for me, as it is for most: short, cool days, brown grass, bear branches. Obviously this is Texas not Minnesota, otherwise: shorter, super-cold days, car stuck in snow or sliding on ice (but the grass was still green - under the snow - and the branches would often have a delicate coating of the white stuff). Fractals and birds started changing me some years ago. This winter has only confirmed that.

Talks by 'Abdu'l-Bahá: The Spirit of Christ is a new arrangement of public and private talks, all previously published in Paris Talks and Promulgation of Universal Peace. Each talk mentions Christ; some are directly about Christ's teachings and disciples, while others are more generally about religion and the Prophets or "Manifestations" of God. Like a good mix tape (playlist), the arrangement here creates a beautiful and new experience: the reader gains a clearer and more coherent view of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's theology from these pages. This of course is an elucidation of Bahá'u'lláh's theology; as such, this new volume would make an excellent compliment to the study of the Kitáb-i-íqan.