Fires! Drought! Peace?

Forest fires happen in this region. It’s part of the cycle. You know that when you see the pine cones opened so the seeds can spread. Some cones open only during fires. Some of the first green you see in burnscapes are itty bitty trees.

So knowing that, and building houses in forests, you know you’re taking your chances. I remember watching people helicopter in supplies to build a house and thought… hmmm if the truck can’t get in to bring the lumber, how does it get in to bring the water?

I get living in the forest with all the dark and green. Being a Pennsylvania girl where there are lots of forests, I understand the allure. And there one of the biggest problems is mold in your house. But this is not Pennsylvania. And even there there are dangers.

But now we’re in escalating cycles of drought in California. And the building doesn’t stop. It hasn’t stopped in the forests and it hasn’t stopped in large subdivisions that further tax the water system.

Everyone I know is flushing less frequently and taking fewer and shorter showers, but we all know… the brick in the toilet will not be what saves the land or the people.

California’s a mecca … people are going to come. Somehow, everyone is going to need to do something about global climate change. It’s our challenge. We worry constantly about our relationship to our friends and family, let’s learn to communicate better in our relationship with the Earth, shall we?

Peace will come from our accepting our responsibility.

GardenMoonLunacyAug7

Peace in a Dry Land

What does Peace look like in a drought? What is it in the midst of climate change?

The issues are far more complicated than i understand.

But when people are carefully saving their warm up water for the shower and you see field after field of fruits to be made into leisure drinking and tourism…

It’s good that we change how we use water in our households and a shower a day is a luxury that’s not necessarily good for our bodies or the land.

But shorter showers don’t offset a vineyard.

Shorter showers don’t mean there’s water to fight fires. There are 22 of them in CA now. They’re just trying to save the houses built in the middle of forests and brush and letting the forests burn. Now, Nature seems to like fires; some trees only spread their seeds through fire… And yet —  Lives have been lost fighting the out of control fires.

And more wineries are going in. CA is going to become the medical marijuana center of the world: another high water crop.

And I know it’s easy to come in from the outside and have an opinion… even when it’s reflection upon coming back home…

But what I see is land in need. I’m not seeing how the drought is affecting poor communities, but i have people to see before i come home who are working in them — and some people who have a bigger economic view than i ever have.

I say this not because I’m going to make any difference in the drought in CA but because I want some balance and understanding so I can work effectively for change where I live. Knowledge is power. And balance is not always my strongest suit…

Peace has so many facets. and Mother Earth is both powerful and fragile. Both need our helping hands!

GardenMoonLunacyAug5