Open Response to Sen. Boozman

A few days ago I sent an email to Senator Boozman expressing my concerns about the Keystone XL Pipeline. Here is his reply.

Thank you for contacting me with your opposition to a TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline. It is good to hear from you.

I certainly understand your concerns about the pipeline and the possible effects on our communities and wildlife. However, I also feel strongly that we need to use the vast oil resources we have in North America to lower gas prices and lessen our dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions. This pipeline would not only add more energy to the supply lines, but the profits from that energy would go towards American businesses and create more jobs. The best way to achieve sustainable oil and gasoline prices for Arkansas families is to increase domestic production. Also, the Canadians are developing their resources, so the questions are whether the United States will benefit or whether the resources will go to competitors, like China. While we do not see eye-to-eye on this issue, you should know that, at this time, a final determination on the pipeline has not been reached. Please be assured that I will keep your concerns in mind as we move forward debating energy issues like this pipeline.

Again, thank you for contacting me on this very important issue. Please be sure to visit our website at www.boozman.senate.gov . I look forward to your continued correspondence.

Sincerely,
John Boozman
U.S. Senator

Senator Boozman,

Thank you for your reply. Since you have welcomed my continued correspondence, I will respond.

You wrote, "I certainly understand your concerns about the pipeline and the possible effects on our communities and wildlife." I'm sorry, Senator, but I don't believe you do, or you would have responded differently. But for the moment let's say you do understand. You go on to write, "I also feel strongly that we need to use the vast oil resources we have in North America to lower gas prices and lessen our dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions. This pipeline would not only add more energy to the supply lines, but the profits from that energy would go towards American businesses and create more jobs. The best way to achieve sustainable oil and gasoline prices for Arkansas families is to increase domestic production." Here are my responses:

• If we pursue using up the vast fossil fuel resources in North America, this action will:
  1. substantially exacerbate climate change in important ways, and
  2. significantly increase risks of other forms of air and water pollution.
  .
• There is no reliable evidence that such a course of action will lower gas prices. None.
• There is no evidence that this course will lessen our dependence on oil from unstable regions.
• The profits from tar sands energy will contribute insignificantly toward American businesses.
• The profits from tar sands energy will not create a meaningful number of new jobs.

Then you make another questionable statement, and one I consider highly worrisome:

• The Canadians are developing their resources, so the questions are
  • whether the United States will benefit or
  • whether the resources will go to competitors, like China.

Wrong. The Canadians are trying to exploit their resources, but they need our complicity to do so. Really, they do. And yes, they will continue to try without us, but don't think for a moment they will be able to destroy the planet nearly to the same degree without our collusion. We, however, will not benefit. Competitors, like China, will benefit either way, but not nearly as much if we just say NO to the Pipeline.

You claim that "the best way to achieve sustainable oil and gasoline prices for Arkansas families is to increase domestic production." You know, of course, that "Canadian" is not "domestic", but for the sake of argument let's say that the tar sands deposits were in Montana and the Dakotas. The best way to achieve sustainable energy and energy prices for Arkansas families is to increase production of renewable energy resources, which (1) are increasingly cost effective, and (2) and are being increasingly attacked by the fossil fuel industry (for obvious reasons).

Senator, in my responses I have challenged your statements, but it is not my intent to be confrontational. We are both citizens of the great state of Arkansas, and we are both citizens of the USA and planet Earth. We truly are in this together, and I sincerely wish to work together. Furthermore, I concede that I have made a number of unsubstantiated assertions. I believe they are defensible, though, and I would love the opportunity to examine the evidence with you, should you wish. Your call.

Finally, you acknowledge that "a final determination on the pipeline has not been reached." Yes, and that is precisely my reason for writing. To be frank, Secretary Clinton's Department of State was not entirely encouraging in this regard. They made mistakes, serious mistakes. And honestly I've not been much more encouraged by Secretary Kerry's State Department. If the Administration ends up making the right decision to deny the KXL Pipeline permit, Congress should endorse this position. If, on the other hand, the Administration folds to pressure and approves the permit, the American people will demand that Congress override this decision. Our country must do the right thing for ourselves, for our children, and for the children of the world. As a former president once said (and I paraphrase) we will be dead before our legacy is written, but is shirking our duty what we want for our legacy? Not me.

Please do not ignore the science.

Sincerely,
Dr. Donnal Walter

Another cover

I had intended to take a few weeks, even months, to accumulate enough new profile pictures to create a new cover photo-mosaic for the 1in7b Facebook page. Surprisingly, I've had no trouble collecting images for a second cover in as many weeks, which has turned out to be a remarkably fulfilling creative outlet for me.

As you may have have guessed, I spend a fair amount of time online. While doing so, I pay close attention to the images on various web sites and Facebook pages. I am particularly interested in "profile images" that would fit well into the next mosaic. Take a look at the image for this week:

My technique has evolved and the image above is double resolution, but here is how I select and arrange the individual images to be included in this composite. Some of this profiles are from my own Facebook friends. Some are celebrities for one reason or another. Many are unknown to me. But they all have a story; they all have hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows. Each one is a UNIQUE individual, and all are alike in more ways that we often recognize. Some have lived a long life, even died, such as Maria von Trapp who was 99 years old at her death this week; others have their entire lives ahead of them.

I have enjoyed spending a few minutes examining each profile wondering about the person represented. Why is her or his picture online? What were their lives like before the picture? What has happened since? The point is that we are all unique individuals and we ALL have a unique role to play in our communities, our nations, and the world. I am one in seven billion people on this planet. One person can only do so much, but SO MUCH is what I can and must do.

1in7b Cover

The Cover of 1in7b is a composite of profile pictures from around the globe. Fewer than ninety, these images are intended to represent the seven billion people who populate our world. A few of them I know personally and relate to regularly; most of them I have never met and may not even know their names. They are all real people with fears and concerns, dreams and aspirations.

Although I am not an artist by any stretch, my creative side would now like to make a new cover. Don't worry, I don't plan to abandon the concept of a few profile images standing in for the seven billion, but it seems appropriate to rotate these. I thought about just changing one or two occasionally, but on further reflection it seems better to change the entire Cover from time to time.

So here is my plan. First, I have been collecting images from various sources and saving them to a PowerPoint file. The originals are stored with full resolution so that when they are cropped and reduced in size, they will be as crisp as possible. Second, I will begin the process of cropping and reducing these to 53 x 53 pixel images, which will also to be stored on the same PPT file. This allows for easy manipulation and sorting. Third, I will move these images to a new composite image to be uploaded to Facebook, which will require cropping the top and bottom rows.

Here are the specs. Each of the profiles is 53x53 pixels. The space between each one is 3 pixels. There are 15x6 cells in the entire cover image for a total of 90. Some may be combined as 53x109 pixels or 109x53 pixels or 109x109 pixels. The edges are 7 pixels in width and 6 pixels in height. The entire image is 15*53 + 14*3 + 2*7 pixels in width and 6*53 + 5*3 + 2*6 in height or 851 x 345 pixels.

IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5)

The Final Draft of the Working Group I contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) is due out at the end of this month. It is under active consideration this week. In anticipation of this event, I want to review the relevance of this group and its work.

Under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international scientific body for the assessment of climate change. It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.

Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis. Review is an essential part of the IPCC process, to ensure an objective and complete assessment of current information. IPCC aims to reflect a range of views and expertise. The Secretariat coordinates all the IPCC work and liaises with Governments. It is supported by WMO and UNEP and hosted at WMO headquarters in Geneva.

Established in 1988, the IPCC has produced four previous Assessment Reports (1990, 1995, 2001, and 2007). The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) will provide a clear view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change. It will comprise three Working Group (WG) reports and a Synthesis Report (SYR). It is the first of these WG reports that is due out at the end of this week.

What will we learn?

We don't know yet, really. The report has not yet be published. Not surprisingly, however, there have been leaks, some of them controversial. It has been published, for example, that the report will show that "carbon dioxide could have a smaller impact on global temperatures than scientists predicted in 2007, opening the possibility greenhouse gas emissions do not have to be radically cut." At the same time it has also been reported that the effects of global warming are more severe than previously thought. Writing the report is an iterative process. How about if we wait and see what it says at the end of the week?

Nonetheless, no one is predicting that AR5 will substantially reverse previous Assessment Reports in the consensus that global warming is caused primarily by human emissions of greenhouse gasses. Pertinent questions will of course include the relative degrees of various forcings, revised rates of change, and likely consequences of climate change. Some of these findings may be somewhat speculative as well, but this report, the most up to date information available, is not expected to call into question the reality of man-made global warming and climate change. If it does, I will be among the first to post such a statement here.

The Paradox of Peace

Today, as every day, I will pray for peace, but today I will also participate in the global prayer vigil for peace called for by Pope Francis six days ago. The invitation is to everyone, "including our non-Catholic Christian brothers, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative."

"We will gather in prayer and in a spirit of penance, invoking God's great gift of peace upon the beloved nation of Syria and upon each situation of conflict and violence around the world. Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace."

The vigil in St. Peter's Square from 7 pm to 11 pm today (September 7) will include a recital of the rosary, eucharistic adoration, Scripture readings, a papal blessing and remarks by Pope Francis. Hundreds of thousands of others of all faiths and in hundreds of locations around the world are expected to join the vigil in their own ways. My own participation will be to meditate at the Arkansas House of Prayer (AHOP) with a few friends at noon CDT (7 pm in Rome). All are welcome. In contrast to the event in St. Peter's Square, our practice at the AHOP is to observe silence, quiet the mind, and seek the face of the Divine within.

Which brings me to the paradox of peace. Peace begins within the human heart, within my heart. Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." This means that world peace begins with me. So why not meditate and pray in my own closet? I certainly could and many will do just that from wherever they are today. But when I sit in silence in the meditation room with two or twenty others, my own spirit becomes more aware of the Divine center within those around me, and together we unify our spirits with all those gathered around the world. We sense more deeply that we are not separate egos. We are one with everyone and we cry out with all those who suffer the ravages of violence wherever they are.

The AHOP event today is a prelude to another on September 21, the International Day of Peace, at 7:00 pm (Midnight GMT), when all who can are invited to join us at the AHOP for BeThePeace Little Rock. Hundreds of millions are expected to meditate simultaneously in one of the largest globally-synchronized meditation and prayer events in history. Peace begins with me; yet I cannot truly be at peace until the human family lives in peace.

And so I have been accused of being an idealist. Guilty, but I am not naïve. Conflict and violence will not end this month. Nonetheless, I find great hope in the combined efforts of over eighty organizations in more than four hundred cities around the world in asking twenty percent of the world's population to think and pray about peace on that day, as I do so in stillness. That is the paradox.

We "Did the Math." Now what?

By all accounts, the screening of Do the Math at Market Street Cinema last month was a success: good crowd, lot's of enthusiasm. But what exactly did we accomplish? Here are my thoughts ten days out.

First, a few of us had previously seen the film online, but viewing it on the big screen with a large gathering is a whole different experience, very inspiring and worth the effort. Second, I believe it raised awareness in the community by a small but significant amount. Not a few people said they had no idea of the magnitude of the issue, and others already sympathetic to the cause said they learned a lot. Third, the screening led directly to several actions toward divestment and reinvestment being initiated. This takes time, of course, but the ball was started rolling. (For those interested in learning more about divestment and reinvestment GreenFaith is offering a Webinar on July 15 you can view at home, live or recorded.) Fourth, several people asked how they can get a copy of the film to show their friends. Not only the trailer, but the movie is on YouTube. Finally, it's gratifying to have brought together many related groups and causes. At the risk of leaving some out, I counted individuals with ties to:

• Arkansas Interfaith Power and Light
• Sierra Club, Central Arkansas Group
• Just Communities of Arkansas
• Little Rock Summer of Solutions
• GreenFaith
• Episcopal Peace Fellowship of Arkansas
• Occupy Little Rock
• Occupy Arkansas
• Arkansans Concerned About Oil Pipelines
• Mayflower Arkansas Oil Spill
• St. Margaret's Episcopal Church

So what do we do now? Soon I hope to write a separate essay on what our next steps might be, but the second film in the One in Seven Billion series is Occupy Love, a documentary that frames the crises of our time as the greatest love story on earth.

 

Virality

Viruses cause disease in people and disasters in computers. With social media, however, "going viral" is usually considered a good thing. It means that the original message has spread like a virus far beyond the narrow circle of friends that viewed the initial posting. To this is what I aspire. The closest thing I've had so far was a map of the Pegasus Pipeline I posted the day after the Mayflower oil spill. To date, 5,939 people have viewed at that post. (I know this because I posted it on a page where I get statistics.) Beyond that I've not had more than a few hundred show an interest.

Pictures of cats, it seems, and pithy quotes, unbelievable videos, or a Status that says "If you don't share this you will surely die" seem to work best. From experience, I know that a Status or a Link or a Note that essentially says "this is difficult but important" doesn't go very far. I've been around here a while, but I am still learning.

What do I want?

What I am slowly getting around to here is that I really, REALLY want my next project to "go viral," especially among the citizens of Central Arkansas. However, as I said to a non-local friend, by definition documentary screenings are "local" events, but when the films to be shown are global in scope, the film series becomes a global happening of sorts. Sharing this project GLOBALLY, therefore, is perfectly acceptable. If nothing more, it is an example of what could be reproduced elsewhere. The "local/global event" I am talking about is the "One in Seven Billion" film series at the Market Street Cinema this summer. The theater will only hold 200 people, but I want EVERYONE in Central Arkansas to know about the event so EACH one can decide to attend or not.

One in Seven Billion

The title of the series, "One in Seven Billion," comes from the lonely realization that I am only one among a staggering number of people, a number I cannot even fathom. But every film in this series does an amazing job of showing how EACH ONE of us has a CENTRAL role in addressing the serious crises facing our planet. WE, each of us, really can make a difference. Love is the answer, Oneness is the way. So I have created a new graphic with this message because graphics tend to be shared more readily. And here is how I hope it will work. I will post the graphic on my Friend to Friend on Climate page. This is mostly because it will keep track of the metrics, but of course the series IS also related to climate, at least the first film. Then I will share this graphic on my personal timeline, upon which I hope it will become Shared widely. Time will tell. But I also hope you will Share this blog link and the One in Seven Billion page, and Invite their friends to the Facebook events: Do the Math, Occupy Love, A Place at the Table, and The Day After Peace.

What if I don't agree?

Well yes, I am keenly aware that MANY of my friends (Facebook and otherwise) do not see eye to eye with me on all the issues dealt with in this film series. In particular, there will be some who see the climate crisis differently. Some of you, for example, do not think humans play a significant role in the climate changes we have seen. Others may view the Occupy movement as less than constructive, even disruptive, and still others may look at the issues of hunger, poverty, and violence from other angles. To me, the most important thing that could happen is that we have a creative, productive, LOVING conversation about these crises. So, if you disagree, please come view the films and participate in the discussion. You will be heard, I promise. And please encourage your friends to come as well. You all know me, and you know I am fair.

What if I can't come?

ALREADY I have had a number of friends say they have other plans for some or all of these dates. That is okay. First, we are talking about trying to make available face to face conversations about the films at other times outside of the theater setting, although the details are yet to be worked out. Second, it is my hope that we can have some online conversations about the films. If you have to miss a particular screening, I MAY be able to provide you with a link to watch it online, and we would love to have you participate in the discussion later, in person or online.

Virality

Although I would love to have "standing-room-only" crowds at all four movies, the bottom line is not about the number of "customers". (Admission is free.) The bottom line is about engaging friends (and friends of friends) in conversation and in finding solutions though compassion and unity. So, yes I want to reach a lot of people, and what I am asking EACH ONE of you is to help make this 'project' go viral by (1) Sharing the new Film Series Graphic on your wall, (2) Sharing a link to this blog post on your wall or Sharing a link to the One in Seven Billion page on your wall, and (3) Inviting your friends to the Facebook events: Do the Math, Occupy Love, A Place at the Table, and The Day After Peace. For my part, I will do my best to keep you informed about the responses.

Virality is defined as: "the number of people who have created a story from your post as a percentage of the number of people who have seen it." It is not clear what "creating a story" means, but it obviously includes Sharing the post. In any case, I also consider Commenting to be helpful, especially if it leads to a conversation and particularly if this is a civil conversation among individuals with differing perspectives. So please feel free to Comment on any of the postings, or to create a new post on which others may comment. Finally, Liking a post (or comment) contributes to the community conversation by letting your friends know your sentiment and your engagement in the topic. Unfortunately, if you "dislike" a posting your only option is to return a Comment, but this will provide the opportunity for further dialogue.