The Calico Mountain Wild Horses. Beautiful. Perfect. Look more closely. Can you see the terror in their eyes? Can you see the frozen sweat on their bodies? The hot breath bursting from their lungs? They have been running to stay free and wild. They can not escape the helicopters which track them down and corral them. I can almost hear them say, Where do I go? Why is this thing chasing me? Terrified, screaming and running as fast as they can; their families scattered like the wind.
One hundred years ago an estimated two million mustangs roamed the Western range. Now there are under 35,000. Most ranchers want our Public Lands for their Livestock and want the Government to Stick It to Wild Horses and Taxpayers. Ranchers who graze their cows on federal lands are hellbent on taking wildlife and the public along with them for the ride. The Livestock Industry require more food, water, land, and energy than plants to raise and transport livestock. Cornell University ecologist says the U.S. could feed 800 million people with the grain that livestock eat. Never mind that a single cow, on average, releases 70 to 120 kgs of methane per year. Now, it is important to remember that we’re talking about a single cow. Worldwide, there are approximately 1.5 billion cows and bulls, each emitting that much methane. Where does the methane go? Into our Planetary home’s atmosphere!
“Every time you or I take a bite of beef we are saying, ‘it’s okay to run off these once free wild horses off there land and separate you from your family’. You don’t matter! It’s okay for us to terrorize you and run you from your home…think about this the next time you order up a Quarter Pounder!”
So says my new found friend Laura Egan. And as Bob Dylan sang, ‘The Times They are a-Changin’. Women (and some enlightened men) are rising up everywhere. The broom in hand is held by Wild Women! We’re cleaning up men’s mess by becoming engaged in community, city, state and national government.
Do look back! It’s important for each of us to get a deeper grasp of humanities situation and where we come from.
Our centuries of imitation gives proof of men at the helm. In their childlike behavior, they plotted a course of war and destruction. While the other half of the world’s population were kept quiet and subservient. The crushing truth, we needed both men and women to navigate a more sustainable course. Humanities naivety has created as my friend says, “a filthy bachelor pad that needs a women’s touch” and the world’s undoing.
However, here’s a ‘wake-up call’!
The Organic Food Industry has grown 3400 % in last 20 years! No industry has ever achieved such phenomenal growth.
Solar energy jobs are growing 12 times as fast as the US Economy.
America’s Wind Industry is reaching record highs.
The customer base fueling sustainable industries are intelligent and growing in number. We demand a sustainable approach to everything. ‘Putting all one’s eggs in one basket’ has never worked out well. Back off fossil fuel. We have alternative and safer ways to do fuel our world. Back off Pharmaceutical Industry, we have nature, clean food, and bodies that are capable of healing themselves if given optimum care and nutrition! We who fuel the sustainable industry are a new group of pioneers. Pioneer’s who are taking the time to listen and learn before we leap and make messes.
The Outdoor Life Conservation Pledge, written in 1946 defines what this ‘pioneer’ looks like. The pledge is short and to the point.
“I pledge to protect and conserve the natural resources of America. I promise to educate future generations so they may become caretakers of our water, air, land and wildlife.”
Wild women and that new breed of men have a moral compass which dictates bringing to the forefront our feminine nature, doing little harm to our body and learning what gives us optimum well-being. Just ask Tom Brady, football hero at age 39 about knowing his body and what it means!
I propose a new pledge for our nation. Let’s combine the Pledge of Allegiance with the Conservation Pledge. It gives us a more balanced perspective! The last revision of the Pledge of Allegiance took place in 1954…we’re way overdue for a new revision!
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I pledge to protect and conserve the natural resources of America. I promise to educate future generations so they may become caretakers of our water, air, land and wildlife.”
Just a side note for all you ‘wanna be wild women’, there’s a Wild Woman Conference!
We understand our connectivity to all life. We are learning our place in our connectivity. We do not have dominion, we are caretakers. We are kind and look for harmony, not war. We are communicators. Get on board!
And yes, ‘The Times They are a-Changin’. As a sustainable life advocate, I’m continual discovering the changes in myself and the sustainable direction people are insisting upon. And, as my new found friend says, “The World is like a filthy bachelor pad that needs a women’s touch”!
is that we be more realistic about how many humans our world can sustain. Do we need to continually manipulate nature to support a population who seem to believe there is no boundaries to how many people our world can sustain? Are the consequences we are witnessing not enough evidence of our mis-guided nature? Introducing poisons’ into the world to manipulate agriculture and feed an over-populated world; when you think about it, it’s a craziness.
My dream is that we are more thoughtful in our approach to bringing more and more humans to the the planet.
Is sex a form of entertainment? Is your only claim to fame having a baby…then our world is doomed! The challenges our children face are greater than what we adults in our mis-guided actions can presently correct. It’s appalling that we would bring more children here; believing life will be better for them and they can correct our mistakes. Is it fair to bring children into a world which is bursting at the seam and scrambling to sustain an already over-populated world which is continually at war, with systems of government who work for the rich? Governments who view it’s population as mere resources and pawns and care so little that every society has poverty and suffering…and its’ citizens say, ‘It’s okay that we have poverty and suffering, it’s always been this way’!
is that our development stops creeping in on wildlife habitat; that we continually expand spaces which acknowledge our inter-connectedness with nature and wildlife. My dream is for spaces that celebrate this connectedness; exciting and joyful places; places where bird songs, babbling brooks and the wind through the trees supply much of the entertainment we crave. Am I delusional?
My dream is that Offices’ of Economic Development and Public Finance around the world offer environmental incentives which have an extremely high tax break for people and business who want to move here and NOT drain or poison our resources, employee locally; and not destroy wildlife and natural habitats. Wildlife does not understand the ‘concrete jungle’ that keeps crumbling the land.
My dream is that all governments make education (free for everyone) and infrastructure (including agriculture) their priorities.
My dream is that everyone accepts their responsibility as a steward to our planet and understands what being a steward means: Setting aside our ‘wanting’ to look at what is ‘needed’.