I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1980’s. More than a decade after the passage of the Federal Clean Air Act, LA’s worst air pollution days were behind it by the 1980’s, but smog alerts were certainly not uncommon during the hot summer days of my childhood. It’s not surprising, then, that air pollution…
APRIL Theme idea: Plantings
There are several good reasons to think about April, in March, and they can all be related to “plantings“. 1. Most local Conservation Districts finish their Bare-root Tree and Shrub sales by the end of March so that plants can be put in the ground during the first week of April. Our local Blacksmith Fork…
Sometimes we fail. So we try again.
It’s a good thing that we don’t have to abandon our good intentions when we fail to live up to them. Sometimes we fall short of our ideals. But it does not make us hypocrites to continue to hold those ideals even when confronted with our own failure. It means we tried, and failed, but we can try again.
Green Art Installations: The Reverse Graffiti Project
The poet Keats once famously said that “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” That statement could definitely apply to the Reverse Graffiti Project, which is the next green art movement I am discussing as part of my green art installation series. The term “graffiti art” is not one that most people think about in positive terms….
March is Emergency Preparedness Month
March: LDS Theme: Emergency Preparedness How much can you do without electricity? Or running water? We have long been encouraged to have emergency supplies in place so that in the event of a catastrophic emergency like an earthquake or blizzard we are able to care for ourselves and then our neighbors until we are able…
Green Art Installations: Running the Numbers
Lately I’ve been quite fascinated with the power of visuals (art) and narratives (stories) as a way to “prick our hearts” (Acts 2:37), a way to wake us up and realize that something about our behavior needs to change. The installation I’d like to talk about today is a great example of artwork that does…
Stewardship and Citizenship at the City Level: Part II
It is easy, and understandable, to get cynical about politics. There are those who choose not to vote out of a sense of frustration because they sense that a vote makes little difference. I think this is a poor excuse, and I would go so far to say that it is unconscionable as inheritors of…
Without a Car
It’s been a week and a half since we’ve driven our car. We’ve been able to do everything we normally do. I even figured out how to load my 13-year old’s bike into the bike trailer so that when I pick him up from his voice lessons, we can ride our bikes the 3 miles…
Citizenship and the Environment: An LDS Primer
Before moving on to a discussion of state and national level involvement, I wanted to pause and consider the broader principles of citizenship, specifically as they pertain to people of faith concerned with the environment. Consider this a prequel to my previous post. A little known passage in the Aims of a BYU education deserves our attention….
Stewardship and Citizenship at the City Level
I would like to offer a few posts that explore ways of getting involved in the political process, from an LDS perspective and particularly in relationship to the environment. I want to start at the city level, which is a good place for anyone to start, especially if you are new to political involvement. My perspective…