Lehigh Parkway Allentown

Today was a gorgeous late November day for a walk in Lehigh Parkway. The weather was brisk, warm enough for just a sweater, and the sky was bright and clear. Lehigh Parkway is one of the most beautiful parks in Allentown. I love visiting in all of the seasons and savoring the fragrant lilacs in Spring, lush greenery of Summer, beautiful Autumn foliage, and Winter reflections and shadows.

I loved the color of these berries.

Beautiful reflections in the stream

Bubbling stream

A refreshing spot

Who is this strange creature at the bird feeder? Must be an escaped parakeet. Oh no! Stay warm little guy!

Food, Inc. - You Can Change The World One Bite At A Time

Food, Inc. is a documentary about our industrial agricultural food system which shines some light on where our food comes from.I have long been aware of some of the abuses of factory farms, but much of the information in this documentary surprised and shocked me.

Food prices are largely determined by what our government subsidizes. Because corn and soy are so heavily subsidized, cattle are fed this diet almost exclusively instead of their natural diet of grass. This diet combined with overcrowding and unsanitary conditions leads to high rates of e coli. Chicken farms fare no better, conditions are cruelly overcrowded and birds are bred for tender meat, leaving some birds unable to even stand on their own. Sick and diseased birds lead to unhealthy food for consumers. Food laws do little to protect the consumer, and much to protect the industry.

The conditions of meat industry workers is appalling. Subsidized American corn prices force Mexican corn farmers out of business. Meat packing plants recruit in Mexico for desperate under paid workers living in constant fear of deportation. Immigration arrests a handful of workers daily, but does not go after the system which exploits them to process our cheap food.

I was not aware of the seed monopoly created by the patenting of genetic modifications. The vast majority of soybeans in this country are genetically modified to be resistant to pesticides used to control weeds. Farmers are not allowed to save seed, they must purchase from the industrial giants or risk a lawsuit for violating a patent. The small farmer who attempts to use non GMO seeds also risks legal action if their neighbor's seed happens to blow onto their land contaminating the crop and thereby violating the seed patent. It is virtually impossible for a small farmer to defend him or herself against these major companies. In fact, only a small handful of companies control the bulk of our food supply.

Agribusiness also relies on huge quantities of fossil fuels for production and transportation. The system is vulnerable to rising gas prices which cause food prices to spike, endangering millions. The system has very little resiliency.

These are just a few of the shocking facts uncovered in this documentary. I highly recommend seeing the whole movie and learning about our food supply and the effect on our health, our environment, workers, and our children.

Luckily, the news is not all bad. We can vote to change the system three times a day when we choose our meals. If we choose local, organic, whole food we vote with our fork. Industry will respond to consumer demand. A powerful example of this is the decline of the power of the tobacco industry as consumers became educated and aware and made healthier choices. We can also lobby our legislators to pass food safety laws which protect consumers.

The first step is awareness. The next step is action....

Out of Africa

I finally managed to succumb to the cold/fever which is afflicting almost everyone I know. So I spent a lot of the weekend finishing reading Three Cups of Tea and watching the epic Out of Africa.

Out of Africa is a memoir of the life of Karen von Blixen on a coffee farm in Kenya during the last decades of the British Empire. The movie raises unanswerable questions about colonialism, power, modernization, ownership, and also choices in marriage, love, and fidelity. Karen is rather enlightened in that she provides health care and education to the Kikuyu who live and work on her farm, but the relationship is, nevertheless, one of colonialism.

When Karen's marriage of convenience to the philandering Baron Bror von Blixen fails, she falls for the ultimate unattainable man, Denys Finch Hatton, played by Robert Redford.

The movie is replete with scenes of beautiful African wilderness and wildlife, which alone is a reason to watch it. It was the perfect movie to watch while nursing a cold and wrapped in a blanket and daydreaming of travels in Africa...

Movie Review: Osama

Osama is a 2003 film made in Afghanistan. The film is about a twelve year old Afghan girl whose mother is a widow without any surviving male relatives. Under Taliban rule, a woman is forbidden to leave her home without a male escort, leaving the family without any support. In desperation the woman cuts the hair of her young daughter and dresses her in male clothes. Now disguised as a boy, the young girl, who now takes the name Osama (apparently a popular male and female name in that region) begins to work for a friend of the family in a small store. However the Taliban gathered together all the local boys to train them as soldiers, including Osama.

The movie is fascinating because it was filmed in Kabul with local actors and gives a portrayal of life under the Taliban. This is not a feel good movie, it won't leave you with a sense of the triumph of goodness over adversity. Sadly, sometimes that just does not happen. The movie will, however, leave you with a sense of outrage over the injustices in a sometimes cruel world.

Unfortunately, I sometimes am left with a sense of helplessness over what to do in the face of such inhumanity. We can give money for schools to organizations such as Pennies for Peace, we can support international organizations such as Unicef which work for protection of children in conflict zones, we can volunteer for agencies which promote women's empowerment such as those listed in Half the Sky , but sometimes it just feels like putting a tiny band aid on a gaping wound.

The only thing I can hope to do is work little by little, day by day, to promote a culture of peace. We can guide and educate our children to develop a sense of responsibility for the well being of others and a motivation to improve the world. Perhaps if we all do some small part in whatever way motivates us, collectively we can make a difference. The first step is awareness, and the film Osama is a definite window into that part of the world.

Shenandoah National Park

I just returned from a beautiful visit to Shenandoah National Park during the peak of Autumn foliage season.

My first day was a little bit drizzly so I spent some time in Luray Caverns.

The formations were amazing.

I hiked to the top of Stony Man Mountain.

Autumn foliage as seen from Skyline Drive.

Mountain views from every vista

Row upon row of mountains

A view of Old Rag, a popular spot for climbers

Yet another stunning vista

Can you see the profile of the Stony Man? Me neither.....

Last bit of sunlight on the mountain

On a clear day I hiked to Whiteoak Canyon Falls, at 86 feet the second highest waterfall in the park.

The path was covered with jewel colored leaves.

Another waterfall in Whiteoak Canyon

The woods were filled with gold and orange hues.

Beauty everywhere I looked

Lower Whiteoak Falls

Movie Review: Whale Rider

Whale Rider was a beautiful story filmed in New Zealand of a young Maori girl, Pai, who is the only living child of the chief's son. She is a direct descendant of Paikea, who rode atop a whale from Hawaika, the mythical homeland. However, as a girl, she cannot inherit tribal leadership. Throughout the movie, she attempts to win the approval and acceptance of her grandfather, who had wished for a boy child.

The story is a glimpse into Maori culture, showing some of the spiritual beliefs, culture, dance, and music. Although not a children's movie, it is definitely family friendly. So get your kids, or your friends and their kids, and sit down to watch this touching movie with a big bowl of popcorn. There's lots to talk about afterwards: what traditions do we follow, can we expand to include loved ones of other traditions, does tradition ever change and evolve? Then watch this video of the fierce Maori Haka ("fiery words").

Blog Action Day 2009 - Climate Change

Today on Blog Action Day 2009 I am joining my voice with thousands of bloggers who will be posting about the topic of climate change based on their own perspective and interests.

Solving the problem of climate change can only be based on our recognition that we are one human family sharing a collective fate. We need to mature as a human race and learn to solve problems cooperatively or we will face the consequences of irreparable damage to our environment.

As individuals, we will need to learn to take responsibility for the future of our community. Our individual actions and choices impact the entire world. For perhaps the first time we will have to view the Earth as our common homeland. Because our actions affect the climate, they can impact drought, hunger, and famine in all parts of the globe. We will also have to bear responsibility for our impact on future generations.

Not only must we mature as individuals, but as a community we must learn to solve problems cooperatively. We will need all of our collective knowledge and wisdom from the various fields of human expertise. We must learn to consult with each other and benefit from our diverse opinions.

We must also realize the power of unbiased scientific investigation. Science constrained by political motivations or traditions cannot be effective. We must learn to see things as they really are.

The unequal distribution of the impact of climate change is also a matter of justice. Affluent nations have a greater contribution to climate change because of their higher levels of consumption, while less developed nations disproportionately bear the consequences. They are more vulnerable to natural disaster and have less ability to cope with diminishing resources. As a human family, we must decide who is responsible for making changes and how we can help each other shoulder the impact. All of these decisions need to be made collectively.

These are difficult tasks for a human community struggling with disunity, conflict, materialism, lack of education, and competition for global resources. Solving climate change is not just about recycling bottles or turning off lights, important as these actions are. The real challenge is to change how we view ourselves as a human race, how we relate to our neighbors, and how we solve problems as a community.

How can we begin to accomplish this? Perhaps the best place to start is the education of our children. We can encourage scientific achievement and problem solving skills, and also cultivate an attitude of service to humankind and an appreciation of the human family and the environment in which we live. Another place to take action is at the level of our communities. Let's encourage participative problem solving and openness to diverse opinions in whatever community group we are serving in. Many of the changes required must occur in business and government, but we can facilitate these changes in our own professions where appropriate and also with our votes, letters to our representatives, and the purchasing power of our dollars.

The challenges are many and the risks are great. If we cultivate an attitude of responsibility for the entire human race with which we share this planet and the future generations we will bequeath it to, we can use our collective knowledge to come up with creative and comprehensive solutions. In so doing, we may even find that we enter a new stage in our social development, the realization of our unity as a human family.

Learn more!

• Browse the list of participating blogs.
• Check out the United Nations Environment Program.
• Read Seizing the Opportunity: Redefining the Challenge of Climate Change a statement of the Bahá'í International Community (and the inspiration for this post)