tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44009141695858641472011-09-13T07:23:36.006-07:00"Be joyful though you have considered all the facts." (Wendell Berry)Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-54596137899327337012010-12-16T21:46:00.000-08:002010-12-16T21:54:32.901-08:00

((I had several comments to make on this poem, but feel it best to let Hopkins words stand up on their own. If you are particularly struck by words or phrases I invite your reflections.))The Blessed Virgin Compared To The Air We Breathe – Gerard Manley HopkinsWild air, world-mothering air,Nestling me everywhere,That each eyelash or hairGirdles; goes home betwixtThe fleeciest,

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-61238811814789760052010-12-07T14:18:00.000-08:002010-12-07T14:33:07.032-08:00

"It’s as if they’re saying—I mean, literally as if they’re saying, "We’re going to stick our fingers in our ears, and the problem will go away. We’ll never have another hearing on it, so therefore it won’t be happening." I’m afraid that’s about as unlikely a proposition—I mean, more power to them if you could make global warming disappear by simply not talking about it. It would be a hell of a

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-16669076682078670242010-01-30T12:18:00.000-08:002010-08-31T08:01:44.437-07:00

The hard-working Bishop of Durham is at it again. This third (and likely last) book in the latest trilogy extends the Bishops insightful argument into ethics.In a recent interview, he laid out a few of the basic ideas (ideals?) behind the book:The book’s main target is not the other major moral theories of deontology and consequentialism, but the ideas of “spontaneity” and “authenticity” which

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-6998013123087306002009-11-04T10:35:00.000-08:002010-08-31T08:02:33.466-07:00

Life has been full of changes. One is a deep desire to write again. After being thoroughly inspired by Berry's A Timbered Choir, I decided to take time to practice my writing on the Sabbath each week. This comes out of my own deep anguish over changes and loss in life. Roxy and I are facing many changes in the next months, and have faced many in the past months. I'll let the poem speak for

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-77076379903201592892009-05-21T08:53:00.000-07:002010-08-31T08:01:31.403-07:00

Some time ago I posted about the rather ingenious (if not sometimes ridiculous) measures being taken to tackle bovine emissions. There is a very informative article with heaps of links here at Grist News. I can't help but quote one short section,According to an EPA FAQ about methane and livestock in the U.S. alone, cattle emit about 5.5 million metric tons of methane per year into the

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-35790219087233215702009-04-13T16:23:00.000-07:002009-04-13T16:26:24.418-07:00

O Lord God, our Father.You are the light that can never be put out; and now you give us a light that shall drive away all darkness.You are love without coldness, and you have given us such warmth in our hearts that we can love all when we meet.You are the life that defies death, and you have opened for us the way that leads to eternal life.None of us is a great Christian; we are all humble and

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-4859656148106000762009-04-01T09:31:00.000-07:002010-08-31T08:01:44.438-07:00

At risk of being written off as a 'damn communist/socialist', I offer a brief excerpt from Marx's Manifesto. My only defense is that i ran across it in a book of a very different era and kind - Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat (2005). Friedman has been a senior Foreign Affairs correspondent for the New York Times. This book represents his lengthy reflections upon Globalization after the

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-40783795129195753822009-03-31T22:44:00.000-07:002009-04-01T08:23:31.959-07:00

So here is a bit of a plug for a writer I've found extremely insightful and provocative as I've explored issues related to food - Michael Pollan.His books, notably The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food have born a very fruitful response (no pun intended) from a wide range of readers. (If you read one book as an introduction to food issues, read In Defense of Food.)He has written widely -

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-43074282529121817582009-03-26T11:43:00.000-07:002009-03-27T09:25:19.278-07:00

Well, I'm only a few days behind here as Tuesday marked the 20th anniversary of the tragic 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.There have been a slew of articles across the web these past days, evidence perhaps of an important and ongoing debate as to the guilt or error of the Texas-based Oil company (who netted $48 billion last year alone) and, more to the point, of the inherent dangers of our

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-78291237632461948552009-03-10T21:55:00.001-07:002010-08-31T08:01:31.404-07:00

Well Roxy and I are going away for 10 days for a much-needed rest together.In the meantime, I thought I'd leave a few links for those interested, as posting will also take a 10-day vacation.If you haven't visited the Front Page Republic, check out one of the latest articles here. It even includes reference to Aristotle and the virtues! (This is how they describe themselves on the blog: "We come

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-85659921177257932762009-03-06T16:01:00.000-08:002010-08-31T08:01:13.741-07:00

One concern we all have when buying our groceries is price.Notice, however, that price is just that - one concern.Not the concern. But one of many concerns, to my mind.Certainly the quality of the food items ought to be a consideration. This is the case both in terms of nutrition of the general items (should I have blueberries or doughnuts?) and the specific items themselves (this soy milk has

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-85256480018243727652009-02-26T08:37:00.000-08:002009-02-26T10:12:30.609-08:00

I've only been married for a short while now (almost 2 years), but discovered quite early in the game that I had inherited a whole new set of social manners. It is actually not appropriate, I learned, to lift one side of your bum to fart at the dinner table, (yes even if it makes it quieter). Nor is it acceptable to pull out your hanky and blow your nose before dessert. What once seemed to me

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-55061660218107870442009-02-25T10:42:00.000-08:002009-02-25T10:44:09.710-08:00

I'll surely write more on this later, but in reading Pollan's interview I recalled this (funny? sad? ironic? truth-telling?) piece from the Seattle Post last year...

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-12994368326675951702009-02-25T09:11:00.000-08:002009-02-25T09:34:55.834-08:00

I found this story today in my Google Reader and thought it must be passed on.Michael Pollan is one of the most eloquent writers concerning issues agricultural. His latest book, In Defense of Food, is a serious call towards a more mindful meal. He has also written an excellent letter back in October 2008 to the incoming "Farmer in Chief". This is by far the best introduction to the mind of

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-45888416906787884482009-02-25T08:26:00.000-08:002009-02-25T09:35:20.497-08:00

Well my aims in this blog do extend further than posting 100 page reports, but upon reading this story, I felt it was worth pointing out the surprising deal of synergy between the findings and recommendations of such organizations as the UNEP and World Bank. Find the full report, entitled "Low Carbon High Growth: Latin America Response to Climate Change" here.It lists these four major factors of

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-46439296348835575222009-02-24T10:08:00.000-08:002009-02-25T09:35:37.485-08:00

At a meeting last week of the UNEP Governing Council and Global Ministerial Environment Forum (yes thats a mouthful) in Nairobi, Kenya, an important and powerful document was released entitled "The Environmental Food Crisis". The report can be found electronically here. Or you can also download the 104-page report in its entirety as a pdf file.The focus of this report has been in the news for

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-61471837285624347262009-02-24T09:44:00.000-08:002009-02-24T10:06:49.475-08:00

Chris Tilling, over at Chrisendom has recently commented on a brilliant piece of Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue. He relates this post to the John Piper-Tom Wright debate over justification. It is a great thought and the post can be found here.Here is the quote in full:"I am standing waiting for a bus and the young man standing next to me suddenly says: 'The name of the common wild duck is

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-57291822142601146502009-02-23T13:02:00.001-08:002009-02-24T10:07:27.164-08:00

Well I've long been concerned over the 'purity of science'. I mean, surely there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for every decent discovery? So perhaps is the case with the piles of money thrown into pesticides, genetically modified seed, and many other 'discoveries' which make agriculture more 'efficient'. Where, however, does the health of the ecosystems (upon which our own health

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400914169585864147.post-7149037460217823452009-02-23T12:40:00.000-08:002009-02-23T12:43:31.012-08:00

Greetings web-folk,after a long silence, I have emerged energized and excited to begin posting again. I have also decided to begin including noteworthy articles concerning the Creation. I receive several daily updates from important environmental news agencies and magazines, and think it would be fruitful to pull some of the juicy bits together and respond in kind. Check me out again soon for

Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03402503425389551777noreply@blogger.com0