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I N · T H I S · I S S U E
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FLANIGAN'S ECO-LOGIC
Can you spell L-E-G-A-C-Y?
The Student Conservation Association was the brainchild
of Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam. For her 1955 senior
project at Vassar College, she came up with the idea
of forming a student conservation corps. Why not harness
the labor of thousands of idle college students on summer
vacation to build trails in the national parks, and
to provide a volunteer force for enhance the parks for
all? She got the ear of President Dwight Eisenhower,
and the rest is history.
In 1957, 53 high school, college, and graduate students
volunteered their services at Olympic and Grand Teton
National Parks. This year marks the SCA's fiftieth anniversary,
with nearly 50,000 alumni. With a $25 million a year
operating budget, a staff of 200, and seven offices
across the country, SCA is going strong, complete with
inner-city projects. This past year about 3,000 students
made up the crews and fulfilled the internships that
did service work in more than 250 locations across the
country.
Legacy. True legacy. We were assembled at 8:00 p.m.
in the main hall, a cavernous room in the brand new
Museum of Native American History. We were there to
pay a tribute to "Liz" Putnam who put it all together
and who has guided SCA throughout its 50-year history.
Cheers and more cheers, and then tears. Tributes so
heartfelt for a woman who had helped form so many productive
lives. Many, many "SCA's" have dedicated their careers
to conservation and service-work, becoming stewards
of our Earth.
It was my pleasure to have shared dinner in the museum
with Liz and her husband Bruce. That evening I witnessed
student volunteers, one after another, approach Liz
to shake her hand and thank her for how the SCA had
changed their lives for the better. She'd grasp each
ones hands in between her two hands, look them deeply
in the eye, and say, "Thank you for being part of it;
you are the real heroes!"
Then, strike up the band! The students had a ball. The
room was rockin'! I watched 75-year old Liz dance exuberantly
among hundreds of appreciative souls, their energy filling
her soul, filling her heart so full that it brought
tears to my own eyes. A full-blown, gale force wind
of reality swept my soul: the legacy of a great soul
and a vivid testament to EcoMotion's guiding principle
of the power of the increment. Imagine, each of us holds
the seed to make our own mark on society, to make a
profound contribution. And that's how you spell LEGACY.
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"This is the right group to be speaking to."
Dr. James Hansen, Goddard
Institute for Space Studies
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The Power of Students in the Beltway! |
Just back from a surprisingly heart-felt trip to Washington
DC. I'd been invited to be a panelist at the Student Conservation
Association's EarthVision 2008 Summit. Hundreds of high
school and college-age students from around the country
descended on the capitol for keynote speeches and intriguing
panels on land, air, water, and climate. What a force.
The National 4H Conference Center in Chevy Chase was abuzz
with SCA energy. I was honored to be part of the event, and
I had no idea that it would strike me so deeply. I'd decided
to meld my "commence- ment remarks" (passionate words
about the wealth of green career opportunities) with an
assortment of images from EcoMotion's past couple of years.
(I'd recently put together that talk for the Orange County
Spirituality Center.)
The images that I put together for SCA reflect my own
path. I shared images and short stories from travels in
Iceland, the "great commuter train bulb giveaway," solarizing
our own LA home, greening Miami City Hall, and most recently
installing a dual-axis tracking solar system at a highly
secure airport. Far from voluntary simplicity, the SCAs
could tell that EcoMotion is on a roll, doing meaningful
projects and touching thousands of people eager to plug
in and be integral parts of the green revolution.
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Student
Conservation Association
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The Student Conservation Association was founded in 1957
to restore and protect America's public lands and preserve
them for future generations. SCA remains committed to
this goal to this day. The student conservation corps
is best known for the "summer trail crews" that work in
parks across the country.
"SCA's mission is to build the next generation of conservation
leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of our environment
and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service
to the land. "
SCA members are high school and college-age volunteers
from various backgrounds. They build trails, restore habitat,
guide interpretive hikes, study plants and animals, and
participate in many other conservation-related projects
in America's urban and rural parks and public lands.
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SCA members on
the Ford Mine trail |
SCA volunteers contribute more than 1.6 million hours
each year conserving our nation's natural spaces. But
they don't do it on their own. They work on behalf of,
and in conjunction with, governmental agencies and nonprofit
organizations that are responsible for managing and maintaining
America's public lands and cultural treasures. These include
the National Park Service, the Nature Conservancy, Bureau
of Indian Affairs, AmeriCorps, U.S. Forest Service, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S.
Army, Navy and Air Force Natural Resource Programs, Bureau
of Land Management, and the Garden Club of America.
http://www.thesca.org
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Jim Hansen's Courage and Perspectives |
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Jim Hansen and
Ted Flanigan |
Dr. James Hansen heads up the Goddard Institute for
Space Studies in New York City, a part of NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He is an adjunct
professor at Columbia University, and a senior science
advisor to Al Gore. He is best known for Congressional
testimony in the 1980s on the findings of his team of
scientists that reached a conclusion that global warming
will happen sooner than previously predicted. He also
predicted that it would be hard to get political support
to address the issue. In 2005 and 2006, Hansen revealed
that he had been censored, that NASA administrators had
tried to influence his remarks about the causes of climate
change. A critic of both Clinton and Bush climate change
policies, he was unable to speak freely on a 60 Minutes
interview without backlash. His early warnings are now
reality, and he is now widely regarded as a sage and prescient
soul.
Jim Hansen was soft spoken, understated, and seemed a
bit disoriented as he spoke to a jammed roomful of SCAs.
Everyone present knew what courage Hansen - as young NASA
scientist -- had demonstrated on the risk of global warming
many years before it was accepted. Scorned by many, he
had stood up for what he believed in. He moved the students
with his values and determination. And now he was asking
for their help.
It was indeed an early morning on an overcast Saturday
morning in Chevy Chase. Jim was calm, quite relaxed, clearly
in good humor, and like a good research scientist, a bit
pensive and somewhat aloof. His reasoned and oft-repeated
message on global climate change - and the state of the
planet -- was profound: "Potentially, we have a big problem,"
he explained: "But there are fuels available that are
cost free. And if we decide to fix the problem, the alternative
future is an attractive one."
So where is the gap? Hansen explained that it's between
scientists and policy makers. "We've reached a point where
there really is an emergency." He went on to make clear
to his young and passionate audience that there is a danger
of pushing our ecological systems beyond a tipping point.
So far, global warming has been 1.5 degrees F in 100 years.
Three-quarters of that was in the last 30 years. Sea levels
have risen about an inch and three-quarters in the last
century, and the rate has doubled in the last 15 - 20
years.
If we don't cap the carbon dioxide problem, he warned,
polar caps will completely melt, causing sea levels to
rise by 8 feet. This would spell disaster for countries
like Bangladesh, and places like Florida and Manhattan,
and would cause profound climate changes worldwide. He
explained different types of climate change actions: Irreversible
actions include melting ice sheets and species extinction.
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Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, Executive Director of The Heinz
Center, presented compelling stories of biodiversity
loss and "hot spots." Lovejoy, formerly with Conservation
International and the World Banks Biodiversity officer,
explained to students that New England will soon
lose its signature sugar maples whose bright fall
colors distinguish the region. Millions of species
are threatened with extinction due to global warming. |
Currently, the Earth's atmosphere is made up of about
385 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide. Scientists
believe that the Earth may be able to tolerate 400 parts
per million of carbon dioxide, and that even 425 ppm is
technically "feasible," but at a cost. If we get back
to 325 - 355 ppm, he suggested that we may be able to
restore the planetary climate balance If we get to 300
- 325 ppm, reversible climatological changes like sea
ice will come back.
Jim explained that one of the toughest aspects of climate
change is that it's really hard for the public to understand,
and to believe and internalize. On a typical day we experience
20 degree fluctuations in temperature; seasonal variations
are that much greater. So the measurements of atmospheric
scientists are out of the realm of thinking for most of
us. The ocean acidification that is killing the corral
reefs is figuratively and literally unfathomable. Worse
yet, he believes, is that humans believe it is their God
given right to burn all the fossil fuels. "We'd better
not do it."
We've burned about half the oil, peak oil has just occurred,
he continued. We've burned a smaller fraction of the coal,
and he believes that "that is the issue." Unlike the situation
with oil and gas owned largely by the Russians and Saudis
who he insisted will sell it, we are fortunate in that
we can control the coal. He urged 1) a moratorium on new
coal plants, 2) phase out of existing coal plants, and
3) carbon capture. "The critical thing about coal is that
it needs to be phased out quickly." Again, the master
of understatements: "It's really pretty dirty stuff."
"The real world is giving us answers faster than models,"
he explained. For years, he and others were pointing to
atmospheric models that were signaling a problem. Now
"positive feedback loops" - like open Artic seas absorbing
sunlight and thus warming temperatures further - are stark
and readily apparent. And yes, there are negative feedback
loops related to climate, like increased carbon dioxide
causing plants to grow faster, thus sequestering that
much more CO2. Unfortunately, their effects are dwarfed.
"I can't emphasize enough now much the future depends
on young people understanding these issues. Otherwise,
business as usual will continue," he implored. "There's
a basic conflict between fossil fuel special interests
and you," he explained to the students. And the fossil
fuel interests contribute to both political parties. "Instead
of burning the balance of fossil fuels, why not change
now and avoid all the problems? "There is a tremendous
generational inequity," Jim explained. "Young people -
like you - have to object. I'll try to help."
The audience was deeply appreciative of his remarks, and
his decades of conscientious action. For many of the students,
meeting and having a word with Dr. Hansen - a true patriot
and dedicated voice of scientific reason -- was a profound
benefit of being there. |
SCA Internships
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So just how might you get involved? First off, register
on line. It costs $25 and takes a bit of time. You'll
have to fill in background information, your resume, etc.
The process is designed to link the prospective SCA with
his or her interest, be it serving on a team (conservation
corps) doing trail restoration, or wildlife management,
invasive species control, or sustainable community training.
Internships range from 3 - 12 months. Generally, SCA's
commit to the entire period, though some locations are
more flexible and allow for early/late arrivals or departures.
As for finances, SCA is a good deal: Internships are funded
in different ways depending on the site, but cost the
students nothing. They may be funded by government, corporations,
the national park, individual donors, or SCA itself. (Donors'
gifts are generally matched.) The organization pays travel
and housing costs, and in some cases it pays for food.
Some students get college credit for their works. Another
incentive is a 'subsistence living allowance' that is
paid weekly; the amount varies depending on the length
and type of program. And when an intern completes the
internship, an AmeriCorps Scholarship is awarded that
ranges from $1,000 - $4,725.
A link on the website that allows you to narrow down your
site search. "Search for Internship" link allows you to
choose whether you are looking for a specific discipline
or a site in a specific state. Check it out.
http://www.thesca.org/internships_benefits/
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National
Train Day - May 10 |
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