Around Home and Beyond

Welcome Readers to my first blog. My name is Margaret and I live upstairs and a tree grows near my balcony. Rather like living in a tree; hence the name, A Tree House View. Also the apartments in which I live are called Tree House Senior Apartments.
Around Home:

It's fall clean up time around Tree House with pruning, chopping, raking and weed eradicating going on.

Always something fun to do:

Some of the girls play Wii bowling in the Tree House community room.

The Greater View:

Sept. 22nd tens of thousands marchers in across the globe marched for climate change action.

One of the many photos in national papers.

I have a neighbor who says she does not believe there is such a thing as climate change, not now and not in 100 years, as she put it. She represents those who are blind to what scientists know. Like those who believed the earth was the center of the universe and the world was flat (you can read more about them here) or that human’s would never fly through the air. At some point they also denied the then current science and what was proven as fact. Today’s climate-change deniers would rather trust a myth or only what they currently know than listen and accept new information.

Scientists agree, climate change is a fact, and it's happening now. Science has also shown that in earth’s history there have been several ice ages and green house ages. Earth is in the cycle of a natural green house age, but the way we live now exacerbates and speeds up the process.

Unfortunately half of the members of the US Congress, yes, that action body of representatives we voted for, have the same mind set as my neighbor and continue to deny there is such a thing as climate change and global warming.

During the Sept. 17^th hearing with the Congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology there was a much publicized exchange between Dr. John P. Holdren Committee director and advocate for the President’s Climate Action Plan (the scientist and advisor to the President) and Larry Bucshon (the R. Representative from Texas).To read this exchange where Rep. Bucshon demonstrates his mental acuity click here. You can also go to a video of Jon Stewart in The Daily Show and watch his take on this conversation here. Other sources and photos can be found here  and here.

Roaming around the web, I found an article - "Ignorance Kills" in the Huff Post Science Blog dated Sept. 27th where the writer, Jeff Schweitzer addresses science ignorance. In this writing he says, "Scientific illiteracy is pervasive in the United States." (got my attention, but then he includes people like me) "People opposed to irradiated food ignore the existence of more than 50 known strains of E. coli...People are duped by claims of harmful emissions from cell phones...and vulnerable people are persuaded to rely on crystals and astrology for guidance." 

I don't totally agree with this article, another way to say it is, I agree with about 3 percent of it.  But I do agree with it in the context of global warming. In my opinion the article is too narrow,  cutting and harsh. I happen to like crystals and  I  am an astrologer. As I watched that congressional hearing and listen to some people I know, I can see ignorance in action. Personally I don't want my meat irradiated, I'd rather take responsibility and cook it thoroughly, or not eat meat or better yet clean up the slaughter houses; even better, change the way we house and feed the animals we eat so they don't live short, miserable and diseased lives. Irradiation addresses the symptom, the shadow of a big problem, not the cause. You can read Schweitzer's article  here.

Meanwhile at Home:

This beautiful, white, flat topped mushroom was growing in the lawn. As I watched it mature and become ready to spread it's spores, I wondered if they would form a circle and create a fairy ring. But, when Matt finished with the palm tree he climbed down and mowed the grass. The mushroom was shredded. You can read about fairy rings here and Celtic fairy rings here.   

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you'll leave a message or comment.