Forest Park 4/4/21 / 4/11/21

Photos from hiking a couple of trails (out of the dozens) on the lower/south part of Forest Park, as well as a trail on the more northern side.

Autumn Reflections

What can we say 9 months into 2020... From racial justice protests and vigils/memorials to historic wildfires & the smoke they brought... In times like these, we look to God, and can still find beauty and joy. With autumn comes rain, something I think everyone is grateful for this year...

Great Company Just Got Better

So I've used Method cleaning products & soap for a while because 1~ They WORK (America's Test Kitchen's green cleaner winner was Method's Purple All Purpose Cleaner), 2~ They use natural ingredients, recycled material for their packaging, & don't test on animals, and 3~ They smell great without drying out my skin. But now they just got even more amazing - They're using OCEAN PLASTIC in their packaging! Their first product of this kind is a hand/dish soap combo. It uses combines 90% recycled plastic with 10% ocean plastic the company themselves collected! Talk about commitment! And it's available at Grove Collaborative and Amazon. I'm ordering :D Thanks Method!!

March: for the Environment

Since I gave up social media for Lent, I figured I'd blog about a few things coming up this month before Lent is over!

First off, The Audubon Society of Portland has confirmed following an investigation that the NE Portland crow deaths were intentional poison. They are offering a reward for this horrendous offense, if anyone has any information. More HERE

And secondly, Earth Hour 2018 is coming up fast! This year it's Saturday, March 24th at 8:30pm, mark your calendars!! Earth hour is the time when all over the world, everyone participating shuts off all electricity they can in support of Earth Conservation. Every year the number of people, cities, businesses, and governments participating increases! Here are a few photos from last year.

Toronto Business District

A church in Shimla

Columbia River Gorge Clean-Up Campaign

There's a huge crowdfund campaign supported by non-profits and state legislation going on right now to raise money to help clean up the Columbia River Gorge after last summer's devastating fires.

Visit: Oregon's Kitchen Table to learn more! The campaign ends March 15th, so spread the word and donate!

Stand Up For Our Coasts Before It's Too Late!

To keep things short and to the point, the ENTIRE coastline of the US was opened up to the possibility of oil drilling today by the Trump administration. If you love our beautiful beaches, scenic coastal highways, local seafood, and all the fun recreation our coasts provide, then take action now before it's too late!!

Oceana Action: CLICK HERE

Earthjustice Action: CLICK HERE

Sierra Club Action: CLICK HERE

WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Action: CLICK HERE

Friends of the Earth Action: CLICK HERE

Climate Truth Action: CLICK HERE

And yes I am signing EVERY one of these as I find them! The first four are more major organizations though, so if you don't want to sign them all, focus on the first four.

You can also CONTACT your state governor directly since it's been stated that the administration is open to input.

More to come as this issue continues to unfold and spark outrage! Please pray for our state and national leaders on this!

No Reason To Be Sad At Christmas Time

Last week, after a horrendous new tax proposal, the US president started "honoring his promises to lobbyists" in rolling out cutbacks on many of the environmental safeguards Obama had put in place. While some of them, like the Bears Ears Native American National Monument in Utah are being protested in court (thank you Earthjustice!), others like the banning of oil drilling in the arctic and pesticide bans were lessened or annihilated all together, without room for discussion (though technically the vote isn't for another week, but still). Most Americans don't want this - I don't want this! My own backyard, the Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument is being shrunk - so as you can imagine it pissed me off! One tweet I saw online brought me to tears: "Why can’t daddy stop Congress from hurting caribou/polar bears?" asked the son of the CEO of Northwest Wildlife Foundation... I can only imagine how Collin O'Mara, the CEO, was feeling when he heard his son say it... But me, I was upset. I don't have kids yet, and I want them to be able to experience the greenery and natural beauty of this world, yet I fear that hope is getting farther and farther away. Feeling helpless to be able to do anything about it all days later, I cried to my mom, and another friend later in the week. I hadn't written a blog post in a while, and so my friend suggested that I write one about this, just to put my feelings out there in the world.

Driving home from my friend's office that day, a Christmas song came on the radio that shifted my perspective a tad. I don't remember which song it was, but basically the message was 'because Christ intervened, we have hope.' For some reason the image of the angel chorus that appeared to the shepherds came into my head. And the word that stuck was JOY.

Because of Jesus Christ, all of our sins and fears and burdens are washed away when we accept him as our Lord and Savior. Because of Jesus Christ, we will "not perish, but have everlasting life." We know this. But imagine you and everyone you know haven't heard from God in centuries, and you don't know what he's going to do or when. Put yourself in the shoes of the faithful Jews, shepherds or the wise man. Their hope was in an unanswered question. Will they see God fulfill his promise in their life? Their kids' or grand-kids' lives? What happens if not? And then boom! A star appears, and the answer is there! So close you can literally walk up an touch Him! How would you feel?

All of us are in no way perfect just because Christ is already in our lives. We often wallow in our earthly woes and miseries, forgetting that He can solve not just the big problems, but the itty bitty ones too. Sometimes we even take Jesus for granted because we know he's always there. Or like me this last week, we get mad when change is just beyond our fingertips, and yet we cannot grasp it, and the consequences are ugly. But what if Jesus hadn't come at all yet, or ever?

Christmas is the time of year in which we celebrate Jesus' physical entry into our world. The angels rejoiced, the shepherds were amazed, the wise men were in awe! John the baptist even 'lept for joy' in his mothers womb. Jesus has already intervened, already fulfilled God's promise, and paradise is tangibly within our future! If you really think about it, what reason do we have not to be joyful? The above still makes me sad, and people destroying God's creation always will, but it's Christmas time. The fact that we get to celebrate Jesus' birthday at all is a miracle. Truly keep 'Christ' in your holiday celebrations, and there will be no reason to be sad at Christmas time.

For Our Children's Future

Today the US President made a pathetic executive decision, against the majority of Americans' wishes, to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Completely sickened by this action, I began thinking, "how can we, as citizens, combat and fix this?"After all when every person joins together for a cause, the power shifts to the hands of the people. And preserving the Earth for our children is a good cause!

First we need to stand up to this RIGHT NOW! The proceedings are not final, it will take months to actually set this in motion. Therefore we need to rise up NOW. This Monday is World Environment Day, we need to peacefully hit the streets and march. Not just for oceans and tigers and polar bears, but for clean food, healthy air, and a safe future for everyone!! March!! And contact your state representatives, they want our input! Calling them is the most effective (call 1-202-730-9008 to be directed to your Senator's office), but we can email them, write them letters, and message them on social media! I urge you all to do so right now!

But when the protesting has left the media, what can we do in the long run?

*ONLY supporting business that strive to be greener, whether that be greener production, manufacturing, products, or all of the above. is key! By only buying products which have government approved seals of environmental regulation sends a clear message to those watching the numbers. And it's not just things you buy at the grocery store. Supporting sustainable companies like IKEA or H&M make just as much of a difference.

*Changing our energy practices can also make a big dent! Take public transit, or ride a bike. If you drive, drive a car with 0 emissions. Support gas alternatives, and switch to an electric car if you can. Ask every utility company you pay bills to about a green energy plan. In Oregon, you can get all your electricity from solar, wind, and geothermal through Portland General Electric. NW Natural has a cow pie program where methane is captured and recycled. And the costs are the same, if not cheaper as green energy has now surpassed fossil fuels in many places.

*Support those who for whatever reason cannot partake in the above practices due to lack of job skills or finances. Provide financial aid, pay for training, take it upon yourself to empower and educate! We cannot stand up as a community if we don't assist in our neighbor's obstacles.

And finally we simply cannot let our current motivations & passions die out. We cannot be silent in a month or two. The longer we press, the longer our so called leader will need to pay attention, and act.