As One

Jaspenelle
by Jaspenelle
Mon
7
May
2007
10:06am
Posted in sub-blogs:
Tagged as ,
10 Comments

I am not feeling to stellar today, I am a little queasy and my head hurts. These moods are not usually conducive to blogging but I have been thinking a lot about one of Michael and my conversations yesterday and one of Colorado Celt’s posts inspired me.

colorado celt This is a t-shirt design for the volunteer group Colorado Celt is helping organize. I am unsure who created the design. You can see the t-shirt back and get more information on his blog.

It may seem like an over-exaggeration, I truly mean it when I say that the Pagan community deeply angers me at times. I am referring to the ones who do not practice what they preach, especially those who see the Earth as our sacred Mother.

When I come to find out many who claim to love and care about Mother Earth do not even the simplest things, like recycle; it is not far off to say I become completely disgusted. Particularly when these “Pagans” attack others with a holier-then-thou attitude when they themselves are equally to blame as themselves. I find many Pagans who are all talk with no action, it is always something they will do tomorrow or next, after this or that – something that never gets done.

I am not saying I am perfect by any means. I freely admit to have a dash of hypocrite in me on occasion. I have a dream (I’ve heard that line somewhere before… *smiles*) to one day build a temple dedicated to free spirits oriented around giving back to the Earth. I want it to be a retreat for people to come and find themselves and their purpose. I know I will accomplish this dream but between right now and then I have been a bit loss lately. Something yesterday caused me see which path I must follow to my goals. I must do more then just changing Michael and my lifestyle to a more environmentally conscious one.

Yesterday on a walk Michael and I found a hypodermic needle on a park path, inches from my sandaled feet. That was a wake up call for me, I am not doing enough to give back to the community. Looking around I finally saw how much garbage is in our sacred natural places, as a Pagan, I see it as an affront to Mother Earth, and yet I have been doing nothing to fix the problem. I want to change that. Luckily I did not need to step on the needle to see where my path must go from here.

I should be reaching out and help organize Pagan events that give back to the Mother Earth. Cleaning up Spokane’s beautiful parks (trash and graffiti) for a start. I am going to see if there is a volunteer group like the one Colorado Celt is helping, here in Spokane. If not then I intend on starting one, even if I am the only one showing up and doing something, I will not feel as though I am betraying my path. I do hope others will join me though. There is a Pagan meetup this Wednesday on the Liberty Cafe, I will bring this up there.

As one we walk this earth together
As one we sing to her our song
As one we love her
As one we heal her
Her heart beats with our own as one.
~ “As One” by Denean ~

10 Comments

  1. Carrie
    Posted Monday, May 7, 2007 at 1:38 pm | Permalink

    Don’t worry. Well yeah worry because nobody does enough.

  2. flarecarrot
    Posted Monday, May 7, 2007 at 3:35 pm | Permalink

    Did you ever ask them why they don’t recycle? Maybe they have valid reasons. Sometimes recycling isn’t the best thing for Mother Earth.

  3. Jaspenelle
    Posted Monday, May 7, 2007 at 8:20 pm | Permalink

    Yes I do, the average answer (once I think I got a valid reason) is basically – because I don’t have time.

  4. Alex
    Posted Monday, May 7, 2007 at 10:24 pm | Permalink

    Actually the majority of the supposed benefits of recycling (nowadays) are based on a report put out by the EPA a decade or so ago that was largely proved erroneous. The recycling of paper, platics, etc actually consumes more energy and resources than simply making new ones. The main exception to this is aluminum cans, which is why you can get money back for the cans you return.

    So why do people recycle then? Because it lets you maintain a “holier than thou” attitude towards the people that don’t recycle. ;-)

  5. Jaspenelle
    Posted Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 6:20 am | Permalink

    You can get a refund for glass in some states too ;) also the technology of pollution control and recycling is always improving. It also reduces our use of virgin resources (so we cut down less trees for example) and reduces the size of landfills. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Solid Waste, (source here) also weighed in on the benefits of recycling: “A well-run curbside recycling program can cost anywhere from $50 to more than $150 per ton…trash collection and disposal programs, on the other hand, cost anywhere from $70 to more than $200 per ton. This demonstrates that, while there’s still room for improvements, recycling can be cost-effective.”

    Outside ecological reasons, recycling also benefits the local economy but providing jobs. The problem with the holier-then-thou people is that often they don’t even recycle, not aluminium, glass, paper, nothing.

  6. Jaspenelle
    Posted Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 6:43 am | Permalink

    ?

  7. Alex
    Posted Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 6:58 am | Permalink

    I’ve never been anywhere that gives you money for glass (nowhere in Europe does it) but I’ll take your word for it.

    The jobs provided by recycling plants suck and are definitely NOT a benefit, go visit a recycling plant and see what it is like working there. The are among the worst jobs to have.

    In many cases the cost of recyclable materials also exceeds the cost of raw materials. Virgin plastic resin costs 40% less than recycled resin.[7] Additionally, an EPA study that tracked the price of clear cullet from July 15 to August 2, 1991, found that the average cost per ton ranged from $40 to $60,[8] while a USGS report shows that the cost per ton of raw silica sand from years 1993 to 1997 fell between $17.33 and $18.10.[9]

    In a 1996 article for The New York Times, John Tierney argued that it costs more money to recycle the trash of New York City than it does to dispose of it in a landfill. Tierney argued that the recycling process employs people to do the additional waste disposal, sorting, inspecting, and many fees are often charged because the processing costs used to make the end product are often more than the price gained from its sale. Tierney also referenced a study conducted by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) that found in the six communities involved in the study, “all but one of the curbside recycling programs, and all the composting operations and waste-to-energy incinerators, increased the cost of waste disposal.”

    Anyways, both sides can go back and forth infinitely, because they both pull their numbers out of their asses. Just saying that your friends who are not recycling aren’t really destroying the Earth as much as you imply. ;-)

    Save water! Drink beer!

  8. Jaspenelle
    Posted Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 8:17 am | Permalink

    But only beer in aluminum cans though! ;)

  9. autumn zephyr
    Posted Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at 4:28 pm | Permalink

    Yes, there is an energy cost to recycle. But at least the trash is not just sitting in a land fill taking years (or never) to break down.

    I live in a rural area. There is no curbside recycling. And, while I have always been a “re-user”, until this year I never made the effort to recycle. Since I have been recycling, II have cut my trash in HALF!

    I re-use all sorts of cartons for candle molds. And potato chip cans for pencil holders for my children.

    Just for a decorating re-user idea: I took some wine bottles (and what a hardship THEY were to empty! :-) and lined them up on the buffet in my dining room and poked Christmas tree lights in them. It looks so cute!

  10. Ace
    Posted Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 10:51 pm | Permalink

    Oregon gives cash for Glass bottles or at least they did when I was there!

    I have never thought about recycling, Not an excuse Just the honest truth, once I read that, I went into a thought, I am not allowed to do anything that would cause a major change in my life-Its against my Pagan Path but would recycling do that?

    I cant see how it would so I e-mailed Las Vegas Recycling company that serves my area and put in a request for knowledge on what the next step is for it, do you see any way that it would change my life?

    I do tell friends not to litter and when I see them doing it, I pick up after them, in one case, I told a friend I wasnt going to hang out with her any longer because she was disrespectful to The Earth and to me knowing how I felt about her littering, I also always pick up trash when I see it thrown about.

    Ok, My rant is through

    Blessed Be
    Ace