[Sdpg] February Newsletter

Sun Feb 13 21:01:31 PST 2005

FRIENDS OF THE TREES E-NEWSLETTER

February 1, 2005

Green Greetings,

 Some of you receiving this email will have also gotten a January 1 email 
which has a lot of information and links.  

Others of you will not have gotten the January 1 email.  If you want to read 
it go to: www.friendsofthetrees.net

If you get two copies of this email, it is because we are compiling our two 
separate email address systems into one.  It shouldn't happen again.  

So following is more information on the big picture. Just remember to balance 
it by working with the plants and the earth.

A number of friends have responded with information that I think is worth passing on. 

JOHN MICHAEL GREER

I was impressed with a number of articles by John Michael Greer. His viewpoint is 
that western civilization will fall apart gradually rather than with a catastrophic 
crash. His articles go into some detail on what we can do in these times. 
Following are the links to his articles. 
http://www.oilcrisis.com/whattodo/DeindustrialAge.htm
http://www.survivingpeakoil.com/article.php?id=facing_dark_age
http://www.oilcrisis.com/whattodo/decline.htm

RECENT MESSAGE FROM THE HOPI ELDERS

They are asking for our help as they attempt to keep the world in balance. 
www.jnanadana.org/hopi/dan's_message.html
Read Chief Dan Evehema's Message to Mankind

UNDERWATER VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

Robert Felix's website hypothesizes that we are about to enter a new ice age.  
There is a lot of information on recent weather events from around the globe. The
most novel part of his theory is that one of the large drivers for  current climate 
shifts is underwater volcanic activity.  80% of the volcanic activity is underwater 
and world volcanic activity has been increasing. This heating of the ocean creates 
more clouds and eventually triggers an ice age.  www.iceagenow.com

PHOENIX FIVE EARTH CHANGES BULLETIN. 

Michael Wells Mandeville:
One of the best "synthesis" websites I have found yet about current global trends 
and scenarios.  Mandeville draws on history, current economics, global politics,
solar system alignments, solar sunspot cycles, earth changes, tectonics as well 
as Mayan and Hopi prophecy. www.michaelmandeville.com
Lots of links to information worldwide. 

HONORING PUGET SOUND

Probably 1/3 of my email contacts live near Puget Sound. All Puget Sound 
residents are invited to participate in an event to honor Puget Sound on
Wednesday, March 16.  Ceremonies will be held at the Golden Gardens Park 
in Ballard, Seattle. People are invited to hold ceremonies throughout Puget Sound.
Contact:  blesspugetsound at hotmail.com

WEBSITES RECOMMENDED  by Don Weaver: 

AGRICULTURE:
www.ruaf.org
www.remineralize.org 
www.dirtdoctor.com,
www.rodaleinstitute.org
www.farmaid.org
www.ifoam.org
www.soilassociation.org
www.organic-research.com
www.agbioindia.org
www.organic-europe.net/
www.organicaginfo.org/aboutOrganic.cfm
www.i-sis.org.uk/organicproductionworks.php

HYGIENE/RAW FOOD
www.livingnutrition.com  

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POSSIBLE FUTURE SCENARIOS

Scenario A. Over the next 20 years more and more people become open to 
alternatives, sustainable agriculture, participatory democracy, alternative
energy, fair trade, compassion and love. It becomes harder for governments 
and corporations to exploit and oppress. People do not tolerate repression 
and war any longer. There is a gradual transition to an environmentally-sound 
and socially-equitable world. There is no major cataclysm. 
(P.S. This is happening. Go to www.worldpeaceemerging.com for continued 
updates. This site is only just beginning - Saphir, Michael's office assistant)

Scenario B. Current trends continue. Globalization proceeds. Control of people 
increases, Poverty, hunger and oppression increase.

Scenario C. Global civilization gradually falls apart over the next 50 years.

Scenario D. Catastrophic changes and the world changes dramatically quickly. 
Every year disasters affect some 211 million people, two-thirds of whom live in 
underdeveloped countries where poverty increases their vulnerability. The United 
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published a report, Reducing Disaster 
Risk: a Challenge for Development, in February 2004, in which it wondered whether 
it was useful to continue to talk of “natural” disasters. The impact of an earthquake, 
a tropical cyclone or a flood varies enormously between countries and often depends 
upon preventative policies implemented by the authorities.

The UNDP has estimated that $80 billion a year would be enough to guarantee every 
human being on earth access to basic services - drinking water, shelter, adequate 
food, primary education and healthcare. This figure is exactly the same as the 
supplementary budget that President Bush recently requested from Congress
to finance the war in Iraq.

Scenario E: We must always leave room for the unexpected!

WORLD ECONOMIC SITUATION. 

I have been trying to make some sense of the reasons for the impending 
economic collapse which many think is imminent. Here are a few points.  

Oil is priced in dollars. OPEC oil exporting countries require payment in 
US dollars.  This means every oil importing country needs to maintain a 
dollar reserve. The US imports far more than it exports. The federal
government has been running at tremendous deficits. The national debt 
is huge and the debt is mainly owned by Japan and China. The US is the 
only country that can print dollars and it floods the world with ever cheaper 
dollars.  Other countries are starting to lose lots of money as a result including 
banks and large financial interests.  More and more of the world does not like 
this situation. People in far away lands are tired of shipping their goods to the 
USA. So far no one has wanted to rock the boat because the world's economies 
are now so intertwined. But it looks like the end may be near. 

World opinion of the US is declining rapidly. The belligerent and arrogant actions 
of the Bush administration including the Iraq war, disregard of the Kyoto accords, 
disrespect for international law and obvious ltwo-facedness have been taking their
toll.  The rest of the world has indirectly been financing and giving resources to 
building up the US military machine and now it increasingly looks like the US federal 
government will use the military to try to control the rest of the world.  This is another 
reason that people in other countries wants to change the system which benefits the 
US at their expense.  

At some point the holders of US debt are going to cut their losses and switch to other 
currencies. So if everyone starts switching to euros, yuan and yen they will be cashing 
in their US dollars at whatever they can get for them.  The dollar's purchasing power will
drop precipitously, triggering a stock market crash in the US.

The total US personal debt also contributes to world financial insecurity. The mortgage 
boom in the USA is unstable. If a depression happens, more and more people will lose 
their jobs and won’t be able to make payments on their mortgages and debts. Consumption 
and living standards of the lower and middle classes will decline. This undoubtedly will be 
traumatic for many people and challenging for most.  

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) Pray for the best and get involved. Every person has an inspiration to participate, 
a part to play, be it growing food, caring for children or elderly, political action, 
community development, creating new solutions, or any of a myriad of other roles. 
You are important and your part is needed now.

2) Connect with your inner connection to the Divine. Your inner source of strength, 
stability, compassion and love.

3) Realize that we are all one. I believe there is a spark of divinity in all people and 
in all life-forms. All are evolving. All are learning. This includes the worst of humankind. 
As Ghandi so exemplified, one can take action without hating the opposition. Be a 
center of positivity, of hope and possibility.

4). Garden, grow food, learn useful skills and become more self-reliant.  Reduce 
your personal consumption and impact on the planet. Encourage decentralized
local production based on local, renewable resources. 

5) Heal the Planet. We know how to go about restoring the health of the land. 
There are ways to stem erosion, build soil, clean waterways, increase native
plants and enhance ecosystem richness and biodiversity. This will enable 
ecosytems to meet human needs at a higher rate than in their current depleted
and poisoned state.  

6) Build community and local alliances. Also build friendships and alliances at 
larger levels. The development of modern communications and the internet make 
worldwide communication more possible then ever before. 

It is a good idea to grow food, help heal the planet, build more friendships and live 
simply whether you believe the sky is falling or not. 

Local food production can feed the local populations in most parts of the globe. 
There is no excuse for hunger. The current poverty of the third of humanity
living on $1 to $2 a day can be greatly alleviated if they had a little land and 
access to good information on sustainable food growing. 

There is currently a large amount of information known about sustainable agriculture 
and gardening. This includes both indigenous and traditional knowledge and
more recent forms of permaculture, bio-intensive gardening (John Jeavons' method), 
organic and many others. The agriculture links posted on my website will lead you 
to many of them. 

Earth will work with us.  Every plant, animal, insect, lichen, fungi and life in general 
is on the side of peace and the environment. 

Whatever happens, my advice continues to be:

Grow food
Build local community
Keep love in your heart

Michael Pilarski

See www.FriendsoftheTrees.net for our 2005 workshops and gatherings. 

Please send me me additional websites and information sources on these topics.

If you want to see a few updates a year on these topics check:

www.friendsofthetrees.net 

If you want to be removed from my email list, let me know. 

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