Reflección sobre el 2015

Como es costumbre cada fin de año uno realiza una reflección sobre los acontecimientos relevantes de ese año con el fin de analizar los logros y los traspiesos; tanto individuales como colectivos. Este blog lo he mantenido inactivo por muchos años y es tiempo de que lo vuelva a revivir. Tal vez ahora con motivo de los acontecimientos en Paris relacionados a la firma del acuerdo ambiental sea el momento. Posiblemente a nivel mundial el acontecimiento en 2015 mas relevante para el futuro de la humanidad fue la conferencia organizada por las Naciones Unidas en Paris sobre el clima global.

Tlaltecuhtli es el dios Azteca tierra.  Este blog llamado en honor de Tlaltecuhtli fue creado con la idea de ser un conducto en apoyo al movimiento ambiental mundial en español. Desafortunadamente no he tenido tiempo para dedicarle pero creo que ahora es merecedor ya que algo importante que pasó el año pasado fue la conferencia mundial organizada por las Naciones Unidas (UNFCCC) sobre el cambio del clima. El foro organizado por Christiana Figueres fue todo un éxito, pues logró reunir a un gran numero de países en la firma de un acuerdo que tendrá repercusión mundial por muchos años.

A nivel personal puedo mencionar varias cosas que sobresalen y recordare por el resto de mi vida. En primer lugar la boda de mi hijo y su esposa en Septiembre, seguida por el compromiso de mi hija con su comprometido. En tercer lugar cirugía en mi cadera para reemplazar por completo la unión del fémur con el ilíaco. El trabajo fue también una satisfacción pues continué con la oportunidad de interaccionar con estudiantes extraordinarios que son el presente y futuro de este mundo y serán líderes que seguramente harán un buen trabajo en cuidar el medio ambiente. Finalmente tengo que recordar un re-encuentro extraordinario con mis compañeros ex-alumnos del Instituto Potosino generación 61-65. Después de 50 años de graduación y de no haberlos visto fue verdaderamente un placer volver a encontrarnos.

 
El pasado es siempre un buen reflejo del futuro, por lo que soy optimista.

Hurricane Sandy Devastation

In an article in the Huffington Post Andrew Cuomo governor of the state of New York is reported to be asking for 42 billion dollars assistance relief from the the federal government.
If you add the amounts for the other states affected by the storm one can see (or maybe not) what has been the impact of the severe storm. What is the price we are paying due to the increased severity of storms caused by global change in climate?

It's been more than two years I posted in this blog!So many things have happened in my life and so many things that I had to do came across but it is time for me to get back to writing about the environment. There are so many good blogs and websites that I wonder if this blog is completely useless of if I am just wasting my time keeping record of my thoughts. On the other hand there is -I think- the possibility that in the long run, my mussing will be there for me to ponder what was going on in my life and around me. Not long ago we had the terrible experience just before the elections when Obama was reelected to witness a hurricane hitting the NE of the USA. This meteorological event caused a huge damage to the region with loss of life as well as an incredible amount of economic damage, but the most important lesson is how ill-prepared we are facing these natural events. More now that these so called "extraordinary" events are becoming an ordinary almost daily things. I believe it was NY state governor Cuomo that said that Sandy was one of these "every 100 years" storm that is happening every few years! So, how are we supposed to prepare? What are we supposed to do in response to ever increasing vulnerability? What actions are we supposed to mitigate the extreme changes of climate? I would start with two simple steps: Get informed and get involved. To get informed there are many sources (some more reliable that others) online and offline. Taking classes at a college near you or participating in one of many environmental groups being formed every day in our neighborhoods. This last point will also address the second: getting involved. If you think that to start you would like to get online try the Evangelical Environmental Network EEN http://creationcare.org/ Highly respected group started by 100 Christian leaders in the United States who saw the need to provide information based on facts from scientific research to fight the misinformation provided by big oil and disseminated by so called Christian fundamentalists that have been waging a war on science. Now I think that these groups have lost credibility and are loosing ground but they are by no means disappearing or loosing the economic backing that got them started, so today more that ever we have to be proactive and double our effort to prepare for times to come!

BP

What a disaster! There are no words to say how I feel! There is a time when we are stunned and silence is the way to reflect on what we feel! Tomorrow it will be another day and then we'll see how things are and what can we do and what can we say!

Time flies like an arrow fruit flies like bananas

It is been so long since my last post! Which doesn't mean that nothing at all has happened. Not at all, on the contrary, so many thing have happened that is why I haven't posted, so what now? Why is it that now I am posting? Is it because I don't have anything to do? I do! I have tons of things to do but somehow I feel this urge to write.
This is a very special moment, a moment that will stay for ever a moment that will be frozen in time as long as this site prevails, as long as I remember that this post is here so that means that it will be here as long as my conscience makes it to be.
The past is gone, the future will never arrive thus the only thing real is this precious moment in our lives.
So be it!

Article in Sojourners by Ched Myers

"Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear … Consider the ravens: They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. —Luke 12:22-24

To our ears, this text seems simplistic, extreme, or naive. And in the wake of the recent global meltdown of financial markets, Jesus’ counsel not to be anxious seems frankly absurd. If we Christians pay attention to this scripture at all, it is sentimentalized as Jesus’ cute but irrelevant “St. Francis moment.” The notion of an economic relationship with nature unmediated by our industry (in both senses) is, well, for the birds." (Sojourners Dec 9, 2009) To read the whole article go to http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0912&article=pay-attention-to-the-birds

A New Year a New Decade

Twenty-Ten is the year that begins, bringing a new decade into our personal and institutional lives. 2010 should be an extraordinary year for many reasons but one in particular is they way we are addressing issues related to the environment. Ten years ago I started teaching courses related to the environment, every summer a class on “Environmental Science”; also with professor Heidi Owsley co-teaching Earth-keeping, as one of the HUM 200 options; and within the new ADP program: “Environmental Studies”.
Our institution has witnessed many positive steps taken to nurture the spirit of stewardship of our Christian community at the local and national level. First our Honorary President Jay A. Barber, Jr. was one of the first signatories of “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action” that gave birth to the “Evangelical Climate Initiative” a national organization of more than 280 Christian leaders, including of course our new President Dr. Andrea P. Cook.
As the year unfolds I will be sharing with you ideas and information related to “Creation Care”, the movement that allows us to be stewards in the context of community and service. It is my new year’s resolution to share ideas with you so we can find ways to better serve as stewards of our Lord’s creation.
These are some websites you might want to visit:
http://christiansandclimate.org/ (Evangelical Climate Initiative)
http://www.creationcare.org/ (Evangelical Environmental Network)
http://stewardshipfordummies.blogspot.com (started by a student now staff at Warner Pacific College -Chris T. where I post some of my students papers)
http://tlaltecuhtli.blogspot.com/ (my blog about environmental issues)

Hope this year will bring to all of you many happy moments, good health, peace, and prosperity!