Keeping people cool during weather agitated by climate change

Mi (original post--names are shortened for confidentiality):

global warming my ass

Mar:

talk to the astronomy professor at UMD... the man is totally against this global warming nonsense. and yeah, that wind's a blowin out there

Me (Ian):

Hate to be that guy but I learned too much science to let this slide by:
Mar, most academic astronomers are theoretical physicists. They deal with mathematical models and rarely deal with real-life long-term biological and atmospheric systems (climate is not the same as weather--weather is a short-term occurrence). What people worry about is severe weather agitated by climate change and our possible effect on accelerating it. Any causal arguments about climate change that beguile people to say "it's not true" or "it's part of a natural cycle" don't hold muster to those literate with basic atmospheric science. For those seriously engaged in the atmospheric/environmental scientific and economic communities, the most important concern comes from the ethical consequences of inaction. New York city had 10,000 911 calls per hour last night, ten times above its average. People live in areas that are unprepared for severe weather. There are at least 16 deaths [edit Nov. 1st 2012: during Hurricane Sandy. {death toll in the U.S. and Canada as of today is 82, don't forget places in the Caribbean like Haiti got hit too, with approximately 71 deaths there.}], and this incident certainly will put a dent in coastal economies that weren't ready to deal with the damage.
For common [climate skeptic] arguments refuted with good research:
http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php

In some way, many people realize that the severity of the weather--and thereby, the death toll--can be mitigated or reduced through our actions, even those that can contribute to likelihood of future events like the weather.

I posted the above dialog because it lists what I think it takes to responsibly and civilly respond to a situation like this.

I think what most people involved with climate change advocacy really work on and worry about severe weather agitated by climate change.  I don't mind if a person's liberal or conservative, I believe our political choices are fundamentally motivated by a desire to live well--if not for ourselves, than for future generations (my father says he wants to vote for a candidate whom I disagree with because he thinks it's important for my future).

Could a responsible conservative who recognizes the national debt and deficit being on an unsustainable course justify financial apathy?  The same principle idea applies to environmental conservativism.  What I don't appreciate about most global warming/heating/climate change advocacy is that many people tend to articulate it in ways that disempower people, and in that capacity, distracts people from connected tangible and real issues of public health, environmental justice, and the problems that arise when considering the economics in context with the science and ethics (read here for an example).  Furthermore, many advocate from a position that bolsters defensiveness and entrenchment when education and compassion are most needed.

While brandishing sticks might be a valuable tool in policy, when it comes to interacting with conscientious people whom you rub elbows with in the community, I think the greatest privilege one can have, and the greatest respect one can extend to another, is through education that respects their own autonomy as individuals.  To my pleasant surprise, the reply from Mar was positive (liked it) and appreciative (Thanks for the comment!).

Beyond & Back to the Sense of Wonder

I'll perform two West African (Guinean) drum pieces tomorrow on sangban (a medium-sized drum) and cowbell with the West African Drum Ensemble at UM-Dearborn [side-note: we're a pretty tight ensemble, woodchips fly off of the drumsticks every time we play, and in the spirit of "MORE COWBELL!" I broke a cowbell, as did another ensemble mate as we rehearsed.  I'm pleased to report that the replacement cowbells are bigger {thus fulfilling the request for more cowbell} and sturdier].

Tangentially related image:
Ameyaw Kofi of Ghana performing on djembe
at the River Folk Music Festival in
Manchester, MI in 2010.  He has almost no
relation to the West African Drum Ensemble of UM-Dearborn,
but the instrument and the opening rhythms
he played are similar.

The first (called Wurende), I learned to my delight, is a harvest rhythm.  Sometimes a motion makes things click.  Our instructor, Dr. Vera Flaig, explained that the rhythms are played as farmers worked the field to gather the end of the year's harvest, and also performed at the beginning of a season for planting.  What really caught my memory was that she made a simple reaping motion, which instantly reminded me about railroad songs, and drum beats for rowing.

I believe the arts are most substantial for their ability to evoke authentic curiosity and appreciation for the world around us (see "the reality aesthetic" for my writings on that).  This "sense of wonder" (as environmental author Rachel Carson would describe this sensational sort of inquiry) opens the door to deeper inquiry and learning, but beneath that, the tangible and practical nuances of the arts also go undetected in our lives on a regular basis.  I think the social nuances of music are frequently lost in media and a fair amount of society.  For many, it's a challenge to explain how the arts are a valuable part of culture and society beyond giving an argument about "art for art's sake".  I suspect it's because we're exposed to it as background noise through a machine (radios, computers, other media players), encounter what seems like insubstantial music, or more likely, we're unaware of the content or context of the music.  Yet many people in the U.S. still value musicians enough to devote large portions of their wedding ceremonies.   Think about it in a Judeo-Christian ceremony--aside from words spoken by the priest and bride/groom, people spend a lot of time in a church wedding ceremony listening to a musician.  Stranger still, I suspect most of them hire musicians whom they might never have met before.  Meanwhile, while the military no longer give buglers the responsibilities they once had, it still uses music (think running cadences) for purposes of morale, and I suspect singing while running also adds to endurance as well.  Wurende, the Guinean harvest rhythm mentioned above, is a powerful reminder of music in a similar context.

Dr. Wayman investigates the title of the Boccherini, expresses
his enthusiasm for the composer, and adds his thumbs up.
Photograph courtesy of UM-Dearborn's
institutional advancement photographer.

Today, I played a Bocherrini piece at an event that celebrated international diplomacy and the United Nations.  I received a vivid complement from a UM-Dearborn Political Science professor Dr. Frank Wayman who focuses on war in his research and teaching.  The beginning of one of his trademark courses, "Peace and War" (link goes to a very rich and educational syllabus), actually focused a great deal on defining war and scaling conflicts, and very little on giving explicit focus to the elements that create a vibrant example of a nation in peace.  In that class (and in most international dialogue), "peacekeeping" forces, would actually be better defined as "drastic-security-keeping" forces since they are usually deployed to stem, minimize, or quell violent conflicts in drastic circumstances.

Aside: According to the statistical data he presented in both the class and today's special "Two Cheers for the United Nations" (a reference to a book titled "Two Cheers for Democracy"--the two cheers [out of three] implying that substantial work remains to be done--presentation on the United Nations, "peacekeeping" forces are at least successful in reducing the number of casualties in wars despite the frequency of wars.

I found it ironic that a professor who focused so much on the characteristics of war (in part defined by the number of direct conflict-related deaths, non-combatant civilian casualties weren't included) and genocide really enjoyed hearing music Boccherini (he's a huge fan of the Boccherini cello concerto).

I wonder what that means?  Surely we can find something to speak about our sense of humanity in that...

Aikido and the Land Ethic: Parallels in humane transcendence

Roughly translated, the martial art Aikido stands for "the way of harmonious energy":
Ai=harmony
ki=energy/spirit (AKA Chi/Qui in Chinese)
do= way/"an artful path to discovery" (I like how the site articulated "do")

Foremost, aikido has compelling appeal to me because it's centered on a win-win approach to drastic situations.  Opponents don't (or rather more accurately, shouldn't) exist, a practitioner simply acknowledges the situation, momentum, and redirects it to a more favorable outcome for everyone.  Reading up on the philosophy of the art again, I found the following quote:

"We believe that since we all share a common energy source, that in some important way we are all truly members of the same family, and truly sharing our lives with all of nature. We do not have an attack form in Aikido, because attacking an opponent would be like attacking a family member that you love." (source)

Those familiar with Aldo Leopold or beliefs frequently held among First Nations people might find this concept familiar: we share fundamental similarities and needs, and thus merit respect for one another and across species.  Leopold's essays use common sense to lay out nuanced wisdom, and it strikes a chord with people of very diverse backgrounds.  I know hunters, vegans, conservative and liberal friends who continue to appreciate the writings found in his essays.  Of particular pertinence to the quote found above in Aikido, Leopold's Land Ethic came to mind immediately.


While Leopold undoubtedly held a different paradigm about life and his relationship to the world prior to writing many of the essays found in his "Sand County Almanac", it's interesting to note how his views developed and the development of Aikido as a martial art share a similar story of transcendence.  Read Leopold's "Thinking like a mountain" essay and then read his "Land Ethic" essay to get a chronological sense of Leopold's discoveries.  Then recognize that Aikido emerged out of combative martial arts for samurai--life/death techniques which went from a mentality of winning via attacker/defender to a co-creative ethos revolving around redirecting force for favorable outcomes.


In accessible English, Aldo Leopold expounds on the scientific matter-life-energy processes of ecology and builds up to an ethos that considers how we rely upon and share our existence with other living things.  For those with biological/ecological/environmental science backgrounds, it's a familiar foundation to our education, but it can be a daunting challenge to make clear and accessible for any reader--Leopold describes it well.  From this he advances the idea that we live with the land, not just on it or as owners of land.  Leopold then adds that our notion of ethics ought to extend toward considering those we share the land as neighbors in a community.

This may be the first time I've written about Aikido and the Land Ethic, but it's been in my mind for a long time.  The concept is among one of my core principles for conflict resolution and problem solving, and friends might even recognize threads of it in my musings and research.  All of it frequently examines this kind of collaborative/embracing participatory approach.  More to come...

Raw links to noted sources:


Aikido:
http://www.intermartialarts.com/philosophy/aikido
http://www.seishindo.org/2005/11/17/the-ki-of-aikido-energy-self-and-mind-in-aikido-philosophy/


Thinking like a mountain (two places for the same essay):
http://honorsbiology.wiki.lovett.org/file/view/Thinking+Like+a+Mountain.pdf
http://library.fws.gov/wildread/thinking-like-a-mountain.pdf

Land Ethic abridged: http://www.aldoleopold.org/AldoLeopold/LandEthic.pdf

The full "Land Ethic" essay: http://neohasid.org/pdf/landethic.pdf

Vague connections: humanity and sweethearts in 7/8

"She heard my footsteps approaching in the corridor and found them intriguing. (I have a vague memory that I ran down the corridor in 7/8 time.)" -Richard Stallman

http://stallman.org/articles/childhood-sweetheart.html

It's odd though, there exists a research paper I despise, even if only for its title ("The Dark Side of Creativity: Biological Vulnerability and Negative Emotions Lead to Greater Artistic Creativity") which I think of frequently, and I suspect it ties closely to influence on Melynda Reid's work and artistry.  If anything one's creativity in this context indicates the breadth and depth of their capacity to experience and convey humanity.  However, it's unfortunate and sombering to recognize real stories about others who really struggle with keeping brighter moments in mind and sometimes, the stories of their lives don't capture the moments when they make it to the next peak.

The video above is a mind-blowing adaptation of a Macedonian love song adapted for two cellists on one cello.  If you're not taken by watching them play, watching their bows is like realizing how related rates in calculus work.  Coincidentally, the tune is also in 7/8 meter, much like Stallman's footsteps!

Good Grief (in a truer sense)

Grief is a profound iteration of humane appreciation.  A friend of mine called me this past weekend to tell me that his mother suddenly passed away.  I could tell he was really shaken by her death.  While he brought the conversation to lighter notes toward the end and we hung out a few days later discussing gentlemanly adventures in literature and existentialism, his wavering voice from the phone call lingered in my memory throughout the week.

I never met his mother, and we actually only hung out a handful of times, but I really appreciated that he reached out to let me know about recent developments in his life.  I also think the things we appreciate about people are things we can strive to hone and exemplify in continuation of the legacy that individual had created.  If we trace our influence from mourning far enough back, it's a legacy of our deeper humanity which we really perpetuate.

Interesting Ways for Irony, Counterpoints in Character

Stayed in a 10 million dollar estate/mansion, slept in a sleeping bag on the floor and used my own soap/shampoo (brought from Michigan in my backpack), used a headlamp at night to see--indoors--because the switches for light fixtures were too far away.  Irony has interesting ways!   Also, Here's some existential bluegrass made by Norwegian ladies:

In the classic game, my compulsion is to choose rock since the highly coveted "avalanche" (all rock throws out of three) in Rock Paper Scissor championships sounds tremendous and awesome.  Plus, I recall hearing someone's reasoning that a rock can smash scissors, retain its identity even when wrapped with paper, and serves as a ready fist when the need arises.

But my reasoned choice is paper--you can always make an Origami boulder to overcome the scissors AND aikido the rocks.  Eloquentia for the win!