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Are You Aware? Wildfires
This is part IV in our “Concerning Climate” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Wildfires have been a part of the American landscape for centuries. Fire is a part of nature. Grasslands have historically burned every 15 to 30 years, and many forests have burned every 60 to 150 years. Burning is known to maintain forage and open woodlands, creating important wildlife habitats. Plants, such as the ponderosa pine tree with its thick bark, can survive low-intensity fires, and the seeds germinate in the fertile, recently burned soil. Thousands of acres have burned every year, often with few consequences but occasionally with tragic outcomes. During the hot dry…
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Are You Aware? Love for Africa
This is part III in our “Concerning Climate” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Africa accounts for only two to three percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial sources. According to the World Resources Institute, Africa’s per capita emissions of carbon dioxide in the year 2000 were 0.8 metric tons per person, compared with a global figure of 3.9 tons per person. The U.S. per capita emissions are 16.2 tons per person. In the fight against climate change, Africa’s contribution is negligible. Of course, Africa is not a monolith. African countries have varying levels of development and utilization of energy sources. The…
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Are You Aware? Water Is Critical
This is part II in our “Concerning Climate” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Water is critical to the sustenance of life. Creating and maintaining life is impossible without this vital resource. Throughout the history of the world, people and civilizations have followed the water. Any threat to our water sources is a threat to life itself. While the western U.S. has always had periods of drought, many are now experiencing historic drought levels. Drought typically starts with less than normal rainfall. But temperatures also impact this. Since the industrial era began, our earth has warmed by about 1.2 degrees Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit). While…
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Are You Aware? Taking Our Temperature
This is part I in our “Concerning Climate” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. The night of Tuesday, November 8, 2016, I couldn’t sleep. I tried distracting myself to calm my nerves but to no avail. The few moments I did sleep were fitful and short lived. Anxiety for the future had replaced disbelief and was my companion all night. My number one concern was climate change, and I knew the president-elect didn’t share my concerns and, in fact, held policy positions in opposition to my concerns. You may not have experienced this same apprehension or felt it to the same extent. If that’s the case,…
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Are You Aware? Eyes That See
This is part II in our “Internalizing Empathy” Awareness Wednesday series. Christ described our eyes as the lamp of the body. How we see our world determines how we live, the path we choose, and how we spend our time. Empathy is developed through the lens we use to see those around us. A few years ago, one of our sons, Marshall, was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. He would suffer in pain for several years, only to die young from his incurable condition. It was difficult to watch his struggles. It was not an obvious disability, and some thoughtless comments by others reminded me of the man born blind…
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Are You Aware? A Work in Translation
This is part IV in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Earlier this month, I was in line at a food truck. In front of me was a young woman, about 15 years old, with her parents. As they stepped forward to order, I heard the young woman translate the menu for her parents from English to Spanish. In Spanish, she explained the menu choices and then proceeded to order for them. Watching as she helped her parents order food flooded me with memories of my own childhood. From an early age of 11 or 12, I did much…
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Are You Aware? If Language Was an American Dream
This is part III in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Many immigrants to the U.S. won’t have the same experiences I’ve had, because of how I came to the U.S. My intention was to study here and to go back home. But life always plays a different tune. Growing up in a family that loved languages has been a blessing in my life. When I was a little girl, my dad invited people from all over the world to eat with us in our home in Sao Paulo, Brazil. At the age of 8, my dad asked me…
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Are You Aware? Latinx Diversity and Contributions
This is part II in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. NOTE: Throughout this article, the terms Latino, Latina, Latinx, and Hispanic are being used interchangeably to refer to the same group of people. I never thought that immigrating to the U.S. was going to be part of my life’s journey. I grew up hearing about the “American Dream” and the idea of what that meant through TV shows and movies. I remember hearing the “dislike” in people’s comments when they heard the word “America” was used interchangeably with the United States of America. It was accompanied by the…
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Are You Aware? A Latina in the American Kitchen
This is part I in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. I remember watching my grandma Josefa make corn tortillas from corn that she had planted, harvested, and prepared. Eating never felt wrong, because it was the fruit of hard work, never an indulgence. She lived a long, healthy life to 107 years old. Growing up in a Latin American country, I never knew that cooking with fresh veggies was healthy, because that was the only way to cook. Using canned food, drinking sodas, or eating desserts every day was a luxury most of us couldn’t afford. Ironically, we…
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Are You Aware? International Religious Freedom
This is part IV in our “Freedom of Religion” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. For Americans and many others, religious freedom today often seems polarized, partisan, and bewilderingly complex. Church leaders have repeatedly emphasized the importance of religious freedom, but in some cases, religious freedom claims seem part of partisan battles or encroach on rights for others. How can we make sense of religious freedom? Why do Church leaders stress its importance? How can we understand the role of religious freedom among other important human rights? One helpful way to make sense of religious freedom is to look at the international norms that protect it.…
