Editorial

A late winter storm hit the Midwest last week, bringing lots of heavy, wet snow, along with a fierce North wind. A group who had come up to stay at the Neahta-wanta Inn left in the midst of it and were blown off M-72 in their Volkswagen van. After an unseasonably mild winter attributed to El Niño, we witnessed the ferocious power of Nature once again. As soon as I could, I got on my skis and went out to check the woods behind the Inn. We lost some beech and the top of an old dead hemlock, and, of course, all kinds of branches of various sizes and shapes. In places, the trail was completely obliterated, as if Mother Nature was trying to reclaim the woods. But the most amazing sight was the thousands of beech saplings that were bowed over by the snow. The entire shape of the woods had changed into beech arches covered with snow. It was spectacular, and yet a bit disturbing, seeing all these young trees pulled over and trapped upside-down. Then there were the evergreens&emdash;their branches so weighted down that they looked like they were at their breaking point. In fact, many limbs had broken under the burden of snow. Coming upon one of my favorite hemlocks, I couldn't resist taking a ski pole and gently tapping the branches I could reach. I couldn't stand to see my friend so weighted down, looking uncomfortable and even sad. As soon as some of its branches were freed, the tree looked somehow happier (was I imagining it?). It made me feel better anyway. Then I looked past this tree to the woods beyond that were filled with arched-over beeches and weighted-down evergreens and I realized the hopelessness of freeing all the trees. Of course, it didn't really matter. I knew the snow would melt eventually. But that moment reminded me of the helpless feeling I sometimes have as we address one environmental crisis, only to look beyond and see countless others looming on the horizon. We are often caught in the "undoing mode", as I was, momentarily, trying to "fix" the trees. The challenge is to address urgent problems knowing that we cannot truly "fix" them except by adopting sustainable ways of living that honor the natural systems that perpetuate life, and not to get overwhelmed by a whole forest (or world) that needs fixing.

It is in this spirit that we present Synapse no. 43. We continue to focus on sustainable living. To celebrate the Spring Equinox and the beginning of the growing season, we have included several articles on sustainable agriculture&emdash;an area much in need of support if we are to achieve sustainability. Local organic farmer, Jim Moses, and a reprint from Z Magazine address the current controversy over the proposed federal organic standards. The Center is co-sponsoring two public hearings in Traverse City to gain citizen input on these proposed new federal standards. We hear two hopeful reports about truly sustainable practices which have been implemented: one from organic farmer Jenny Tutlis about their successful CSA (community supported agriculture) farm; the other comes from Steve Lawless who tells us about an alternative school whose curriculum is based on a hands-on sustainable farming project. On a more sobering note, President of the American Farmland Trust, Ralph Grossi, pleads for increased farmland protection in "Our Food Supply in Jeopardy" and Rebecca Lessard, local raptor rehabilitator, calls for increased protection and awareness of these special birds.

From a different and more philosophical perspective, Laura DeLind, anthropologist and organic farming proponent, points out the often subtle but none the less detrimental ways we become disconnected from the natural world. She illuminates how often the very means we adopt to achieve efficiency and convenience act to erode and even sever our relationships to the web of life. Laura's daughter, Jody, shares her perspective about the unsustainability and injustice of the current corporate fast food culture--and her call to move beyond it.

In order to build a sustainable world we need to address issues of injustice and so we have included articles concerning justice in three separate, but related, parts of the world: Chiapas, Iraq and the southwest U.S. In all three conflicts people without power are being oppressed and prevented from living peaceful, healthy lives. Although there are certainly many other areas of concern around the world, we have chosen to report on these three&emdash;primarily because our government plays a role in all three conflicts&emdash;and in a democracy each of us has a responsibility to understand and influence our government's policies and actions. Given our country's power and often domination in the emerging global and economic and political system, we citizens are called to learn and to act with and on behalf of peoples struggling for their survival and well being.

Ruth Carey and Jim Crowfoot continue their series of articles on sustainable success stories in our region, as well as reviewing useful resources and summarizing the salon discussions on sustainability that have been taking place monthly at the Neahtawanta Inn. We have been blessed to have Ruth and Jim as resident helpers at the Inn/Center for the past nine months. They have dedicated themselves to the ongoing work here with a selflessness that is rare. We wish them well as they embark on the next stage of their journey.

We are pleased to bring Roger Eischens back to the Center for our annual five-day yoga teacher training in June. This workshop is not only for teachers, but for yoga practitioners who want to deepen and enrich their practice as well. Roger continues to be on the leading edge of yoga, combining his extensive Iyengar training with his knowledge of kinesiology, physiology and ayurveda into a system he calls High Energy Yoga.

And last of all, don't forget Earth Day! We hope you'll join us on April 26th in downtown Traverse City to celebrate the diversity of life and the good work of area environmental groups.

--Sally Van Vleck

Return to the Index of Synapse 43, Spring 1998