PeachNewsletterB-January2012
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If you click on the above the PDF will Download.
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PeachNewsletterB-January2012
________________________________________________________
If you click on the above the PDF will Download.
Filed under: Peach Clubhouse | Tagged: Peach Clubhouse | Leave a comment »
Tuesday July 19 at 6 pm – Movie, Biography of the Dalai Lama, about an hour, with liquid refreshment.
Thursday, July 21 at noontime – two recorded lectures on the subject of legal remedies to the corposystem.
After this Thursday we will not have regular Thursday hours. Thursday will be a “by appointment” day.
Friday, July 22 at 2 pm – Meditation and a discussion, with liquid refreshment, about the practical use of lovingkindness meditation as an antidote for everyday problems
This past week we had the opportunity to question a person who has advanced degrees and training in the oil and gas industry.
Question: We are told that drilling into the ground in general, and fracking in particular, does not contaminate our water that we get from underground aquifers. (An aquifer is a place where the water collects over many decades because of the way it pools in the various layers of underground rock. In Texas, most of our drinking water for the cities and also water for irrigation comes from underground aquifers. You can find maps of these aquifers at Http://FactFictionFancy.wordpress.com web site, on the right side of the page.)
Answer: “Any time you drill a hole in Mother Earth, there is a possibility of contaminating the water supply. High-pressure fracking is different because there is pressure on the order of 10 or 20,000 psi under there. If you get into Mother Earth below some fracture in the rocks a mile or more down, or if you get a verticle pattern of fracturing instead of the horizontal, then it will migrate from the high pressure of the well to the lower pressures that are higher in the earth.”
If you the reader are interested in would like to hear information from another expert, we recommend the videos of Anthony Ingraffia, a professor at Cornell University. He gives a very clear explanation of the process of fracking, and also the kinds of question that we all need to be asking about the process. I will also post this one on my blog (it is below).
Fracking was also a subject for This American Life.
We are dedicated to evaluation of the many claims on all sides
about genetically modified food. Many of these claims, on all
sides, are exaggerated or false. That’s too bad. And it’s hard to
understand, because the real goal of us all is to build a good life
for the future, and it’s hard to imagine that we can build a good
life on false information
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Activities Upcoming at the Peach Clubhouse
Thursday July 14, 12 noon – Movie David vs. Montsanto
Tuesday July 19, 6 pm – Biography of the Dalai Lama
Insight Meditation at noon on Wednesday at the UU in College Station.
Meditation at 3 pm on Friday at the Peach Clubhouse. We will have another guided meditation on the same subject (the four greatest qualities) but a different guide, followed by discussion, to last about an hour — or more if we choose.
This week Bare Bones Biology radio program is attached, or you can get it from the blog at https://factfictionfancy.wordpress.com It’s about ignorance this time.
Progress Reports
Hydraulic fracturing presents us all with a great challenge. We’ve been told this a good, clean, USA-based source of energy; we’ve also been told we’ve got about a 25-year supply (at current use levels). We’ve seen the economic up-turn and increased number of jobs in areas where drilling is occurring. We’re also learning about what is called the “dark side of the boom” — the side effects of this drilling on health, human and animal, clean water supplies, clean air, land surfaces, property values. We hear reports of “bad neighbor” behavior by some of the drilling companies. We read that energy industry businesses and federal agencies alike have some question about the economic viability of drilling for this type of energy source.
Certainly hydraulic fracturing is making drastic changes to our land. When making drastic changes to biological systems it behooves all of us to remember and honor the precautionary principle (pdf attached). If we don’t know what the results will be, proceed with extreme caution or don’t proceed at all. Explore alternatives.
We need to ask ourselves if fracking is worth the chance of destroying water and other natural resources, health & well-being. What will we gain from going after this natural gas in the long term? It’s well-documented that the globe’s reserves of hydro-carbon-based fuels are dwindling. Why aren’t we putting equal human energy into planning for the transfer from coal, oil and gas to alternative energy sources? We are making this very profound decision now, with every well we drill.
In the Brazos Valley of Texas, a group of interested citizens have come together to prepare and disseminate information about fracking locally, in Texas, and around the country. Peach Clubhouse is an active supporter of this group and is willing to show the movie Gasland to any interested small or large groups. In the meantime a good description of fracking is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/susanwatts/2010/12/how_is_fracking_stacking.html
We now have a file at the Peach Clubhouse, w. video, about the Precautionary Policy.
Interesting Links and References
“We can’t be on the stock exchange, we are the stock exchanged.” Nikki Giovani
This is genetically modified foods week. If you want to contribute to the outline or the script of a short movie about “What are genetically modified foods?” let me know.
mllamoreux@hotmail.com and put something relevant in the subject line.
For food week we repeat a report by one of our most knowledgeable observers of the world food and other energy supplies http://www.earth-policy.org/plan_b_updates/2011/update90
Tired of grim news? Come next week to see the biography of the Dalai Lama.
And check out this pleasant movie about Heidi Redd, a rancher in the real west http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV6en7ajcg8
For directions go to the upper left corner on https://factfictionfancy.wordpress.com
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radio show is also attached. The show airs on KEOS FM in Bryan, Texas, at 6:55 AM on Sunday, 8:55PM on Tuesday, and a new time at 3:00PM on Sunday. A new show each week. This week show is the third of a series. You can read the entire series and download the audios on the FactFictionFancy blog. The address is below.
on the subject of soil is now in preparation. Anyone who wants to participate with pictures, audio, ideas (I received some great ideas last week), editing etc, let me know. We need some pictures of soil well cared for and soil under attack. As this is our first official production, we are planning to take to the end of the year to finish it. The next vidcast proposed is our local Farmers’ Market.
are scheduled as follows for the month of July, at the Peach Clubhouse, address below. A/C is installed and is working great. Low noise, high comfort.
July 5, Tuesday 6 pm – The Corporation. Debbie brought this movie to us, and it has some very useful information.
July 14, Thursday at noontime – David vs. Montsanto. I highly recommend this success story to everyone who cares about agriculture, the ecosystem and our place in it.
July 19, Tuesday 6 pm – Biography of the Dalais Lama
July 21, Thursday at noon – two short audio presentations, one is about the legal issues related to corporate agriculture, the other about the precautionary principle.
Continuing a presentation by Pema Chodron (on tape) Fridays at 2-4 pm.
Links to other activities
The movie Gasland will be available for groups, churches, anywhere good citizens of any political leaning are found. Fracking is already active in our Brazos Valley, and it’s always best to be aware how it could affect us all, whether or not there is a well on (under) your property. Gasland will also be shown at TAMU.
A facebook page and web page are in preparation, and we will have resources to answer inquiries. Materials will be available in both local public libraries. If you want to be on the mailing list, contact Lynn at the Peach Clubhouse, MLLamoreux@hotmail.com
Advancing Interfaith Understanding Dinner
When: Tuesday, July 12th What Time: 6.30 pm
RSVP: collegestation@interfaithdialog.org
FOURTH OF JULY PEACE ACTION, 2011 – Several FOP members are interested in an action for peace on this Monday, July 4th. The day typically celebrates war and militarism. We propose instead a celebration of the end of war. The true end of U.S. wars and occupations. Can you commit to 2 hours the afternoon of July 4th, at the corner of Valley Mills Drive and Hwy 84? Before you run up there tomorrow, check with Alan to make sure it’s still on http://www.friendsofpeace.org
, citizens came together to develop a Climate Action Plan. They presented it for approval to the city, and then to the citizens of the city in a series of five meetings entitled “Stewards of our Children’s Future.” Then they sent copies of all that work to us. I am inspired and would be happy to share these DVDs.
Power to the People Conference looks very good, only $25
July 9, 2011, 9am – 5 pm, registration 8:30 am
Pecore Hall, St. Stephen’s Church
1805 West Alabama, Houston, TX 77098
The peach clubhouse is open on Tuesday from 10 am to 4 pm – on movie nights we stay open to end of movie. It is also open on Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm (except July 28) and on Friday from 10 am until 4 pm. Meditation from 2 to 4 this month, 3 to 4 usually.
The address is 1110 Justine Street in Bryan, take Texas to 17th, go one block east. The telephone when I learn to turn it on is 436-7665.
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