Big hopes, a little hike (a little vomit)

Greenbrier Learning Center's students stare at a grasshopper in the mitts of Master Naturalist Alonzo Abugattas. Grasshoppers will projectile vomit a brownish liquid when committing to their escapes.

There is no instruction manual on how to lead a symbiotic life. I find myself in a society that is packed with good souls, but derided by circumstance. Even if the wealthiest of us wanted to lead a carbon neutral, positive-impact life, it would require a time machine to transport us to a time where our electrical current flows from clean sources, our materials maintain their integrity as they are recycled for perpetuity, and our food nourishes us as well as our landscape.

Until the day where our survival off income becomes irrelevant, as solar powered wonder-bots take care of our subsistence and we spend our hours doing what our souls yearn for…sailing into the moonlight with the people we love, parachuting into gorgeous gorges, or walking the world to take in her resplendent beauty and countless founts of energy…Until that day, we have to scrape by as a civilization, pretending things like the beach houses and motorcycles we dream to buy could actually fill the void of longing for discovery and adventure, pounding at the nexus of each and every one of us.

While I scrape by, I remind myself that even though I am not an engineer for Vestas or Big Belly Solar, the Secretary of Energy, or the Administrator of the EPA, as a peon I can do little things. And other peons can do little things, and soon enough the minions can maneuver into masters living symbiotically with really cool stuff.

Anyway, as a peon for Greenbrier Learning Center I wanted to get our kids involved in some experiential learning. Because Long Branch Nature Center is la shiztatah and is extremely easy to work with, I facilitated an insect hike with a crazy-interesting naturalist named Alonzo, who turned out to be a human encyclopedia.

Our kids range from inconsolable pricks to the sweetest children on earth, so when seven out of the 18 kids on my team decided to defiantly abstain from the hike, I shrugged it off and was glad that the other kids truly seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Alonzo possessed extraordinary bug catching skills as well as a vast knowledge for all of the creatures he caught. He showed us how to yo-yo a jumping spider. You wait for the spider to hop, because as it does so it releases a thin strand of web. You can grab hold of the web and keep the spider air-bound as it makes its descent.

He caught a sand wasp in his net and then transferred it to a transparent tube, so that we could see one up close. During the process he explained how the sand wasp stung small insects and brought them into their underground holes they’d burrowed in the sand. After the sting, the small insects would be paralyzed and the wasp would lay her eggs inside of the insects. The eggs would hatch and the wasp larva would then feed on the insects. YUM!

My favorite thing that Alonzo showed the groups was grasshopper spittle. When grasshoppers are trapped, they vomit out the grass they’ve eaten as this murky brown liquid.

FINALLY!!!! THE FUTURE IS HAPPENING!!!

Underneath the streets of Masdar City, a completely carbon neutral transit system will transport people around this sustainable stronghold. Learn more about the electric personal rapid transit and Masdar City.

When we take in the glorious cityscapes provided in Star Wars, we all sort of dream that one day we could live in a place as futuristic as Cloud City, or as spirited as the arborescent villages of Endor.

There’s something magical about a place that doesn’t waver in the face of politics or compromise to slow churn of oligarchical enterprise. In tune with that magic, redoubtable engineering is now underway in the United Arab Emirates, on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

Surprisingly enough, an almost uninhabitable desert is on track to spawn the cradle of sustainable civilization – a place known as the Masdar City.

Check out the city’s progress!

Letters start with Smoothie King

Nothing is more exciting than receiving a letter. Inside the envelope awaits a treasure trove of words that could change the course of history, or at least make you smile.

This is what I’m hoping for in the case of Smoothie King. Perhaps my little bundle of words will help that establishment change its course and become a little more eco-friendly.

Below is the letter I will be sending to Smoothie King on Friday, Aug. 12. If you agree with the letter and/or would like to add your two cents please write a comment and I will attach it to the letter I am sending.

August, 07, 2011

Dear Smoothie King,

I love your different smoothie options and how your cold and refreshing fruit combinations provide refuge to summer’s sweltering heat. You are quasi-nutritious and very enjoyable.

I love you, but unfortunately I do not allow myself to indulge in your delicious offerings because of your one resounding flaw; the cups you use for every smoothie are made out of Styrofoam.

Smoothie King, I understand you seek to maximize your profits and you’ve done so by calculating the Styrofoam cups into the cost side of the equation. I challenge you to make a new cost curve with either paper or biodegradable cups. I know for a fact you would receive an increased demand for smoothies, at least at your store in Ballston, Virginia. This is the store I so often dream of stopping into, but won’t allow myself to because of your Styrofoam ways.

Again, I must remind you that I love you, and you offer a commodity that I very much desire, but I cannot allow myself to purchase your smoothies as responsible human being of the 21^st century.

With sincere hope for new cup offerings,

Steven A. Bert

Planet Wisely Editor

P.S. Included is a list of signatures from people who also believe that a Styrofoam cup is an obstacle to true enjoyment for smoothie ingesting.

Go to church!

Two bags in the fore of Four Mile Run Creek are evidence of a new fervor that is shaking, quaking, and remaking religious conventions. Is it time to redefine church?

Monday, 8:16 pm, is not the typical time to go to church. But then again, I’ve never been a typical churchgoer.

That’s why when I headed to Four Mile Run Creek just past quarter after eight, I knew I would be attending the best hour of “church” in my life.

Instead of sitting in a pew, playing add the gospel numbers on the wall, count the light fixtures on the ceiling, or repeat the Mortal Combat blood code to keep from being swallowed up by boredom, today, I spent my hour of church outside picking up trash.

Today’s post is a shout-out to my friend Jeff, who, in high school, dreamt of a society that would come together once a week and split the responsibilities necessary for day-to-day living. As Jeff saw it this could be the equivalent of going to church. One task the group could do, for example, would be to lift up a huge heavy object. This heavy object would then spend the rest of the week acquiescing to gravity while generating electricity for the community on its slow downward descent. Thus the whole group would have partnered in maintaining a clean, self-sustaining, source of energy.

Though, I am definitely not part of a utopian society, nor doing anything revolutionary, my hour of “church” was more productive and more conducive to the way I value spirituality. Today, I got to listen to a Spanish podcast, instead of a priest droning on. And after the hour, I walked away with one full-trash bag of recyclables and one full bag of trash, instead of sitting idly in mass.

The idea of church is glorious. Coming together as a community to rally around good morals, ethics, and peace is always a beautiful thing. Though my hour of church did not take place in a traditional setting, I would argue that my service was just as relevant as any other.

Since religion is entirely dogmatic, based on unproven or unprovable principles, it is entirely up to the individual to be a believer of any given faith. Armed with the power of choice and reason, it makes the most sense to believe in what corresponds to your personal quest for life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. Alas, loyal readers…GO TO CHURCH!

His Holiness graces DC

"Look at the Capitol...This exceptional building indicates democracy...This is right from the beginning..." ~ His Holiness

At 9:30 am Saturday, July 9, the Dalai Lama spoke to a crowd of peace-loving schmendricks on the West Lawn of the Capitol.

I awoke without aid of the alarm clock at six-fifty, rested and eager for the Tibetan peacelord himself. Thanking the universe for gifting me with an injection of ebullience, I set off on a solo-mission for insight and inspiration.

After a bus and metro ride I arrived at my destination at 8 am. The West Lawn of the Capitol Building was about half-full. I grabbed a seat in the grass and then busied myself with my vocab note cards. Thirty minutes later, the magic happened. Two middle-aged women ambled up and stood in a spot next to me, a space that was only big enough for a lamb and a hobbit.

I offered to scoot over a touch and in return they offered me a spot on their blanket. It was like instant friendship and completely in line with the essence of the day. We started talking, and before you know it the guy next to me was brought into the conversation too. I learned about their travels to Boston, India, and Japan. One of the women was raised a Catholic, but had recently started meditating and meshing eastern religion with the traditional western canon.

It made for great conversation, the woman and the rest of us opened up to one another. The emotional surge of being in a place where I was surrounded by people seeking out answers for faith, peace, and direction was akin to the one I felt immersed in the crowd at Grant Park, Chicago, during Obama’s election night.

"Once you understand yourself, communication with others becomes easy." ~ His Holiness

Taking in the spirit of the day, I befriended fellow peace seekers in a quest for merriment, insight, and anecdotes of wonder.

When the Dalai Lama spoke, he made a lot of good points. He illustrated how formality can become a barrier to communication, how by truly knowing our realities we have the ability to shape them in the direction we’d like, and how being comfortable with ourselves allows us to reach out to others.

What struck me more than anything else about the day was the way His Holiness and the people around me gave me this ability to lucidly look inside myself. I see this chain of events that has led me to Arlington, Virginia, a place where I believe I have found the right woman to love. I’m building skills for that right job, and I’m spending every free moment I have to explore the world the best I know how.

As I’m trying to lead a life that is full, true, and where my happiness buds in concert with the happiness of others, I found the morning with His Holiness to be a great lift. I wish you, good reader, the best of luck on your own journey.

Here were some of my favorite quotes from the Dalai Llama:

“Once you understand yourself communication with others becomes easy.”

“Everybody has an equal right to happiness. The mistake people make is trying to find happiness from outside themselves.”

“Look at the Capitol…This exceptional building indicates democracy…This is right from the beginning.

Shedding light on Arlington's best kept secret

If Nikola Tesla and Aldo Leopald could maneuver a Vulcan mind meld the result might be half as noteworthy as the W&OD trail at twilight.

“…An agent that softens or smoothes the skin,” were the final words I scribbled down on my 103^rd note card before realizing that my window of opportunity was closing quickly. Last night, I witnessed Arlington’s best kept secret, and if I was lucky enough tonight, I would be able to catch it on camera.

Bolting out of the Tiki hut, I made for the W&OD trail, an old railroad line converted into a bike and running path in 1988. It’s this trail that makes you feel like you’re in Jurassic Park, and if you have a significant other, it’s this trail where you will probably want to sing your lungs out to her beneath the enormous trees looming overhead and the plush, green foliage girdled round.

But even more cosmically connected to this trail is the best kept secret of Arlington – the fireflies. If you go out on this trail at twilight you can see hundreds of them, popping and bursting with light, randomly infusing their bioluminescence upon a three-dimensional canvas. There’s simply nothing like it.

Though I tried my best to capture it on film, there’s no comparison to witnessing the miracle in the flesh. Scores of fireflies flash on and off. Some dot the trees, others hug the shrubs and some dance through the air. It’s like the feeling of neurons firing, or the birth of electricity without wires.