Excerpts from Krista Tippett’s writing for her brilliant and inspiring On Being show.
Jan 25th
[onbeing@substack.com]
“This is an age of devastating tumult. It is an age of magnificent possibility. Much is breaking. Much is being born. The two go hand in hand, and that is one of the deepest and strangest, most terrible and most redemptive truths of human reality.
“It is harder for us to train our eyes and imaginations on the beauty and creativity that are so alive in our world, the generative learning and stretching that are underway. These realities of our time are most visible close to home, in the worlds that we can see and touch. They are quiet. They do not trip the fear center of our brains, which inclines us to attend more seriously in every moment to what feels dangerous and destructive. And, in our time, that narrative of danger and destruction comes to us a thousand times, a thousand ways, each day.
“We need settled, grounded bodies and spirits in order to meet what is hard and hurting and rise to what is beautiful and life-giving.
“I am devastated and demoralized, too, by this Moment’s ravages, its shocking counterpoints of fragility and hubris. My heart breaks for the many human beings on the sharp edges of all that is breaking. We’re called to take what is harmful seriously and to care and protect, actively, as much as to calm…
The news that is, as we say ‘breaking,’ is never seeing things whole.
Will you be my comrade in seeing things deep and whole and so keeping the possibility alive that wholeness and healing are what we grow and live into?
With love, and a muscular hope, Krista
*****
Hi Folks, I’ll start this issue of my newsletter with something that makes me smile each time I read the piece,
from Peers online news service, which I’ve been donating to for years.
[peerservice.org]Jan 4, 2025
A group of 4 to 8 year-olds were asked, "What does love mean?" Some responses:
From Rebecca, age 8
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.”
From Billy, age 4
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
From Nikka, age 6
“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing. I just helped him cry."
Remember the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and it’s sad fate as it languished for lack of a couple of states’ approval…
More than half a century after the U.S. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, President Joe Biden announced shortly before leaving office his administration's official opinion that the amendment is ratified and its protections against sex-based discrimination are therefore now enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
The announcement has been long demanded by rights advocates including Democratic lawmakers who called on Biden to affirm the ERA's ratification in order to protect reproductive rights that have been gutted by the Republican Party.
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," said Biden. "In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex."
Leonard Peltier Finally Free
From The Lever [levernews.com]
by Sam Pollack
Feb 22, 2025
After 50 years in federal prison, 80-year-old Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier was released. Former President Biden commuted his sentence to allow Peltier to serving the remainder at his home.
Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in N. Dakota, was convicted in 1975 of killing 2 FBI agents in a shootout on S. Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation between between the FBI and members of the American Indian Movement. AIM was founded in 1988 to address police brutality and discrimination against native Americans the long history of the U.S. violating treaties made with tribal nations. Peltier was given 2 consecutive life sentences. A witness who initially testified to having seen Peltier shoot the agents later rescinded her testimony, saying that her initial statements had been coerced.
A great new online project:
The Progress Network
theprogressnetwork.org
They just published online The Best News of 2024 And they also have a podcast: What Could Go Right?
A few examples of a recent Progress Network publication:
- Over 1 billion people around the world participated in elections in their county - that’s the biggest number of voters in history.
- Greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union have dropped 37% from what they were in 1990.
- The share of global energy from renewable sources is dramatically increasing.The International Energy Agency expects that 2024 will be the year that solar and wind.
- generation, combined, will surpass hydropower (from dams) and, in 2025 will surpass coal. In September (2024) the UK shut down its last coal-powered plant.
- A woman with Type 1 diabetes began producing her own insulin after receiving a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells taken from her own body.
- Egypt was certified malaria-free, after having been plagued by malaria since 4,000 BCE.
- Thailand became the 1st country in Southeast Asia to legalized same-sex marriages. Meanwhile, Greece became the 1st Orthodox Christian nation to do the same. In both countries, same-sex couples will now be able to adopt.
Also from The Progress Network, good news in the U.S., where in 2024:
- Minimum wage increases went into effect in 22 states. Alaska and Missouri voted in November to increase their minimum wage to $15 per hour. Only 13% percent of US workers now earn under $15 per hour. That’s down from nearly 32% in 2022.
So much progress has been made that the advocacy group Fight for 15 changed its name to Fight for a Union.
- In June, Vermont passed a law mandating 100 % renewable energy by 2035 for all utilities. 25 states and Washington, DC have implemented renewable energy or net-zero emissions targets.
- Virginia became the 12th state - and the first in the South - to raise the legal age of marriage to 18. The vast majority of minors who marry under 18 in the US are married to adult men, before these girls are even old enough to consent to sex.
- Kentucky became the 24th state to ban “conversion therapy” for minors. NOTE: Conversion therapy tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Good News for Wolves in Europe
Due to conservation efforts, wolves have made a rapid recovery in Europe, with populations increasing nearly 60 percent within a decade
AND
The Canadian government has just inked a deal to build the world’s first full-scale carbon-neutral cement plant in Alberta. Ammonia-based carbon scrubbing technology will capture around 95 percent of the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the promises former President Biden made during his campaign was to ensure Indigenous peoples had a proverbial seat at the table in his administration. When his term as 46th President came to a close ended it was the most pro-Native presidency in United States history.
He named over 80 Indigenous appointees to historic positions—including the first Indigenous Treasurer of the United States with Chief Lynn Malerba (Mohegan). Biden also appointed a record number of Indigenous American judges when he named four Indigenous women to the federal bench: Lydia Kay Griggsby (Afro-Indigenous), Lauren King (Muscogee Creek), Sunshine Sykes (Navajo), and Sara Hill (Cherokee).
Biden appointed the first Indigenous American woman to serve as a lifetime judge in Oklahoma and the first Indigenous American lifetime judges of any gender in Maryland, Washington state, and California.
NOTE: Half of all Native American lifetime judges in United States history—eight total—were appointed by President Biden.
Wolves Return to Yellowstone
Live Science [live science.com]
Feb 2025
A 20-year study has found that the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the 1995 and 1996 had a cascading effect that benefited the entire ecosystem, a new study finds. It shows how the return or loss of apex predators can be a positive effect every part of the food web.
By the 1920s, as a result of U.S. government initiatives to control large predator populations, gray wolves were no longer present in Yellowstone National Park and cougar populations were very low. Without those predators, Rocky Mountain elk thrived, which in turn decimated some plant populations. The loss of some trees and shrubs then threatened beaver populations. This sequence of events is known as a trophic cascade — when the actions of top predators indirectly affect other species further down the food web, ultimately affecting the entire ecosystem.
Former President Biden worked hard in his last days in office. Here’s one more important thing he accomplished, as reported in The Lever, January 25
[levernews.com]
CLEAN ENERGY MONEY ESCAPES DIRTY HANDS
Before leaving office Biden managed to protect $96.7 BILLION in Inflation Reduction Act clean energy grants. This represents 84% of the total grants issued through the landmark climate law. It will ensure continued deployment of clean energy even as President DT rolls back climate protections and tries to rescind that law. The landmark Climate Reduction Act has already provided hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy and other climate initiatives.
Included in what Bided protected are: $8.8 Billion for state energy efficiency rebate programs, $9.45 Billion for a Department of Agriculture program to help electricity co-ops buy more clean energy, and $38 Billion to the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas reduction fund. PLUS $69 Billion in grants to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
From The Lever [levernews.com]
Feb 15 2025
A City That Runs Clean
by Sam Pollack
As of 2025, all municipal buildings in Chicago, including 98 fire stations, two international airports, and two of the largest water treatment plants on the planet, are officially running completely on renewable energy.
The switch is expected to reduce the carbon footprint of the country’s 3rd largest city by 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year — the equivalent of taking 62,000 cars off the road. Chicago joins a growing list of U.S. cities leading the charge to go emissions free, while the new Trump administration attacks federal clean energy programs and wipes out any mention of climate change from its online domain. At least for the next four years, the push for renewable energy will likely fall on the shoulders of state and local governments.
Chicago’s switch to clean energy was decades in the making. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel initiated the project in 2017, and his successor, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, struck a deal with electricity supplier Constellation to purchase the city’s energy from developer Swift Current Energy starting in 2025. Swift Current’s construction of a 3,800-acre solar farm in central Illinois is now the largest solar installation east of the Mississippi River.
A Mission of Kindness
September 11, 2024, Tooele Transcript Bulletin
https://www.tooeleonline.com/articles/hometown/a-mission-of-kindness/
Revving their engines, the Bikers Against Child Abuse love to ride, and they love to make a difference by helping children who have been abused. “It is about giving them back some of the power balance that has been stolen from them, giving them back some of the childhood that has been stolen from them,” says Bikers Against Child Abuse‘s Tom Goudreau, whose road name is ‘Motown’. With specific training and extensive security checks, the frequently big and burly members of B.A.C.A. serve as protectors of chid abuse survivors. They take a photograph with the child, which the child keeps to remind them that they have family to call on. They serve as escorts when kids feel frightened to go somewhere. They show up at court hearings to help kids feel less intimidated. BACA — has chapters all over North America and around the world. Children they help are welcomed in a special ceremony and they can reach out for help whenever they need it. “They get a road name like we have, and two primaries who will be responsible, 24/7, for that child whenever they need it,” Motown says. “We’ll be there at three o’clock in the morning, if necessary.” BACA is in 19 countries around the world because child abuse is everywhere.”
A new life for empty offices: Growing kale and cucumbers January 28, 2025, BBC News https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250127-why-veg-is-growing-in-empty...
In some cities, as many as one in four office spaces are vacant. Some start-ups are giving them a second life – as indoor farms growing crops as varied as kale, cucumber and herbs. In countries including Canada and Australia, landlords are struggling to fill vacant office spaces as companies embrace remote and hybrid work. In the US, the office vacancy rate is more than 20%. "Vertical farms may prove to be a cost-effective way to fill in vacant office buildings," says Warren Seay, Jr ... who authored an article on urban farm reconversions. There are other reasons for the interest in urban farms, too. Though supply chains have largely recovered post-Covid-19, other global shocks, including climate change, geopolitical turmoil and farmers' strikes, mean that they continue to be vulnerable – driving more cities to look for local food production options. Workers are currently aiming to transform a floor of 32-story historic Niels Esperson building in Houston, Texas, into an indoor farm. In September 2024, US indoor farm startup 80 Acres, which opened its first indoor farm inside a vacant building in Hamilton, Ohio, developed a 200,000-sq-ft (18,600-sq-m) facility inside a former commercial building in Florence, Kentucky. Overall, vertical farms have the potential to outperform regular farms on several environmental sustainability metrics like water usage, says [director of the Arell Food Institute] Evan Fraser.
I hope you read everything I write related to bringing babies into the world...
Because we were all born and many of us will become parents, we all ought to care about the how babies are born and childbearing women are treated in the U.S.
You were born! And how you came into this world effects how you think about yourself, others and the world around you today…Whether you are hopeful or despondent and whether you feel you can make a difference or don’t even think it’s worth your effort to sign a petition, attend a protest rally, or vote.
*Here’s good news on the birthing front that runs counter to everything you hear about the danger of birthing anywhere except in a hospital.
From author, researcher, activist Henci Goer’s Newsletter
*Jan 22, 2025
For Low-Risk Pregnancies, Planned Home Births
Just as Safe as Birth Center Births, Large Study Shows
In a study of more than 110.000 planned home birth and birth center births in the U.S. no differences in mortality and morbidity of moms and babies were found. This is very important, because U.S. OBs and physician organizations have, since the late 1800s, consistently and aggressively come out against home births, while having to admit that out-of-hospital birthing centers for “low-risk” mothers (i.e. the vast majority of women] are OK.
This research is important because it might 1) lead more women to plan a home birth, and 2) it could lead to midwives caring for home birth women getting reimbursed fully, as they should.
I watch nature364.tv - daily posts brief clips of something in the natural world, including sights and sounds - a beautiful waterfall, birds in flights, etc.. Each one is just 1 minute long - or shorter. I find these to be a great way to take a pause and breathe deeply and clear my mind.
A true breakthrough in electric vehicles
From Live Science
livescience.comDecember 24, 2024
Mercedes-Benz announced that it has developed a new type of solar voltaic paint that will be able to power an electric vehicle (EV) for up to 7,456 miles per year in optimal lighting conditions (i.e. where there’s lots of sun). It’s called a "nanoparticle" paint, and it can be applied directly to the body of an EV, reducing dependence on external charging.
Photovoltaic paint converts light energy into an electrical charge via a process known as the photovoltaic effect. Furthermore, this paint is based on non-toxic and readily available raw materials, making it both environmentally friendly and cost-effective to produce
I’m including a link to the following Substack writing again because I feel it’s so important. If you’re looking for hope and inspiration, sign up to read or listen to what Marianne Williamson has to say. And look for:
“Marianne’s Manifesto for a Renewed Democratic Party”
mariannewilliamson.substack.com