By:Mia Strong
Wonderful event and great speakers.
By:judith lawson
Our Saturday walk had to be cancelled with tropical storm Noel's high wind and
driving rain making the call but our
Teach-in Sunday went off beautifully.
Two Maine legislators -- Hannah Pingree
and Dennnis Damon, were with us, along
with famous folksinger Noel Paul Stookey
of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Noel sang
a song he composed on waking that morning, "In These Times, and it's
a fabulous contribution to the movement.
It's on our video filmed by Dylan Howard. I think Noel wants to give it to the world via the movement! From
83-year old Jan Watson to marine scientist Jen Litteral, artist and
author of "Americans Who Tell the Truth"
Rob Shetterly, and all-seeing naturalist Steve Perrin, in addition
to our Maine legislators and the amazing
Dylan Howard (18 yo) whose power point
presentation on toxic waste and its
contribution to climate change raised
a cheer, the panelists and musicians
gave their all for Step It Up! and 1 Sky. My personal disappointment is that not one fisherman or fisherman's
family came, and they are the people
feeling the impacts of climate change
most. Maine's people are burdened by
a couple fo social attitudes -- hyper- individualism (fishermen) and sentimentalism (old timers) that must
transform into cooperation and willingness to be present with things
as they are and strategize for a very
different future. Yet our remote villages in one of the outermost provinces of the empire are on the move,
if slower than this host would like.
