Rain, finally

Today is the third day of rain here in parched metro Atlanta. The rain we have received won't make much difference in the lake and reservoir levels, but perhaps it signals the end of the drought. I once read a poem in which hell was described as one sunny day after another: clear blue sky for eternity. We've had a taste of that hell here, with each lovely clear day heralding more shrinking water supplies.

The first day it rained, I collected water from downspouts, storing the water in a large plastic garbage pail for future use in watering our plants during the outdoor watering ban. The second day it rained, I was at work and unable to continue my water conservation plan. The third day of rain, today, I gaze optimistically out the window, hoping that the rain heralds a wetter season and eventual cessation of watering bans. (We are planning, however, to install rain barrels so that I won't have to get wet collecting water in tiny bathroom garbage pails to transfer to a larger container!)

The drought isn't over, of course, and even if Lake Sidney Lanier fills to its banks again, the worry of drought shouldn't be over. Atlanta continues to grow, adding "55 acres of concrete, asphalt, and rooftops" every day, according to a University of Georgia study that has been quoted recently in the media. Concrete and asphalt divert the water, preventing it from soaking into the ground. The concrete, asphalt, and rooftops absorb heat and release that heat into the atmosphere, affecting weather patterns. Unchecked growth and unregulated construction damage the environment and guarantee future catastrophes.

Scientists have been warning us about the effects of environmental degradation for years, but we haven't listened, and our governmental leaders have downplayed the danger. Even today, as wildfires destroy thousands of homes and acres of forests in California, as Central Texas recovers from massive floods, as cities in the Southeast, such as Atlanta, face severe water shortages, our government continues to muffle the clarion call for deliberate and decisive action: the Associated Press today reports that the White House "edited congressional testimony given Tuesday by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impact of climate change on health, removing specific scientific references to potential health risks, according to two sources familiar with the documents." (emphasis mine)

And here in Georgia, our Republican governor threatens to sue the Army Corps of Engineers in order to prevent water being released from Lake Lanier for endangered species downstream. "What's more important, people or mussels"? he has sputtered.

Our esteemed leaders just don't get it--or worse, they get it and just don't care, opting for the short term, politically expedient action. We are the mussels; the mussels are us. We are part of this environment, not separated from--nor superior to--the environment. The choice here should not be an either/or, should never have come to an either/or. Our stupid decisions--in political leaders and in environmental husbandry--have put us where we are. And no governmental redaction or suppression of scientific research is going to prevent the consequences.

"The situation is very dire"

We now have buckets and pans in our shower, in a system that's not efficient but that works to collect bath water. When we moved to the metro Atlanta area from Central Texas in June, we left behind an area receiving record floods. We are now in a state of record drought. The red clay of our lawn is hard as rock. Preparing our yard for planting native plants, vegetables and herbs is daunting. Tom took a pickax to this soil destroyed by cotton farming, and though this house was built in the 1940s, I can see little evidence that any previous owner tried to replenish the soil. Even with a pickax and shovels, we could dig no deeper than three or four inches: the soil is that devoid of moisture.We've found free compost, chipped prunings and leaves composted by the county--but there's not enough water to plant.

Until a couple of weeks ago, people in our area could water their lawns or wash their cars three times a week. We don't water grass unless we're trying to establish a native plant, as we did in Texas when we were establishing buffalo grass in our lawn, a native, drought-resistant species. So it seemed to me that the water situation couldn't be too dire since the county was allowing citizens to water their lawns. Then we were put on an outside watering ban about a week or so ago. Now I read that Atlanta's "main source of water, Lake Lanier, could be drained dry in 90 to 121 days."

How has it come to this dire situation so soon? I think that our leaders are slow to ask for sacrifices. Our country is run by people who do not prepare for the long term. We've seen that in the planning--or lack of planning--in the war in Iraq. We've seen it in our government's disregard of the signs of global warming. We see it in disasters such as droughts, floods, and hurricanes. We're to blame, too. We're the ones who elect these folks. We're the ones buying the huge trucks, Hummers, and SUVs. We're the ones watering our expansive lawns of grass while Lake Lanier drains to record low levels.

I don't know how our plans will succeed for turning our yard into a native plant paradise and edible estate. We're catching shower water just to sustain the plants we have already.

And we're down to three-minute showers.

How to Eat Your Lawn
Fritz Haeg: Edible Lawn Manifesto
University of Georgia: Georgia Drought

WHY are more Americans hostile toward Christianity?

Three articles in the LA Times connected serendipitously for me today. I began with a post on Broadsheet, where Carol Lloyd discussed an article about a homemaking major offered at Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Only women are allowed to take these homemaking classes which are preparing women, according to seminary president Paige Patterson, to become home schoolers. Then, while perusing the online newspaper, I came across an article about Ann Coulter, who said in a recent interview on television that her ideal of a country would be one in which everyone is Christian. Her host, who is Jewish, protested. Coulter added that she believed that Jews could be"'perfected through conversion to Christianity," implying, of course, that Judaism is inferior to Christianity.

Finally, I noted an article on a poll that indicates changing attitudes toward American Christianity. The pollsters noted that while a decade ago "an overwhelming majority" of non-Christians, including those aged 16-29, had favorable perceptions of Christianity's role in society, those perceptions are today much more negative in this age group. Just 16% of the people in that age group felt favorably toward Christianity's role in society. Evangelical Christianity is in particular disfavor, with only 3% of young non-Christians being favorably disposed toward this group that has become increasingly high profiled during the Bush administration.

And why do these young people have a more negative attitude toward American Christianity? Well, they perceive it to be "judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old-fashioned (78%) and too involved in politics (75%)." The pollsters also discovered that "even among Christians, half of young believers said they too view Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical and too political. One-third said it was old-fashioned and out of touch with reality."

Here in the LA Times, American Christian evangelicals can discover how their embrace of the Bush administration has turned non-Christians against them. Their foray into national politics has diminished their religious message. Their rise to power, accompanied by the likes of Ann Coulter and James Dobson, has hurt their cause--if that cause is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the students taking the homemaking courses at the Southern Baptist Southwestern Theological Seminary says it really doesn't matter what she thinks in terms of a woman's role in society. As a woman, she is supposed to learn how to take care of the home so that her husband will not have to be responsible for any household duties. Is it any wonder that non-Christians have a negative perception of American Christianity?

The "Menacing" Calls

I have tried to stick to my moratorium on responding to outrages resulting from the Iraq war, and so far I'm holding firm. However, I have to respond to an interview with Chris Matthews that I read online at TV Guide. Salon's "War Room" provided a link that didn't work, but I found the interview with a Google search. That interview followed up on some comments that Matthews made at the 10th anniversary party for Hardball. Matthews revealed that the Bush administration tried to silence discussion that was critical of the war in Iraq. He compares the treatment he received from the Clinton administration while he covered the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal with the treatment he has received from the Bush administration while covering the war in Iraq: "And the difference in these two cases was that although I was extremely tough on Clinton, there was never any attempt to silence me — whereas there was a concerted effort by [Vice President Cheney's office] to silence me. It came in the form of three different people calling trying to quiet me."

Matthews describes how it's now normal to receive "an almost menacing call" when he plans to air views the administration or some of the presidential campaigners do not like: "[T]heir people call up and threaten, or challenge, and get very nasty."

That folks in the Bush administration try to quiet people who are critical of the administration or who hold views contrary to the purposes and goals of the administration is not news. What's news to me is that Matthews describes these menacing calls as "the norm." Successful bullying has a cumulative effect--no matter who is doing the bullying. This administration's disregard for the First Amendment makes it easier for others in power to disregard the First Amendment.

Katie Couric also says she received corporate pressure from NBC to be less critical of the Iraq war and the administration in interviews on the Today show: "I think there was a lot of undercurrent of pressure not to rock the boat for a variety of reasons, where it was corporate reasons or other considerations."

Hurrah for Grandmas.....and menopause

A tip of the hat to Broadsheet, which links to articles about research on post-menopausal grandmothers. Scientists have evidently wondered for some time why menopause occurs in all women at about the same time, "at the half-century mark, give or take four years."Some scientists have conducted studies that strongly suggest that menopause has an evolutionary benefit, providing hard workers for tribes and families: women in their prime not hampered by child-rearing. Grandmothers have the energy to devote to their families, giving their descendants a survival advantage.

That grandmothers provide necessary support to families and the larger community comes as no surprise to most of us. I was just describing this week to my fifteen-year-old daughter what I had learned from my grandmothers. But now that I am grandmother-age, if not actually a grandmother yet, I am cheered by research that finds that "often. . . women in their 60s are as strong as women in their 20s."

5K Run for Rape Crisis Center

We walked over a mile to downtown today for the Dekalb Rape Crisis Center's Take Back the Night 5K run. Tom ran the race and came in first in his age group, and made better time than the last 5K he participated in. His prize? A commuter mug with First Place Age Division on it. The event was fun and for a good cause. My contribution? Clapping and yelling for everyone who crossed the finish line.

An outside exhibition of t-shirts created by victims of rape or sexual violence and friends and family of victims reminded us of the serious intention of the event: to raise money for the local rape crisis center.

Flying like prayer flags in the breeze

Incidences of (reported) forcible rape in Georgia (2006): 2,173.

According to a 1992 study, just 16% of rapes are reported.

A Moratorium

I am now declaring a moratorium on posts about the Iraq war. I'll not put a time limit to that moratorium, but I am going to try for at least a month. I'll write about gardening or family or exercise or local activities or the view outside my window. I will not be ignoring the news, just not responding publicly to it.

Today I purchased more plants at Georgia Perimeter College Botanical Garden: native wisteria, purple monarda, yellow jasmine (which had been identified for me as coral vine, but the tag says otherwise) fringe tree, mountain azalea. If I were president, I would promise a native plant in every yard and tax credits for family gardens.

If we would just get some rain, I could begin my new gardening plans and guarantee a drop in blood pressure--despite the news.

So Sick: The Blackwater Horror

I am so sick of the incompetence, venality, greed, and jingoism associated with the war in Iraq. The latest Blackwater scandal just joins the list of ways our government has mismanaged the war. I read these stories of gun-toting, trigger-happy security contractors slaughtering Iraqi civilians, and I can't help wonder why more Americans aren't disgusted with the choices our leaders have made in beginning and directing this war. Are people incapable of empathizing with the Iraqi mother cradling her dead son in her arms, with the Iraqi taxi driver desperately crawling away from the bloody scene, with the Iraqi husband remembering his wife as a "beautiful woman"?

Or how about the family of the Iraqi bodyguard shot by a drunken Blackwater employee? The drunken 26-year-old was hustled out of the country after the murder.

I don't doubt Blackwater has some competent and ethically-motivated employees, men (mostly) who see themselves as patriots supporting the USA's military efforts in Iraq. At least one Blackwater security guard was heard yelling "No, no, no, no," gesturing to his colleagues to stop the gunfire that killed at least 17 Iraqis. But what we have here is a mercenary army that's been operating under the radar of oversight and a company that that has enriched itself immensely in the horror of Iraq.

The actions of Blackwater security contractors have also compromised military efforts in Iraq.

I recall that not one Iraqi was on the planes that flew into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon or the plane that crashed in that Pennsylvania field. There was no connection between Saddam Hussein and the events of 9/11. I recall that the Taliban--which did and does support Al-Qaeda, is regaining power in parts of Afghanistan and that Osama bin Laden is still at large. The Iraq war has been obscenely cheered by neo-con leaders who are forming another cheer-leading section for war against Iran.

Anyone for supporting further incompetence, venality, and greed?

Updates

Military Eyewitnesses to the Blackwater event

New Evidence

Gardening and Water Restrictions

Sunday afternoon Tom, M-M, and I got on our bikes to pedal to several local gardens highlighted in the Decatur Garden Tour. Now, I haven't ridden a bike in years. When we lived in Minnesota, we loved biking on the rails-to-trails pathway from Carlton to Duluth, but I get anxious biking in automobile traffic. Years and years ago when I was an undergraduate at Texas A&M, I biked to campus from married student housing until I got tired of running into pedestrians. Well, I think I might have bumped just one or two pedestrians, but maneuvering through the crowded campus made me so nervous that I finally resorted to walking. I don't know why I get so nervous while biking and having to watch for traffic--pedestrians or automobiles--but I do. However, I've decided to overcome that nervousness and to try pedaling more frequently. I'm becoming more and more green conscious and feel I must walk the walk if I'm going to talk the talk--or put the pedal to the wheel if I'm going to live like I feel. Or something dorky like that.

Anyway, we decided to begin the tour with the garden that had been most recommended to us: Ryan Gainey's garden on Emerson Avenue. We arrived with little difficulty, though I was a little slow in re-acquainting myself with gear shifting on my bicycle. I think I ran only two red lights. Tom and M-M were much more circumspect.

Ryan Gainey is a nationally-known gardener. His personal garden covers three city lots, or two acres, and is a lovely, whimsical place, with numerous outdoor rooms. Although the Atlanta metro area is under water restrictions because of severe drought conditions, the gardens looked great.

Halfway through our tour of the garden, I watched a water hose being pulled back into one of the green houses, water dripping from its end spout. Curious, I followed the disappearing hose into the greenhouse to discover Ryan Gainey on the other end. Two women already there also noticed him and began asking questions about the guest house. "Do your guests stay in these rooms?" one woman asked.

At first, I thought Gainey wasn't going to answer; he was silent for a bit. Then he cordially said that the rooms attached to the green house had once been part of the original barn on the place. A staff member lived there for fifteen years, he said. "When I have guests," he added, "I allow them to stay in my house."

Later that afternoon, I found out that we are now under a complete water ban--no outdoor watering whatsoever. I wonder how people such as Ryan Gainey cope with such restrictions. Since his gardens are part of his business, part of his "livelihood," Gainey probably gets different watering guidelines than the general public as ourselves. Thus, when Tom and I created a flower bed around our mailbox later on Sunday afternoon, we didn't plant the native grasses and verbenas we had bought, opting instead to wait until we get some rain. We didn't want the neighbors turning us in for violating the no-outdoor-watering restrictions. One neighbor walking his huge, black Great Dane stopped while we were digging to tell us that neighbors had rushed out to warn him of the ban when he was washing his car. It was the first he had heard of the new restrictions. Previously, our addresses determined the watering we could do: even-numbered houses such as ours restricted to watering Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays between midnight and 10 a.m..

I'm all for water restrictions in drought and for careful water management even in years of plentiful rainfall. So we're going to create a front yard of native grasses, shrubs, and flowers--with a few herbs and vegetables--that will not require watering once they are established. But we've got to get out of this drought first.

I read an article recently about how large cities--such as Atlanta--create their own weather. The heat from dense buildings and hundreds of acres of pavement actually affect the weather of the city. Thunderstorms that form on one side of the city sometimes divide, going around the city and meeting up again as one thunderstorm on the other side of the city. I've noticed recently that thunderstorms approaching Atlanta from the west will result in just a sprinkling of rain in our area while areas east of us then get lots of rain from the same systems. Other articles describe how this heat-effect from cities can create rain. Well, we desperately need that rain now if our garden is to look as good as the ones we viewed on the Decatur Garden Tour.

M-M took the photographs I have included with this post, most of which she took in Ryan Gainey's garden. To view a larger version, click on the photograph. Note, especially, that bee reaching for a flower!