Betwixt and Between

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Laura

I was asked to read the book Between God and Green: How Evangelicals are Cultivating a Middle Ground on Climate Change by Katharine K. Wilkinson for an article for Moms Clean Air Force. I jumped at the chance because a book written by someone that encourages Christians to get involved in caring for the planet is something I want to read for myself. Although not currently part of an evangelical church, I grew up in them and went to a very outspokenly conservative University. Although my parents did not raise me to be an environmentalist, my mother was a Biologist and certainly taught me to be amazed by the world around me. I’ve always been one of those people in awe of Nature and the power therein. Science makes me giddy and my poor students that have had to listen to talk for any length of time can certainly vouch for a more than appropriate infatuation with the water cycle.

In college, I was introduced to a wonderful group of Biologists within the department who cared about the environment. My Ecology professor, Dr. Korstad, instilled a sense of responsibility for Creation in my heart and since then, I’ve held the opinion that as a Christian, it’s our job to take the best care of the planet, the environment and all of Creation as we have been charged with responsibility in Genesis.

Over the years, I’ve realized that of all the lessons taught in Sunday School, Creation Care tends to fall to the bottom. And when bringing up the topic with others, regardless of denominational affiliation, it would seem that the emphasis on missions, appropriate hymns and scriptural interpretation wins out over responsibility to Creation. It’s frustrating for me have felt so in sync with some pretty serious evangelicals while in college on this topic only to move home and not be able to find much connection.

I started out reading the book in total awe that I know the people Dr. Wilkinson mentions! Dr. Korstad teaches summer courses at Au Sable Institute! As the book progressed, I found myself wanting to actually have lunch with Dr. Wilkinson and find out how she stays involved. For me, this book encouraged me to continue to be myself… a Christian concerned about Creation Care.

For the rest of my post on Moms Clean Air Force visit their site!

Community

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Laura

Living in Ohio, I know first hand how a less urban community can be apathetic about environmental concerns. Moving back to Richland county after college, I was so discouraged to feel that I was the only one who cared. I’ve struggled with this discouragement for years, but eventaully found community through the internet and was content with the way things were. When I discovered Moms Clean Air Force last year, I was thrilled to have another resource for not only information, but support. When I realized that there was actually a physical office in Columbus, I felt bolstered in the hope that together we could bring change.

You see, I feel it’s incredibly important to keep ourselves involved with the world around us. It would be so easy for me to close the doors of my home and think that I’m not going to feel or see any of the effects of air pollution. I could look at my healthy children and say that there’s no reason for me to get involved since, clearly, it doesn’t apply to my life. But I can’t do that. I keep my environment too much to close my heart to say it doesn’t matter. So I soldier on, writing letters to senators and educating myself as best as I can.

Friday, I met with a small group of people in Mansfield. We talked Clean Air, Solar Power, Community Gardening, Fracking and Cooperation. I got to meet people who work for the Audubon society. I met leaders of the North End Community Improvement Collaborative. I learned about neuroscience. I heard from an involved member of my town on how to keep educating people about the pollutive effects of hydraulic fracturing. And I learned, I’m not alone.

The importance of the on the ground Moms Clean Air Force groups is that the involved mothers are really, truly not alone in their fight for clean air. I can pick up my phone and call Jenny anytime I need some ideas or encouragement when I’m trying to get a meetup together so we can introduce the Force to mother mothers. I can drive down to Columbus to sit in on any number of meetups that are discussing the issues at hand that Moms Clean Air Force is working to help us conquer. Getting involved and seeing the impact we can have on our Senator’s votes is so encouraging! It tells me that maybe the letters I wrote years ago didn’t necessarily reap the harvest, but maybe, just maybe they planted a seed.

If you’re like me, wishing and hoping for a connection to other mothers in Ohio who want the same clean, pure air for our children, get involved. Email us. We want to meet with you and help you educate your community. We are excited to help you write a letter of your own. We want to involve you in the work that we are passionate about. Contact Moms Clean Air Force Ohio and let us be part of your community today!

Community in a Columbus Coffee House

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Laura

I’m always so thrilled to find other mothers who are as passionate about the same things as I am. Motherhood can be quite a challenge without having friends around you, but when you have passions that aren’t as mainstream as everyone else’s, well, allies are hard to come by.

Photo Credit: Jenny Confer Linn

Thursday, I made another trip to Columbus to meet with the ladies of Moms Clean Air Force Ohio, a few newly interested moms and Ben Famous, the aid to Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). It was a great session for questions and answers. For the second time in a month, I got to sit back and watch other mothers find their own passion. It’s just the most gratifying thing in the world to watch someone learn a new thing. The amazing part about being involved with a group that is on the ground is that you don’t have to wait for the page to reload to watch the changes in people’s lives. You can see it right in front of you.

Moms Clean Air Force is a community. Just by meeting these women, I’m making new friends, learning new things and finding other mothers who are as wild about the air we breathe as I am finding myself growing day by day. So Thursday, I got to sit in a coffee shop with my children and listen to Ben Famous talk about Senator Brown’s position on clean air. I got to be re-inspired and watch other mothers be inspired. And I loved every second.

An Open Letter to the 2012 Republican Candidate Hopefuls

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Laura

This has been Cross-posted at Moms Clean Air Force Ohio

An Open Letter to the 2012 Republican Candidate Hopefuls:

Dear Sirs,

Every morning as I drink my coffee, I read the news updates on your preliminary campaigns and I’m so sad. All of you are religious and conservative. You’ve made your positions clear on issues like Abortion and National Debt and Education. Not one of you agrees 100% with the other and that’s ok. That’s why there’s a choice and how we decide who will be the best fit for our presidential candidate. As time as passed and debates have been won, I feel a very limited sense of confidence in my potential Republican candidate.

I realize that since President Nixon’s tenure, Republicans haven’t placed a high priority on the environment, but now is the time for change. NOW is the time in our country’s history that you need to stand up and make positive choices for our natural resources. These resources are all that we have to give our children for their future. These children are the future of our country!

Mothers all over the US are angry. We’re angry about the pathetic state of our air quality. We’re angry that our children suffer from asthma in unprecedented numbers and cannot live like children should live: enjoying their days, running and playing.

As a mother in Ohio, I don’t want my state to continue to be the most toxic state in the union. I don’t want to wake up on summer days and worry about the air quality being too poor for us to play outside. I want to be able to let my children enjoy nature without fear of toxins and pollution. Please hear our voices and take the time to revisit your positions on environmental issues. Take the time to truly count the cost of the Clean Air Act and see the long-term benefits. Consider the damage done if we throw away all that has been worked toward in the last 2 decades. Listen to us mothers, fighting for our children, their health and their world. If necessary, go against the party line and take a stand with us for our environment and for Clean Air.

I implore you to think about our children, your children, and their future. Remember as you debate over healthcare, that 1 in 5 Americans suffer from Asthma. This Asthma eats up billions of dollars in healthcare, causes thousands of missed days at school or work and sadly claims hundreds of lives each year. Asthma sufferers would be some the first people who could benefit from some consideration for our environment. Please consider the whole picture as you make your decisions and don’t write off the environmental issues as ones that won’t really be worth your time. I promise you, that when it comes to Clean Air and our children, even the smallest issue is worth your time.

Sincerely,

Laura Burns (Mother of 2)

Clean Air for Ohio

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Laura

I was a little reckless in college. Passionate. Opinionated. I was in love with environmentalism. I recycled regilously. I sent letters to politicians advocating change and supporting their eco-friendly decisions. The more I got involved, the more I wished I had time to change my major or even double major so I could just stay in the wonderful world of people who were as angry about pollution as I was. I went to college in Oklahoma where there are some significant issues with pollution and poor air quality. I truly enjoyed my weekends spent slogging around the Tulsa waterways picking up trash. I loved the people I met through those groups and recently, when I found my t-shirt from the Environmental Club I was VP of on campus and honestly wished for those days of camaraderie. Since then, I’ve grown up and learned a lot about how to NOT turn people off when inviting them to join you in a cause. Also, I haven’t cornered anyone in my family with a non-reusable drinking bottle and demanded they listen to my lecture on plastics in landfills and BPA and waste and …

I’m a mother now. I can’t engage a complete stranger in a debate about the evils of GMOs without consideration for my children. I want to be involved, but there are limited opportunities in my town. A few months ago, I was introduced to the group Moms Clean Air Force and started to educate myself a little bit more about the need for advocates right here in Ohio. Were you aware that based on air pollution data Ohio is the most toxic state in the entire country? That pollution is partly comprised of mercury. Ohio is home to 8 of the 100 top polluting factories in the US. I can’t say that I’m proud that the Buckeye state is number 2 in the nation for mercury pollution from power plants. There are millions of children in the US whose lives have been devastated by asthma; asthma which can be triggered by environmental irritants.

As a parent, I don’t want this to be the future of my children, or my grandchildren. I want them to be happy and healthy. I want them to be able to continue to play outside daily, without fear of poisoning. I’m not being dramatic, either. Sadly, more cancers and illnesses are being linked to the contaminated air we breathe. Mercury itself is a neurotoxin. This is why they always warn pregnant and nursing women to keep their consumption of tuna (and other fishes) low. Mercury accumulates in the fatty tissues of the body, like the brain, and slowly poisons it’s victims. Over 400,000 newborns in the US are impacted by mercury every single year.

Tuesday night, I had the extreme pleasure of spending time with Moms Clean Air Force OHIO! That’s right, we have our own satellite office in Columbus. I had met with Jenny (who runs the office and it’s contacts) in December and came away from our time amped up and excited to be more involved. When I got the invitation to the event on Tuesday night, I hunted down a sitter right away. On Tuesday, the 3 ladies from the Columbus office and MCAF’s founder Dominique Browning hosted an event to introduce Ohio mothers to the real issue at hand regarding air pollution. Fresh off the victory of new standards for mercury and air toxics standards by the EPA, we are all bolstered with the hope that this is the first step for a better future for our children.

I loved this event. I loved spending time with the other mothers and hearing them ask questions. Listening to Dominique and Jenny speak was inspiring and empowering. There is nothing like real mothers speaking from their hearts to stir up your own emotions and passions. I am excited to continue to learn about the air quality in Ohio and get more involved with MCAF-Ohio. I hope that you, as readers and especially those here in Ohio take the time to read about MCAF and what we are trying to accomplish. Please consider signing up to be another voice to Congress asking them to stand up for our children. They are our joy and our future, let’s make sure they get to enjoy their lives in good health.

I’m a Concervative Christian and I want CLEAN AIR!!

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Laura

Cross Posted at Moms Clean Air Force

As a new mom, I was excited to visit play groups and moms
clubs to meet other mothers. I wanted to
connect and be a part of something. My
diaper bag was full of cloth diapers, a reusable water bottle and homemade
snacks. When asked, I was honest and told
them my ecofriendliness isn’t a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. As always, this raised eyebrows in my circle
of friends; conservative and Christian.
Somehow, being environmentally conscious and possessing any religious
affiliation has become impossible.

When I surveyed the moms in my area about the level of
importance environmental issues played in their lives, the primary answer I was
given is that they just don’t consider themselves environmental. They try to teach their children not to
waste, but when it comes to taking a stand for something like cleaning up the
air we all breathe, they’d rather leave it to the “non-conservative leftists”.

I understand that not everyone will have the same interests
or the same convictions, but in my opinion, if anyone should be above the curve
when it comes to protecting the Earth and our children, it should be those who
claim to have a personal relationship with God.
If God created the Earth and all that inhabit it, isn’t it being
disrespectful to pick and choose what we are going to protect? We spend so much time focusing on human
rights and yet gloss over the conditions in our world that silently threaten
the quality of our lives.

This is my Father’s world, and to
my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought. ~ Maltbie Davenport
Babcock

If you believe that God created the Earth, then you believe
that when he created our human bodies, He had a reason for everything he
did. Take a moment and think about
respiration. The respiratory system is a
delicate balance between the intakes of the air around us, the cleaning of said
air and the expiration of the CO2 our bodies don’t need. Our breathing is not only vital our survival,
but also part and parcel of balance here on Earth. Living animals (including humans) must intake
the oxygen in order to survive, expelling carbon dioxide as waste. In the meantime, plants are doing the exact
opposite. In doing so, we have a
constantly renewing balance in the atmosphere.
Because of this balance, the oxygen is simply renewed and never
consumed. This would lead one to the
conclusion that we’re essentially breathing the same air that the Earth was
created with, except now, through the years, it’s collected other chemicals
that no matter how hard our lungs and the stoma on plants work, never fully
gets scrubbed out.

I don’t want my children breathing air that is intentionally
polluted. I can’t imagine any mother
wanting this. But if we insist on
calling ourselves conservatives who have no interest in environmentalism, we
are signing away our voice by our inactivism.
And when we make the decision to throw away that vote because it’s not
popular at church or the moms group or the grocery, we have no one to blame but
ourselves for wasting this chance we have to stand up for our children’s
future, regardless of our creed.

The air we breathe

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Laura

On
this holiday weekend, I know many people in my area are heading up to
Lake Erie to celebrate with their families and friends. There is an air
show and a few food festivals to enjoy. I can’t help but wonder how
much local fish will be served at those food festivals, though.
Recently, I wrote a guest post for Moms Clean Air Force
about how the air pollution around the lake has effected the fish I
grew up eating on sandwiches throughout the summer. Even though I
really do strive to eat local foods in my daily life, I make a huge
exception when it comes to fish from Ohio’s lake.

As
election season is gearing up here in Ohio, I’ve decided to ask the
hopefuls who knock on my door asking for my support some questions. I
want to know why when I search for ways to get involved in my community,
there are very few ways to be involved in cleaning up our environment.
There is an outstanding lack of clean energy in my area, a few solar
panels and wind turbines excepted. So when the gentleman showed up on
my door a few nights ago asking for my vote in his bid to be mayor. I
asked him point blank why we don’t seem to care about the air quality or
our carbon footprint. He didn’t have an answer for me. That was the
tipping point for me. Since then, I’ve been on the phone with the
health department in my county, emailed the state’s health department,
the EPA and written several letters to my representatives. I want my
children to be able to enjoy the air they breathe and the Earth we live
on, so I’m taking a stand and fighting with mothers across the country
for better EPA standards and pure air for our babies.
This holiday weekend as we celebrate our troops and the freedom they
fight for, I’m asking you to join us and fight for clean air for our
children. Will you?