A new bicycle! Who knew that today's bicycles are spiffier and speedier than the last one that I bought 18 years ago? 8/24 gears vs 7/21 gears, lighter yet sturdier, with blinky lights and saddle bags. I did my first commute to work today - what fun!

So. Shifting gears a bit.... I have been writing a lot about issues of energy production and consumption, and related impacts on the environment and people. I will continue with this soon - I think it is important and I believe that these issues will have an increasingly noticeable effect on our daily lives for some time to come.

But today, I want to talk about wellness - health and well-being - and about some ideas that my friend Leah is thinking about. Leah is a graduate of Chatham's MS in Counseling Psychology program - she is a very competent, bright, and energetic woman. When she introduces me to friends or colleagues, she refers to me as her mentor. A little secret -- this is kind of backwards, as I most definitely see her as my mentor!

Leah has a wonderful job teaching yoga to children K-8 in a laboratory school associated with a university in Pittsburgh. She is thinking about developing a Wellness Program for her students, so we sat down to talk about how to do this. Leah had done some preliminary lit searches, and found that much of the research on childhood wellness is actually limited to studies about how to address childhood obesity - a worthy cause, for sure, but not necessarily representative of all of the aspects of a young person's life that contribute to (or detract from) wellness. Other things we read focused on physical, mental, social, and emotional health - how to eat right, exercise, manage feelings, solve problems, get along with others, learn in school. 

Leah and I talked about our own childhoods and children, and brainstormed about what other domains of wellness, in the best of all possible worlds, might be worth presenting to kids. As we talked, Leah and I realized that we were both intrigued by a more comprehensive perspective of wellness that would embrace a child's ability to live a well-balanced life - weathering ups and downs in pretty healthy ways, knowing when and how and whom to ask for help, understanding one's own gifts and "growing edges" - in addition to the more traditional aspects of wellness described above. For us, wellness is not an end or a goal; it is a life-long process of making decisions, working with others, acting and thinking and feeling. Individuals who have the skills, knowledge, or wisdom to live (or try to live) in such ways will be able to sustain themselves through much of what life throws at them - not avoiding pain, loss, hurt, or mistakes, but thinking and adapting in pretty healthy ways, sooner or later, when they get off-track. 

So we have mental, physical, social, and emotional health, and more vague, but probably also very important, life-skills and self-awareness domains that might constitute wellness. I would probably add a couple of other domains to the mix -- one area of interest to me is that of financial health. What can we do for our children that fosters healthy practices and perspectives related to money, spending, and saving? I would also add something about self-in-the-universe -- that is really not a good way of saying it, I know - but I think it is very cool to parent or teach in ways that keep children's questions about their place in the universe active, that foster imaginings about their purpose in life. Do they feel connected to something much bigger than themselves? Do they have a sense of awe and wonder about life and its mysteries? And finally - probably related to the whole self-in-the-universe thing - I would add something about humans and nature - the place or role of humans in the non-human natural world - again, nurturing curiosity and questions more than providing easy answers.

How does this sound so far? What, if anything, would you add or take out? Is any of this the least bit relevant for you or your kids? Think back to your own early years -- what domains of wellness were you exposed to - directly or indirectly? In school or at home, or both? Did you figure out all of the important stuff on your own? Are there things that you wish you had been exposed to that you were not? Would it have made any difference?

I am curious about whether or not you think that adults (whether in the family, communities, or schools) have the capability of providing a wellness perspective to kids in a way that can be truly beneficial to them. How important are we as models for kids - models of what to be or what not to be? Or are we talking here about life lessons that must eventually be learned on one's own, through trial and error? From a larger perspective, does what we do or talk about have the potential of effecting change in a community? When I post something to my blog, can it make a difference? Or do we live by Darwinian principles, each struggling and adapting on our own, and sinking if we just can't do it?

So much of my identity as a citizen, a psychologist, a professor, and a parent is wrapped up in thinking about wellness, growth, and change in positive ways. I wonder about what helpful roles, if any, I can play in certain situations - by educating, providing feedback, modeling, listening, questioning.... OR by being quiet and getting out of the way - maybe just by being a witness from close-up or from far away. I know that my own wellness has ultimately been my own responsibility - and I also know that I have had witnesses and supporters who have helped me along the way.

So -- I can say with certainty that I learned much from my parents and other adults about health and well-being and the "good life" - working and playing hard, appreciating music and other of life's gifts, taking care of others - lessons that were enriched by my own life experiences, but rooted also in my relationships with these people. I can say with certainty that I learned from their courage and derring-do, and have thus been able to take important risks in my own life. 

And, more specifically, I can say with certainty that I benefited from my dad's time, patience, and energy as he taught me to ride a bike - much easier than learning on my own :) Wish me luck as I head back home on my trusty new vehicle!

Friday morning, I was sitting at my regular table at the Square Cafe, eating my lemon ricotta pancake and drinking iced tea, helping Jim with his crossword puzzle, and enjoying the easy start to the day. Spring was finally here. Graduation was scheduled for the weekend. A fresh semester would start Monday - with me teaching some great students who would be new to me. Life was (is!) good! 

I picked up the Post-Gazette and noticed two front page articles - front and center - and began reading.... and lost my appetite. I felt tears coming to my eyes, and an ache in my heart, and, yes, I admit it, anger and fury - all over my body where those feelings reside, I felt their heat and intensity.

The articles that fired me up? (1) A story about the newly published independent review of the Upper Big Branch coal mining explosion that took the lives of 29 coal miners on April 5, 2010. The finding - gross neglect - primarily on the part of Massey Energy's shoddy oversight of mine safety, and the federal and state regulatory officials who had counted and cited several hundreds of safety violations and yet never closed the mines. AND (2) the first person accounts of the men who survived the mining disaster. 

As noted in the first story, the independent review does not read like a dry technical report written by sterile bureaucrats. It reads like a thriller - a record of a historical event that rivals stories of war, natural disasters, plagues. Its main characters are humans - archetypes that have existed for centuries. An extra-big villain - Don Blankenship, a West Virginia native with an uncanny facial resemblance, though with a little more flesh, to another despot with a tiny black mustache - Mr. B is known as the dark lord of West Virginia coal country. 

Rolling Stone magazine published an expose of Mr. B's work and his response to the mining explosion. Shortly after the article appeared, he resigned as CEO of Massey Energy - with a mighty big golden parachute, I might add. His salary had spiked in the months before the disaster. And even though he saw a drop in salary of 48% by the end of 2010, he still walked off with millions and will sit pretty for the rest of his life. The people most directly affected by his actions and non-actions related both to the explosion and the mining-related environmental devastation could most certainly use some of that money - for health costs, for pain and suffering, for de-valued homes, for educational funds for spouses and children left without a husband and father. Yes, they sure could use - and most certainly deserve - such help.

Don Blankenship may be one of the big villains. There are lesser bad guys galore - many of whom look the other way in order to keep their jobs and salaries and, sometimes, their political seats - or maybe, because they are human, to avoid conflict and confrontation. 

Those in the middle - the ones who know that the jobs they work both keep food on the table and poison the creek out back - these people often just feel stuck. These are the folks who don't see or understand alternatives, or fear change, or don't trust that things could be better, so they stick with the familiar.

The heroes and/or victims - they are the coal miners, and their families, and future families who will face the vast destruction associated with the mountain top removal typical of Massey Energy and similar companies, and with the dark underground mining in dank and dusty caves. Many of these heroes and victims come from a long line of miners and have deep roots in the mountains of Appalachia. The drivers of the plot - greed, neglect, inaction and passivity, ignorance, acts of God (according to Mr.  B), bogged down bureaucracy, and many others.

Not so much talked about though? The chorus of this drama - the reporters and observers who do not necessarily act in big parts. You and me. Watching television reports about the explosion, reading newspapers, talking to friends, maybe signing petitions to voice our disgust with big coal operations, and.... flipping on light switches, recharging our multiple devices, typing away on our keyboards, TiVo-ing our favorite shows, and generally living our day to day lives without really seeing the men and the families of men whose labors feed the energy that travels the wires to our homes.

To really understand the fix we are in, we need to recognize that fossil fuels have supplied cheap, abundant and effective energy of all kinds for over a century - much cheaper than in most other parts of the world, much cheaper than the price of alternative energies that aren't yet built to scale, cheaper today than the long-term costs associated with the use of fossil-fuel driven energy. We review our electric bills, maybe shop around for a lower rate, turn off lights when not in use, perhaps even unplug the coffee-maker and other LED-lit appliances. We do that, most of us, without really understanding or even actually thinking about the fact that most electricity in our country is powered by coal burning plants... which are fueled by coal.... that is dug from deep underground by men in hazardous conditions (even in the 21st century) or sheared off the surface by giant machines doing mountain top removal that destroys the natural environment and the health of the people who live nearby. 

Can those (we) in the chorus be villains or heroes, or are we limited to the passive roles of observer and reporter? When we see disaster coming, can we intervene and prevent chaos and destruction? Can we warn the heroes and victims-to-be? I think the authors of these dramas can have the chorus do whatever they want. I think we can even become authors of the dramas, or at least co-screen-writers.

We don't have to do it alone. We have options - one coming soon is the March on Blair Mountain in West Virginia - from the web-site:

We march to preserve Blair Mountain, abolish mountaintop removal, strengthen labor rights, and an investment in sustainable job creation for all Appalachian communities.The March on Blair Mountain is a peaceful, unifying rally involving environmental justice organizations, workers, scholars, artists, and other citizens and groups. The march commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, when 10,000 coal miners rose against the rule of the coal operators and fought for the basic right to live and work in decent conditions. Currently, Blair Mountain is threatened with obliteration by mountaintop removal (MTR) mining, and it is here that a new generation of Appalachians takes a stand.

In the spirit of the original march–which consisted of mountain peoples, African-Americans, and immigrants from all over Europe–we reach out to a diversity of groups to march in solidarity for the workers, communities and mountains of Appalachia. If you stand with us, you are one of us — a true mountaineer.

I have missed writing to you - whomever and wherever you are! I spent the last several days in New York City, celebrating Michael's MBA graduation and his and Leah's coming marriage. We also had lots of time for all of us - Michael, Leah, Julie, Tony, Joel, Jackie, Seth, Patty, Joe, Scott - and lots of their friends - to just hang out, eat, and have a good time.

Before I left for NYC, I told my dad that I was taking the Megabus to NYC - the Megabus now has direct routes between several major cities, including Pittsburgh and New York. I was really pumped about what I knew would be a cool adventure - and about the low cost of it - $20.50 ROUND TRIP. You read that right - $20.50! It took about 4 more hours than the air travel would have, if I added up travel to the airport from home, and to and from the NYC airport by taxi, and the time needed to go through security, and the probable delays. (And I didn't have to deal with the flight cancellation that Tony and Julie experienced - which added about nine hours to their trip.) But I didn't think I would mind the extra few hours - no security lines, at least intermittent wi-fi and electricity, a couple of short stops to stretch my legs, a chance to meet new people in a place with a little more leg room than a plane, and LOWER COST!

My dad then mailed me an article about ideas for train travel in KY - here is another interesting article with an interesting factoid about trains....

....the upgrade of a freeway mile costs about $10 million, while the upgrade of a track mile costs $1 million. And a freeway lane will carry 2,000 people per hour, but a railway mile can carry 10 times that.

Dad said that he thought I just might blog about the environmental impacts of various types of travel - so this is what I am doing now! One way to measure environmental impact is to look at the carbon footprint of an activity or product - the amount of related CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. What are CO2 emissions and why is this issue important? 

CO2 is emitted and absorbed as part of a natural carbon cycle involving plants, oceans, and animals, including humans. Since the 1700s and the onset of the Industrial Revolution, CO2 emissions into the atmosphere have increased significantly as a result of human activities involving the burning of oil, coal and gas, as well as deforestation. Higher CO2 emissions are associated with many 21st century activities that we take for granted - car travel, eating food that has been transported from another state or even country, eating processed foods or meat, wearing clothes that are manufactured on another continent and transported here. CO2 emissions - greenhouse gases - are implicated in climate change and global warming, which in turn have an effect on weather events, air/atmosphere quality, physical health, land preservation - these are all connected.  

So - here is information about the different levels of CO2 emissions associated with different forms of transportation for one person - traveling to and from NYC and Pittsburgh:

• Train = .02 metric tons of CO2 
• Coach = .04 metric tons - a coach is a fancy bus with a bathroom and larger seats than a city bus 
• Plane = .14 metric tons - .11 for flight + .03 for cabs to and from airport to city  
• Car = .24 metric tons based on Honda Fit automatic transmission

The train wins based on CO2 emissions - but the coach emissions are only a little more, and the dollar cost is much less (based on my experience). I don't know why, but I was really surprised at the car figure - it really inspires me to do more mass/public transportation even locally.

Greg Boulos, a Pittsburgh organic farmer and environmental activist, has said that the worst addiction that Americans currently have is the "addiction to convenience" - to wanting to get where we want to go whenever we want as fast as possible, as conveniently as possible; to eat what we want whenever we want to regardless of local growing seasons; to buy goods at the lowest cost regardless of the "true cost" involved in environmental impact, exploitation of factory workers, etc. 

I have talked here about energy use and abuse, climate change related to human activities, social justice issues involved with all of this. I have talked a bit about peak oil and changes predicted for the future, the need to find alternative sources of energy rather than relying primarily on fossil fuels. The reality also is that we humans, particularly in the US, are called to examine and change our lifestyle - we can do it pro-actively or we can do it under duress when external circumstances demand that we change. Am I being unpatriotic when I say this - bashing our nation? Not at all - I am looking at data from many sources, including here - I urge you to click on this link and play with the site a little, and see what you think. It is not about guilt and defensiveness about how we live - it is about just thinking and exploring and imagining, and seeing where this takes you.


The good news about the changes that we can make is that we can benefit in so many ways beyond convenience and material comfort. On my bus trip, I met a young woman who is starting out on her career as an opera singer, and a young man who shared his extension cord with me when my outlet didn't work (he did admit, when asked, that he was an Eagle Scout - always prepared!), and listened to a large group of women who were returning home after a mission trip. We have much to gain socially, spiritually, physically, and mentally in doing things a little differently. 

I would love to hear from you - let me know what you think!

The British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico occurred one year ago. Or I should say - began one year ago. The spill stretched over weeks, and the devastation to animals, plants, water, and human well-being continues to this day. And the spill tragically affected a region that was barely recovering from Hurricane Katrina - a region with "a history of health disparities, environmental-justice concerns, recurrent impacts of natural disasters, and poor health metrics" (NEJM, 2011). 

I was at the Hibiscus Bed and Breakfast in Grayton Beach, Florida just a few weeks after the spill, and witnessed first hand how this event hurt the communities. I saw sadness, fear, and anger, and heard worries about how the region could economically survive the assault on its primary sources of income - tourism and recreation. Each day, citizens walked the beach to monitor the status of the water and shore, and reported back to community leaders who were making difficult decisions about how to respond.

What is the situation today? Research cited recently in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that, while the long-term effects of the oil spill on physical health of the human residents of the Gulf Coast are uncertain, there is clear evidence of negative effects on the residents' economic, mental, and social well-being. There is also clear evidence from a variety of sources that the damage to the region's ecosystems is vast. 

Also in the last year - floods, droughts, AND wildfires in Australia, the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear plant disaster in Japan, and floods and landslides following a cyclone in New Zealand - all related to natural disasters and extreme weather. Topic for another day - how has climate change and global warming affected the frequency and severity of extreme weather events? There is a connection. More directly related to human choice - ongoing mountain-top removal and related air and water contamination - and negative health outcomes - in West Virginia. These are just a few of thousands of environmental situations and events that put health and well-being at risk.

What rays of hope have we seen in the last year? I look for rays of hope each day when I read the news, and I do find them, midst the darkness. What shines most brightly for me are reports of the voices and actions of ordinary citizens and a few government agencies in protest against destruction to the environment and in support of healing and protection of the earth. There are many many examples of this - here are just a few:

• Possible contamination of water by drilling for natural gas is a BIG issue in western PA -- and just last Tuesday in Pittsburgh, over 700 citizens turned out for a public forum to discuss the Marcellus Shale project - both to educate themselves and to speak their concerns. That is 700!
• In related news, the PA Department of Environmental Protection asked the state's natural gas drillers to stop delivering contaminated water to water treatment plants, setting a May 19 deadline - don't know yet what will happen if the drillers don't comply, but it is a start.
• Activists in Chicago occupied a local coal plant, protesting its pollution of nearby residences, restaurants, shops, and schools.
• In West Virginia, a march on Blair Mountain is planned for June 5-11, 2011, to demand an end to coal-mining via mountain-top removal, a strengthening of labor rights, and a transition to a sustainable economy.

I could cite many, many more rays of hope. Scan your local paper and another paper like the NY Times each day - buried under the heavy news about corporate influence of government, extreme weather events, and the spread of radioactive substances from the earthquake-tsunami area to places thousands of miles away, you will see glimmers of courage and strength. And when you read or hear about something that makes you angry - that threatens the well-being of your children, go right to the Resources page and let someone who has power in the government know how you feel and what you want. Teach your children to do the same.

We ordinary citizens are beginning to really understand that everything is connected, that damage to the earth affects human health and well-being in addition to the ecosystem, and that humans can make better choices in the interests of our grandchildren's futures. 

 

Gotta love Raffi... All I really need is a song in my heart.... And I need some clean air for breathing...

Wednesday night, I attended a symposium about air pollution in western PA. Speakers included the authors of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette series on Mapping Mortality, Don Hopey and David Templeton, EPA representatives, climate and pollution scientists, and most important, residents of communities who have felt first-hand the negative effects of pollution caused by coal-burning electricity plants. These effects are not small - they include chronic asthma and respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and significant property devaluation. The daily lives and futures of citizens have been damaged.

What did I know going in? I knew that, as Alan Kazdin, former president of the American Psychologist Association, has said - sustainability, climate change, and environmental problems are wicked problems that have multiple causes and no simple solutions. I knew that thinking about these wicked problems is challenging and often disheartening - they feel so big and unwieldy, so out of the control of individuals or communities. I knew that, nevertheless, it is important to keep learning and to keep talking to people who know what is going on and have ideas about what to do.


What did I learn? Many things - my head is still spinning - but here are a few:

• big corporations that pollute will seldom initiate efforts to reduce pollution from their industries without outside regulation
• outside regulation is often not sufficient - enforcement of the regulations is necessary
• some companies would rather pay fines than make necessary changes
• many plants in western PA are becoming compliant with EPA standards.... from 1997.... they are nowhere near compliant with current standards
• the federal government is currently considering reducing the power of the EPA to deal effectively with threats to the environment, including threats to clean air
• this is in spite of the fact the the Clean Air Act and the EPA have had significant positive impacts on citizen health and longevity since their inception a few decades ago
• few electricity generating plants are built next to the homes of CEOs
• speaking up as a citizen is important - it is true that the squeaky wheel can get attention - it does take a lot of time and energy, but it can result in change
• there are lots and lots of good people out there - professionals and ordinary citizens - who are doing this work

In the coming days, I will create a new page with information about how to contact your government officials about issues related to the environment (or other concerns). Stay tuned...

Dedicated to Julie and Michael...

All I Really Need by Raffi

All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
Food in my belly and love in my Family
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
And love in my family

And I need the rain to fall
And I need the sun to shine
To give life to the seeds we sow
To give the food we need to grow, grow

And I need some clean water for drinking (Drinking)
And I need some clean air for breathing (Breathing)
So that I can grow up strong and take my place where I belong

All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
Food in my belly and love in my Family
All I Really Need is a Song in my Heart
And love in my family