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KaliSara and RevKess were joined by guests Lupa Greenwolf, Arthur and Shauna Aura Knight for a conversation of ecology and environmentalism from a Pagan perspective, that is from FIVE Pagan perspectives. And what varied perspectives they are! Though all five were pretty much in agreement on the necessity of making changes in how humans interact with nature and their environment, they each brought a different way of looking at how to make those changes. The discussion included talk of the future, working with nature – not against, food costs and other issues.

Links to Articles, etc

Not necessarily in the order they were brought up on the show.

• KaliSara launched the discussion with a reference to a NASA study that has been bandied about on Facebook and other social media outlets.
  

  Image via humon on DeviantArt

• Lupa brought up the book Last Child in the Woods by author and ecologist Richard Louv. Louv has written many books on ecology and is a favorite go-to reference for Lupa and others when discussing the topic. His latest book The Nature Principle talks about how a sustainable future can be made possible through nature-smart education.
• We had hoped to have Peter Beckley join us in conversation, but his broadband was too narrow to connect – living as far off the grid as possible can sometimes do that. He was in chat and shared his thoughts with other chatters, including a link to a permaculture training website.
• Arthur referenced an interview with singer-songwriter and animal rights activist Moby in which he said that the actual cost of beef in the United States is over $30 a pound but that government subsidies have made it so that the consumer is only visibly paying $3-5 a pound. Note the word “visibly”. Tax payer dollars are used to pay those government subsidies. RevKess found an article on NaturalNews.com from 2011 that sited a non-subsidized cost of $20/pd and KaliSara found one on Big-Medicine.org from 2006 that backs Moby’s claim. The article on NaturalNews indicates that when you factor in the long term environmental and medical costs of subsidized beef could raise the cost per pound to over $200.
• From beef to aspartame. KaliSara is a huge proponent of being natural with your foods – including your sweeteners. She referenced a 2002 study by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) that indicates that aspartame can be linked to multiple physical and mental health issues, from hearing and vision loss to seizures, from memory loss to dementia. RevKess can attest to some of that, he has experienced loss of concentration and memory retention when consuming beverages that contain aspartame.
• Some how or another the topic turned to women shaving their legs and arm pits and the “necessity” of deodorants. At which point Arthur, who is very good at trivia, pointed out that a World War II propagandist for the Allies had something major to do with the U.S.’s obsession with shaving, masking scents in the pits and even “flower vomit” detergents. Edward Bernays, nephew of Dr. Freud.
• Shauna brought up an article on Cracked.com about five byproducts of modern living and how we are burying ourselves in garbage.
• KaliSara and her “flower vomit” detergent thread in the conversation led to the mention of alternative laundry machines and dryers.

Additional Links of Interest

• Shauna referenced towards the end of the show an article on PaganActivist.com by Jason Morrow on Cognitive Dissonance. Both Shauna and Lupa made mention of the disconnect that many people have from Nature.
• It did not come up on the broadcast, but early in the chat conversation KaliSara shared a link to a USA Today article about the Tesla electric car and how it has been shown to be viable for more than in-town and short-distance driving.
• At some point in the show Arthur mentioned the common crop of corn in Nebraska and elsewhere in the Midwest and how it requires a huge amount of water to cultivate. KaliSara shared this link regarding corn in chat with our live listeners.
• During the laundry and cleaning tangent, RevKess mentioned that he uses tea tree in his laundry. KaliSara shared in chat a link on growing your own tea tree plants.
• As has been established, Lupa is a prolific blogger and author. In July 2013 she published an article through the Pagan Newswire Collective’s nature bureau. She asked us to share it here as well. Three things many people buy at the grocery store that they DO NOT need.

MUSIC

1. Elaine Silver – By the Earth – Faerie Goddess
2. Wendy Rule – The Earth is Still Part of the Sky – The Wold Sky

It was decided at the end of the show that all three of the guests, and maybe some others, should come back in the near future to do a second installment and talk about the spiritual aspects of ecology and environmentalism.  That date has not yet been set. Check back with the BTR site for updates on scheduled programming.