The Northstar Journal

IT DOES NOT TAKE ANGST AND MELODRAMA TO SAVE THE PLANET

Posted on August 12, 2018 by minstrel312

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
August 12, 2018 Volume 10 Number 49

Reader Supported: All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

Be informed. Be entertained. Be empowered. Read The Northstar Journal

Inside: It Does Not Take Angst And Melodrama To Save The Planet; World Headlines At A Glance; From Olya – Lyiv, a Film Destination Emerging; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

Photo courtesy of http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zznwmXbFzzs/TwzcGFiYkDI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/MLeKHXZo3co/s1600/Gaea-Gaia–Mother-Earth-40577007905.jpg

IT DOES NOT TAKE ANGST AND MELODRAMA TO SAVE THE PLANET

Hi again, gang, from the shores of The Salish Sea: Well, Seattle’s getting a temporary break from its own heat wave and I wish to Almighty God that was true in Australia, California, Japan, the UK and other places around the world.

If I was just a little truer to my paternal Druid roots, I’d suspect the Planet Herself (“Gaia,” she is called in my house) was very angry and like a flea-invested dog, was doing everything she could to rid herself of the source of her misery.

If that, in fact, turns out to be the case, I cannot say I blame her. These cyclic climactic extremes started long before human beings did. To what extent we made them more dramatic is a moot point. Does anyone honestly believe that a lifestyle fueled by removing what was also here and turning it into substances that kill us one way or another is GOOD for Mother Earth and those of us with whom she shares her hospitality? Looking at you guys over the top of my specs.

I appreciate all the rhetoric, promises, etc behind an awareness and an appreciation of our contribution to lethalizing the earth’s own growth and renewal. I’m also aware that there are a few simple things each and every single person on this environmentally benighted planet can do to mitigate that impact. They are not complicated things. They are not difficult to do and they are not difficult habits to acquire. In my family, we make a contest out of seeing how small we can make our respective carbon footprints.

Granted, some of our results are pretty extreme and occasionally “rolling on the floor” laughable. But then my family tends to reflect the species in general. That’s not always easy to live with or reconcile but it does make getting up in the morning generally the start of a very interesting day.

Perhaps more to the point, it is also fun and living proof that it does not take angst and melodrama to save the planet, only the desire to do so. If we, as a species, lack that desire, we will perish and the planet will prevail without us.

That’s it for this week, gang. Take care, stay well and God Bless. Rusty

Merritt Scott “Rusty” Miller is a journalist, author, editor and photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington. For comments, please go here

THE PAST WEEK’S WORLD HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

FROM OLYA

LYIV, A FILM DESTINATION EMERGING

Hi Rusty:

As you know, my country has a tradition of theatre dating back to the 16^th Century and a film industry to the early 20^th. While Kiev and Odessa have been primary film locations for not only domestic but foreign projects, this city, Lviv (Lyiv) through which I am now strolling is emerging as another primate location.

Why? Perhaps because of its medieval European architectural masterpieces dating back to the13th Century. I did, in fact, stumble onto shootings of what it seems to be a music video by international team from Middle East. That made me think about the great possibilities this little town could offer for those who would like to get European looking back ground but do not want to spend an enormous amount for it.

I read recently that one hour shooting in the city cost less then 15 dollars and city council is very welcoming of such projects. Last year, four films were set here. Of course it’s only the beginning but with time Lviv can become a destination for filming too. As for me one of my favorite Soviets movies were shot here called D’Artagnan and Three Musketeers after A. Dumas’ famous work.

That’s it for this week, Mishka. Stay cool, beloved cousin mine.

Northstar columnist and associate editor Olya Bereza was born in the former Soviet Union and now lives in Ukraine. Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, and English, she is a degreed psychologist with a background in international marketing and personnel management. For comments, please go here.

According to Rusty’s infamous Uncle Seamus: It’s only a natural disaster when it inconveniences human beings.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Family ‘Stunned’ By Fatal Crash As Investigators Reveal Details Of How It Happened

OUR SCIENCE SECTION, UNABRIDGED

I stayed up late to watch this and it was well worth it. Parker Solar Probe: NASA Launches Mission To ‘Touch The Sun’

I know the feeling. Rise In Wolf Attacks Alarms Dutch Farmers

Why does this remind me of the 1968 American film Planet of the Apes? Primate Brains Reveal Speech

Earth

Coral Reefs ‘Weathered Dinosaur Extinction

Prehistoric Mass Graves Linked To Tsunamis

Why Wildfires Are Bigger And Harder To Control

Outer Space

How NASA Will Shield Solar Probe From Crazy Heat

Scientists Identify Best Exoplanets For Earth-Like Life

Astronomers Discover New, Enigmatic Fast Radio Burst

Technology

Designing The Death Of Plastic

THE GREEN BEAT

What’s With Exxon’s Big Algae Push?

Seattle’s Link To Run Almost Entirely On Renewable Energy

Worst Types Of Litter: Plastic Straws Not Even In The Top 5

HEALTH

Burning Health Questions? Email Time’s Health Editors

Exercise Is Good For Your Mental Health—But Only To A Point

Lowering Your Blood Pressure Could Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk, New Research Shows

Italy’s Government Is Trying To Overturn A Lifesaving Vaccination Law

This Food Causes The Most Illness Outbreaks, Says CDC

Trying To Be Happy Is Making You Miserable. Here’s Why

A Diverse Diet May Not Be The Healthiest

COMMUNITY, FAMILY, HOME AND LIFESTYLE

Do Retired Folks Become Homeless?

Views: Fighting California Wildfires As An Inmate

Why Are Our Clothes So Bad For The Environment?

Are Wealthy Nations Hoarding The World’s Fish Supply?

People Hate When You’re Petty, According To Science

Here’s How To Brag Without Making People Hate You

BEST OF THE NET

This is a glimpse of both the past and the future. Fire Cloud Over California, From Space

This is a trip. Want To Trick Your Ears?

This is a Special Feature from Time Magazine. This Photographer Spent The Year Since Charlottesville Documenting White Supremacists

MASHA AND THE BEAR

DAILY 10 QUESTION TRIVIA QUIZ: This one is from Daily Email Trivia and delivered to me in mine. There is also an opportunity, the site, to take more quizzes on a wide range of subjects and to engage interactively and competitively.

THE NORTHSTAR JOURNAL GENERAL STORE is a page full of links to mostly free stuff and several unique gifts for under $5.00//4.5 EUROS, including Olya’s novel “Rocket Man” and mine, “Wrath of the USS Testament”. The ‘shelves’ also offer films, television episodes, gadgets and apps to make our lives easier and more enjoyable. Now, here’s the really cool part. Load up your cart and instead of getting your plastic out, just drop in the jar on your way out whatever it’s worth to you. You can even try it now and use the back browser to return to the rest of the magazine.

ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL

We certainly did not know this. Today, Sunday, 12 August, is World Elephant Day. The Unique Elephant Brain

This is incredible. A Galaxy Of Falcons: Witnessing The Amur Falcon’s Massive Migration Flocks

This is NOT good press for these guys. Video Shows The Moment A 12-Foot Great White Shark Jumped At A Researcher

SHORTS

Rescue Team Cleared To Help Ailing Orca In US, Canada Waters

That Pain You Feel About Orcas? The Lummi Know It Well

Think Sharks Are The Coolest Ocean Predators? Consider Mantis Shrimps

FOLKS WE FOLLOW

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s August 2018 newsletter is now online and it is awesome.

YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP

The World’s Largest Ice Cream Parlour?

Dozens Of Octopuses Are Walking Up Onto Shore For No Apparent Reason

The Deity That Gets People Out Of Jail

ABOUT US: The Northstar Journal reaches an international readership of strong, intelligent, proactively compassionate people like you, who are out there helping make this a better world. We are proud to serve them as an information resource in that regard. If you would like to help us help them, please go here. No contribution too large or too small. If you would like to sponsor an edition or contribute in some other way, please contact us at minstrel312@aol.com Thank you and see you next week. RM/OB

ANOTHER OF THOSE “INTERESTING” WEEKS”

Posted on August 5, 2018 by minstrel312

TO VIEW IN YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE

Pacem, Libertatem, Justitiam
August 5, 2018 Volume 10 Number 48

Reader Supported: All Contributions Appreciated and Accepted Here

Be informed. Be entertained. Be empowered. Read The Northstar Journal

INSIDE: Another Of Those Interesting Weeks; World Headlines At A Glance; From Olya – Fighting Corruption In Ukraine; Rusty’s Uncle Seamus; For Your Consideration; Our Science Section, Unabridged; Praise; Censure; Travel; The Green Beat; Health; Community, Home & Lifestyle; Best of the Net; Masha & the Bear; Northstar General Store; All Creatures Great & Small; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us

ANOTHER OF THOSE “INTERESTING” WEEKS”

Hi again, gang, from the shores of The Salish Sea: It has been another of those “interesting weeks”. The Carr Fire in Northern California which destroyed much of a city in which I grew up has now consumed an area about twice the size of Seattle and 14 times as large as Manhattan. And this is not the end of the fire season but the middle of it.

When I see something like this – Chinese Girl Fighting For Life After Falling Into Pool At Birthday Party – my first instinct is to scream, “if you can’t watch ‘em, don’t have ‘em!” And here’s another I believe in miracles. Mexico Plane Crash: All 103 People On Board Survive

Closer to home and on a perhaps more practical level, I had an opportunity to be a part of rewarding someone for an “above the call” moment. That’s done a lot in my world to encourage such behavior and I usually have pretty good luck choosing something the recipient will appreciate.

However, the Russian-Ukrainian blonde with the eight million megawatt brain has come up with a better game plan and one which assures total success. “Mishka, don’t guess. Ask.”