2013-05-21T19:49:52-04:00 Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2949704 2013-03-28T15:44:54-04:00 2013-03-28T15:48:38-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/ "Rejoice, rejoice and sing, rejoice and be glad... for earth and heaven are joined and humanity is reconciled to God!"
-- From the Exsultet, "Book of Common Prayer," pp. 286-7

As the Lenten season ends in Easter rejoicing, note what has been wrought in you this year. A remarkable cross-section of America has been practicing Lenten disciplines, even some who are not active Christians. There is a deep hunger in our collective psyche to re-orient our lives toward life and light, healing and peace. We share a holy hunger for clarity about what is good and life-giving, and we yearn to re-focus on what is most central and important in life.

Easter celebrates the victory of light and life over darkness and death. God re-creates and redeems all life from dead, dry and destroyed bones. We are released from the bonds of self-obsession, addiction and whatever would steal away the radical freedom of God-with-us. Our lives re-center in what is most holy and creative, the new thing God is continually doing in our midst. Practicing vulnerability toward the need and hunger of others around us, we have cultivated compassionate hearts. We join in baptismal rebirth in the midst of Jesus' own passing-over.

The wonder of the resurrection is upon us once more. May we embrace God's ever-new life with every cell of our being, every yearning of our soul, and every muscle of our will. Christ is risen, death is vanquished, humanity is restored to holy and creative relationship with God's ongoing and eternal liveliness. Praise God who brings light out of darkness, life out of death, and newness out of the stale and moribund. Alleluia! Christ is risen!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2661633 2013-02-11T17:46:39-05:00 2013-04-13T05:12:01-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/ Lent note: HuffPost Religion invites you to share your Lent reflections, experiences, stories and photos with us. Send them to religion@huffingtonpost.com and check out our Lent liveblog.

I wish you a blessed Lent.

Lent is the ancient season of preparation. Preparation for Baptism at the Easter Vigil and it's a season of solidarity with those who are being formed to be disciples of Jesus and missionaries in God's mission.

We form people in a sense that God dreams of a healed world, a world restored to peace with justice, and some of the ancient images of that healed world are those of the prophets. One of the famous ones from Isaiah is an image of people having a picnic on a mountainside, enjoying rich food and well-aged wine. That image of being well-fed is particularly poignant in a world like ours where so many go hungry.

Lent is a time when we pray, when we fast, when we study, when we give alms. It's a time of solidarity and it is particularly a time to be in solidarity with the least of these.

As you prepare for your Lenten season and your Lenten discipline, I'd encourage you to think about consciousness in eating. That's really more what fasting is about than giving up chocolate. Being conscious of what you eat, standing in solidarity with those who are hungry, whether it is for food, or shelter, or peace, or dignity, or recognition, or for love.

When we stand in solidarity in terms of eating, we might consider what we are eating and how we are eating it and with whom we are eating, and I'd invite you to consider some of the challenges that are around us. Many leaders in this United States part of the church have engaged in an act of solidarity with the poor by trying to live on a food stamp budget for a week. That's about $4 a person per day. And it's very, very difficult to find adequate calories and reasonably nutritious food for that kind of a budget. But it would be an act of solidarity with those who do go without every day and every week. An act of solidarity like that might increase your consciousness about those who go hungry, it might increase your own consciousness about what you eat, and it might provide an opportunity to share some of your largesse, some of what you save from that kind of eating with those who go without.

The violence in our country, the violence around the world is most often an act in response to those who don't have enough. Those who are hungry, those who ache for recognition and dignity, those who struggle for peace.

Your and my preparation for the great Easter festival can be an act of solidarity with the least of these. As you engage this Lent, I would encourage you to pray, to fast, to act in solidarity with those who go without. Learn more, give alms, share what you have. Be conscious about what you eat.

A blessed, blessed Lent this year.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2316641 2012-12-17T12:57:14-05:00 2013-02-16T05:12:01-05:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/
This next to last Sunday of Advent is always about rejoicing. Some places use pink or rose colored vestments, and Advent wreaths often have a pink candle for the third week. Some people say the pink candle is because Mary wanted a girl. In any event, we're meant to rejoice!

What is your good news -- today, this week, this year?

Zephaniah is telling people their future is a black hole of despair -- war and invasion, economic collapse, death and destruction -- unless they turn around and live differently. He tells them their current ways are corrupt and godless, and can only end in destruction. But there is hope. Life will be changed, not ended. God is always doing something profoundly new that will yield abundant joy.

The Canticle we sang is from another prophet, Isaiah, reminding people of the same realities -- the present may be filled with fear and violence, nevertheless "ring out your joy, for the Holy One is in your midst; remember God is with you, and give thanks." Paul writes even more bluntly to the people in Philippi -- 'rejoice, and forget your anxiety, for God is near. Be grateful for what is, be honest about what you need, and discover what God is already doing in your midst.'

So what happened with the gospel, and John the crazy, camel-clothed locust eater? His words don't exactly sound like glad tidings of great joy: 'You brood of vipers, you bunch of snakes, what made you think you were getting off scot-free? Well, wake up, cuz "heah come da judge!"' The grim reaper is sharpening his scythe, and the fire has begun.'

Good news sounds different to different people. And John does have some, but we have to keep reading to find it. For those snakes, good news means discovering that they are meant to live in peace with their neighbors, and deal justly with all, in courtrooms, in the army, and in business. It means living as though every single person on this planet is a member of your own family. Nobody should go hungry, no one should be without a roof overhead, no one should suffer because health care is too expensive. Share what you have, he says, and you will indeed find joy.

It's very much what Zephaniah tells his people: God is here among you, God will remind you -- 'I will heal the lame, gather the outcast, and change your shame into pride in who you are.' With the added twist that those who don't live that way can expect the worst. That is actually a promise of good news, given before judgment. It's like a stop sign at a dangerous intersection reminding people to stop and look both ways before proceeding; look to God and your neighbor, lest you run straight into perdition.

The challenge is that John addresses all those people coming to be baptized as snakes. We've got to find our place in that crowd, and it's not easy. Yet in spite of the way we've often read the story of Adam and Eve and the snake in the garden, all of them were created by God as part of the same good creation. Those crowds of people John calls snakes aren't intrinsically bad creatures. Jesus seems to affirm that when he tells his followers to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves." There is good news offered to the snakes, as the old hymn puts it, good tidings of Jesus, redemption and release.

What does it look like to be wise snakes, sharing what you have, rather than exploiting the defenseless? Snakes are profoundly aware of their surroundings, they strike accurately, and they keep other creatures on their toes, watching carefully lest they step on one, or meet a cobra unawares. Given the rampant bad news around us, how might smart snakes behave?

What if a bunch of redeemed snakes got together and used their collective ability to motivate watchfulness over the weak and vulnerable? Given what happened in Connecticut on Friday, is there a place for a precise, even surgical, strike against gun violence? When nearly 3000 young people in this country die every year from guns, wise heads must get to work and find a creative and life-giving response. The deadly snakes out there are peddling and profiting from guns while children die. What is a good news response? Other nations have found ways to limit access to assault weapons while still permitting people to shoot clay pigeons and hunt game.

Other smart adders might look at the loneliness and lostness around us. The young shooter in Connecticut seems to have been mentally ill -- his former classmates aren't terribly surprised at what's happened. We've heard almost exactly the same thing every time one of these events has occurred in recent years. Preventing more of them is going to mean greater watchfulness, and a willingness to reach out to the outcast, the one who doesn't fit, the kid who sees nothing to live for. It means loving the ones who don't seem terribly lovable, and that's exactly where Jesus would be, and what he'd be doing.

When John tells the tax collectors to collect only what's owed, and the soldiers not to extort from people, he's telling those snakes to keep their fangs sheathed and their venom in reserve -- to put their aggression and exploitation away and turn in another direction. He's telling us to find good ways to share what we have with the lonely outcast -- like welcome into community and relationship, to share what we know of meaning in life, to share what we know of a God who is near and loves us beyond imagining. Jesus called us friend, but that gift is not meant to be hoarded.

The winnowing fork and the unquenchable fire would seem to be reserved for those who aren't sharing what they have in order to end the death around us. The good news is that there is another way.

That other way requires watchfulness and the ability and willingness to risk. The way of life and hope, and the rejoicing we're meant to know means letting down our defenses, and letting go of our offensive ways, in order to find the lovely image of God in another snake. We are all redeemable, Jesus insists. He walked into the snake pit for the sake of every one of us. His followers are invited to do the same, and discover that God is always snatching life out of the jaws of death. That is the ultimate source of joy.

Rejoice! God is near. Rejoice! God is here, baptizing with Holy Spirit and with fire, igniting passion even in grieving hearts. That love can change the world -- if we're willing to be canny and loving snakes. Maybe you'd prefer to be an adder - or a multiplier of joy -- but the love we know in Jesus always makes more of itself, even in snakes.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2213119 2012-12-06T07:12:40-05:00 2013-02-05T05:12:01-05:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/
I'm struck this particular season by the waiting of several women in Christian history. Mary obviously, waiting for the birth of the Promised One in her part of the world, a child born for the whole world.

Also Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer, who comes before Jesus. Elizabeth has been promised a child in her old age. These are both very unexpected births. They are waiting.

And I'm struck particularly this year by Elizabeth of Hungary, a saint of the Church who lived in the 13th century, who was betrothed as a child herself, married at 14, a mother of three by the time her husband died when she was 20. She spent her life giving it away, giving it away both physically through her means and through her presence and her healing. She was an icon of generosity.

What is it you wait for this year? Is it an opportunity to meet the surprising around you? Is it an opportunity to reflect on what is most needed in your heart and in the world around you? How are you going to wait for that gift? Are you going to wait actively? Engaged? Honing your desire? Stoking the passion within you for that dream? Are you going to wait for a dream that will bless the whole world?

That's what Christians wait for in the season of Advent -- of the coming of the Prince of Peace, the one who will reign with justice over this world. I believe that's what the world most needs, this year and every year.

May your season of waiting be fruitful and blessed. May it be filled with surprise and a willingness to engage that surprise.

A blessed Advent.

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1200416 2012-01-11T21:22:24-05:00 2012-03-12T05:12:01-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/
The Diocese of Haiti has been serving the people of Haiti with schools (with more than 250 of them back in operation a few short months after the earthquake), with medical facilities and the beginnings of spiritual and cultural healing. The partnership of Episcopal Relief & Development has helped to provide shelter, clean water and some employment. The Episcopal Church as a whole is partnering to help the Diocese of Haiti rebuild the cathedral complex in Port-au-Prince. Before the earthquake, that complex included not only the cathedral with its world famous murals (three have been conserved), but a music school and philharmonic orchestral, a vocational school, a convent, and diocesan offices. Partnerships have helped to provide necessary infrastructure for strategizing and planning the redevelopment work.

The Episcopal Church as a whole has had its heart expanded in the support and partnership with our sisters and brothers in Haiti. I encourage you to continue your prayers, your active partnership in fundraising, and the solidarity that comes from learning about the situation and caring about the future. We all begin to experience more abundant life in caring for our neighbors. I give thanks for the treasure that is Haiti, and urge the faithful accompaniment of the whole Episcopal Church with Haiti!

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.952477 2011-09-07T16:04:23-04:00 2011-11-07T05:12:02-05:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/
Americans experienced the first large non-domestic terrorist attack on our own soil that day, a reality that is far too much a present and continuing reality in other parts of the world. We joined that reality in 2001. Many people died senselessly that day, and many still grieve their loss. All Americans live with the aftermath -- less trust of strangers, security procedures for travelers that are intrusive and often offensive, and a sense that the world is a far more dangerous place than it was before that day. Our own nation has gone to war in two distant places as a result of those events. The dying continues, and the world does not seem to have become a significantly safer place.

Yet we believe there is hope. People of faith gave sacrificially in the immediate aftermath of the plane crashes, trying to rescue those in the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, trying to subdue the aggressors on the plane over Pennsylvania, and reaching out to neighbors and strangers alike on that apocalyptic day. Clergy and laity responded to the crisis in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, and prayer services erupted in churches and communities across the nation. St. Paul's Chapel, near the site of the Towers, opened its doors to the emergency responders, and volunteers appeared with food and socks, massaging hands and praying hearts. Volunteers continued to staff the Chapel for months afterward, and prayers were offered as human remains were sought and retrieved in the ruins of the Towers.

Church communities in many places began to reach out to their neighbors of other faiths, offering reassurance in the face of mindless violence. That desire for greater understanding of other traditions has continued, and there are growing numbers of congregations engaged in interfaith dialogue, discovering that all the great religions of the world are fundamentally focused on peace. The violence unleashed on Sept. 11th and in its aftermath was the work of zealots, disconnected from the heart of their religions' foundations.

This 10th anniversary is above all an opportunity for reflection. Have we become more effective reconcilers as a result? Are we more committed to peace-making? The greatest memorial to those who died 10 years ago will be a world more inclined toward peace. What are you doing to build a living memorial like that?

On Sunday, Sept. 11, Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori will be in New York City, preaching at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City at 7:30 am Eastern. At 11 a.m., she will preach at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.

This post is part of a collection of interfaith reflections on 9/11 and the decade that followed. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.847494 2011-04-23T16:55:32-04:00 2011-06-23T05:12:02-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/
We can see the broken places of our world either as complete and utter disaster, or as seedbeds -- graves, even -- in which God is doing a new thing. The situation in Haiti is dire, yet day by day and person by person hope lightens and leavens. Plans are emerging for civic reconstruction in Port-au-Prince that would bless the nation with pride in its heritage and more effective government. The Episcopal Church is a partner in those possibilities, as the vision for a rebuilt cathedral takes form. The graves are becoming gardens at Cathédrale Sainte-Trinité and Collège St. Pierre. New and more life-giving relationships are emerging between development ministries and the lives of the people. Resurrection is happening in many places, even if one must search for it, like looking for the first buds on the trees as ice and snow give way to the warmth of spring.

The aftermath of earthquake and tsunami in Japan continues to look a great deal like winter, and the trials and failures at Daiichi Fukushima currently resonate more with apocalypse than Easter. Yet, across northeastern Japan the work of the faithful is feeding senior citizens, ministering to displaced persons in shelters and prompting challenging questions about social priorities, energy use and consumerist lifestyles.

The gift of Easter insists that human beings are capable of divine relationship, for as Athanasius put it, "God became human that human beings might become divine." The life, death, passion and resurrection of Jesus are the cosmic insistence that nothing can separate us from the divine passion for humanity. Easter people are imprinted with the assurance that God is always working some new grace of creation out of death and destruction.

For most of us the dying is not cosmic. It may start with a small willingness to set aside self, or a new opportunity for grafting onto a greater whole. Or it may involve lowering the barriers between self and other to become more readily aware of our fundamental oneness, our common heritage as offspring of the Holy One. If we are to be followers of Jesus, we share the work he did on our behalf. We give thanks for the Resurrection, and we become part of Jesus' ongoing work, as we become aware of its power in our own lives.

May your Eastertide be filled with the grace of new life. Go, discover and BE resurrection for the world around you.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.815506 2011-01-28T13:43:37-05:00 2011-05-25T18:30:24-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/ The Presiding Bishop presently is in Dublin, Ireland, attending the meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion.

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori issued this statement in response to the slaying of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato:

At this morning's Eucharist at the Primates Meeting, I offered prayers for the repose of the soul of David Kato. His murder deprives his people of a significant and effective voice, and we pray that the world may learn from his gentle and quiet witness, and begin to receive a heart of flesh in place of a heart of stone. May he rest in peace, and may his work continue to bring justice and dignity for all God's children.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.811683 2011-01-20T21:43:47-05:00 2011-05-25T18:25:24-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/
The letter goes on to assert that "the appropriate response of the United States government to the present efforts in the Security Council is to work urgently to reignite a negotiations process that can produce immediate and sustainable steps toward a just, comprehensive and lasting peace."

The following is the full text of the letter.
_____________________________________________

January 16, 2011

The Honorable Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I write to share the views of the Episcopal Church on the prospective resolution of the UN Security Council resolution concerning ongoing settlement building by the Israeli government.

First and foremost, we support the administration's efforts to broker direct negotiations between the state of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Like you, we believe there is no substitute for bilateral negotiations toward a two-state solution that respects the sovereignty and security of Israel and creates a viable and independent state for the Palestinian people. Only direct negotiations and shared commitment can produce a viable and sustainable peace for the two parties. For this reason, it is imperative that the United States take bold and decisive action to reinvigorate the stalled peace process.

The draft resolution circulated among U.N. member states is a symptom of frustration at the present impasse in the negotiations process. In one sense, the resolution breaks no new ground, simply restating past statements by the United States and the international community in opposition to settlement building, and building on existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. In another sense, however, the aim of the resolution, as stated by its supporters, is to create a political spark at a moment of standstill.

Should the draft resolution be considered by the Security Council, the United States should not exercise its veto against it. Doing so would send the wrong signal to both parties, as it would be interpreted by many as a break from past U.S. positions against settlement building, including this month's strong statement by Secretary of State Clinton in response to the demolition of the historic Shepherd's Hotel in East Jerusalem. Moreover, a veto would undermine the credibility of the U.S. as a fair and honest broker between the two parties and create new levels of frustration and mistrust among the Palestinian people.

Still, resolutions by the Security Council are not an alternative to a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. The presenting issues of borders, security, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem cannot be resolved absent direct negotiations. For this reason, the appropriate response of the United States government to the present efforts in the Security Council is to work urgently to reignite a negotiations process that can produce immediate and sustainable steps toward a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter, and please know that this comes with my prayers for you and for all who undertake the costly work of public service. I remain

Your servant in Christ,

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.799773 2010-12-23T23:08:05-05:00 2011-05-25T18:20:30-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/ "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." -- Isaiah 9:2

That's how the first lesson of Christmas Eve opens. It's familiar and comforting, as the familiar words go on to say that light has shined on those who live in deep darkness, that God has brought joy to people living under oppression, for a child has been borne to us. The name of that child is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace -- and God is bringing an endless peace through an heir to the throne of David (vv 3,4, 6,7). This year we're going to hear a bit we haven't heard in Episcopal churches before, in that missing verse 5. It's pretty shocking, but it helps explain why the hunger for light is so intense, and the joy so great when it comes: "For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire." The coming of this prince of peace will mean the end of all signs of war and violence. An occupied people will finally live in peace, without anxiety about who or what will confront them the next time they go out their front doors.

People in many parts of this world still live with the echo of tramping boots and the memory of bloody clothing. Many Episcopalians are living with that anxiety right now, particularly in Haiti and Sudan. Americans know it through the ongoing anxiety after Sept. 11 and in the wounded soldiers returning to their families and communities, grievously changed by their experience of war. Remember the terror of war when you hear those words about light on Christmas Eve. Remember the hunger for peace and light when you hear the shocking promise that a poor child born in a stable will lead us all into a world without war. Remember the power of light when you go out into the darkness after hearing those words -- and pray that you and those around you may become instruments of peace.

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" -- Luke 2:14]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.591160 2010-05-26T19:03:00-04:00 2011-05-25T16:35:20-04:00

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori/
The still-unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is good evidence of the interconnectedness of the whole. It has its origins in this nation's addiction to oil, uninhibited growth, and consumerism, as well as old-fashioned greed and what my tradition calls hubris and idolatry. Our collective sins are being visited on those who have had little or no part in them: birds, marine mammals, the tiny plants and animals that constitute the base of the vast food chain in the Gulf, and on which a major part of the seafood production of the United States depends. Our sins are being visited on the fishers of southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, who seek to feed their families with the proceeds of what they catch each day. Our sins will expose New Orleans and other coastal cities to the increased likelihood of devastating floods, as the marshes that constitute the shrinking margin of storm protection continue to disappear, fouled and killed by oil.

The oil that continues to vent from the sea floor has spread through hundreds of cubic miles of ocean, poisoning creatures of all sizes and forms, from birds, turtles, and whales to the shrimp, fish, oysters, and crabs that human beings so value, and the plankton, whose life supports the whole biological system -- the very kind of creatures whose dead and decomposed tissues began the process of producing that oil so many millions of years ago.

We know, at least intellectually, that that oil is a limited resource, yet we continue to extract and use it at increasing rates and with apparently decreasing care. The great scandal of this disaster is the one related to all kinds of "commons," resources held by the whole community. Like tropical forests in Madagascar and Brazil, and the gold and silver deposits of the American West, "commons" have in human history too often been greedily exploited by a few, with the aftermath left for others to deal with, or suffer with.

Yet the reality is that this disaster just may show us as a nation how interconnected we really are. The waste of this oil -- both its unusability and the mess it is making -- will be visited on all of us, for years and even generations to come. The hydrocarbons in those coastal marshes and at the base of the food chain leading to marketable seafood resources will taint us all, eventually. That oil is already frightening away vacationers who form the economic base for countless coastal communities, whose livelihoods have something to do with the economic health of this nation. The workers in those communities, even when they have employment, are some of the poorest among us. That oil will move beyond the immediate environs of a broken wellhead, spreading around the coasts of Florida and northward along the east coast of the U.S. That oil will foul the coastal marshes that also constitute a major nursery for coastal fauna, again a vital part of the food chain. That oil will further stress and poison the coral reefs of Florida, already much endangered from warming and ocean acidification. Those reefs have historically provided significant storm protection to the coastal communities behind them.

The dispersants that are being so wantonly deployed will have consequences we're not yet cognizant of, and the experience of gold and silver mining in the West is instructive. The methods used in those old mining operations liberated plenty of arsenic, mercury, other heavy metals, left cyanide and acids, all of which have significant health effects on those who live in the immediate area of mines and tailings, as well as those who use water downstream and breathe downwind air.

There is no place to go "away" from these consequences; there is no ultimate escape on this planet. The effects at a distance may seem minor or tolerable, but the cumulative effect is not. We are all connected, we will all suffer the consequences of this tragic disaster in the Gulf, and we must wake up and put a stop to the kind of robber baron behavior we supposedly regulated out of existence a hundred years ago. Our lives, and the liveliness of the entire planet, depend on it.]]>