Patricia DeMarco Ph.D.

"Live in harmony with nature."

Tag Archives: Living Earth


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America – A Perspective on 250 Years

by Patricia DeMarco

The Declaration of Independence 1776

July 4, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the American colonies from the government of England. People across the country gather in their small towns and big cities to celebrate the government of the people, by the people and for the people established in defiance of the monarchies of Europe. America presented the audacious proposition of liberty and justice for all, and that the people consent to be governed by the rule of law applied equally. Lofty goals retained as an ideal, through wars and through economic, political, and cultural challenges. The vision of America as the land of the free and home of the brave shimmers as a mirage, sometimes clear, sometimes dimmed to abstraction. Under all the rhetoric lies the land itself whose resources and geography have protected and provided for human civilization for thousands of years before the first explorers ever set foot on this continent.

Today we mark a quarter of a millennium, a blink in the arc of time. It is a good time to recognize the fragility of this enterprise in democracy. Recognize that we depend on the land itself for our sustenance, our wealth and for our future survival. From colonial times forward, American enterprise has built on extracting the wealth of resources from the land, with little consideration for renewing or sustaining those resources over time. Vast forests of the east coast were felled as ship masts for the British Navy. What the colonists saw as untouched land as far as the eye could see and beyond was in fact a carefully curated landscape of permaculture stewarded by Indigenous Peoples who had thrived in populations of millions for thousands of years before. For example, the symbiosis of chestnut trees and passenger pigeons that sustained both the landscape and communities for hundreds of years was rendered extinct in a decade as settlers cast nets over the trees full of nesting birds, and harvested them by the thousands, leaving too few to survive future breeding cycles.

We look back to the industrialization of this country driven by the abundance of land, then coal, oil and natural gas to become a power house among nations. Steel, petrochemicals; technology for tall buildings, communication and transportation; vast agricultural expanses that feed the world, advances in medicine and science supported by public education and government investment in research and innovation. America became a beacon for the world.

Yet, we almost all came here as immigrants, whether in colonial times or in the various waves of people who fled strife and distress from other countries. The workers met in the mills and fields, factories and market places to pursue the great American Dream of a better life for their children.  This vision of working hard, often with great sacrifice, to make a better way for the next generation is as truly part of what makes America as any amount of patriotic music and polemic. That ideal that anyone can come to this land of opportunity and make a good life for our children drives people to come here even in modern times.  

This constant infusion of cultures, languages, foods and customs helped to shape the America where innovation thrives, and dreams come true. Often called a “Melting Pot” the immigrants, embraced the values of shared allegiance to the ideals of freedom- liberty and justice for all. But under the gloss of the ideal simmer the divisions that rose up, often with violence as in the Civil War, and in the charade of freedom for those enslaved and eventually liberated with great struggle. Under the scrim of a just and equitable society the latent racism lurks, empowered now more visibly by the rhetoric emanating from the 2026 White House. This is the caution we must face as we look ahead to the next phase of our America. Freedom is not free, and democracy has no guarantee. It depends on vigilance and engagement. Citizens must stand up to the rhetoric and actions of hate and suppression as they creep relentlessly into the trappings of government.  Freedoms hard won are swept away with a casual order, upheld by a hand-picked court. We who see the promise and wonder of America as an ideal for liberty and justice for ALL must call the government to account. We must uphold the values of the inherent dignity of every person. We must stand for the role of government in providing for the health and well-being of all citizens. Laws that enrich the few at the expense of the many suppress the very heart of what makes America.

It is not OK in America for children to go hungry.  It is not OK in America for people to go bankrupt over health care costs, or to suffer for unavailable services.  It is not OK in America for people to find housing and basic necessities beyond reach on a minimum wage. Sacrifice zones are not OK. Allowing public land to be squandered for private profit is a betrayal of our birthright. Undermining science and limiting education guarantees a poorer and more deprived future.  Enriching and protecting the few wealthiest individuals and corporations at the expense of the many is not OK in America.  It is time for a reckoning and a reset.

Under all is the land. Land that bears the scars of our extractive industrial period. As we look toward a future that can be sustained for another 100 years, even to think of another 1,000 years, we would be wise to look at the ways of the Indigenous Peoples whose concepts of living in harmony with nature stand as a model for surviving and thriving in this place.  As Thomas Jefferson took the concept of a government of individual states under a unified governance as a model of our Constitution, we can look to the nurture of the land as a way forward.  Plan for seven generations forward considering the needs of those yet unborn whose fate we determine by the decisions we make today.

Healing the land and empowering the people will rebuild a community resilient in diversity, strong in character and enlightened in understanding our place in the world. Governing toward a shared prosperity that builds the resilience and abundance of the natural world is part of our American Dream.  Shift from the extractive and unsustainable patterns of the last 100 years and embrace the commitment to regenerative practices that build a shared prosperity. Reinvesting in communities depleted by the extractive industries of the Industrial Revolution can reclaim the wealth of the land, re-employ the skilled workers and restore the shared prosperity of a region rich in culture and pride.

No technological breakthroughs are necessary for this new economy to operate building a prosperity that can last without the boom/bust cycles of depleting extractive industries. We can muster the political will to make the necessary changes in policy and practice to support a new economy for the 21st century. The true wealth of America lies in the land that supports us.  Not the fossil resources buried deep within the crust of the Earth, but the living earth, the fertile ground that gives life to our planet through binding essential elements to create food, fiber, fuel, and oxygen. When we restore the land and empower the people, we set the foundation for a long-lasting prosperity for all of our citizens.

Fly the American flag for Fourth of July. Remember that freedom is not free, but earned through the sacrifice of many people over the years. The right to freedom also holds responsibility to be an engaged citizen. Follow the actions of those who represent you at the federal, state and local levels of government. Know where your representatives stand on issues you care about, and hold them accountable for their actions in office. Exercise your right and obligation to vote in every election. Your vote is your voice. The ideal of America stands before us as a goal. It is up to all of us to reach it in practice.


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Our Moral Obligation to Preserve the Living Earth

Here in Pittsburgh in the first weeks of April, though the air is chilly now, this week follows five days of temperatures above 65 degrees. Blossoms not usually emergent until May are in full flower- violets, redbud trees, magnolia trees…and the daffodills and hyacinths have wilted from being so warm. As I had opened the windows a bit, i woke early to listen for the dawn chorus of birdsong I have always associated with the coming of Spring. There were several distinct songbirds- a few robins, a cardinal or two, a flicker, and American song sparrow, a Carolina wren. But the joyous chorus of many many birds greeting the dawn together is no more.

The harbingers of our fate call out in silences once filled with music. The unseen wonders lost. I take the occasion of this Earth Day theme “Our Power, Our Planet” to emphasize again the fact of our existence: we depend on the gifts of the living Earth. Our survival, our life support system comes from the solar power and ecosystem services of the interconnected web of life. The interactions between the living and mineral and inanimate parts of the planet shape our existence, and as humans we have developed the power to shape, re-shape and even destroy the living systems we depend on.

I reflected on our moral obligation to preserve these gifts of the living Earth for our children and those who follow.

Thanks to Jim Lenkner for the video recording and editing.

As you consider your own obligation to our living Earth and to the children among us and of the future, seek to live lightly on this earth, being judicious in how much of the world’s resources we use daily.

Uee your voice to advocate for preserving natural places and pulcic parks, refuges and oceans.

Engage in your own community to keep the green spaces, provide access to nature, and plant food and flowers instead of chemically supported lawn.

Remember to celebrate the joy of the natural world. We are more alike as human creatures than different in culture, religion, gender, or political persuasion. Find the common humanity across these barriers. Live in harmony with Nature.

Happy Earth Day!

Patricia DeMarco

8 April 2026


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Rebuilding Environmental Protection: Lessons from Rachel Carson

Click to access 3-6-2026-rebuilding-environmental-protection.pdf

In consideration of Women’s History Month, I am reflecting on Rachel Carson and her message of precaution in protecting the living earth.

Rachel Carson’s challenge. Rachel Carson lived and wrote in a time before pollution was regulated at the federal level. Her work at the Bureau of Fisheries and in the Fish and Wildlife service documented the value of preserving natural places, enshrined in the National Wildlife Refuges and in the Endangered Species Act. Rachel Carson advocated for preserving all the parts of natural ecosystems and using the tools of natural systems for pest control and resource management. She wrote often of the need to take precaution in the broadscale dispersion of man-made chemicals. She wrote, in the formal language of the 1950s, of the trend of our society towards destruction:

Mankind has gone very far into an artificial world of his own creation. He has sought to insulate himself, in his cities of steel and concrete, from the realities of earth and water and the growing seed. Intoxicated with his own power, he seems to be going farther and farther into more experiments for the destruction of himself and his world.               Rachel Carson. Speech on receiving the John Burrows Medal. April 1952.[i]

This describes the condition we face today. We see all around us the cumulative effects of pollution from burning fossil fuels to plastic waste, and forever chemicals created to control pests or for enhancements like “no-stick” pans. Rachel Carson raised concerns about the chemical stew resulting from the accumulation of materials from multiple sources and through concentration up the food chain. She documented how materials introduced into the environment migrate to unintended locations through the action of wind and water. Silent Springwas all about taking caution.[ii]

But we have not taken caution. We have conducted a massive experiment upon ourselves and our children with no controls, and no anticipation of how to redress the harm. Rachel Carson perceived this potential for harm long before the voluminous scientific documentation of health harms of pollution mounted in evidence.[iii] She wrote from a deep knowledge of the delicate intricacies of the interconnected web of life. She knew in her bones of the absolute dependence of humankind upon the smooth functioning of the ecosystems that provide fresh water, oxygen-rich air and fertile ground. Our life support system depends on these natural systems, evolved over millennia, and stable for thousands of years. But that stability also depends on respecting the laws of nature and preserving the living systems that sustain us.[iv]

The regulatory approach to controlling pollution has rested on the concept of mitigating risk to
the public and protecting the quality of air water and land from contamination. The level of total
risk is defined as the combination of inherent hazard, or how toxic a substance is to living plants,
animals and humans, and the amount of exposure.

RISK = {HAZARD X EXPOSURE}

Consequences: total toxic emissions and health harms. In spite of the voluminous regulations, pollution is increasing not only in the US but globally. Because dispersion by wind and water makes it impossible to isolate contaminants to a specific location, contamination crosses all political boundaries. Even as Rachel Carson pointed out so many years ago, we now see contamination worldwide. The public health implications of this proliferation of toxic contaminants are impossible to escape. (See full article for details.)

Although environmental regulation has improved the quality of air and water overall since before enacting the regulations under the EPA, the results have not kept up with the challenges of modern industrial chemical contamination, nor have they prevented the effects of accumulation of man-made chemicals in the environment. The expectation and complaints from industry that environmental regulation hurts the economy has not been documented. In fact, economic growth has continued even as environmental controls have been enacted and enforced.

De-construction of environmental protections. Today we see the unravelling of the complex tapestry of regulatory controls on pollution, from Executive Orders granting absolution to 41 industries from emission constraints to laws rescinding critical portions of the Clean Air Act.[ii] The EPA under the Trump Administration has rescinded 31 regulations that protect water, air and land from industrial pollution and chemical contamination, challenging Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Act requirements, and curtailing enforcement actions. Rulemaking to control forever chemicals (PFAS) has been delayed or abandoned. The Supreme Court has removed the science-based expert authority of regulatory agencies requiring a strict and narrow interpretation of authorizations stated in the enabling legislation. The EPA revoked the Endangerment Finding of 2009 which put greenhouse gas emissions control under the Clean Air Act, effectively eliminating climate action controls. The EPA has also declared that costs of health harms and deaths from pollution will no longer be calculated in the analysis of regulatory action on air emissions. Challenges to these actions have had some success in federal courts, including the declaration that rescinding congressionally approved grants for renewable energy are illegal.

Rebuild Environmental Protection with Regenerative Thinking. The long-term implications of these policy changes alarm environmental organizations and people concerned with the health of communities who are looking toward a change of administration to correct the harms. But, at this point, simply reversing the actions taken so far will not address the underlying issues. Of all the environmental regulations adopted to date, only the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 addresses the concept of designing to prevent pollution and encouraging recycling. We can take lessons from the regulatory approach of the last 56 years and improve the outcome going forward. This is the opportunity to move our system of laws and regulations through a transformation from an extractive fossil-based economy to a regenerative renewable resourced economy. There are at least five elements to this process.

1. REACH: The first lesson would be to adopt the precautionary principle as the basis for evaluating the introduction of new man-made materials into large scale production.

2. Green Chemistry: Second, adopt a regulatory framework that emphasizes reduction or elimination of the inherent hazard, rather than computing the “safe” amount of toxicity for individual contaminants. 

3. Empower Renewable Resources. Third, adopt the regulatory infrastructure to empower distributed renewable energy systems.

4. Heal damaged lands. Beyond preventing future pollution and damage, lies the responsibility to repair the scars and harms of legacy industries. 

5. Remove fossil industry subsidies. The federal subsidies currently lavished on the fossil extractive industries can be shifted directly to fund the sustainable energy system.

A shared prosperity. It is time for bold action. It is time to recognize that the laws of nature are not negotiable, nor can they be rescinded by executive order or wishful thinking. The condition of our life support system requires both reduction in the levels and types of pollution as well as strong support for the known and available technical solutions. Burning fossil resources as the base for the economy drives the global warming that will make the planet uninhabitable to life as we know it.[i] By creating a new regulatory framework based on regenerative thinking and protection for our life support system, we can establish the conditions for a shared prosperity and sustainable growth within the constraints of our living earth.Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth shall find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. Rachel Carson.

See the full analysis, with citations, of our way forward here: Rebuilding Environmental Protection PDF

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Endangered but Not Yet Doomed

12.Feb.2026

By Patricia M. DeMarco

This year has seen so many long days of cold harsh reality crashing through the optimism and hope of the last two years. From the vision from ReImagine Appalachia to the many responses to the Community Change grants and the burst of enthusiasm for what was supposed to be a stable ten -year commitment to renewable energy support all had the rug pulled out from under them. The Trump flurry of Executive Orders, rescissions and retractions of approved funds, even grants under contract has sent shock waves through one community after another.  The deliberate cruelty with which federal assistance for disasters has been withheld or retracted, sometimes based on partisan vindictiveness, stands with little challenge. Now comes the gleeful revoking of the Endangerment Finding that supported EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and point source pollution from power plants, factories and fossil extractive industries.[1]We are numb. Stunned into a shocked silence.

Well, the time for stunned inaction is over.  The America built on immigrant blood, sweat and tears, the America striving toward shared prosperity and a more just, equitable and inclusive future, the America of hope, compassion and joy must rise up again. We who believe in a government of the People, by the People and FOR THE PEOPLE must stand up and take back what is good and right as our responsibility and our duty.  We know that the science supporting the need to control greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels gives a short and closing window of timing for effective action. 

This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements, provides evidence that atmospheric CO2 has increased since the Industrial Revolution.

Luthi, D., et al.. 2008; Etheridge, D.M., et al. 2010; Vostok ice core data/J.R. Petit et al.; NOAA Mauna Loa CO2 record. Find out more about ice cores (external site).

We dare to believe that excellent education for all makes stronger citizens and a stronger economy.  We insist that the health and well-being of all people depend on access to health care for everyone. We know that to have healthy people we depend on clean water, fresh air and fertile ground as well as the vast number of species that provide our life support system. It is our duty to protect and strengthen the laws and regulations that control and prevent the massive pollution that has become the hallmark of modern civilization. It is time for an effective national law on Climate Change.

No longer can we tolerate sweeping the climate issue to the side, whispering about it in closed enclaves. We must no longer tallow climate action to be disparaged as “woke” or succumbing to the “Climate is a hoax” dogma issuing from Trump and his minions.  The fossil industries who bought this President are bringing down our entire civilization.[2]These multi-national corporations have allegiance to no country, and certainly see no value in preserving humanity or any part of the natural world.  Next quarter profits are their only metric.  And if we look to the fate of our grandchildren, twenty years hence, the corporations do not care.  They have no children. They do not breathe air or drink fresh water. They do not bleed in war. They do not get illnesses from their filthy enterprises. The stock market is soaring.  The GDP is fine, what is our problem?

We need to focus on the fundamental systems that support a better future for all of us. That means we must address the unjust and skewed wealth distribution in our country. It is not a viable situation for the top 1% of people to control 86% of the wealth while the lowest 50% control less than 15%.[3]  The frozen federal minimum wage at $7.25/hour combined with a systematic attack on unions and worker organizing has killed the middle class.[4] The Tax Reform Act of 1986 under Ronald Regan and the “Big Beautiful Budget Bill” of Trump have combined to increase the disparity in wealth distribution.  Money is the heart of this evil. Unfettered capitalism feeds greed. And greed kills. Policies that demonize equity, inclusion, immigrants, and dignity to any outside the cult of wealth are destroying the best of what made America a great country. Now ripping away the Endangerment Finding assures the destruction of our life support system:clean air, safe drinking water, fertile ground and the millions of species that constitute the great Web of Life, of which humans are but one part. 

Climate must be on the agenda for the Mid-term Elections.  Rescinding the Endangerment Finding does not rescind the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate. It just cuts out the ability of our government to move in a more positive and healthy direction. We can thrive without fossil fuels. But we cannot even survive in a planet warmed above the range of viability for all living things…including humans. We cannot have healthy, thriving people without a healthy thriving environment. We are facing our own extinction.  It is time to ACT!

Adopt a National Energy Act for Climate Resilience. We must recognize that the energy system is in the midst of a critically necessary transformation away from a fossil resource -based system that moves from extraction to production to trash. The renewable resource based, circular materials and energy management system is emerging worldwide, in spite of all U.S. efforts to stifle its progress.  We must boldly examine the regulatory infrastructure that can support a distributed energy system and a circular materials management system.  The laws and regulations governing utilities are designed for one way flow of power from central power stations to customers distant and connected by wires.  The emerging energy system is based on renewable resources. A distributed energy system accommodates multiple sources of electricity generation from net zero buildings that sometimes produce more energy than they need to microgrids linked with long duration battery storage systems and interconnected with load management software that balances loads and resources.  Customers generate some or all of their own power, from solar PV on their roofs and car batteries in their garages, and utilities struggle to accommodate two-way flows. Many large customers can also generate all of their own power with dedicated systems linked to their unique demands, and drop out of the grid altogether.  We need to examine an update to the laws and regulations governing the production and exchange of power to address the reality of a shifting energy system. A distributed energy system powered by renewable resources can sustain a better future. We need a regulatory infrastructure that enables this transformation in law.

The laws of nature are not negotiable.  As we increase the concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, the planet will continue to warm. That is just physics. Trump may try to erase Black History. He has reversed decades of policy supporting immigration as America the melting pot. He has re-aligned alliances and trade agreements. He can eliminate public education and limit health care and benefits.  BUT he has no power to change the laws of atmospheric physics and chemistry. He has no power to control the response of living systems, including humans, to changes in the environment.  He has no power to re-write the laws of Nature. We ignore these at our peril.

It is time to put our life support system on the agenda. It is time to protect our world for our children.  We can live without luxury cars. We can live without plastics.  We can live without gilded buildings. We cannot live without oxygen-rich fresh air, or clean water, or fertile ground that provides food. We cannot live without compassion and empathy for each other in communities of caring people. We cannot live without the ecosystems that support life on earth.

Endnotes and Resources:

[1] Environmental Protection Agency. President Trump and Administrator Zeldin Deliver Single Largest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History:Trump Admin Eliminates Obama-Era Endangerment Finding, off-cycle credits, start-stop feature. Feb 12, 2026.  https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/president-trump-and-administrator-zeldin-deliver-single-largest-deregulatory-action-us  Accessed Feb 12, 2026.

[2] Dharna Noor. “Big oil spent $445m in last election cycle to influence Trump and Congress, report says.” The Guardian. 23 Jan 2025.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/big-oil-445m-trump-congress   Accessed Feb 12, 2026.

[3]   Urban Institute calculations from the Survey of Financial Characteristics of Consumers 1962, the Survey of Changes in Family Finances 1963, and the Survey of Consumer Finances 1983–2022.  Urban Institute. April 25, 2024.  https://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/

[4] Mills Rodrigo. “America’s Wealthiest Are Getting Even Richer.” Inequality.org. January 31, 2026.     https://inequality.org/facts/wealth-inequality/   Accessed Feb. 12, 2026.


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Out of the Shadows and Into the Light: 2022-2023

On this Winter Solstice, I reflect on a time of closure, and a time for planning new beginnings.  I have shared my life for the last 15 years with my partner, Tom Jensen as we had adventures to other countries, explored the places of his ancestors, and significant historical places.  We found spontaneous dancing happened at any time, especially when we were both working at home. We took on several construction and reconstruction projects – and we laughed a lot…until he fell to a long and valiant battle with cancer.  Chronic terminal illness challenges the character and erodes at the very soul of a relationship, but in lucid moments between bouts of delirium and rage, we were as close as ever.  I will treasure those few precious times and remember the wonderful experiences we shared, and let the pain and sadness recede slowly into the past. I know I will miss Tom every day of the rest of my own life.

He was always there to cheer me on and encourage my work. It is ironic that my second book came to print the week of his passing. Writing “In the Footsteps of Rachel Carson- Harnessing Earth’s Healing Power” captured my own struggle to recognize my mortality.  I am acutely aware that as a four times cancer survivor I am living on borrowed time. So, I make the most of every day.

All of the crises of the world have continued swirling around me as I have been in a cocoon of slow grieving and caregiving as Tom receded into the clutches of the tumors that consumed him over 18 months.  I have swatted at them like irritating flies, keeping focus only on the most immediate and pressing needs.  Now, I reflect on what is ahead, and set my priorities for this coming year.

Recognizing the amazing accomplishments of our collective action over the last year sets the stage for what comes next.  Much of the ReImagine Appalachia Blueprint is now incorporated into law! (See https://reimagineappalachia.org ) Climate action policy, recovery of abandoned mine lands, broadband expansion, assistance for neglected communities, support for regenerative agriculture, requirements for community benefit agreements attached to federal grants, and many more actions now have the force of law.  The tools for creating a more just, equitable and sustainable future are at hand.  Now comes the challenge of implementing with intent and keeping the goals in the forefront.

The success story of ReImagine Appalachia needs to be celebrated, and documented.  This is the subject of my next book, to be published through the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences. ReImagine Appalachia is quite a testament to the power of the people. It began with 45 listening sessions in which 1,500 people contributed ideas, concerns, life experiences, hopes and dreams – all on zoom because of COVID-19. With only a few paid staff and with amazing leadership from Amanda Woodrum, Stephen Herzenburg, Ted Boetner and Dana Kuhlein, and Natalia Rudiak, teams of working groups sorted the issues and ideas into issue papers, documented policy proposals and case studies illustrating the need for new laws. Visionary leaders like Rev. Marcia Dinkins inspired us to act. Fifty collaborating organizations across four states- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia – worked together to brief critical members of Congress, and their key staff. We were at the table when the laws were being crafted, when the budgets were being set, and we turned out hundreds of engaged citizens at all stages for comments, support, and intervention when things got sticky. Faith communities, people of color, local government officials came together to press for changes that would heal the land and empower the people.

As I sit in my 76th year of life, I recognize the need to mentor and coach successors in my path as a compelling drive. All of my activities and engagements align to build a better future for the coming generations.  The legacy of the Baby Boomers has been a mixed bag, and I feel a responsibility to show a vision forward that corrects some of the mis-steps.  I think our civilization is ready for a renaissance of attention to cultural and spiritual values reflected in care for the natural capital of the Earth – fresh air, clean water, fertile ground and the vast diversity of species that constitute the great Web of Life.  Restoring our life support system ties so many conflicting factions together.  Seeking common ground and shared purpose in building a better future for our children and for their grandchildren allows us to rise above the petty conflicts that impede progress.

I am honored to be drawn in to the efforts of my colleagues and friends in the Mon Valley- Tina Doose, Lisa Franklin-Robinson, Chad FitzGerald, Lori Rue, and Derrick Tillman. Rather than moaning with horrors hidden behind a veil of nostalgia for the “heyday of Steel,” we are working for a new vision for the Mon Valley. Rising from the ashes of the extractive industries of the past, we are creating a future built around renewable resources, non-toxic production systems that are compatible with healthy neighborhoods, and circular supply chains that conserve resources and build local and regional resilience. We are developing major projects with community benefit agreements, and including workforce development pathways to careers that include returning citizens, high school students, and recovered addicts. People will not move to a vacuum.  But they will embrace a movement that meets community needs and builds on the endurance, resilience and determination of people long ignored and suppressed. The Mon Valley will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the past and soar to a finer future.

For this New Year of 2023, we step out of the dark shadows and into the light.


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The Triumph of Life

June 20, 2021

Patricia M.DeMarco, Ph.D.

Facing a life-threatening illness forces focus on what is truly important.  Every person faces such crisis-induced inflection points differently. As I have coped with four different challenges to my health over a span of twenty years, I have made decisions to live each day to the fullest, with purpose and intention. One day at a time, I rejoice in the wonder and beauty demonstrated everywhere through the gifts of the living Earth. I seek ways to use my voice and my personal power to move the world around me to a more sustainable and resilient place through local political action as an elected official, through regional collaborations with like-minded colleagues, and through writing and focused contributions to national and international efforts.  But all of this fades away in the face of a truly life-threatening reality. When the diagnosis comes to a person close to my heart, the precious fragility of our existence surfaces.

When the days ahead are numbered to a few hundred at best, it is the relationships, the personal connections with a caring community of family and friends, that make the difference.  All of the time spent on causes and external concerns disappears in significance compared to spending an hour in lucid conversation with a dear loved one. Memories of shared joys lift the pall of pain and fear. Simple pleasures enhance the sense of being connected and not alone in the darkest of times.  Just holding hands and smiling through internal tears and broken-hearted grief gives comfort.

All together- May 2021

Interface with the institutionalized medical system makes personal connections absolutely essential.  When you become a patient, with a chart and a Care Team, personal connections become critical.  Who is the person who can understand the jargon and translate information into meaningful communication?  Who can see through the doctor’s shield that comes down over demeanor when the diagnosis is a condition without cure, just a “management plan”? In this situation, it is the inner strength of each person that sustains life with dignity and quality as long as possible.

The ability to connect with the healing power of the living Earth makes an enormous difference in the experience of coping with a critical illness.  Whether the condition will abate sufficiently to allow many years of living, or whether the condition is so acute that there are few options for prolonged life, living each day becomes either a gift or a burden, depending on the attitude and mental and spiritual support system of each person.  I remember my grandfather Pop in his late years when he was living with my parents.  His Parkinson’s disease had advanced too far for him to live alone, and he resented his loss of independence.  He would sit on the bench in the patio under the pear tree and talk to my Nona who had died years before.  He would say “Well, Pasqualine, the Lord forgot me again today.  I am still here, and you are with Him.  How long must I wait to be free of this world?” And yet, when I came to visit with my two small children, his great-grandchildren, he would smile and sing them the same little songs he sang to me as a child. He would give them a ride on his foot, holding their little hands and bouncing them up and down. For those moments, he was alive and sharing experiences with another generation.  They have not forgotten him, and the memories have crossed through generations.

Pasqualina and Patty 1948 in the garden at 556 Southern Ave, Pittsburgh

We all live but a moment in the stream of time. It is our privilege and our duty to make the most of our time on this Earth.  We cannot know how many hours we have to spend, but we can commit to celebrate every opportunity for joy.  We can weave ourselves into the tapestry of our time and immerse ourselves into the life-giving force of the living Earth. We can stand in defiance of the sadness, pain and evil that rises around us. We can be a beacon for those who follow, triumphant in living in harmony with Nature.

Blessed Be


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The Rights of the Living Earth

Today is Earth Day 2019. It is time to move from awareness to action as we face the existential crises of our time – global warming and global pollution. It is time to recognize and assign a high value to the rights of the Living earth that provides our own life support system – fresh water, clean air, fertile ground and the biodiversity of species that comprise the ecosystems of this living planet. We must shift from making our decisions around only economic determinations of profit for corporations and bring back the balance that values a healthy environment, healthy ecosystems, and strong cultural and social resources. We cannot sustain our civilization in a world wrung dry and rendered barren from unfettered resource extraction and human greed. Only communities of caring people, respectful of the rights of the living earth as essential as our own , will preserve our options for the future. Our children deserve the right to fresh water, clean air and fertile ground. Let us stand today on this Earth day 2019 to defend the rights of Our Living earth.
Listen here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2VPVHlrQ6E&feature=youtu.be


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Imagine Global Cooperation- COP-23

November 9, 2017

by Patricia DeMarco

On his way to the Conference of Parties- 23 (COP-23)  in Bonn, Germany, California Governor Gerry Brown stopped to speak to the Baden-Wurttenberg lawmakers in Stuttgart to address the issue of action on climate change:  “Let’s lead the whole world to realize this is not your normal political challenge,” he added. “This is much bigger. This is life itself. It requires courage and imagination.”[1] Calling for an international movement on behalf of life on Earth as a collective priority can transcend the political divisions that paralyze effective action. Building an international consensus on a way forward can release the inventiveness of human ingenuity in response to a common crisis. The sooner we begin an international collaboration with the goal of preserving the viability of the planet for all life, the sooner we can make real progress as a civilization. We are all more alike in our humanity than different in culture, religion or politics. We all depend on our common life support system: fresh air, clean water, fertile ground and the biodiversity of species with whom we share this Earth.

This is not a partisan issue. Reach across to your neighbors and friends and plan together to make each community more resilient, more sustainable, and less dependent on fossil fuels. We must all demand that Congress place priority on reinvestment in the infrastructure of the future, beginning with communities that have had fossil extractive industries as the base of their economy for so long. It is time to diversify, to re-imagine our future around sustainable systems that restore and regenerate the living Earth which supports our life.

War-torn Syria joined the Paris Agreement at the Bonn gathering of COP-23, leaving President Trump ‘s declaration to remove the United States from the global agreement as the solitary proponent of denial. Hundreds of US Mayors, several states and many hundreds of corporations have declared adherence to the Paris Climate Accord, vowing to take actions to help hold the increase in global average temperature to no more than 2° C or 3.6° F. Reducing the combustion of fossil fuels to lower the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is the most efficient way to accomplish this goal.  But this is only the beginning of the energy revolution that will re-shape the way civilization relates to the natural world. Once communities and businesses begin to meet their energy needs through renewable systems, rather than destructive combustion, possibilities and innovations will multiply.

Adaptations for efficiency and resilience are already occurring, for example in solar panels where the solar photovoltaic system is integrated into the structure of roofing tiles, rather than affixing them to a roof, and window glass that can generate electricity as sunlight passes through it. The concept of designing buildings that create as much energy as they use- net zero energy buildings- has already taken off as a common sense and cost efficient way to provide space conditioning and electricity in homes and commercial spaces. Research and pilot projects designing electric micro-grids that connect energy generating sources located among the customers is challenging the traditional electric  utility structure.  Some are embracing the innovations and incorporating distributed generation into their operations, finding new categories of service in load management, storage and reliability assurance.  Other utilities are resisting the advance of renewable resources and customer- owned generation with punitive tariffs and restrictive conditions for connecting to the wider grid.  In many such cases, some customers find it easier to install their own storage, and simply drop off the connected grid- true “energy independence.”

The renewable energy industry is growing rapidly. One in 50 jobs in America are in the renewable energy industries.  Solar energy jobs have increased 178% from 2010 to 2016.[2]  The solar industry employs more than 260,000 Americans, a 25% increase from 2015 to 2016, and the average wage in the industry is $28.00 per hour; 25% of the workers are women.[3] If all renewable energy and efficiency improvement industries are included, there are more workers in the renewable energy sector than in coal, oil and gas combined. Deliberate suppression of this initiative by Congressional “Tax Reform” is not productive to a growth industry that also accomplishes greater public interest goals in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the absence of strong leadership at the federal level, states and individual companies have made a wide range of approaches to using renewable energy systems.( See the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency http://www.dsireusa.org)  It is clear that this transition from a fossil base to a renewable energy system will not proceed smoothly until there is a wider consensus in the United States to commit to a fossil free future.

This is a major step for a country as large and complex as America, but we are also a country known for its ability to rise to hard challenges and to place the common good at the center of public policy initiatives many times in its history. This can be the galvanizing common challenge that unites our spirit in purpose.  Technology is not the impediment. Rather, it is the entrenched interests of the fossil extractive industries in coal, oil and natural gas that have taken a strangle hold on the public policy process.  It is time to call a halt to the suffocation of innovation.  It is time to unleash the forces of ingenuity and creativity that will allow America to resume its leadership role in the world. This is not a matter of “getting regulations off the back of business” but rather a matter of re-designing our laws to support and encourage actions that align better with the laws of nature.  We need to preserve the life support system that provides fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, fertile ground to grow our food, and the well-being of people and all the other living things that share this earth. This is a challenge worthy of our best efforts.  It is a challenge to inspire our young people to have hope and faith in the future, rather than fear.  It offers a way forward that recaptures the spirit of community in a shared battle that is worth winning.

This alignment of nations in the Paris Climate Accord to address the common goal of preserving a viable planet is rare, and offers an opportunity for common ground unprecedented in our time.  It is not a technology problem. It is an ethics problem we can solve by making a commitment to care for the living earth, and care for each other. A future based on renewable and sustainable systems offers a better future, not one of greater deprivation and distress.  A civilization dedicated to preserving and regenerating the life force of the Earth holds the promise of a great renewal of spirit and a richness of legacy to sustain future generations. We need the courage to move away from what has become familiar over a hundred years and adopt practices that bring the prospect of a better future closer to reality. We need the fortitude to overcome the forces vested in short-term gains at the expense of our very survival.  It is time to leave the dinosaurs at rest in the ground and welcome the sun.

Actions:

  1. Review your own energy use profile and find ways to reduce what you use in your home, your transportation and your business. https://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm
  2. Examine your personal “supply chain” and see what you can change to reduce the amount of material you throw away or waste. Commit to cutting out disposable plastics, and recycle everything you cannot avoid. http://learn.eartheasy.com/2012/05/plastics-by-the-numbers/
  3. Call your Congressional Representatives and Senators and urge them to support climate action, especially retaining the investment tax credits for solar and wind. Punitive removal of these modest measures while adding substantial subsidies to coal, gas and nuclear fuels is an unethical choice for the future. https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
  4. Ask your local community to make a commitment to the Paris Climate Accord. Make a plan for your local community commitment to the future of our world. https://www.wearestillin.com/us-action-climate-change-irreversible

Remember to find time to experience the wonders of nature all around us every day.  We will preserve what we love. So, do indeed adopt a tree or a stream or a landscape and keep it in your heart.

Blessed Be.

 

[1] Erik. Kirschbaum. “Gov. Gerry Brown Delivers a Blunt Climate Change Message in Germany>” Los Angeles  Times. November 8, 2017.  http://beta.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-jerry-brown-climate-change-20171108-story.html  Accessed November 9, 2017.

[2] The Solar Foundation. State Solar Jobs Census. https://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/

[3] The Solar Foundation. “The Potential of State Solar Jobs- 2017.” http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TSF-Census-Future-State-Solar-Jobs-2021.pdf


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The Voice of the Earth Rising

As 2015 comes to a close, we mark a rare congruence of awareness and a call to action on climate change. In advance of the COP-21 talks in Paris, the leaders of all of the world’s major religions have called for true stewardship of the Earth.  The Encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si

 http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html,

the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change http://islamicclimatedeclaration.org/islamic-declaration-on-global-climate-change/

and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth from the People’s Climate Conference in Cochabamba,  https://pwccc.wordpress.com/programa/

calls to action resound with increased urgency. The COP-21 Accord, though non-binding, united the voices of 195 nations to strive for a 2 degree ceiling, with many advocating a goal of a 1.5 degree limit, in temperature rise by mid-century.

imagesIt is my hope for the new year that we can recognize the critical importance of the living Earth. We hear the voice of the Earth not in words but in the songs of birds and of whales; in the intricate ballet between flowers and pollinators; in the exhalation of forests and phytoplankton; and the sweep of landscapes. Earth speaks also in pain as forests are felled; oceans become acidic; mountaintops are scraped off; and the carbon dioxide of human energy production and agriculture pollute the air and water.

As we celebrate our Holidays and make plans for the New Year, may we remember that we are more alike in our humanity than different in cultures, religions or customs. May we reach out to work together to preserve and restore the life support systems of the living Earth- fresh water, clean air, fertile ground and the biodiversity of species that constitute the global web of life. May we work together for justice and equity as we face the necessary transitions from despoiling to preserving the resources of the Earth.

To my Colleagues who have helped me in so many ways this year as my manuscript has come together, I offer thanks for gifts beyond measure. Thank you for all you are doing to build a Pathway to Our Sustainable Future. May we all hear and embody the great power of the voice of the Earth. The children of the 21st century deserve our fullest effort to preserve our beautiful living Earth. To my grandchildren, and the nieces and nephews of my family, I solemnly promise my whole life to protecting your future.

Buon Natale!


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Moving Targets – A Reflection From A Century Passing

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAArt uniquely captures the complex responses surrounding the fact of extinction. Moving Targets juxtaposes the unintended extinction of the Passenger pigeon with the forced migration of Jews from Eastern Europe. These two interwoven stories show how fragile life is, for the abundant creatures of Nature, and ultimately, for humans as well.

The beautiful Passenger pigeon, with its iridescent feathers and graceful form, assembled in enormous flocks for annual gatherings to mate and raise their young. When the European colonists arrived on the American continent, half of the land was covered with thick and diverse forests from coast to coast, with lush prairie in the middle. The Passenger pigeon flocks of three to five billion individuals coursed from north to south, swooping across the country, feasting on nuts and berries. The habitat was so abundant and diverse that a decade would elapse between visits. The birds’ challenges began with the settlers clearing forests for farmland, housing, and timber masts for the British navy. Between 1620 and 1920, the forested area fell from 50% to less than 5%, and 53% of wetlands were converted to other uses.[i] This massive loss of habitat affected the food supply, and the migratory circuit of the Passenger pigeons.

The second most devastating challenge, was the ease of taking the birds for food. Their massive numbers gave protection against severe depletion by normal predators, so they did not have a well- developed instinct to fly from danger. From colonial times through the late 1800s, Passenger pigeons were hunted relentlessly to feed the growing population centers of the East coast. Birds were a cheap source of protein, selling at about a penny a bird, and enjoyed as “pigeon pie.” Once the railroads developed the capacity to ship birds across the country, millions were salted and shipped in barrels. The town of Plattsburg, New York, is estimated to have shipped 1.8 million pigeons to larger cities in 1851 alone, at a price of 31 to 56 cents a dozen.[ii] The birds’ reproductive patterns offered no defense against the unrelenting slaughter. Each pair produced a single squab, nesting at most twice in a season. Successful breeding depended upon large communal gatherings in nest sites that might cover 850 acres. In smaller groupings, as the numbers of birds began to decline in the 1860’s, reproductive success was less likely.

When conservationists sounded alarms in the late 1860’s, the laws passed were weak, unenforceable, and mostly ignored. Passenger pigeons declined slowly from 1800 to 1850, accelerating in the last part of the century until the demise became irreversible. In the early 1900’s attempts to breed them in captivity were unsuccessful. The last Passenger pigeon, named “Martha,” died in the Cincinnati zoo on September 1, 1914. Her passing marked our heedless extinction of one of Earth’s beautiful, abundant creatures. President Theodore Roosevelt took initiatives to preserve some wild places. At a Conference of Governors in 1908, he said, “The natural resources of our country are in danger of exhaustion.” This meeting was described by Gifford Pinchot as a “turning point in human history” which led to establishing the National Conservation Commission and the first inventory of the nation’s natural resources.[iii]

Laws to preserve wilderness and natural resources were hard-won, even modern efforts face opposition from business interests in mining and resource extraction, housing and agriculture. Globally we see massive destruction of natural habitat. The United Nations Environment Programme report on Global Biodiversity estimates that one third of the land has been compromised or destroyed by infrastructure, one third has been fragmented or disturbed, and one third afflicted with pollution and invasive species. No place on Earth is free from human impact. Some of the pollution that encompasses the entire earth affects reproductive success. Many of the chemical pollutants found in each of our bodies are known to cause cancer, birth defects, mutations and decline in fertility of humans.[iv]

Have we begun the accelerating decline from billions to few? How much of the living Earth can we destroy before we find ourselves on a planet inhospitable to life as we know it? The story of the Passenger pigeon gives us a chance to ask these questions, with the knowledge that even the most abundant of nature’s creatures falls to massive assault on habitat and reproductive stability. We can take this lesson of the Passenger pigeon: market forces alone will not solve a crisis. Concerned people raising their voices and standing together can change the course of history. The economic expediency and greed of the Passenger pigeon hunters assured their extinction. Refusing to address our own fossil fuel combustion habit, knowing that it is irreversibly compromising our atmosphere, may be setting the stage for ours.

“Martha” can symbolize the clarion call to change. We can take actions that preserve the living earth if we realign our priorities and values to favor the resilience of the human spirit, the community of caring, the sense of wonder in nature. These values, beyond mere economic measures, make us truly human. These are the characteristics that helped people survive the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust. The stories of survivors, global migrants in their passage, can inspire us in the face of disaster. We can place priority on the pursuit of knowledge, art and wisdom, the time spent in friendships and community, and the appreciation of the beauty of the natural world. If we value the quality of all of our lives over the quantity of our treasuries, we will preserve our life support system for our children – fresh air, clean water, fertile ground and the biodiversity of species with whom we are interconnected as passengers through time on this planet Earth.

See http://atrart.net/moving-targets/ for a description of the Moving Targets project.

[i] Status and Trends of the Nation’s Biological Resources.
Land Use. Vol 1. Page 38. http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov
[ii] Schorger, A.W. (1955). The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. Page 145. .ISBN 1-930665-96-2.
[iii] Kevin Hillstrom. 2010. U.S.Environmental Policy and Politics: A Documentary History. “President Roosevelt’s Address at a Conservation Conference of Governors May 13, 1908.” CQ Press. Washington D.C. Page 187.
[iv] Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., DABT, ATS. Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, and Director, National Toxicology Program U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate.” February 4, 2010. http://www.epw.senate.gov/ Accessed March 10, 2015.