Chemicals Changing the Sex of Fish in Potomac River.

More than 80% of the male bass fish in Washington's major river are now exhibiting female traits such as egg production because of a "toxic stew" of pollutants, scientists and campaigners reported yesterday. Intersex fish probably result from drugs, such as the contraceptive pill, and other chemicals being flushed into the water and have been found right across the US.

Green Man: Oh, great. We already know about mercury being common in fish but now they're packed full of hormones!! Our girls are going to be maturing at five years old pretty soon and our boys will have no testicles. At least that seems like a possible conclusion from ingesting a soup of mixed random chemicals. Other chemicals found in our water? Antibiotics: Ever wonder why antibiotics don't work as well lately? Because they're found in many of the substances we ingest like inorganic milk, which can cause us to build up an immunity to them.

Nearly 40% of all U.S. antibiotics are injected into livestock as artificial growth enhancers. Next, heavy duty psychiatric medications: I'm not sure what effects they'd have in the water table but I do know from having to take them that they can cause diabetes and hypertension. Ahhh, nothing like a fresh glass of diabetes for our growing kids, eh?!! Other shit in the water? Nicotine, pain pills and even veterinarian medications!!! And we wonder why cancer rates are on the rise? The other area of concern is with our farms because high amounts of fertilizers and pesticides are showing up in run-off water.

I did a recent post on my Buddhist Blog about saving Lumbini (the birthplace of Buddha) from environmental degradation. One of the problems is that a pillar that dates back to 200 BCE is being warn down by pollution from a row of new concrete and steel plants. Now, if it that pollution can erode a stone pill--what do you think it's doing to the much more vulnerable human body? Global warming/climate change is just the tip of the iceberg if you'll excuse the pun of the overall environmental problem.

The next big problem is going to be a global water crisis. Rising temperatures are evaporating clean drinking water and the rest is often too polluted to safely use. Water will be the new conflict commodity in this new century replacing oil if we don't promote better water policies world wide, which includes tackling the overall warming trend. But we have to crack down on these factories dumping shit into our water systems and educate people to dispose of their medications in an environmentally sound manner. Visit, "Dispose My Meds" website to find locations that will take your unused pills and learn other information.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mutant fishes from the t.v. animated comedy, "The Simpsons".

~The Green Man has Spoken~

Happy 420 or "National Weed Day."

Today is the day that marijuana supporters celebrate the miraculous drug. The term, "420" is said to have started as a pre-agreed upon time at a high school in the 70s to convene upon an area of the campus to smoke pot. Thus, 4:20. Now it has become a symbol of marijuana culture and a date--April 20th (4/20) to honor and fight for the free use of cannabis. One of the greatest celebrations takes place in my state of Colorado on the campus of the college I attended--the University of Colorado. At last years event, the number of attendees surpassed 10,000.Even GLENN BECK is for legalizing marijuana!!!! I can't believe that I agree with him on something but he's right. This modern day prohibition has become a total joke. If even Republicans are for legalization then you know it's time. But as usual the people are ahead of the government. I think the swing generation (The Millennials) is about to push the long-delayed legalization of marijuana over the goal line. It's ridiculous too that we have to listen to people who have never smoked pot, been around someone who smokes pot or seen the benefits of it. Thankfully the "Reefer Madness" generation is aging and losing influence on society, so I think rational heads will prevail on this in the next decade or so.

~The Green Man has Spoken~

Life - Creeper Plants Climb Trees | Plants

Two Mile Long Scar on Great Barrier Reef After Ship Grounding.

"Even if severe toxic contamination is not found at the site, initial assessments by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority indicate it could take 20 years for the world's largest coral reef to recover, said scientist David Wachenfeld. In some areas, "all marine life has been completely flattened and the structure of the shoal has been pulverized by the weight of the vessel," Wachenfeld said."

Green Man: I don't know much about international law but I hope that Australia sues this Chinese shipping company for all they're worth to help pay for the clean up and loss. If we take protecting our natural treasures then there needs to be stiff penalties for damaging such world heritage sites like the Great Barrier Reef. The other aspect of preventing this again is to end our use on fossil fuels--our oceans are a life-line for millions of people and trashing them is like slowly taking poison. The reef has been in existence since possibly twenty million years ago and so it's shocking how fast this massive yet fragile reef can be destroyed.

For centuries man has seen nature as oppressive, tenacious and something to be tamed but we have finally remembered what our ancestors knew--that as nature goes, so goes our species and every other one. We mocked Pagans and other nature based believers because they worshiped rocks and trees but they lived in harmony with the environment and not only survived but thrived. So, now that we're nearly at the point of no return from environmental degradation we need to remember that our ancestors gave us these precious treasures and the wisdom to live amongst them and yet still thrive.

Yet we forgot and/or discarded these gifts in favor of the Christian belief that nature is given to man to do with it what we please. And that since we bought the idea that "God" gave it all to us we assumed that nature was inexhaustible. Thus we arrogantly felt we no longer needed to live in harmony with it because "God" would somehow take care of any complications along the way. Well, oh how wrong we were and still are!! There are still some that believe it doesn't matter how we treat our environment because Jesus will sweep in on a white horse and save us regardless. Yet with each passing year no one comes--just like in the play, "Waiting for Godot" and our world gets increasingly uninhabitable. I can almost hear the ancestors speaking through the whispering trees saying, "We told you so" but that it's still not too late to return to the ancient ways.

~The Green Man has Spoken~

PHOTO CREDIT: NASA

Spring is Budding in Colorado.

Our mock Pear tree is starting to bud and she looks so pretty!!

She is about to flower and I'll have pictures of that soon.

-Both pictures taken by the author.

~The Green Man has Spoken~

They Call it, "The American Dream" because You Have to be Asleep to Believe it.

The Best Comedian Ever.

The Great Barrier Reef Crashed into by Oil Tanker.

A salvage team could take weeks to remove a grounded coal-carrying ship from Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where it is leaking oil in a pristine marine environment, a state leader said on Monday. The Chinese Shen Neng 1 ran aground late Saturday on Douglas Shoals, a favorite pristine haunt for recreational fishing east of the Great Keppel Island tourist resort. The shoals — off the coast of Queensland state in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park — are in a protected part of the reef where shipping is restricted by environmental law.

Authorities fear an oil spill will damage the world's largest coral reef, which is off northeast Australia and listed as a World Heritage site for its environmental value. "One of the most worrying aspects is that the ship is still moving on the reef to the action of the seas, which is doing further damage" to the coral and hull, the government agency's general manager Patrick Quirk said.

The Green Man: This is why I am so opposed to offshore drilling along the pristine, tropical, marine life refuges off Florida. Our marine system is already under serious attack from rising global temperatures, which are bleaching coral networks that harbor some of the world's most diverse eco-systems. As well as from over-fishing but this recent destruction of the Great Barrier Reef is a real blow as it is the world's largest, and can be seen from outer space. The ship was carrying tons of coal as well, which is leeching into the water. Experts fear further break-up could release larger amounts of that coal into the water around the reef.

They can talk about clean-up all they want but the oil spill by the Exxon-Valdez up in Alaska is still affecting the eco-system negatively. Until the world finally breaks its addiction to oil we'll continue seeing these terrible accidents. The Chinese haven't had the best track record on the environment and while the U.S. has pollution issues too, the Chinese seem to literally have NO standards when it comes to protecting nature. They say that they'll be fined $1 million for this accident but that can't make up for the long-term destruction that this spill has caused for this pristine eco-system. I'm tired of seeing our Earth raped, our oceans treated as toilets and our air polluted with toxins while at the same time to warn people about the dangerous of inhaling cigarette smoke!!

~The Green Man has Spoken~

Archbishop: Nobody Has Confronted Abuse Better than the Catholic Church.

New York Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan was praising more than God on Sunday. Asked about the Church's response to ongoing sex abuse scandals, the Archbishop was upbeat, saying, "Nobody nowhere has confronted this crisis... better than the Catholic Church."

Green Man: Yeah, sure and I suppose the sky is green as well? Their insulation to the scope and seriousness of this long-term scandal sexual abuse scandal is breath-taking. Everyday it's a new excuse and claim. It's like they are in a panic and throwing anything out there as a defense in hopes of something sticking but what ends up happening instead is a faith in arguments that clearly don't hold water to anyone but the most naive.

They aren't use to people questioning their authority, practices, and credibility. Inside their church, what they say goes and they don't know what to do with a public that can see straight through their screen of bullshit. And we're not afraid to doubt you and your flimsy excuses and defenses. Their public relations roll-out after this latest scandal has been horrible. That's what happens when you appoint one of your own insulated people to defend your cover-up tactics to a sophisticated secular world.

I found this well summarized comment on the abuse scandals at a comment forum:

I'm generating a list of rules they seem to follow:

1. Always play the victim card no matter how much you've victimized others: The Pope's Pastor claiming that anger at the church is like anti-Semitism.

2. Always blame others, never accept full responsibility: Blaming the media for the exposure.

3. Always stonewall. Never apologize: New York's Archbishop claiming that the Church is doing a great job dealing with the abuse.

4. Never hold one of your own accountable: Just keep moving him into new positions within the organization. In a pinch--promote him up.

5. Make every decision guided by how it will effect your image rather by what would constitute real governance.

Green Man: Another great related comment that I found:

The Archbishop meant to say that "Nobody nowhere has covered up this crisis... better than the Catholic Church." And in that clarification, I most definitely agree with the distinguished Archbishop.

~The Green Man has Spoken~

Easter Weekend Tainted as Catholic Abuse Scandal Continues.

US Cardinal William Levada, a staunch defender of Pope Benedict XVI in the paedophile priests scandal gripping the Vatican, reassigned a US priest and alleged child molester in the 1990s without warning his parishioners, court documents showed. Despite objections, Levada said he did not warn the parishioners about the priest's past because it could have impacted the man's work and caused him embarrassment.

Green Man: Embarrassed?!!! I think the parishioners deserved to know if a predator is in their ranks!!! A little embarrassment is the least that this priest should have to endure. The priests and cardinals--even the pope--are so out of touch with not just their parishioners but with the world at large. During Easter (which is named after a Pagan goddess by the way, Eostre) services today the beleaguered Pope was defended by his aides:

The remarks by the prelate, Angelo Sodano, a former secretary of state and the dean of the college of cardinals, came among a chorus of denunciations by church officials of what they have framed as a campaign of denigration of the church and its pontiff. Holy Father, the people of God are with you, and do not let themselves be impressed by the gossip of the moment, by the challenges that sometimes strike at the community of believers,” Cardinal Sodano said. Jesus spoke of courage in the face of tribulations, the cardinal continued.

Green Man: First of all, there is ample evidence that a wide spread cover-up has occurred in regards to molesting priests in countries world wide. What's so courageous about transferring abusive priests? And if they are facing tribulations it's their own damn fault. It's typical of isolated hierarchies to blame everyone but themselves because they believe the institution is more important than an individual--even if that individual is an abused child, or, for that matter--hundreds of children.

Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the archbishop of Paris, cited an “offensive that aims at destabilizing the pope, and through him, the church.”

Green Man: If this is destabilizing the church and the pope (again) it's the their own damn fault. People around the globe didn't criticize the pope on this until this scandal leaked out of the Vatican's tight walls of secrecy. As we say in America, "Where there's smoke there's fire." We are simply following the trail of smoke and if it leads to the pope then so be it. They are use to their priests and followers simply believing whatever they say and not asking questions but they can't just tell the rest of us non-Catholics to shut up and fall in line. The toothpaste is out of the tube, and we are all simply following the clues and stench of scandal where ever it may lead. The truth and defense of victims demands it. I don't care if this scrutiny riles up the usually secretive Vatican--they have failed to protect children and now it's time for the secular world to hold them accountable. If they can't stand the heat of an investigation then to me that's a sure sign that they are guilty.

~The Green Man has Spoken~