Not Deforestation
My grandfather, Albert Moore, clearcut large areas of coastal rainforest on northern Vancouver Island in the 1930's and 1940's. He didn't know the word ecology, and the word biodiversity would not be invented for another 50 years. And you can be sure they weren't talking about the environment at the breakfast table on a dark, cold winter morning before they went out and worked hard six or seven days a week, to get the big timber down to the sea, sometimes taking half the soil with it due to the primitive logging methods of the day.
Today these areas are covered in hush new forest in which bears, wolves, cougars, deers, owls, eagles, ravens, and hawks have found a home again. These species have dispersed back to the site as the environment became suitable for them again.
We have all been taught since we were children that you should not judge a book or present cyberspace term "blog", by its cover, in other words that beauty is only skin deep. yet we are still easily tricked into thinking that if we like what we see with our eyes, it must be good, and if we don't like what we see with our eyes, it must be bad. We tend to link our visual impression of what is beautiful and what is ugly with our moral judgment of what is right and wrong.
The Sierra Club says, " You don't need a professional forester to tell if a forest is mismanaged -- if a forest appears to be mismanaged, it is mismanaged." They want you to believe that the ugly appearance of a recently harvested forest is synonymous with permanent destruction of the environment. And yet, the unsightly sea of stumps is not nuclear waste or a toxic discharge, it is 100 percent organic, and will soon grow back to a beautiful new forest again. All the same, the fact that recently harvested areas of forest appear ugly to our eyes makes for very effective images in the hands of anti forestry activists.
A rural scene of farmlands and pasture looks pleasant to the eye and is neat and tidy compared to the jumble of woody debris in a clearcut. Yet it is the farm and pasture land that truly represents deforestation. It has been cleared of forest long ago and the forest has been permanently replaced by food crops and fodder. Mere important, if we stopped plowing the farmland for just 5 years in a row, seeds from the surrounding trees would blow in and the whole area would be blanketed in new tree seedlings. Within 80 years you would never know there had been a farm there. The entire area would be reforested again, just as leaving it alone. That's because
deforestation is not an event, that just happens and then is over forever.
Deforestation is actually an ongoing process of continuous human interference, preventing the forest from growing back, which it would if it was simply left alone. The most common form of interference with forest renewal is what we call agriculture. That's why deforestation is seldom caused by forestry, the whole intention of which is to cause re forestation.
Deforestation is nearly always caused by friendly farmers growing our food, and by nice carpenters building our houses, towns, and cities.
Deforestation is not an evil plot, it is something we do on purpose in order to feed and house the 6 billion plus and growing human population.
The scene of cattle grazing in a lush green pasture is pleasant to the eye. Yet it wasn't that many years ago when fast food chain McDonald's restaurants, bowing to heavy public pressure due to concern about deforestation in Central and South America to grow cows for hamburger, promised they would never buy another tropical cow. It was apparently fine, however, to continue buying cows grown in North America. Is this because we , Americans have a higher standard for deforestation in North America than they do in Latin America? No, it is a complete double standard.
Deforestation is deforestation regardless of where it is practised. The forest is completely removed and replaced with a monoculture pasture on which exotic animals that were not present in the original forest graze.
If you go to Australia, you'll find that most people think the worst deforestation is occurring in Malaysia and Indonesia, when in fact about 40 percent of Australia's native forest has been destroyed for agriculture. The same is true in the Unites States; about 40 percent of the original forests have been converted to farming. And the western animal-factory farming industry players are using political means and avian bird flu scam, so called, to wipe out other natural free roaming animal farming, 'forcing' others to buy and adopt only their unnatural modern-animal farming. We always like to think that the bad people are long way away and speak another language. We often fail to realize that we are doing exactly the same things we accuse them of doing. A kettle telling the pot is black?
And if you don't eat meat, you must eat vegetables in which case you will cause the creation of monoculture cabbage plantations and other such food crops where there once were forests. Now it's true cabbages are prettier than stumps, unfortunately true for the public's understanding of deforestation. Birds and insects are not welcome in areas of monoculture crops. If they wish to avoid being shot or poisoned, these animals had best retreat into a forest nearby where they are more likely to be left alone.
Solutions For Deforestation.
Don't get me wrong. Make no mistake please. I am not against farming. We all have to eat. But it is interesting to note that the three(3) things we can do to prevent further loss of the world's forest have nothing to do with forest.
These three things are:
1.Population management. The more people there are in this world the more mouths there are to feed and the more forest we must clear to feed them. This is a simple fact of arithmetic.
2.Intensive agriculture production. Over the last 50 years, that is since 1950, in North America we have learned to grow five(5) times as much food on the same area of land, due to advances in genetics, technology, and pest control. If we had not made these advances we would either have to clear away five times as much forest, which is not available anyway, or more likely we simply could not grow as much food. Again, it is a matter of arithmetic. The more food we can grow on a given piece of land, the less forest will be lost to grow it.
3.Urban densification. There is actually only one significant cause of continuing forest loss in the United States; 200 cities sprawling out over the landscape and permanently converting forest and farm to pavement. If we would design our cities for a higher density, more livable environment, we would not only save forests, we would also use less energy and materials.
In short, forestry is good for the environment.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Heart Attack
What causes a heart attack?
A heart attack occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood through the body. The most common kind of heart attack is called myocardial infarction – an area of dead tissue in the heart muscle -- which happens when a condition called coronary artery thrombosis blocks the flow of oxygen-bearing blood to heart muscle cells and they die.
This usually happens in two stages.
First, in a process that can take years, vessels carrying blood to the heart muscle tissue become clogged with plaque, which contains cholesterol – a fatty substance found in food and also produced in the liver. This hardening of the arteries is known as atherosclerosis. Never use anti-cholesterol drugs to lower the cholesterol level, for this method counter the body natural cholesterol production due to chronic dehydration over time. Correct re hydration daily is the remedy.
Lesions eventually form in the lining of the damaged arteries.
If a blood clot (thrombus) forms at the lesion, the second stage of a heart attack may happen suddenly as the clot blocks the narrowed blood vessel.
Myocardial infarctions are often fatal since a damaged heart may not be able to pump blood. However, if the affected area of the heart is not too large, the patient usually recovers, although with a weaker heart.
Coronary artery thrombosis
When a clot clogs an artery already choked with fatty deposits, blood is prevented from reaching part of the heart. Without oxygen, the tissue begins to die. In turn lead to damaged heart muscle.
Atherosclerosis
The wall of an artery consists of three layers. The innermost layer, the tunica intima (also called tunica interna), is simple squamous epithelium surrounded by a connective tissue basement membrane with elastic fibers. The middle layer, the tunica media, is primarily smooth muscle and is usually the thickest layer.
Arteries have an outer membrane, a middle layer of muscle, and an inner membrane. In atherosclerosis, cholesterol builds up [this phenomenal is due to over time cellular dehydration, the logical remedy is to rehydrate your body with regular plain water intake: every 90 minute, drink 10 % of your own daily water quota. Daily water quota is calculated by multiplying 32.53 milliliter with your present body weight numbers (in kilogram)] between the inner membrane and the muscle layer, where it hardens and thickens the artery’s wall. A blood clot may form at the site or it may be trapped there as it travels through the bloodstream.
Blood-vessel cross sections
Arteries (blood vessels going away from the heart) and veins (blood vessels returning towards the heart) have three layers, but because artery must contain the pressure of blood pumped from the heart, its walls are thicker and more elastic. The inner layer is fed by the blood within the vessel ; outer layers are served by built-in small blood vessels.
Veins have valves which structurally designed that keeps blood from flowing back to the capillaries.
Three kinds of Capillaries
Capillaries, are the tiniest blood vessels, have walls only one cell thick, made of a tissue called endothelium. Many capillaries are so narrow that blood cells must travel through them in single file.
1.Continuous capillaries, found in muscle tissue, let fluids in and out at the joints between cells in their walls. Found in hands, finger tips.
2.Fenestrated (“windowed”) capillaries are more porous ; found in the kidneys, endocrine glands, and intestines, they permit more fluids to enter and leave the bloodstream.
3.Sinusoids are enlarged capillaries in the bone marrow, spleen, and liver, where their cell-size openings allow blood cells to enter and leave the bloodstream.
How veins keep blood moving
Because the heart’s action is so far away, veins need help in moving blood back toward the heart. Curiously enough, many veins get that help from neighbouring arteries which travels parallel. With each heartbeat, the artery swells, squeezing the parallel veins ; inside the veins, one-way valves open and close to keep blood moving . Hence the direction of the blood flow in arteries is opposite that in the veins.
How do veins and arteries differ?
A heart attack occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood through the body. The most common kind of heart attack is called myocardial infarction – an area of dead tissue in the heart muscle -- which happens when a condition called coronary artery thrombosis blocks the flow of oxygen-bearing blood to heart muscle cells and they die.
This usually happens in two stages.
First, in a process that can take years, vessels carrying blood to the heart muscle tissue become clogged with plaque, which contains cholesterol – a fatty substance found in food and also produced in the liver. This hardening of the arteries is known as atherosclerosis. Never use anti-cholesterol drugs to lower the cholesterol level, for this method counter the body natural cholesterol production due to chronic dehydration over time. Correct re hydration daily is the remedy.
Lesions eventually form in the lining of the damaged arteries.
If a blood clot (thrombus) forms at the lesion, the second stage of a heart attack may happen suddenly as the clot blocks the narrowed blood vessel.
Myocardial infarctions are often fatal since a damaged heart may not be able to pump blood. However, if the affected area of the heart is not too large, the patient usually recovers, although with a weaker heart.
Coronary artery thrombosis
When a clot clogs an artery already choked with fatty deposits, blood is prevented from reaching part of the heart. Without oxygen, the tissue begins to die. In turn lead to damaged heart muscle.
Atherosclerosis
The wall of an artery consists of three layers. The innermost layer, the tunica intima (also called tunica interna), is simple squamous epithelium surrounded by a connective tissue basement membrane with elastic fibers. The middle layer, the tunica media, is primarily smooth muscle and is usually the thickest layer.
Arteries have an outer membrane, a middle layer of muscle, and an inner membrane. In atherosclerosis, cholesterol builds up [this phenomenal is due to over time cellular dehydration, the logical remedy is to rehydrate your body with regular plain water intake: every 90 minute, drink 10 % of your own daily water quota. Daily water quota is calculated by multiplying 32.53 milliliter with your present body weight numbers (in kilogram)] between the inner membrane and the muscle layer, where it hardens and thickens the artery’s wall. A blood clot may form at the site or it may be trapped there as it travels through the bloodstream.
Blood-vessel cross sections
Arteries (blood vessels going away from the heart) and veins (blood vessels returning towards the heart) have three layers, but because artery must contain the pressure of blood pumped from the heart, its walls are thicker and more elastic. The inner layer is fed by the blood within the vessel ; outer layers are served by built-in small blood vessels.
Veins have valves which structurally designed that keeps blood from flowing back to the capillaries.
Three kinds of Capillaries
Capillaries, are the tiniest blood vessels, have walls only one cell thick, made of a tissue called endothelium. Many capillaries are so narrow that blood cells must travel through them in single file.
1.Continuous capillaries, found in muscle tissue, let fluids in and out at the joints between cells in their walls. Found in hands, finger tips.
2.Fenestrated (“windowed”) capillaries are more porous ; found in the kidneys, endocrine glands, and intestines, they permit more fluids to enter and leave the bloodstream.
3.Sinusoids are enlarged capillaries in the bone marrow, spleen, and liver, where their cell-size openings allow blood cells to enter and leave the bloodstream.
How veins keep blood moving
Because the heart’s action is so far away, veins need help in moving blood back toward the heart. Curiously enough, many veins get that help from neighbouring arteries which travels parallel. With each heartbeat, the artery swells, squeezing the parallel veins ; inside the veins, one-way valves open and close to keep blood moving . Hence the direction of the blood flow in arteries is opposite that in the veins.
How do veins and arteries differ?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Bloggers as Trees?
A blog or blogger is like a single tree in a forest in that it exists in conjunction with and because of a great many others around it. All trees attest to the wonder of natural evolution, the ability of life to adapt to unexpected challenges and to perpetuate itself over vast period of time.
Rooted securely in the earth, trees reach toward the heavens. All across the planet Earth, trees -- in a wonderful profusion of form and function -- literally hold the world together. Their leaves receive the Sun's energy for the benefit of all terrestial creatures and transpire torrents of water vapor into the atmosphere. Their branches and trunks provide shelter, food, and habitat for mammals, birds, amphibians, insects, and other plants. And their roots anchor the mysterious underworld of rock and soil.
Trees are remarkable beings. Yet, they stand like extras in life's drama, always there as backdrops to the ever-changing action around them so familiar and omnipresent that we barely take notice of them --- bloggers are trees.
I humbly encourage you, dear reader, to peel back the layers of the onion of world problems in search of solutions that offer hope for the future.
We can be a fine listener, keen reader, compiler and commentator, with a sure sense of balance, taste and judgment.
Joy of working, marvel at your care, commitment and incredible energy, you have been a steadfast and creative help at every stage of this Healthy Wealth's baby steps long life learning journey, as you continue to be an inspiration, with humour, generosity, skill and intelligence, keeping life naturally moving steadily forward its goal, overcoming more than a few challenges with helpful suggestions along the way, coupled with patience and creating the perfect nature design to match my words and your spirit.
These generous public feedbacks and public forums, with their attentive audiences and searching great questions, leading to breakthroughs, have been the incubators where I have been allowed to test, review and refine my thinking. Sincerely I thank you, healthy visitor, one and all, wishing all of you, the best of ideas and inspirations in the days to come and enjoy healthy wealth too.
Regards,
Its Me (smile)
"He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, whose leaf does not wither : and everything he does shall prosper." Psalm 1:3
MY TESTIMONY
Bro. S. C. SOONG
5 May 2002
Psalm 40:5: "Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."
Dear reader, with due respect and the love of God in my heart, I shall remind myself always that any testimony shared here is useless, unless the Word of God backs it up.
My life as a Christian for the past 14 years (1988 - 2002) were filled with joys, sadness, fear, doubts, happiness, sorrows, victories, frustrations, encouragement, discouragement, pleasant surprises, delights, misunderstandings and most significant for me is the purpose of living.
Before conversion
I was brought up in a typical Chinese family, in a small town, Seremban in Peninsular Malaysia. My father drove a school bus for a living, while my mother was a housewife who faithfully cared for her family. My siblings of four brothers and a younger sister were nurtured and taught the traditional ways of ancestral worship with a mixture of Taoism. Respect for elders and filial piety towards one's living parents were expected. Greeting our parents before we left home; after we returned from schools and outings; and even before we began eating our meals were common practices.
During my primary schooldays, a Christian classmate invited me to her church service. I did not have any deep impression of what was going on then. That was the only one time visit to any Christian service I had.
My parents did not hold a tight rein on the children’s social life. They trusted their children to exercise wisdom, such as in the type of company we kept. I was an easy-going jovial guy, proud to always claim "I am a free-thinker", not really knowing what it meant, anyway.
Just following the trend
In 1982, at the age 19, I was offered an apprenticeship scheme in aircraft maintenance in Singapore. During my first year, my eldest paternal uncle accommodated me in his family's 3-rooms apartment flat. He worked as a taxi driver. Life styles and social interactions here (in Singapore) were entirely different from my hometown. Every one seemed very busy with personal careers and lives. For family members to have dinner together was a rare thing except during the Chinese Lunar New Year. During such festivities all my cousins, nephews and nieces will meet for re-union meals to catch-up and to update each other on our "well-being", progress or achievements in life, etc.
Living in the atmosphere of an affluent and prospering society, I was caught up with many ideas and aspirations to get rich quick (monetary wise). The salary as an aircraft maintenance technician did not look attractive to me any more. Through a colleague, I joined a social "jog-cum-drinking" club (called Seletar Hash House Harriers). Here, I befriended a wide spectrum of people. There were those with professional status: doctors, bankers, musicians, engineers, lawyers, teachers besides soldiers, salesmen, drunkards and the unemployed. Such club is found all around the world. Once a week, the members would rendezvous at a place to play games and have some fun. Almost always there was a van around with a free flow of beer and other drinks. Fun was always song-singing mixed with vulgarity and drunken shouting. Such a stupored state would continue till the wee hours of the morning. Here, I experienced the "Lifestyle of the (frustrated) Rich and Not-So-Famous" people.
A year after I moved to share a one-room apartment flat with two colleagues. I was free from cares to enjoy the "bachelors' club" independent lifestyle, or so I thought. I never give much thought to wisdom, virtues or the things of God. I just follow the trends. I took up body building, aspired to be the Asian "Mr. World" some day. I even trained to be Mr. Ironman (Triathlon) of Singapore. Triathlon is a sports competition in which competitors swim 2.5km, cycle 10km, and run 5km. I joined the Youth Adventurer group and canoed around Singapore Island. Scaling the highest peak in West Malaysia, "Gunung Tahan" (Mountain Tahan), I was stung by hornets and nearly died there.
But life went on just the same. On every Chinese festive day, I would help my second uncle, a Taoist priest, at a temple. Devotees would offer chickens, goats or pigs as their worship sacrifices of thanksgivings. The blood of the slaughtered animals was offered on the altar, while their carcasses were cooked and served to worshippers. My parents, aunts and uncles considered me to be a faithful and filial son.
Conversion
In March, 1988 during a party in a Christian colleague's home, I spotted a "Good News" Bible in his book shelves. (This friend never witnessed to me about Christ.) With his permission I borrowed the Bible and began spending a lot of time on it. I even tried to draw out the family tree of mankind based on the book of Genesis but I was stumbled by the many similar names. Anyone trying to self-educate himself on "what the Bible is all about" will find that it is not an easy task. I started to ask some questions about Christianity among my Catholic colleagues, but the answers given did not satisfy my soul. I would write down any question I had as I read along. I did not go to any church meetings.
One morning, I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper about a Christian Gospel meeting. At the meeting I witnessed a film show "The Deep Calleth to The Deep", heard the preaching of the Word, sung some Gospel songs, and returned home with some free booklets and tracts. Somehow after reading the tracts, 'The Ecumenical Movements' and 'Water-baptism in Jesus Name', the thirst to inquire for answers grew. I called up the preacher and had a discussion with him.
The following month, April 1988, I attended one of the home fellowship with an Indian colleague of mine. There, I was converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, but my colleague was skeptical. After my second church service I was water baptised by the pastor. Since then, I have experienced joy and inner peace, even though I went through a lot of trials and testing for this new found faith in Christ.
Initially, my parents and siblings did not welcome my conversion. Through the years the Lord has blessed me, and by and by, they reluctantly began to 'accept' "a Christian" among the family.
I thank God for the small local fellowship of faithful believers here, from whom I have learned and grown in the grace and knowledge of God.
In 1992, January 31, I married a believing sister, Chai Yen Hoong. Her background was quite similar to mine. During our courtship, we spent a lot of time in Bible studies and prayers. Through God's grace and mercies, I won her to the Lord Jesus Christ (and to myself, too.J) Praise God! Our honeymoon tour to Penang and Langkawi islands was a sweet memory to us because we had brothers and sisters-in-Christ accompany us. I was 29, while she was 28, then. We experienced many trials and other 'young couples' crisis. Through them all, God kept us. God's Name be praised for His wisdom and guidance. We are now living in a three-room apartment.
In 1993, October 8th, God blessed our marriage with a son. I am grateful for the assistance provided by Bro. Patrick Tay and my cousin-sister, Chee See Yin, during the birth of my son. My wife and I named our son, Abraham Soong Jia En. We learned to trust God in all things as we shared our lives together. There were many occasions God healed and delivered our young child from sickness as we laid hands on him and prayed. God is good; our small family is much blessed through the help, encouragement and constant prayers from the local fellowship. God is real.
Trip to New Delhi, India
From 9 - 16 Oct.1996, God granted us the opportunity to travel with our pastor, Richard Gan, to New Delhi, India. Believers from different parts of India attended the convention. During one of the preaching sessions, a commotion started at the back of the meeting hall. Several brothers were engaged in a spiritual warfare with the devil who, through a man, was trying to disrupt Bro. Gan’s preaching. They were holding the man, and rebuking the evil influences and praying to God for deliverance. God's power triumphed and the preaching of the Word of God resumed. The saints' faces were radiant with joy in sharing life testimonies, songs of praises and learning the truth.
Trip to Manila and Calbayog, Phillipines
Between 7-21 April, 1998, God granted another opportunity for us, to attend Christian conventions in the Philippines with our pastor and his daughter, sister Zoe Gan. The fervency and zeal to serve the Lord faithfully among the saints there inspired me to desire a closer walk with the Lord. Material poverty and hardship could not prevent many of the believers, from the different parts of the Philippine Islands, to travel miles just to hear and learn the truth of God's Word and fellowships. Just a few days in Manila, Sis. Zoe became very sick, which forced Bro. Gan to think about continuing the trip to Calbayog City after the convention in Manila or to send her daughter home. But faith triumphed in Christ’s Word. Zoe was healed. There was a couple who desired to have a child after several years of marriage. They requested Bro. Gan to pray for them. Again God proved His faithfulness. In 1999 we rejoiced with them for the birth of their first son! Praise God! The youth and 'young-adults' believers just love to sing songs of praises to the Lord. "The joy of the Lord is our strength' is real for them.
"Praise from the Heart"
Singing has been around for thousands of years. Birds sing. Recording artists/"rock stars" sing. Even soap bubbles and fruits (cartoon animations) sing on TV Commercials. But there is a big difference between singing and praising. Singing is just from our mouth. Praising is from your heart. We can even sing Christian songs until we're blue in the face, but if it's not from our heart, it's not praise. For singing to become praise, we have to have the right attitude. We have to think happy thoughts about Jesus' love, and we have to be thankful to God. Then our songs won't come just from our lips, they'll come from our heart. And every song we sing will be a praise song! Saints of God are not public performer-entertainers but true-worshippers of the One True God. Singing with our mouth is not praise. Praise is singing with love.
"Music"
Music does not belong to the Devil, but to Christ. Satan has indeed stolen the hearts of musicians and their gift of music to use for his evil purpose. Music was given to worship the LORD GOD, but Satan has turned it for self-worship, which is the reason people tend to worship musicians. But true worship and true music belong to Jesus Christ. They are given to His Church to serve Him with. The anointed musicians of the Lord will draw attention to Christ alone and give Him all the glory. I believe in the role of intercessory prayer to help the Church get past the barricades of legalism, and open the gifts of God for reaching the lost with the message of Christ.
Now, allow me to extend to you a prayer that God will capture your heart and bring you into full devotion to Christ Jesus. That your passion for music will be equaled by your love for the lost souls. I pray that you will receive an anointing from God to minister with artistic creativity that is so compelling in its quality and in its message -- that more unbelievers who are lost in darkness will see the light and turn to Jesus to be cleansed and born again.
[Christ's Bride was preparing as she began to sing
Praise and hallelujahs to Jesus Christ her King
Praise and adoration rose up to God on high
Changed to be like Jesus, she met Him in the sky.]
"Who author the fear of God in your heart?"
Isaiah 29:13: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:"
Where do you place your heart? And to whom does your heart surrender to? Who authors "the fear toward the Lord" in your heart? Men or the Spirit of the Lord? Through God's grace, I have attended some fellowships among people who claimed to follow the Message preached by Bro. Branham. But their confessions are opposed to his cry of "Back to God's house! Back to God's Word! Back to God's work! Back to God's grace!" Amid all the hypocrisy of the day there are those in the grace of God (a chosen Bride) who fear God and are faithful. The fear of God in their hearts is authored by the Lord Himself, not "fear toward God that is taught by the precept of men".
In Closing
I am not using my life experiences to understand the Bible, but my common Bible wisdom to understand my life. I like to conclude simply that life's journey takes strength. I thank God for His promise to grant the strength in His Son, Christ Jesus, my Saviour, my Lord and Master.
Jesus told his disciples, "Leave your old ways and follow me." I thank God daily for the local fellowship of believers, and the opportunity to meet other pilgrims who have given me the leisure to reflect on this life journey, slowly and with humour, sharing testimonies and learning from one another. In the course of our "faith journey", we make observations and discoveries. And we carry our hope. Journeys all require hope because anger and bitterness won't get us very far. Hope is the essence of the Christian life because the Christian life is essentially prospective, forward looking, a venturing into the "home beyond". Hope, like faith and love is dynamic, a quality of living that ceaselessly moves in the patterns of our lives. Hope in the future, as written in the Word of God, is one of the many things we share.
Humbly I shall end my testimony with this thought for you, my dear reader: "God gives us life to magnify Christ. One thing for sure; when we are not magnifying Christ, we are magnifying our own life, and all in life are vanities, without Christ." Let's worship God, study the 'fineprints of the blueprint of God' (the Bible) and celebrate together, dear brothers and sisters.
With love and light,
Bro. Soong S. C.
Rooted securely in the earth, trees reach toward the heavens. All across the planet Earth, trees -- in a wonderful profusion of form and function -- literally hold the world together. Their leaves receive the Sun's energy for the benefit of all terrestial creatures and transpire torrents of water vapor into the atmosphere. Their branches and trunks provide shelter, food, and habitat for mammals, birds, amphibians, insects, and other plants. And their roots anchor the mysterious underworld of rock and soil.
Trees are remarkable beings. Yet, they stand like extras in life's drama, always there as backdrops to the ever-changing action around them so familiar and omnipresent that we barely take notice of them --- bloggers are trees.
I humbly encourage you, dear reader, to peel back the layers of the onion of world problems in search of solutions that offer hope for the future.
We can be a fine listener, keen reader, compiler and commentator, with a sure sense of balance, taste and judgment.
Joy of working, marvel at your care, commitment and incredible energy, you have been a steadfast and creative help at every stage of this Healthy Wealth's baby steps long life learning journey, as you continue to be an inspiration, with humour, generosity, skill and intelligence, keeping life naturally moving steadily forward its goal, overcoming more than a few challenges with helpful suggestions along the way, coupled with patience and creating the perfect nature design to match my words and your spirit.
These generous public feedbacks and public forums, with their attentive audiences and searching great questions, leading to breakthroughs, have been the incubators where I have been allowed to test, review and refine my thinking. Sincerely I thank you, healthy visitor, one and all, wishing all of you, the best of ideas and inspirations in the days to come and enjoy healthy wealth too.
Regards,
Its Me (smile)
"He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, whose leaf does not wither : and everything he does shall prosper." Psalm 1:3
MY TESTIMONY
Bro. S. C. SOONG
5 May 2002
Psalm 40:5: "Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."
Dear reader, with due respect and the love of God in my heart, I shall remind myself always that any testimony shared here is useless, unless the Word of God backs it up.
My life as a Christian for the past 14 years (1988 - 2002) were filled with joys, sadness, fear, doubts, happiness, sorrows, victories, frustrations, encouragement, discouragement, pleasant surprises, delights, misunderstandings and most significant for me is the purpose of living.
Before conversion
I was brought up in a typical Chinese family, in a small town, Seremban in Peninsular Malaysia. My father drove a school bus for a living, while my mother was a housewife who faithfully cared for her family. My siblings of four brothers and a younger sister were nurtured and taught the traditional ways of ancestral worship with a mixture of Taoism. Respect for elders and filial piety towards one's living parents were expected. Greeting our parents before we left home; after we returned from schools and outings; and even before we began eating our meals were common practices.
During my primary schooldays, a Christian classmate invited me to her church service. I did not have any deep impression of what was going on then. That was the only one time visit to any Christian service I had.
My parents did not hold a tight rein on the children’s social life. They trusted their children to exercise wisdom, such as in the type of company we kept. I was an easy-going jovial guy, proud to always claim "I am a free-thinker", not really knowing what it meant, anyway.
Just following the trend
In 1982, at the age 19, I was offered an apprenticeship scheme in aircraft maintenance in Singapore. During my first year, my eldest paternal uncle accommodated me in his family's 3-rooms apartment flat. He worked as a taxi driver. Life styles and social interactions here (in Singapore) were entirely different from my hometown. Every one seemed very busy with personal careers and lives. For family members to have dinner together was a rare thing except during the Chinese Lunar New Year. During such festivities all my cousins, nephews and nieces will meet for re-union meals to catch-up and to update each other on our "well-being", progress or achievements in life, etc.
Living in the atmosphere of an affluent and prospering society, I was caught up with many ideas and aspirations to get rich quick (monetary wise). The salary as an aircraft maintenance technician did not look attractive to me any more. Through a colleague, I joined a social "jog-cum-drinking" club (called Seletar Hash House Harriers). Here, I befriended a wide spectrum of people. There were those with professional status: doctors, bankers, musicians, engineers, lawyers, teachers besides soldiers, salesmen, drunkards and the unemployed. Such club is found all around the world. Once a week, the members would rendezvous at a place to play games and have some fun. Almost always there was a van around with a free flow of beer and other drinks. Fun was always song-singing mixed with vulgarity and drunken shouting. Such a stupored state would continue till the wee hours of the morning. Here, I experienced the "Lifestyle of the (frustrated) Rich and Not-So-Famous" people.
A year after I moved to share a one-room apartment flat with two colleagues. I was free from cares to enjoy the "bachelors' club" independent lifestyle, or so I thought. I never give much thought to wisdom, virtues or the things of God. I just follow the trends. I took up body building, aspired to be the Asian "Mr. World" some day. I even trained to be Mr. Ironman (Triathlon) of Singapore. Triathlon is a sports competition in which competitors swim 2.5km, cycle 10km, and run 5km. I joined the Youth Adventurer group and canoed around Singapore Island. Scaling the highest peak in West Malaysia, "Gunung Tahan" (Mountain Tahan), I was stung by hornets and nearly died there.
But life went on just the same. On every Chinese festive day, I would help my second uncle, a Taoist priest, at a temple. Devotees would offer chickens, goats or pigs as their worship sacrifices of thanksgivings. The blood of the slaughtered animals was offered on the altar, while their carcasses were cooked and served to worshippers. My parents, aunts and uncles considered me to be a faithful and filial son.
Conversion
In March, 1988 during a party in a Christian colleague's home, I spotted a "Good News" Bible in his book shelves. (This friend never witnessed to me about Christ.) With his permission I borrowed the Bible and began spending a lot of time on it. I even tried to draw out the family tree of mankind based on the book of Genesis but I was stumbled by the many similar names. Anyone trying to self-educate himself on "what the Bible is all about" will find that it is not an easy task. I started to ask some questions about Christianity among my Catholic colleagues, but the answers given did not satisfy my soul. I would write down any question I had as I read along. I did not go to any church meetings.
One morning, I saw an advertisement in the local newspaper about a Christian Gospel meeting. At the meeting I witnessed a film show "The Deep Calleth to The Deep", heard the preaching of the Word, sung some Gospel songs, and returned home with some free booklets and tracts. Somehow after reading the tracts, 'The Ecumenical Movements' and 'Water-baptism in Jesus Name', the thirst to inquire for answers grew. I called up the preacher and had a discussion with him.
The following month, April 1988, I attended one of the home fellowship with an Indian colleague of mine. There, I was converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, but my colleague was skeptical. After my second church service I was water baptised by the pastor. Since then, I have experienced joy and inner peace, even though I went through a lot of trials and testing for this new found faith in Christ.
Initially, my parents and siblings did not welcome my conversion. Through the years the Lord has blessed me, and by and by, they reluctantly began to 'accept' "a Christian" among the family.
I thank God for the small local fellowship of faithful believers here, from whom I have learned and grown in the grace and knowledge of God.
In 1992, January 31, I married a believing sister, Chai Yen Hoong. Her background was quite similar to mine. During our courtship, we spent a lot of time in Bible studies and prayers. Through God's grace and mercies, I won her to the Lord Jesus Christ (and to myself, too.J) Praise God! Our honeymoon tour to Penang and Langkawi islands was a sweet memory to us because we had brothers and sisters-in-Christ accompany us. I was 29, while she was 28, then. We experienced many trials and other 'young couples' crisis. Through them all, God kept us. God's Name be praised for His wisdom and guidance. We are now living in a three-room apartment.
In 1993, October 8th, God blessed our marriage with a son. I am grateful for the assistance provided by Bro. Patrick Tay and my cousin-sister, Chee See Yin, during the birth of my son. My wife and I named our son, Abraham Soong Jia En. We learned to trust God in all things as we shared our lives together. There were many occasions God healed and delivered our young child from sickness as we laid hands on him and prayed. God is good; our small family is much blessed through the help, encouragement and constant prayers from the local fellowship. God is real.
Trip to New Delhi, India
From 9 - 16 Oct.1996, God granted us the opportunity to travel with our pastor, Richard Gan, to New Delhi, India. Believers from different parts of India attended the convention. During one of the preaching sessions, a commotion started at the back of the meeting hall. Several brothers were engaged in a spiritual warfare with the devil who, through a man, was trying to disrupt Bro. Gan’s preaching. They were holding the man, and rebuking the evil influences and praying to God for deliverance. God's power triumphed and the preaching of the Word of God resumed. The saints' faces were radiant with joy in sharing life testimonies, songs of praises and learning the truth.
Trip to Manila and Calbayog, Phillipines
Between 7-21 April, 1998, God granted another opportunity for us, to attend Christian conventions in the Philippines with our pastor and his daughter, sister Zoe Gan. The fervency and zeal to serve the Lord faithfully among the saints there inspired me to desire a closer walk with the Lord. Material poverty and hardship could not prevent many of the believers, from the different parts of the Philippine Islands, to travel miles just to hear and learn the truth of God's Word and fellowships. Just a few days in Manila, Sis. Zoe became very sick, which forced Bro. Gan to think about continuing the trip to Calbayog City after the convention in Manila or to send her daughter home. But faith triumphed in Christ’s Word. Zoe was healed. There was a couple who desired to have a child after several years of marriage. They requested Bro. Gan to pray for them. Again God proved His faithfulness. In 1999 we rejoiced with them for the birth of their first son! Praise God! The youth and 'young-adults' believers just love to sing songs of praises to the Lord. "The joy of the Lord is our strength' is real for them.
"Praise from the Heart"
Singing has been around for thousands of years. Birds sing. Recording artists/"rock stars" sing. Even soap bubbles and fruits (cartoon animations) sing on TV Commercials. But there is a big difference between singing and praising. Singing is just from our mouth. Praising is from your heart. We can even sing Christian songs until we're blue in the face, but if it's not from our heart, it's not praise. For singing to become praise, we have to have the right attitude. We have to think happy thoughts about Jesus' love, and we have to be thankful to God. Then our songs won't come just from our lips, they'll come from our heart. And every song we sing will be a praise song! Saints of God are not public performer-entertainers but true-worshippers of the One True God. Singing with our mouth is not praise. Praise is singing with love.
"Music"
Music does not belong to the Devil, but to Christ. Satan has indeed stolen the hearts of musicians and their gift of music to use for his evil purpose. Music was given to worship the LORD GOD, but Satan has turned it for self-worship, which is the reason people tend to worship musicians. But true worship and true music belong to Jesus Christ. They are given to His Church to serve Him with. The anointed musicians of the Lord will draw attention to Christ alone and give Him all the glory. I believe in the role of intercessory prayer to help the Church get past the barricades of legalism, and open the gifts of God for reaching the lost with the message of Christ.
Now, allow me to extend to you a prayer that God will capture your heart and bring you into full devotion to Christ Jesus. That your passion for music will be equaled by your love for the lost souls. I pray that you will receive an anointing from God to minister with artistic creativity that is so compelling in its quality and in its message -- that more unbelievers who are lost in darkness will see the light and turn to Jesus to be cleansed and born again.
[Christ's Bride was preparing as she began to sing
Praise and hallelujahs to Jesus Christ her King
Praise and adoration rose up to God on high
Changed to be like Jesus, she met Him in the sky.]
"Who author the fear of God in your heart?"
Isaiah 29:13: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:"
Where do you place your heart? And to whom does your heart surrender to? Who authors "the fear toward the Lord" in your heart? Men or the Spirit of the Lord? Through God's grace, I have attended some fellowships among people who claimed to follow the Message preached by Bro. Branham. But their confessions are opposed to his cry of "Back to God's house! Back to God's Word! Back to God's work! Back to God's grace!" Amid all the hypocrisy of the day there are those in the grace of God (a chosen Bride) who fear God and are faithful. The fear of God in their hearts is authored by the Lord Himself, not "fear toward God that is taught by the precept of men".
In Closing
I am not using my life experiences to understand the Bible, but my common Bible wisdom to understand my life. I like to conclude simply that life's journey takes strength. I thank God for His promise to grant the strength in His Son, Christ Jesus, my Saviour, my Lord and Master.
Jesus told his disciples, "Leave your old ways and follow me." I thank God daily for the local fellowship of believers, and the opportunity to meet other pilgrims who have given me the leisure to reflect on this life journey, slowly and with humour, sharing testimonies and learning from one another. In the course of our "faith journey", we make observations and discoveries. And we carry our hope. Journeys all require hope because anger and bitterness won't get us very far. Hope is the essence of the Christian life because the Christian life is essentially prospective, forward looking, a venturing into the "home beyond". Hope, like faith and love is dynamic, a quality of living that ceaselessly moves in the patterns of our lives. Hope in the future, as written in the Word of God, is one of the many things we share.
Humbly I shall end my testimony with this thought for you, my dear reader: "God gives us life to magnify Christ. One thing for sure; when we are not magnifying Christ, we are magnifying our own life, and all in life are vanities, without Christ." Let's worship God, study the 'fineprints of the blueprint of God' (the Bible) and celebrate together, dear brothers and sisters.
With love and light,
Bro. Soong S. C.
ENVIRONMENTALIST PROPAGANDA
This gives rise to the obvious concern that if the trees are cut down the habitats or homes will be lost and the species that lives in them will die. indeed, in 1996 the World Wildlife Fund, at a media conference in Geneva, announced that 50,000 species are going extinct each year due to human activity. And the main cause of these 50,000 extinctions, they said, is commercial logging. The story was carried around the world by Associated Press and other media (Singapore's The Straits Times was one of them)and hundreds of millions of people came to believe that forestry is the main cause of species extinction.
During the past three(3) years I have asked the World Wildlife Fund on many occasions to please provide me with a list of some of the species that have supposedly became extinct due to logging. They have not offered up a single example as evidence.
It is possible that politicians hiding behind the front of World Wildlife Fund for filthy lucre agendas. I had stop donating to this Fund.
In fact, to the best of our scientific knowledge, no species has become extinct i North America due to forestry.
Where are these 50,000 species that are said to be going extinct each year? They are in a computer model in [professor and biologist] Edward O. Wilson's laboratory at Harvard University. They are just mere electrons on a hard drive, they have no Latin names, and they are in no way related to any direct field observations in any forest.
The spotted owl is one of the may species that was never threatened with extinction due to forestry, and yet in the early 1990's , 30,000 loggers were thrown out of work in the US Pacific Northwest due to concern that logging in the National Forests would cause the owl's extinction. Since that time, in just a few short years, it has been shown by actual field observations that there are more than twice as many spotted owls in the public forests Washington state than were thought to be theoretically possible when those loggers lost their jobs. More importantly, it is now evident that spotted owls are capable of living and breeding in landscapes that are dominated by second growth forests. Over 1 000 spotted owls have been documented on Simpson Timber's half million acre second growth redwood forests in northern California. And yet, in reporting on the settlement of the Headwaters redwoods forests nearby, the New York Times described the spotted owls as a "nearly extinct species" despite the fact that there are tens of thousands of them thriving in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.
There is a reason why forestry seldom, if ever, causes species to become extinct. We tend to think that forests need our help to recover after destruction, whether by fire or logging. Of course this is not the case. Forests have been recovering by themselves, without any assistance from fires, volcanoes, landslides, floods and ice ages, ever since forests began over 350 million years ago.
Clear cutting Is Not Deforestation
During the past three(3) years I have asked the World Wildlife Fund on many occasions to please provide me with a list of some of the species that have supposedly became extinct due to logging. They have not offered up a single example as evidence.
It is possible that politicians hiding behind the front of World Wildlife Fund for filthy lucre agendas. I had stop donating to this Fund.
In fact, to the best of our scientific knowledge, no species has become extinct i North America due to forestry.
Where are these 50,000 species that are said to be going extinct each year? They are in a computer model in [professor and biologist] Edward O. Wilson's laboratory at Harvard University. They are just mere electrons on a hard drive, they have no Latin names, and they are in no way related to any direct field observations in any forest.
The spotted owl is one of the may species that was never threatened with extinction due to forestry, and yet in the early 1990's , 30,000 loggers were thrown out of work in the US Pacific Northwest due to concern that logging in the National Forests would cause the owl's extinction. Since that time, in just a few short years, it has been shown by actual field observations that there are more than twice as many spotted owls in the public forests Washington state than were thought to be theoretically possible when those loggers lost their jobs. More importantly, it is now evident that spotted owls are capable of living and breeding in landscapes that are dominated by second growth forests. Over 1 000 spotted owls have been documented on Simpson Timber's half million acre second growth redwood forests in northern California. And yet, in reporting on the settlement of the Headwaters redwoods forests nearby, the New York Times described the spotted owls as a "nearly extinct species" despite the fact that there are tens of thousands of them thriving in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.
There is a reason why forestry seldom, if ever, causes species to become extinct. We tend to think that forests need our help to recover after destruction, whether by fire or logging. Of course this is not the case. Forests have been recovering by themselves, without any assistance from fires, volcanoes, landslides, floods and ice ages, ever since forests began over 350 million years ago.
Clear cutting Is Not Deforestation
Changing from Confrontation to
Consensus Building
By the mid-1980's Greenpeace had grown from that church basement to an organization with an income of over US$100 million per year, offices in 21 countries and over 100 campaigns around the world, now tackling toxic waste, acid rain, uranium mining and driftnet fishing as well as the original issues (forestry and ecosystem). We had won over a majority of the public in the industrialized democracies. Presidents and prime ministers were talking about environment on a daily basis.
For me it was a time to make a change. I had been against at least three or four things everyday of my life for 15 years; I decided I'd like to be in favor of something for a change. I made the transition from the politics of confrontation to the politics of building consensus. After all, when a majority of people decide they agree with you it is probably time to stop hitting them over the head with a stick and sit down and talk to them about finding solutions to our environment problems.
Coming from British Columbia, born into a third generation forest industry family, and educated in forestry and ecology, it made sense that I would focus on the challenge of defining sustainable forestry. After all, forests are by far the most important environment in British Columbia and they are also by far the most important basis of economic wealth for families and communities.
Forests are home to the majority of living species; not the oceans, nor the grass lands, nor the alpine areas, but ecosystems that are dominated by trees.
Environmentalist Propaganda.
By the mid-1980's Greenpeace had grown from that church basement to an organization with an income of over US$100 million per year, offices in 21 countries and over 100 campaigns around the world, now tackling toxic waste, acid rain, uranium mining and driftnet fishing as well as the original issues (forestry and ecosystem). We had won over a majority of the public in the industrialized democracies. Presidents and prime ministers were talking about environment on a daily basis.
For me it was a time to make a change. I had been against at least three or four things everyday of my life for 15 years; I decided I'd like to be in favor of something for a change. I made the transition from the politics of confrontation to the politics of building consensus. After all, when a majority of people decide they agree with you it is probably time to stop hitting them over the head with a stick and sit down and talk to them about finding solutions to our environment problems.
Coming from British Columbia, born into a third generation forest industry family, and educated in forestry and ecology, it made sense that I would focus on the challenge of defining sustainable forestry. After all, forests are by far the most important environment in British Columbia and they are also by far the most important basis of economic wealth for families and communities.
Forests are home to the majority of living species; not the oceans, nor the grass lands, nor the alpine areas, but ecosystems that are dominated by trees.
Environmentalist Propaganda.
Three I are ....
Iran, Indonesia, and Israel.
TIES WITH ISRAEL WHEN THERE ARE NO TIES
When citizens of Iran, the country most hostile towards Israel, seek its help, it's worth noticing. When Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world (235 million), which likewise does not recognize Israel, seeks relations with Israel through other channels, it's also news.
IRANIAN BOY RECEIVES CANCER TREATMENT IN ISRAEL
A 13-year-old cancer victim from Iran came to Israel for treatment on Friday (October 10, 2008), the hospital which received him said, attracting media interest in a country used to decades of hostility from Tehran. The boy, who had an advanced brain tumor, had traveled from Turkey with his parents after undergoing surgery as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Iran that failed to cure him, Chaim Sheba Medical Center director Zeev Rotstein said.
Turkish doctors who examined the boy advised his family to seek help at Sheba, which has an international reputation and experience in treating patients from countries that have no diplomatic ties with Israel, Rotstein told Reuters, "He has been suffering from the tumor for more than a year," Rotstein said. " We are doing our best, in the knowledge that his chances are not very good."
Sheba declined to give the boy's name, citing concern that his family could face legal problems when they return to Iran. (Jordan Times, October 12, 2008)
This website can help cancer patients too, www.cacare.com
MAGEN DAVID ADOM CONNECTION WITH INDONESIA
Dr. Sudibyo Markus, the head of Indonesia's Muhammadiyah organization, arrived in Israel on an official visit in order to establish cooperation between his organization and Magen David Adom (MDA)[the Israel equivalent of the Red Cross]. Dr Markus is the highest Indonesia official to visit Israel. Muhammadiyah operates dozens of clinics, hospitals, orphanages schools and universities in Indonesia and has been recognized by the Indonesian government and by international organizations.
The main points of the agreement concern sharing knowledge in emergency medical services and planning work protocols for the Indonesian health system, which will be implemented by Indonesian medical teams. The practical and management knowledge will be implemented by international-recognized MDA specialists.
Cooperation between MDA and the Indonesian rescue and emergency organization began approximately one year ago, with the arrival of a delegation of Indonesian health and community organization officials for an MDA course in Israel.
-Magen David Adom press release, October 30, 2008.
TIES WITH ISRAEL WHEN THERE ARE NO TIES
When citizens of Iran, the country most hostile towards Israel, seek its help, it's worth noticing. When Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world (235 million), which likewise does not recognize Israel, seeks relations with Israel through other channels, it's also news.
IRANIAN BOY RECEIVES CANCER TREATMENT IN ISRAEL
A 13-year-old cancer victim from Iran came to Israel for treatment on Friday (October 10, 2008), the hospital which received him said, attracting media interest in a country used to decades of hostility from Tehran. The boy, who had an advanced brain tumor, had traveled from Turkey with his parents after undergoing surgery as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Iran that failed to cure him, Chaim Sheba Medical Center director Zeev Rotstein said.
Turkish doctors who examined the boy advised his family to seek help at Sheba, which has an international reputation and experience in treating patients from countries that have no diplomatic ties with Israel, Rotstein told Reuters, "He has been suffering from the tumor for more than a year," Rotstein said. " We are doing our best, in the knowledge that his chances are not very good."
Sheba declined to give the boy's name, citing concern that his family could face legal problems when they return to Iran. (Jordan Times, October 12, 2008)
This website can help cancer patients too, www.cacare.com
MAGEN DAVID ADOM CONNECTION WITH INDONESIA
Dr. Sudibyo Markus, the head of Indonesia's Muhammadiyah organization, arrived in Israel on an official visit in order to establish cooperation between his organization and Magen David Adom (MDA)[the Israel equivalent of the Red Cross]. Dr Markus is the highest Indonesia official to visit Israel. Muhammadiyah operates dozens of clinics, hospitals, orphanages schools and universities in Indonesia and has been recognized by the Indonesian government and by international organizations.
The main points of the agreement concern sharing knowledge in emergency medical services and planning work protocols for the Indonesian health system, which will be implemented by Indonesian medical teams. The practical and management knowledge will be implemented by international-recognized MDA specialists.
Cooperation between MDA and the Indonesian rescue and emergency organization began approximately one year ago, with the arrival of a delegation of Indonesian health and community organization officials for an MDA course in Israel.
-Magen David Adom press release, October 30, 2008.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Patrick Moore believes .....
that trees are the answer to a lot of questions about our future.
" I, Patrick Moore, believe that trees are the answer to a lot of questions about our future. These include:-
1.How can we advance to a more sustainable economy based on renewable fuels and material?
2.How can we improve literacy and sanitation in developing countries while reversing deforestation and protecting wildlife at the same time?
3.How can we pull carbon out of the atmosphere and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emissions, carbon dioxide in particular?
4.How can we increase the amount of land that will support a greater diversity of species?
5.How can we help prevent soil erosion and provide clean air and water?
6.How can we make this world more beautiful and green?
The answer is, by growing more tress and then using more wood, both as a substitute for non-renewable fossil fuels and material such as steel, concrete and plastic, glass, and as paper products for printing, packaging and sanitation.
The forest industry stands accused of some very serious crimes against the environment. It is charged with the extinction of tens of thousands of species, the deforestation of vast areas of the Earth, and the total and irreversible destruction of the ecosystem. If I were one of the urban majority, and I thought the forest industry was causing the irreversible destruction of the environment I wouldn't care how many jobs it created or how many communities depended on it, I would be against it."
My Environmentalism Background
I have spent the last 15 years trying to understand the relationship between forestry and the environment, to separate fact from friction, myth from reality. Since 1991 I have chaired the Sustainable Forestry Committee of the Forest Alliance of British Columbia. This has provided ideal opportunity to explore all aspects of the subject.
This presentation is the synthesis of what I have learned. But first, let me give you a little background.
I, Patrick Moore, was born and raised in the tiny fishing and logging village of Winter Harbour on the northwest tip of Vancouver Island, in the rain-forest by the Pacific. I didn't realize what a blessed childhood I'd had, playing on the tidal flats by the salmon spawning streams in the rainforest, until I was shipped away to boarding school in Vancouver at age fourteen(14), I eventually attended the University of BC (British Columbia) studying the life sciences: biology, forestry, genetics; but it was when I discovered ecology that I realized that through science I could gain an insight into the mystery of the rainforest I had known as a child. I became a born-again ecologist, and in the late 1960's, was soon transformed into a radical environmental activist. i found myself in a church basement in Vancouver with a like-minded group of people, planning a protest campaign against United States of America hydrogen bomb testing in Alaska. We proved that a somewhat rag-tag looking group of activists could sail a leaky old halibut boat across the north Pacific ocean and change the course of history. By creating a focal point for opposition to the tests we got on national TV news in Canada and the US, building a ground swell of opposition to nuclear testing in both countries. When that bomb went off in November 1971 it was the last hydrogen bomb ever detonated on planet Earth. Even though there were four more tests planned in the series, President Richard Nixon canceled them due to the public opposition. This was the birth of Greenpeace.
Flushed with victory and knowing we could bring about change by getting up and doing something, we were welcomed into the longhouse of the Kwakiutl Nation at Alert Bay near the north end of Vancouver Island where we were doing. This began the tradition of the Warriors of the Rainbow, after a Cree legend that said that one day when the skies are black and the birds fall dead on the ground and the rivers are poisoned, people of all races, colors and creeds will join together to form the Warriors of the Rainbow to save the Earth from environmental destruction. We named our ship the Rainbow Warrior and I spent fifteen(15) years on the front lines of the eco-movement as we evolved and grew from that church basement into the world's largest environmental activist organization, Greenpeace.
Changing from Confrontation to Consesus Building
" I, Patrick Moore, believe that trees are the answer to a lot of questions about our future. These include:-
1.How can we advance to a more sustainable economy based on renewable fuels and material?
2.How can we improve literacy and sanitation in developing countries while reversing deforestation and protecting wildlife at the same time?
3.How can we pull carbon out of the atmosphere and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emissions, carbon dioxide in particular?
4.How can we increase the amount of land that will support a greater diversity of species?
5.How can we help prevent soil erosion and provide clean air and water?
6.How can we make this world more beautiful and green?
The answer is, by growing more tress and then using more wood, both as a substitute for non-renewable fossil fuels and material such as steel, concrete and plastic, glass, and as paper products for printing, packaging and sanitation.
The forest industry stands accused of some very serious crimes against the environment. It is charged with the extinction of tens of thousands of species, the deforestation of vast areas of the Earth, and the total and irreversible destruction of the ecosystem. If I were one of the urban majority, and I thought the forest industry was causing the irreversible destruction of the environment I wouldn't care how many jobs it created or how many communities depended on it, I would be against it."
My Environmentalism Background
I have spent the last 15 years trying to understand the relationship between forestry and the environment, to separate fact from friction, myth from reality. Since 1991 I have chaired the Sustainable Forestry Committee of the Forest Alliance of British Columbia. This has provided ideal opportunity to explore all aspects of the subject.
This presentation is the synthesis of what I have learned. But first, let me give you a little background.
I, Patrick Moore, was born and raised in the tiny fishing and logging village of Winter Harbour on the northwest tip of Vancouver Island, in the rain-forest by the Pacific. I didn't realize what a blessed childhood I'd had, playing on the tidal flats by the salmon spawning streams in the rainforest, until I was shipped away to boarding school in Vancouver at age fourteen(14), I eventually attended the University of BC (British Columbia) studying the life sciences: biology, forestry, genetics; but it was when I discovered ecology that I realized that through science I could gain an insight into the mystery of the rainforest I had known as a child. I became a born-again ecologist, and in the late 1960's, was soon transformed into a radical environmental activist. i found myself in a church basement in Vancouver with a like-minded group of people, planning a protest campaign against United States of America hydrogen bomb testing in Alaska. We proved that a somewhat rag-tag looking group of activists could sail a leaky old halibut boat across the north Pacific ocean and change the course of history. By creating a focal point for opposition to the tests we got on national TV news in Canada and the US, building a ground swell of opposition to nuclear testing in both countries. When that bomb went off in November 1971 it was the last hydrogen bomb ever detonated on planet Earth. Even though there were four more tests planned in the series, President Richard Nixon canceled them due to the public opposition. This was the birth of Greenpeace.
Flushed with victory and knowing we could bring about change by getting up and doing something, we were welcomed into the longhouse of the Kwakiutl Nation at Alert Bay near the north end of Vancouver Island where we were doing. This began the tradition of the Warriors of the Rainbow, after a Cree legend that said that one day when the skies are black and the birds fall dead on the ground and the rivers are poisoned, people of all races, colors and creeds will join together to form the Warriors of the Rainbow to save the Earth from environmental destruction. We named our ship the Rainbow Warrior and I spent fifteen(15) years on the front lines of the eco-movement as we evolved and grew from that church basement into the world's largest environmental activist organization, Greenpeace.
Changing from Confrontation to Consesus Building
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