US Government Okays Reduced Ethanol Output in 2014

" We may not like the health or environmental toll it will take over time."

Recently the United States government has authorized the reduced output of the gasoline additive, ethanol from US stocks for the year 2014, citing reduced support for the program which the Congress passed in 2007 to reduce dependence on foreign oil and to (ostensibly) improve the quality of air in the continental United States. However with the droughts of 2011 and 2012, public outcry over the use of important food grains such as corn for fuel has caused some to rethink this issue.

In a twist of marketing, on November 15 the United States  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would propose reducing the 2014 mandate for blending gasoline with corn-based ethanol to between 12.7 billion and 13.2 billion gallons, down from the current legislated mandate for next year of 14.4 billion gallons. This reduction would be about 500 million bushels, with one bushel of corn producing about 2.8 gallons of ethanol. Ethanol has less available energy output per gallon than petroleum based fuels.

Meanwhile over at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in its November World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, projects 4,900 million bushels of corn may go into ethanol production in the 2014 fiscal year. But some analysts also suggest the lower ethanol mandate may have less of an impact on corn demand than indicated by the market’s reaction.
They note that recent low corn prices have spurred ethanol production as margins have improved to at least $1.00 a gallon. Several ethanol facilities that have been out of service for months now have been brought back into production recently. If the current market conditions hold, ethanol production and thus corn demand would remain strong-- with excess ethanol output likely to be targeted for export, analysts predict.

In the twisting, turning ways of inter-governmental agencies, two competing statements are now made: From the environmental side, the EPA, there have been several important, unintended consequences of the ethanol legislation noted, the first of which is taking food from people in need around the world and converting it to ethanol (a type of grain alcohol) to burn in cars while some around the world starve in drought years, as recently experienced in the United States. Additionally there are the issues of deforestation, loss of native species' habitat and soil erosion to name a few.
Joel of the Bible warned in ancient days,

"The field is devastated;

the farmland mourns,

Because the grain is devastated,

the wine has dried up,

the oil has failed.

Be appalled, you farmers!"

 Joel 1:10-11

And based on rosy forecasting by the USDA, and in a resulting effort to make more profit, many farmers are cutting and eliminating any and all forested areas to create more land for growing crops. This activity takes no consideration about how big or small the wood lots are or have been.
It leads to an overall reduction in oxygen producing foliage and the loss of habitat for native species of animals. There is increased tillage of prairie lands, land once idle and evironmentally balanced.
In addition the now increased plantings adds to soil erosion due to tillage, and the increased pressure for use of chemicals required for intense farming practices--everything from fertilizers and pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

The American farmer by and large is no friend to the environment. They are driven by profit motives and are unlikely to change their habits until there is lack of profit to continue.The "family farmer" is figured into this equally.  It is up to the average person to be the call for the end to ethanol production in this country. Without knowledge, the 98 per cent of Americans (who have minimal to no contact with food production) remain idle while profit motives urge farmers into unsustainable agricultural practices. This call goes beyond supporting local sourced food, beyond "slow food" and beyond community gardens.

The two percent who produce for the other 98 per cent have their pocketbooks front and center; we may not like the health or environmental toll it will take over time. Urge best practices in farming, practices that preserve air, soil and water quality; practices that provide food for the most in a way that protects wildlife and creates a cleaner future for all.

New Harmony

Seven Bridges Road

by Dolly Parton

Listen Here

There are stars in the southern sky

Southward as you go

There is moonlight and moss in the trees

Down the seven bridges road

I have loved you like a baby

Like some lonesome child

I have loved you in a tame way

And I have loved you wild

Sometimes there is a part of me

Has to turn from here and go

Runnin' like a child from these warm stars

Down the seven bridges road

There are stars in the southern sky

And if ever you decide you should go

There is a taste of time sweet as honey

Down the seven bridges road

There are stars in the southern sky

Southward as you go

There is moonlight and moss in the trees

Down the seven bridges road

Down the seven bridges road...

Recently a short weekend trip, not far from home, found Simple Mind at New Harmony, Indiana. A surprise find to say the least! It was remarkable for a number of reasons. Despite the sweltering heat of the day, we were delighted by the cool, greenness of the place; the quiet hum of welcome, the 200 years plus longevity of the town, the creativeness of the inhabitants and the tranquility of nature herself alive in this place.

Some would describe it as an artist's colony; some would say it is the result of a utopian society founded there nearly 200 years ago; others would declare it to be a spiritual ground brimming with the Spirit of Creation. Indeed there are artists there; there is a town there melding the old seamlessly with the new and the spiritual with the creative.

However it appeals, to one or another, there surely is a lovely calm pervading, an encouragement for the creative self and a relaxing small, country lifestyle tucked away in the unending green fields of rural Indiana. But more than anything, it's a surprise waiting to be discovered in the lovely lodgings, the cafes, the small spa, the roofless chapel dedicated to the Spirit and more.

In visiting the place, the music of Dolly Parton comes to mind. It answers the small, country side that is Indiana and New Harmony which is just that surprise, all the seven bridges roads 'runnin wild like a child... if you should decide to go a time as sweet as honey... loved like a child...'

Like Hungry Ghosts*

"Like hungry ghosts*, they come creeping in the night, using other people as their food. Darkness and ignorance are their true friends" -- a simple mind

In the war of hearts how do we harm one another? Are things really so difficult that it is necessary that we battle and injure one another? Must we engage in forgiveness, like a band-aid, ever at the ready? In the way of the West, we live "east of Eden". Cast from the garden, the darker forces of the world engage in every opportunity for confusion and obfuscation in the bid to gain the upper hand of ones' souls. The Evil One, enticing, hitches up like Pinocchio to a wagon, pulling it along in dark bidding. Donkeys they are, on a path of disaster.

While dramatic in its depiction, a number of bible stories expose the work of the world, in its darker paths as one of gloom and despair, not unlike animals hitched to an eternal wagon, slavishly pulling it about the heavens. The ancients clearly saw the folly of such a scene. The forces of evil pull us away from the light, from what is for the good. And that brings the wonder of the Christ story to western minds. The Christ story teaches us forgiveness which penetrates the dark, the unconscious, the forgotten places; places where we hid away shame, somber and unfeeling. Free by this redemption, we are retrieved to leap with love.

Authors Allender and Longman write in their book, Bold Love, "One reason that we are so easily blinded by the vital importance of forgiveness is our penchant to deny" that we struggle, that we war with our self and with others. We will value forgiveness when we see the purpose of its relation to the Divine; it becomes the foundation for the comprehension of the goodness that divinity offers, and hope for the fallen.

When a lonely, alone feeling overtakes us in the dark of night some turn to others for a quick, easy escape. They think like the donkeys in Pinocchio there is an easy route out. But there are no shortcuts.
Relationships are messy. While we may see that "plank in your eye," we cannot always perceive the very same plank in our own. Thus writes authors Allender and Longman, "harm comes from those who use anger to harm us... to insult... to assault us... but minimizing the assaults of others rarely, if ever, enables us to deal with anger."

There is the passionate, driving desire for more... desires to possess... through rarely satisfied in a way that acknowledges the loneliness, the empty ache inside... Often the resulting emotion is anger or rage. In the case of children, for example, they are vulnerable and dependent upon adults for their well being. The abandonment of a child is abuse; "the profound omission of involvement, or the equally destructive commission of shaming a child is abuse." paraphrased

The parent betrays a child by means of abandonment and shame. The family unit is demeaned. Children such treated may come to find other means to stave off loneliness or aloneness. Some find it in food, others in cruelty, others in deviant behaviors. Still the aching hole remains. Often a murderous rage simmers within their souls. Some find temporary, though false, relief in relationships. As adults they engage in the "use of other people as food for their empty souls." Like hungry ghosts, they lust to gain satisfaction for their lack.

If we can see for one second, remove our own "planks", we are imbued with the light of the Creator, a desire to glory in the Divine, and that brings us full circle to the value of forgiveness for those whose anger, murderous rage and contempt have been harmful.
That we may find redemption and a new, clean heart to begin again, to accept good and reject evil.
"You want something, but you don't get it; you kill and you covet." James 4:2

* The psychological terms "codependent" or "love addict" are also used; here, "hungry ghost" is preferred for its clearer, more spiritual meaning.

Imaging the Kingdom of Heaven

"When you enter into my Kingdom." --Bible, Matthew Chapter 18

Many write, speak and think of the "kingdom of heaven" as a concrete afterlife place; they believe that the Christ's teaching was geared to the how and why of getting there. In doing so, many miss the perhaps most obvious and subtle of points. Jesus, the Christ was a Jew and the Jews of the time did not espouse a concept of heaven as a place. Their spirituality called for good works performed on earth, and earth as the kingdom of heaven. Indeed it is the place where the Bible describes the Garden of Eden.

Must we work on earth so as to ascend to a place called heaven? No, suggests author Thomas Moore, in his book, Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels. Moore writes of the kingdom of heaven as the center of the gospels intention, and of Jesus' teaching. He writes, "it is woven into all the stories and teachings."
Your response to those teachings, or lack of it directly corresponds to your understanding about living the kingdom. In reading the bible stories one learns that Jesus' view was that the kingdom "is at hand," that we are surrounded by it. This is to say that the Kingdom of Heaven is on earth, in keeping with the beliefs of Judaism.

In Judeo-Christian belief, what we learn about the kingdom through our life experiences, is what we then share and live in both a mystical and everyday way through our actions, and behaviors as well as our prayer. The Kingdom in this view is in you. "When you enter into my kingdom" is a strong message to all who consider the Christ message. It does not suggest if or maybe; it suggests when and it suggests life. We all learn lessons of love and pain; there is bitterness and joy in all lives. We seek our meaning in life, and we share our fruits with others.

If one does otherwise and expresses a tendency to zealotry, "not just about religion but about everything in life, he is easily thrown into deep confusion and depression... there was hope for them when they could laugh at the contradictions in their lives," writes Moore. He explains that when we doggedly hang onto our usual ideas and images of our self and our lives, passionate to find ways of making sense of it all, some do forget that life is complex, subtle; our spirituality needs to reflect that. Otherwise we may find our self in a very brittle position, neurotic and pained.

Many do not appreciate the extreme, radical nature of the Christ's call. It's a call to be more than to believe, and that's hard to do, especially in the modern world. The potential believers do not image it, they do not see who Jesus stood for or why he stood at all. These are radical questions that millenia has grappled with. The mystery of Jesus is the equal mystery of the kingdom. In Jesus' world, the kingdom is on earth, it is living, breathing, real, the now. It calls for all, demands all, gives all and forgives. In Jesus' kingdom Moore writes, there is " a place of bliss and idealistic values. The Gospels suggest it is more important to enter that kingdom than to [simply] live a good life."

Imagining and the Soul

"What converts this "it" into me"?  --The Force of Character by James Hillman*

Writing about character isn't so fashionable these days; in our psychologically steeped society, we are conditioned to think more about personality, ego, identity, integrative structures, and other such rational terminology for what has been thought of in previous generations simply as "character". And despite the apparent Oneness which most religions teach, you each have your style, your set of traits both physical and emotional, and a destiny. "You are essentially different from me,' says Hillman, 'by virtue of the lasting sameness of each of our individualized characters." Hillman argues that despite all the changes in a single lifetime, all the progressions made into the future, you are the unique sum of character; character provides 'a lasting core.'

"It's refreshing to discover that some of the oldest and most basic ideas of philosophy-- Same and Different, Form and Matter-- are actually at work in our daily lives... [What] keeps us who we are and holds our body to its form? Imagine the body as an ancient philosopher, the body as a place of wisdom... character, this governing wisdom... an active force...  the hustlers of materialism [form counters materialism, advances function] who ask us to buy the idea that we are complex pieces of biotechnology, compared to computer chips... results from underlying bio-genetic impulses.'
'Form can be reduced to matter." Equally fashionable and in doubt, in Hillman's eyes, is the discipline of Cognitive Sciences. Here the temptation is overwhelming to reduce a human being to an "organ of computation," a reptilian brain and so forth. Equally fantastic is the absence of myth or reductionism in its presentation. Rather there is an air of statement or axiom, self-evident 'truth.'

In contrast Hillman, the philosopher, the scholar, turns to thinkers such as Aristotle, especially Aristotle whose idea of Form in relation to the body and soul has guided much Western thought for more than two millenia. Aristotle believed that the soul is the form of the body, the original of its movement... the interests of body and soul are the same. The soul forms the body, in this view; while without a body, a soul cannot be located. Because of this Aristotle believed that the soul's beauty was harder to detect than beauty of a bodily form. The soul is, in tradition, the element concerned with goodness and beauty, justice and courage, friendship and loyalty. The soul is also variously described by its actions, such as courageous, timid, vacillating, or kindly, loving. "Through these characteristics we come to know the nature of our soul and to assess the souls of others."

Insisting that the soul has a definite, intentional, intelligent idea, Hillman strikes against the cliche idea of soul today that concludes it "all gossamer, no fiber; a refuge, a fairytale land, a mood, a symbol... He counters these cliches, insisting "the idea of  Form gives shape and character to soul, and demands more rigor in thinking about it. Further the character in this reckoning fulfills itself "by doing what it is naturally suited to do, which is also its pleasure. Aristotle called this natural activity, energy." Thus, the character imagined is as much a product of our imagination as our experiences; this "does not mean that our images are purely personal fantasies and that imagination is a function inside each privately enclosed skull."

Imagination is more than a mental function. The creative forces in the world, as the world soul, produce the images that we perceive; some come to us in idleness, in daydreams, in sleep, in sudden, clear insights, or after long struggles in meditation. The philosopher Emmanuel Kant remarked that without imagination, we should have no knowledge whatsoever.  We do not have to visually perceive these imaginings to feel feelings, think thoughts; we do not have to optically view poems, or characters in stories or movies to 'see' them or their character in our imagination. More than anything, imagination is one of the great "archetypal principles like love, order, beauty, justice, time. We sense these principles coursing through us." Beauty and order, for example, are not placed in the world; we find them there. Thus if  "character is a complex of images, then to know you, I must imagine you."

* author James Hillman is a well known thinker, Jungian psychologist and scholar.