By D.R. Richards
Mt. Pisco, warmup for Huascaran
We’ve posted images on our Facebook page from a Mt. Huascaran (21,812’/6767 m) expedition on which I was expedition co-leader. Click here to view the images, which range from climbing on route and images of the glaciated terrain and summits to some group shots.
Going Green U, Image: Trendhunter Mag
The Sierra Club has just released its new feature on green colleges, listing what they named the Top Ten Green Universities. It used to be that small, private colleges seemed to be the only ones that cared. Now the supersized universities are realizing that adopting green strategies is a smart move to reduce costs and attract students.
The ten schools that “get it” are (enrollment):
#1 Middlebury College (2350);
#2 University of Colorado-Boulder (29,000);
#3 University of Vermont at Burlington 10,750 students, Burlington, Vermont
#4 Warren Wilson College, 850 students, Swannanoa, North Carolina
#5 Evergreen State, 4400 students, Olympia, WA
Read the rest of this story
By D.R. Richards
Good Friend and Mountain Man, Ron Verblauw
Unexpected friends come into one’s life, sometimes for a brief time, but leave an indelible mark. Ron Verblauw was one of those people in my life. He and his wife, Carol, moved to Sunapee, New Hampshire, USA from New Jersey because of Ron’s love of the country and skiing. He had served as a director on the National Ski Patrol’s Eastern Division, ran a trucking company in New Jersey for 40 years, served in the U.S. Air Force in the Korean conflict and was a district governor of Rotary International.
I must admit, I was prepared not to be fond of Ron at first, because of his pro-development stance regarding our local Mt. Sunapee Ski Area and his “proactive aire” about getting things done in, what used to be, our little sleepy community, which can often rub the locals the wrong way. I later saw this as a wonderful attribute, and I quickly realized Ron was an amazing person for many reasons. (more…)
Newfoundlanders Abandon Villages, Cod Fisheries Gone
Child with Cod, circa 1895, from Greenpeace
After more than 400 years as the foundation of one of Earth’s great fisheries, cod are not coming back to Canada. The costs are more than environmental.
In the mid-20th century, cod supported more than 40,000 eastern Canadian fishermen. That’s when industrial catch techniques nearly tripled annual harvests. By the early 1970s, cod numbers plummeted.
Fishing stopped for a while. Cod came back. Fishing started again. Cod disappeared. In the early 1990s, the government halted fishing again, expecting the fish to return, just like before — but this time, they didn’t. They’ll likely vanish before mid-century.
Scientists can’t say for sure what’s going on under those cold gray waters, but they can speculate.
Newfoundland communities abandoned since 1960
There were likely too few cod to revive a population: individuals simply couldn’t find each other to reproduce. Some other species might have taken their spot in the web of life. The web itself has changed shape, and may no longer have room for them.
“You see this very rapid, drastic collapse of large predatory fishes that used to dominate, particularly cod,” said Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. “You see a rapid collapse of those, and a shift of the ecosystem towards invertebrates and small pelagic fishes.”
By D.R. Richards
FaceBook Twitter
It’s a beautiful day. I should be spring skiing at Mt. Sunapee, but we’ve been making some new additions to the website, and this blog. We’ve added Facebook and Twitter icons on various pages, and reintroduced online forms on our Contact and Fair Trade and Donation pages. We’ve also made it easier to find the Fair Trade Page by adding a link to the main pages. We’ve migrated this blog to www.mtnspirit.org as of today, so our address is slightly different but you can still reach us at the old address.
Our Booth, I'l Festival, VT Getting the word out.
Getting our name out there is almost as important as fundraising and continuing to offer safe, meaningful programs. While our heart is in the mountains, we’ve stayed indoors to get these important features added to our site. Keep track of our Facebook page, we’ll be using that as our online photo album for various programs, past and present. Now to go hear Greg Mortenson tonight…
By D.R. Richards
Easy to use Translator
I use Google Translator quite often for composing emails that I send to businesses in Peru. I admit it, I’m cheating, but when dealing with businesses, it’s often a more reliable way to get my point across, and not cost mistakes, and money. If you’ve not needed Google Translator, you might find it fun to type a few words in English and see what it spits out at the other end, in Chinese or Russian.
We’ve had some Russian interest in one of our posts by Amanda Richards, “Rebuilding the Machu Picchu Ruins” . A Russian website has a link, and one of our photos on their site, so I decided to post a reply in Russian. I wonder if they’ll read it!
Signed,
Рэнди Ричардс
Горный институт Дух
An Open Letter from a “Former Economic Hit Man”
By John Perkins
Former "E.H.M.", John Perkins
[Editor’s Note: I have long been a fan of New York Times Bestselling author John Perkins, after reading Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which should be read by every citizen of the world – by Americans to see how our lifestyle impacts “third world” countries, and by those citizens in countries that have been taken advantage of by the “corporatracy”. Please Read on….]
“Many of you have asked how I feel about the Obama administration . . .
In short: the fact that we moved from a conservative Republican oilman from Texas to a liberal Democratic African American from Illinois, and yet change plods along at a snail’s pace – if at all – is a confirmation of what I discuss in detail in my “HOODWINKED.”
Our president has little real power. (more…)
By D.R. Richards
Do Your Part: Breathe
I wrote in a recent post, “As I write this, my wife is sitting peacefully in the mountains of Quebec at a Vipassana retreat center. I feel the ripple effect. Janice Vien, in her Iyengar Yoga classes always closes with the phrase, ‘May the benefits of this practice be extended to others’”.
Knowing that somebody in your family is sitting quietly in a little mountain snow-bound retreat without saying a word for four days, has a profound effect. Through Amanda’s action in meditation, I feel calmer. What’s more, she borrowed my watch, for the alarm function, to wake up at 4am to begin meditation. So I find myself staring at my wrist a few times these past days.
Scientific studies have shown that groups of people meditating can actually bring down the crime rate. One particular study/meditation event in Washington D.C. had dramatic effects. Now I see.
Tolle says “You’re either part of the problem or cleaning up the mess”, and that “No one else it going to do it. If you wait for the rest of the world to become enlightened, you’ll wait forever. Start by cleaning up the inner landscape, and in that way you’ll make a change in the world.”
I’ve been meditating since I was about 11 years old. I read The Making of a Psychiatrist by David Viscott when I was about 12. I’m not sure why, I just took to it. When I was about 20, I read the complete works of Emerson. So I’ve been on my path for while – but to quietly feel the presence of my wife’s meditation in southern Quebec, while I’m south of the border, is quite an amazing experience.
So if you wonder if the inner work you’re doing has an impact on those around you, I definitely say yes.
Duke Student Plans for Film Making Project in Peru on Traditional Folklore Music
By D.R. Richards
Berkowitz applies for Fulbright
Avery Berkowitz will be sponsored by Mountain Spirit Institute should his application for a Fulbright Scholarship be accepted this spring. Berkowitz approached MSI in February to see if we were interested in providing contacts, support, and in-country affiliation for his film project, a documentary on traditional folklore music in Peru. The film will cover, not only the music, but the lives of the performers, as well as the impact the music has on audiences and the culture.
Guillermo Seminario, the muscial director of Chimu Inka, co-facilitator on MSI programs in the Cusco region, and key member on the Peru/USA Music Exchange in the U.S. will also provide support on the ground in Cusco. The exposure could also be good for Chimu Inka, who, although are superb musicians, deserve to have their music and story told more than is presently happening for them. Any film coverage of their story would be beneficial.
Berkowitz is a student at Duke, and if accepted for the Fulbright, plans to head to Peru either in the summer of 2010 or 2011. We look forward to doing what we can to support Avery and wish him the best with his application.
Art Exhibition at Art 3
“Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.”
Buddha
Thanks to Tom Pirozzoli for sending this quote on one of his emails. Tom also happens to be a participant at Artist’s Reception and Art Exhibit on Thursday March 4th 11 am-2 pm in Art 3 Manchester, NH, USA
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