Saturday, February 23, 2008

Meet Bella

Something completely unbelievable happened this Christmas at the O'Donnell house. After nearly 3o years of pet-less living, my family now owns a dog (!). Meet Bella!

She was only a few weeks old when we picked her up and the size of a small rat. Bella was primarily a gift to my sister Sara, who has pined for a dog ever since she was able to speak. My mom was always against having a pet, because a dog seemed like an insurmountable obstacle to keeping a clean house. A house full of unruly children was challenging enough.

But times have changed. In particular, the last year has taught all of us about impermanence and has helped us distinguish between things that are truly important (puppies) and not so important (clean rugs).

And so, a plan was hatched to get a puppy. All behind the back of Sara, who amazingly, remained in the dark until walking down the steps on Christmas morning.

Sara, was completely overwhelmed (obviously). For days, she alternated between states of elation and disbelief ("Really!?"). But Bella is the real deal and will be sticking around.


It seems that my parents have also fallen for Bella. My dad gets up every morning at 5:30 or 6 to take Bella for a morning walk. When I talk to my mom on the phone, the first 15-20 minutes revolve around Bella...you know, the latest adventures with bigger neighbor dogs, the newest toy(s), puppy apparel, peculiar behavior(s), etc.

An expected perk of having Bella is my family's new-found sense of community.  For the last 7 or 8 years, they've lived in a town-house development in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where they never really knew many of their neighbors.  Since Bella's been on the scene, they've made more friends than they can keep up with. A five minute walk with the dog becomes an hour-long discussion about puppies or the weather. One neighbor has actually volunteered to let Bella out every day at lunch, all in exchange for a dinner now and then.  All this because of a little puppy.  Pretty amazing.  

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Evening Thoughts

I was recently asked to review a book for the Elizabethtown College Alumni Peace Fellowship. Below is the text from that review, published in the winter newsletter.


Evening Thoughts:

Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community

By

Thomas Berry

Reviewed by

Jonathan A. O’Donnell

Class of 2000

Over the last few centuries, the relationship between human beings and the Earth has been radically transformed. In Thomas Berry’s collection of essays, Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community, he examines this dynamic relationship. In particular, Berry focuses on the complex link between environmentalism and religious practice and belief. For the better part of a century, Berry has been a leader in environmental thought, publishing a number of books on the subject and serving as director of the Riverdale Center for Religious Research and founder of the History of Religions Program at Fordham University. This collection of essays was thoughtfully edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-coordinator of the Forum on Religion and Ecology (www.religionandecology.org).

Berry describes our present day ecological crisis as a “crisis of spiritual vision.” Briefly, he points to a divide that persists between humans and the rest of the non-human world, a divide that western religion has helped to cultivate and maintain for centuries. This divide exists because we, as humans, have historically viewed the natural world as a collection of resources for us to consume, develop, and ultimately, exhaust. Berry describes an emphasis of western religion on “redemptive processes not of this world.” He writes, “Our sacred community is seen primarily as one concerned with human-divine relationship, with little attraction toward a shared community existence within the larger world of the living.” Later he writes, “The concept…of a blessed future leaves all present modes of existence unworthy by comparison.” At one point he defends such statements by citing a Yale University study that reported “the more extensively people participate in religious activities, the less likely they are to be concerned with the natural world.”

Science and religion have historically been at odds with one another. Berry notes that while science provides a mechanistic understanding of the underlying processes governing our planet, it “prevents the Earth from being seen as a revelatory experience with mysteries.” Berry argues that the scientific and spiritual components of our culture need to complement each other. Through human creativity, Berry explains, we have been able to transcend the laws of nature, of biology, and of evolution:

With technological invention humans are able to surpass natural limits. We can undermine the natural limits of the human population on the planet. We can preserve life. We can delay death. We can extinguish other life-forms. We can subvert the biosystems of the planet in a way that nature, in its nonscientific technological phase, cannot remedy.

Berry poses the question, “How can humans enter the future with some responsible use of their creative freedoms?” Indeed, an important and profound question.

The answer, according to Berry, is to transform the way we understand the origin of the universe and the role that we, as humans, play in it. The creation story in the Book of Genesis is one of a fall from paradise followed by redemption through God’s grace. “The redemption story,” Berry writes, “saves individuals out of the world rather than inspires integration into the world.” He suggests that a new creation story be told, based on the modern scientific account of the origin and development of the universe. This story would track the emergence of early life forms through the evolution of mammals and primates and ultimately, human beings. Berry contends that we should “establish rituals for celebrating these transformation moments.” Through the new creation story, we can understand that “the universe is the primary revelation of the divine, the primary scripture, the primary locus of divine-human communion.”

Berry does not confine his essays exclusively to philosophical arguments, but includes pragmatic analyses of environmental and religious issues in essays such as Catching the Power of Wind and The Petrochemical Age. In Global Warming, Berry tackles the issue of human-induced climate change as a result of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. He writes that “the emerging climate-change crisis arises from the simple question of whether economic profit or integral functioning of the planet will be the normative value in guiding the human community into the future.” Not only is the loss of ecosystem function critical in terms of biodiversity and carbon emissions, but also in terms of religious practice and spirituality. Similar ideas were echoed by former vice-president Al Gore after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2007: “The climate crisis is not a political issue; it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity.” Berry, perhaps, best captures the essence of the effects of climate change when he writes, “Loss of splendor and diversity of the natural world is loss of the primary source of religious awakening.”

Yukon Quest 2008

The Quest is under way once again! This year, the mushers are traveling east from Fairbanks to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. Chrissy, Freya and I attended the start in downtown Fairbanks on the Chena River, despite the -40F temperatures. Our good friend, Brent is off to any amazing start.



Brent is currently in 3rd place behind 3-time winner Lance Mackey and rookie Ken Anderson. Earlier this afternoon, he left Dawson City - the race's halfway point - after a mandatory 36 hour rest.

You can follow Brent's adventures at his blog, and at the official Yukon Quest website.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Ice Fog

I enjoyed a lovely walk this morning with the dogs, with temperatures bottoming out at -45F below. Without booties, the dogs pathetically limp around, trying to figure out how to take care of business without actually touching all four paws to the ground. At these temperatures, Fairbanks experiences intense ice fog:

http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/

Ned Rozell, a local science writer, describes the origin of ice fog:

Ice fog is what happens when water vapor meets bitter cold air that can't hold any more water. When water vapor exits a car tailpipe when it's minus 40, for example, the water vapor temperature drops from about 250 degrees to minus 40 in less than 10 seconds. Water cooled that fast forms tiny ice particles, so small that ten of them could fit side by side on the finger-cutting edge of a piece of paper. Collectively, millions of these particles take form as ice fog, the cotton candy-like clouds that hang over our roads.

Temperature inversions, in which warm air above acts like a lid to trap cold air below, combine with hills in Fairbanks to provide a box in which ice fog forms. Inversions usually allow hilltop residents to bask in warmer temperatures than those living in low areas, but ice fog often takes away the advantage of living in the hills. Inversions usually form at the ground surface in Fairbanks, but during bouts of ice fog, inversions form at the top of the ice fog layer. The warmer air usually enjoyed by those at higher elevations forms higher in the atmosphere; those in the hills experience the same numbing temperatures as the lowlanders.



Vegas baby!



Grand Canyon, December 2007

Back after a long break from the blog. Lots to post, lots to discuss. I'll start with a few pictures from our trip to the Grand Canyon in December. We only spent a few days there, but managed to fit in two nights of camping and took in some outrageous scenery.


Chrissy, leading the charge down the canyon



The muddy Colorado River

Cold and snowy on the rim...warm and balmy in the canyon.