Category Archives: Newsworthy

Global warming and the need for leadership – Meg’s research from 2008

Posted on by annandmeg

Meg has a J.D. in Urban, Land Use and Environmental Law. She focuses on maintaining the balance of community and environmental health, healthy lifestyles, and encouraging sustainable living.

I wrote this as part of my senior thesis at the University of Kansas in May 2008. The class was about the history of accidents, both natural and human-induced. I looked at a place in Greenland dubbed “Warming Island” that was visited by a U.S. delegation led by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a group of representatives.

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, the representative from the 5th District of Missouri (Kansas City area), was a part of the delegation to Greenland. In the two summers following his trip, I was able to intern in his DC and Kansas City offices. His ideas about global warming and the environment in many ways sparked my current interest in environmental health. He is so unbelievably passionate about bettering the world, it just naturally rubs off on anyone he meets. During his initial campaign for Congress, my granddad Mesle met him and worked on his campaign. Granddad still talks about how nice Rep. Cleaver was to be around, how he wears his love for his community on his sleeve, and always asks me to tell him hello.

I don’t necessarily mean to sound like I’m putting in my plug for Cleaver, I just think it’s important to understand where the inspiration comes from. He really has been a significant influence in my growing interest of balancing community needs with environmental needs, all while juggling the various issues of the world. I’d like to share an excerpt from my 2008 thesis about Warming Island in Greenland, and Rep. Cleaver’s commitment to community and environmental health. Please note, the following information is current as of May 2008.

Here you go.

 “Warming Island” in Greenland

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is the second largest ice sheet in the world next to the Antarctic Ice Sheet. During Speaker Pelosi’s delegation to Greenland in May 2007, she noticed the rapid speed at which the ice is breaking off and melting. She learned the amount of ice breaking off in two days time would provide enough fresh water for all of New York City for an entire year. The delegation inspired other political officials to travel to the island, including several Senators, in July 2007.

Some scientists say the melting ice is being offset by the amount of snow accumulation during the winter months, but there is also a highly significant correlation within the last decade of temperatures in Greenland with the Northern Hemisphere. This correlation suggests that global warming may very well be emerging within GrIS in the present day. One man, who is a veteran arctic explorer, made a discovery several years ago that would change the visible perception of global warming.

Dennis Schmidt is an explorer who discovered “Warming Island” in Greenland in September 2005. It is an island on the east side of Greenland, about 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle, which was previously thought to be a peninsula. During an expedition to GrIS in September 2006, Schmidt commented that documenting the island was important because it is, “a very visual, very graphic example of climate change… maybe the best that exists in the world today.” Makers of this video documentary who traveled with Schmidt reflected on how scientists had been warning for years that the warming atmosphere would “wake up” the ice sheet and send hundreds of billions of tons of ice surging into the ocean, raising sea levels and drowning coastal cities. (To see a brief video documenting the island, click here.)

“I think a lot of people that will look at this will be fascinated because of its beauty, but also interested in it because it is a clear example of climate change,” commented Schmidt about the view of the landscape. In the documentary, the visible gap between the mainland and the now island appears to be at least several hundred feet. When Speaker Pelosi’s delegation travelled to the island in May 2007, they witnessed these effects first hand and realized the severity of global warming.


Cleaver’s commitment to the environment

To approach the issues surrounding global warming, Congressman Cleaver uses many different strategies. It is my understanding that neither oil companies nor delegates for non-renewable resource companies financially support Cleaver’s political office. He is therefore more flexible to speak openly about his concerns for the environment and what he believes to be the root causes for those concerns (such as oil companies drilling in the Chukchi).

When he addressed the Progressive National Baptist Convention in August 2007, Cleaver asserted to his listeners to make the earth’s environment a high priority. “There is overwhelming scientific evidence that the sin of materialism and greed are inextricably linked to the alarming rise in greenhouse gas emissions, and that, my friends, demands an urgent response,” he asserted. This comment followed a lunch conversation I had with him while in Washington D.C. during the summer of 2007. Cleaver believes there are many ways to attack the problems of global warming. One of those ways is through politics and legislation, and the other way is through religious promotion of possible solution. “If one Sunday, every preacher in the country said that everyone needs to use less gas, less water, recycle more, and care more about our environment, on Monday morning, everyone would be out buying a hybrid car.” He acknowledges that there is more than one way to approach global warming, and it is important to try to get through to people on multiple levels to ensure that the message about global warming gets across.

Protecting the environment and the vulnerable communities in the world from global warming is an important issue for which few people are up to the task. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver focuses on bringing together communities and protecting them from social and environmental injustice, which makes him a perfect candidate for provoking global unity. Cleaver is a man who is focused on solutions to problems surrounding struggling communities, whether they are black, poor, polar bear, or arctic ice. He believes in a balance within the social and spiritual spheres that keeps the world in harmony. When that balance is shifted, the world struggles, and Cleaver takes it upon himself to help bring the world back into balance.

– Meg McCollister, May 2008

U.S. role in world affairs, pt. 2: Courts as a Model and Trusted Protector of the Rule of Law

Posted on by annandmeg

If our role in the global community is changing, we need to decide in what ways we choose to adapt to the change.  Any vote taken in our family would support the belief that we follow the adage to “lead by example.”  Of course, leading by example requires that we project, for ourselves and to the world, the best of our core values.  Not surprisingly for us, our conversation turned to the importance of our judicial system and the fact we are a nation governed by the rule of law.

Pursuant to the Constitution our government is divided into three separate but equal branches.  The Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch are responsible for enacting our laws.  Their roles are generally well understood.  Less well understood is the role of the judiciary as the third equal branch of government.

Courts are responsible to enforce our laws.  They are accountable to the Constitution. Unlike members of the Legislative Branch, judges are not, and should not, be accountable to any individual segment of the community.  In our courts, every citizen is considered equal under the law:  rich or poor; individual or corporation; of whatever color, ethnicity or gender.

The challenge is to constantly protect the integrity of the judiciary and to preserve the requirement that judges are not answerable to a political agenda or viewpoint but instead enforce laws fairly and consistently.  So long as the courts are committed to this role, they create an environment of trust and confidence here and throughout the world community.  They support an environment in which individuals and businesses trust that they will receive fairness and confidence that laws will be enforced consistently.

Keeping politics and special interests out of the courtroom helps us to protect what Chief Justice William Rehnquist called one of the “crown jewels” of our democracy. Courts that demand respect for the rights and interests of all parties are consistent with a just society and enhance our image as a global citizen.  Is this what we should desire from our courts? Yes. Is this what we need as a nation? Yes.

A fair and impartial judiciary is essential to a fair and just society.  This is the judicial system we want for ourselves and as the model we want to present to the world.

U.S. role in world affairs, pt. 1: Zakaria’s Post-American World

Posted on by annandmeg

Meg was home unexpectedly this weekend.  It gave us the opportunity to chat
about many of our favorite topics.  We talked about what it means that the
U.S. is pulling our troops out of Iraq.  How does this impact our image
with friendly and not so friendly governments?  We talked about what it is
that makes us unique.  We talked about our court system, our educational
system, our Constitution and Bill of Rights.  All of these are subjects we
want to talk about in our blog. But as I was struggling with how to share
our ideas, I was reminded of a book I consider to be worth reading.  It is
Fareed Zakaria’s book titled Post-American World, written in 2008.  While
focused on the period before President Obama took office, it remains relevant
today.

In his book, Zakaria talks about the changing role of the United States in
light of the “Rise of the Rest,” particularly resulting from the explosion
of prosperity in China and India.  He describes this “rise” as the most recent power shift of the modern history. First, it was the rise of the west (Western Europe), then the rise of the United States. Now, it’s the rise of the rest of the world, something he describes as leading us to the Post-American World. He talks about our strengths and
challenges as we face this change.  He discusses the rich
contributions from our immigrant populations, particularly in terms of our
technological development, and our related continued leadership in various
areas of technology.  He addresses our role in diplomacy, and notes the
importance of compromise, strategic relationships and innovation.

A significant challenge to which he repeatedly returns is his concern that
we have what he refers to as dysfunctional politics, something that prevents us from
forming clear solutions to our internal economic and various other challenges.

Zakaria doesn’t have all the answers, and you certainly may not agree
with many of his opinions, but it is hard to read his book without grasping
some sense of the challenges we face as a nation in this ever-changing
world.

Arab Spring Meets Occupy Wallstreet

Posted on by annandmeg

We have watched and applauded the demonstrators who oppose tyranny throughout the Middle East. Doubtless, these demonstrations have significantly impacted events throughout that Region.

Now we are faced with demonstrations in U.S. Not since the 60′s have we seen anything like this: Occupy Wall Street. Focused on claims of corporate greed and corruption, the movement labels itself as focusing on the 99% who do not share the wealth and opportunities of the financial elite.

This movement is garnering increased national attention. To date there has been no loss of life. Hopefully, that will not change. Whether Occupy Wall street is the beginning of a new political movement is uncertain.

At least for the moment, the movement and the response to it is building and changing on an ongoing basis and is shifting the national dialogue. With no tyrants to depose can it, is it, in any way entitled to comparison to the Arab Spring. Time may tell.

Community Gardens Enhance Kansas City Neighborhoods

Posted on by annandmeg

Community Gardens Enhance Kansas City Neighborhoods
10-28-11

It is mid-October. The end of the harvest time at many community gardens. The last of the tomatoes are still green, there are still rows of lettuce but gradually the beds are switching from vegetables to fall flowers or simply put to bed for the winter. The gardens, though winding down, are still lush and green. They add beauty in the neighborhoods where they are situated.

Urban gardens represent fresh, locally grown food. But they also represent the shared experience of working the soil–interacting with neighbors in planting, tending and harvesting produce. Community gardens offer families and communities healthy food produced without the financial and environmental cost of transporting the food. Looking forward, community gardens provide low-cost food to those with limited resources, opportunities to use abandoned properties to enhance, rather than detract, from the desirability of a neighborhood. These gardens can provide opportunities for individuals, neighborhoods and organizations to have a source of income from the sale of locally grown produce. Some sell food for profit to neighbors, restaurants or through farmers’ markets. A few donate all their produce to Harvesters or provide it to families of student “farmers”. incorporate gardens as part of community ministries.

There are easily 40 such gardens in metro Kansas City. They are located on main streets and quiet streets. They are on church property and school property. They are planted, maintained and harvested by students, church communities and restauranteurs. A very few local gardens include chicken and tilapia—yes, the fish—others offer berries and herbs, in addition to, or instead of traditional vegetables.

Many of these gardens are neighborhood gathering spots. A few have benches, fountains, and even tables. Live music is often a part of the weekend activities. There are also cooking and nutrition classes.

While the new breed of ccommunity gardens focus on fruits and vegetables, Kansas Citians cannot ignore the classic beauty of the Kauffman Gardens across the street from the Kauffman Foundation and the lovely garden adjacent to the New Reform Temple on Gregory.

All these gardens enhance the lives of neighborhoods and the overall life and health of the community. They help shift the balance toward healthier neighborhoods.