Feature
The devil is in the details. This is especially true in organizing!
One question that I’m asked over and over when discussing how to construct an organizing drive and building the organizing committee is surprising, but important. Where should the committee meet? The answer is always: at one of the committee member’s house.
Herbalists are often frustrated by not only the system we all live under (that devalues human life, is indifferent to suffering, and only supplies quality care to those that can pay) but also frustrated how that system has slowly indoctrinated us in how we think about “medicine.” The biomedical-pharmaceutical model has convinced us there is a magic bullet for each “diagnosis.” That’s marketing, not good medicine. That is not how herbalism works, either. Herbalism treats people, not conditions.
Herbalists hear it all the time, even from some of our beginner students: “What herb is good for depression?” or “What should I use for this eczema?” The implication in these questions is that there is an herb that is a plug-and-play, one-size-fits-all prescription for an umbrella diagnosis. However, folks are asking the wrong questions and don’t even know it.
To the relief of many Columbus residents, the Columbus Crew has been saved from relocation and will remain in the city. After efforts by fans and the city government to keep the Major League soccer team in town, the Columbus Crew has not only agreed to stay in Columbus, but also will soon have a new stadiumin the city’s downtown, set to open in 2021.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the new stadium took place on October 10, drawing in about 4,300 local fans. Many have expressed excitement for the new state-of-the-art facility, and the owners of the team say that they’re in it for the Crew to have the best of the league. In addition to the 20,000-seat stadium, the complex will include a bar/restaurant/event space and a plaza to host outdoor concerts.
Certainly, many see the new stadium as an exciting upcoming thing for the city. But at what cost, literally?
Discussions regarding the effect our actions have on the environment are becoming a regular feature of contemporary life. Students of Ohio are joining their peers around the planet by participating in climate strikes, and between 2005 and 2015 the state’s electric power sector cut carbon emissions by 50 million metric tons per year. We are increasingly looking toward the possibilities offered by the electric vehicle (EV) industry to understand how individuals can have more of an impact on reducing environmental damage.
Immigrants are a cornerstone of American prosperity and success. Saying that may sound cliché, but it’s quite a literal fact. It’s easy to think of immigrants as a handful of newcomers arriving in areas like New York City and Los Angeles, but the truth is, there are many immigrants living all over the United States.
For instance, 10% of Columbus Ohio residents were born in another country. Naturally, such a large percentage of a population is going to have a noticeable effect on a culture in many different ways. However, there’s one area, in particular, where immigrants in America are making an above-average impact: business.
At the end of September, hundreds of herbalists, plant conservationists and green-minded folk gathered together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of United Plant Savers (UpS). The nonprofit organization has been pivotal in efforts to protect North American medicinal plants throughout the Ohio region and beyond. Within the beautifully biodiverse Appalachian foothills sits Goldenseal Botanical Sanctuary (UpS headquarters). It is an oasis and refuge for those interested in learning about medicinal plant conservation and how to protect the legacy of earth’s ancestors. The sanctuary is a hidden gem, and one that often gets overlooked by Ohio residents.
The event connected people from across the continent, with a singular common goal: banding together to advocate for plants and the role humans play as stewards of the world ecosystem. Founded in 1994, the organization was forged from the painful realization that many medicinal and native species were becoming endangered or going extinct. The key players saw a problem and decided to take action. They were not just herbalists, but horticulturalists and farmers who were intimately observing the decline of native botanicals.
Last month, on September nineteenth, in Orlando, Florida, a six-year old girl was arrested, put in handcuffs and in the back of a police car with the intent of arresting her and charging her with “battery.” It appears that another child, eight-years old, was also arrested on the same day at the same charter school, by the same School Resource Officer (SRO).
The school resource officer just so happens to be a retired Orlando police officer who spent 23 years on the force before retiring in June of 2018. It’s reported that in 2016 this officer received a written reprimand for excessive force after he tasered a man five times, twice when the man was already down and no longer resisting arrest. His reward for retiring – being assigned to the Reserve Officer Program with other “retired” officers. His new job? Arresting your children in school.
The people of Toledo, along with supporters of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR), were disgusted to find out in early May of this year that language was inserted into the state budget bill, just before the House passed its version of the budget, to undermine LEBOR and Rights of Nature in Ohio. Which representative was responsible for adding this language and who or what group was behind it? I, and other members of the Ohio Community Rights Network (OHCRN) set to find out.
On February 26, 2019, the people of Toledo passed LEBOR with 61% of the vote. This landmark law granted rights to Lake Erie and its entire ecosystem to exist, flourish and naturally evolve. It also empowers citizens – as part of that larger ecosystem, and who have the right to a healthy environment – to stand up for the lake when those rights are violated. This is the first-of-its-kind law in the United States to grant rights to an entire body of water and its ecosystem. Similar rights of nature laws have passed in Australia, New Zealand, Ecuador, India, Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia.
While many countries around the world are making valiant efforts to reduce their usage of fossil fuels, the United States of America is still struggling with going green. The fossil fuel industries have a powerful hold over the federal government, and through their lobbying efforts, they have continually barred green legislation from coming to fruition.
The idea that we have 12 years to reverse the negative effects of climate change caused by the widespread use of fossil fuels is often shared, but many experts see that window rapidly closing. In order to combat the environmental impact of fossil fuels, education on just how serious the consequences of their continued use is paramount.