Obama Atlas

Dear President Obama,

I knew about your AMAZING Climate Change Speech but I am embarrassed that I didn't see or hear it...UNTIL TODAY! 

I was watching Bill Moyers yesterday and it was pointed out about how little the media paid attention to this monumental speech. They said that FOX NEWS actually faded out part of your talk and diverted to a naysayer!!!  I couldn't believe it!

I am SO PROUD of you for standing up and saying ALL the things this One Worried Mom was wishing you would say. Now us Americans (and our global community) need to stand behind your words and support you.

I am going to sign this new THANK YOU piece and letter from ONE HOPEFUL MOM!

THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT...you are on the right track and I admire you more than ever for using your power and voice for the good of this planet!

Sincerely yours,
ONE HOPEFUL MOM

Obama Hood LAST COLLAGE!

Dear President Obama,

Well...this is the last collage/letter that I am sending you at this time. Maybe if I get inspired with a new idea I'll send you one now and again and post it to my blog...but I got out of this journey what I needed and that is to renew my own commitment to WALKING MY OWN TALK (when it comes to climate change).  It's easy to point fingers but we all have to do our part. I fall short of MY part often.

I've been averaging a couple hours a day creating and sending these to you and now I want to spend those hours learning how to make my house more energy efficient. I want to spend those morning hours that I worked on these...working in my garden.

My partner and I don't have a TV but we LOVE the BBC Robin Hood Series and bought them all on DVD.  For the past year or so we have a 'date night' once every couple weeks and watch an episode on our computer!  We finished the last of the series last night and since Robin Hood is our FAVORITE HERO I'm making this last one in his image. 

Robin Hood fought for the downtrodden and believed that the wealthy should share the spoils with the poor.  The huge POWER & OIL companies are getting RICH at the expense of the PLANET!

Please WALK YOUR TALK Mr. President...make the environment your PRIORITY for all our children and grandchildren and generations to come, reduce our carbon emissions to 350, be the GREEN PRESIDENT who put an end to the climate change disaster!   BE OUR HERO!

I hope everyone who read these offerings got something from them. It made me feel good to do them and I learned a lot in the process~

Sincerely yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Tea Time

Dear Mr. President,

A friend of mine suggested that I use an Alice in Wonderland theme for one of my collages so I was trying to think of which character I should choose.

Last week I got to host my first Tea Party for my God-daughter who turned 11. (I had a boy and he never wanted a Tea Party, so this was SO FUN).

Anyhow, I dressed up fancy and wearing my top hat, I kept thinking about the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and decided to use it as the theme.  That got me to wondering what people in the 'tea party' think about Climate Change.  (This is how my mind works).

Ah Ha!  So I read several articles on the subject and was surprised that among tea party supporters FEWER people believe that climate change is a problem than believe you are Muslim.

A New York Times/CBS News poll suggests only 14 percent of the Tea Party supporters consider global warming a serious problem. YIKES!!!  I find that fact shocking.

I really think that our population on the WHOLE has pushed this threat under the rug for now. We are not keeping it on the HIGH PRIORITY list!

My son used to have a favorite song that was popular on the radio called IT'S A MAD WORLD! It moved me when he would sing it!  We all need to STOP THE MADNESS.  What's that old saying?.....Stop and SMELL THE TEA (Coffee)!

Sincerely,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Dorothy

Dear President Obama,

This is the 50th original collage that I've mailed to you! My sister gave me this idea. I was going to make you the Tin Man but she said Dorothy is the one who says, "There's No Place Like Home" and that I should make you be Dorothy! (A little humor here).

Anyhoo...If a tornado whisked me off into the future and I landed in tomorrowland, I wonder what it would look like? Would it be a scenario from a Mad Max movie or would it be green and sparkly like the land of Oz? 

We all need to be like the Tin Man and have a heart...we need that heart to beat loud for our precious HOME, we need to be like the Scarecrow and use our brains to figure out creative, sustainable solutions and most of all EACH ONE OF US needs to be like the Lion and have courage to speak up.

I'm clicking my ruby slippers together and saying "THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!" Not just the USA but the WHOLE beautiful PLANET!

Earthfully yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama SNOW in May!

Dear President Obama,

I hear global warming naysayers shouting, "How can this be GLOBAL WARMING...it's been a cold winter and it's SNOWING IN MAY!"

Yes, it's true we had a SNOWSTORM in Arkansas in May this year BUT that is the FIRST time in recorded history.

I'm so glad that scientists are now calling the weather challenges CLIMATE CHANGE because that term is much for accurate for what is happening in the world.

Everyone can see with their own eyes the drastic CHANGES in the weather.  A couple winters ago we had an unprecedented ice storm that made our town look like a war zone, everyone lost power for over a week.  The Ozark woods are littered with 2 year old kindlin'...YIKES!

The drought and temps in the 100's last summer stressed those already stressed trees to the breaking point.  WE ALL NEED TO PUT THIS SUBJECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE FRONT BURNER!

Happy Spring,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Immortal

Dear President Obama,

My greatest joy and treasure in my life is my SON! I love being a mother. What a great experience to be a parent.

I believe that you and Michelle are wonderful parents. I read a quote once that said OUR CHILDREN MAKE US IMMORTAL. Our legacy is passed on down though our children and their children and so on.

I am looking forward to becoming a Grandmother someday (but I'm not RUSHING it)...my son is only 22, plenty of time.  BUT thinking about the possibility of 'grandchildren' has made me think about the environment in ways that I had not before. 

I want to help make the planet a BETTER place for those future generations and I want to dedicate this last phase of my journey on this Earth to that goal.

Making these collages/letters to you is a way that I remind myself DAILY to look for ways to speak up and make changes. They are like a DAILY meditation for me and a touchstone.  PASS IT ON!

For the Earth,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Where's Waldo

TO READERS...Sorry...I couldn't remember how to ROTATE the picture...I've only had a couple horizontal ones and somehow figured it out before but couldn't turn it this time. Ooooops.  

Dear President Obama,

I used to LOVE Where's Waldo books. My son and I would spend hours trying to find Waldo in a sea of faces.

I want you to know that I mean NO disrespect with ANY of my collages.  I am merely wishing that you would put CLIMATE CHANGE on the FRONT BURNER and this is the only way I can think of to make my little voice and concerns heard.

So I am just wondering WHERE YOU ARE on this subject.  Where's Obama???  In a SEA of pressing issues, Climate Change is one of MANY.

Sincerely yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Scream

Dear President Obama,

In the collage I imagine you SCREAMING..."Hey, is anybody listening?" I should have had a text balloon on the collage with you screaming those words.

A critic of my blog (thanks to those of you who GET my strange message) said I was being NEGATIVE and that we should not be 'screaming' at you.

I agree that you are doing many great things and I am an OBAMA supporter...but when it comes to climate change...WE ALL NEED TO BE SCREAMING!

I know you will never see my letters but I hope everyone that reads my silly blog or sees these on Facebook will write you a ONE WORRIED MOM letter as well.  That is my hope. Maybe if we ALL use our voices something will change!

Here's the address again for READERS.
PRESIDENT OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE
1600 Pennsylvania Ave N.W.
Washington DC  20500

Screamingly yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Zorro

Dear President Obama,

I love the Zorro character because he always LEFT HIS MARK!  Great heroes DO THAT...they leave their mark on the world.

You have left many important MARKS in your reign but I think you could RISE TO THE CHALLENGE of becoming the CLIMATE CHANGE PRESIDENT!  You could slash a huge letter O (Obama) on all the future history books to remind the coming generations that President Obama turned the world around and put the reins on GLOBAL WARMING!

SLASH THROUGH ALL THE RED TAPE, NAY SAYERS and BIG OIL CONCERNS and
MAKE YOUR MARK!!!

Sincerely,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Razorback

Dear Mr. President,

We have another potential environmental disaster here in the Ozarks after reeling from the Mayflower pipeline problem.

C & H Farms in Newton County is starting a Hog Farm with 2500 Hogs. They will use the waste for fertilizing their pastures.

Environmentalists are concerned that this waste will get into Big Creek which is a tributary of the Buffalo River.

The BUFFALO RIVER is the VERY FIRST NATIONAL RIVER!!! It is the only river in Arkansas that was not dammed and it is a sacred place! We cannot take ANY CHANCES with polluting this river.



I read that while permits for this proposed operation were granted, I also understand that crucial environmental impact tests required for such permits were NEVER undertaken. Please look into this!

This is not just a local issue because it is a NATIONAL RIVER and we hope you will step in and make sure that it is protected from HOG WASTE!

NO HOGS NO!!!!

Sincerely yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Traffic Cop

Dear President Obama,

Please put the BRAKES on Climate Change! You are like the TRAFFIC COP of the U.S.  You have the power to make great changes and find solutions to reducing the carbon load to 350! 

BUT YOU NEED TO SAY  STOP to all the interests that are saying FULL SPEED AHEAD.

Our planet can only take so much abuse!
HELP!

I know I keep pointing the finger at YOU Mr. President but WE ALL NEED TO STAND UP and USE OUR VOICES...you can't do it ALONE...if you knew that all us WORRIED MOM'S were shouting, you might have more strength.

Here is a CHALLENGE to any WORRIED MOM (or Dad, or Grandma, or Grandpa or Aunt or Uncle or Friend) that might be reading this blog....I ask them to write you a letter as well.  Not an EMAIL...but a REAL HEARTFELT acoustic LETTER! 

Here is the address to send it to:
PRESIDENT OBAMA
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC  20500

Sincerely yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM
aka Donna Stjerna

Obama with Chief

Dear President Obama,

I think this is the most POWERFUL mandate for world leaders EVER!  Take heed.

"The first mandate given to us CHIEFS is to make sure EVERY decision we make relates to the welfare and well-being of the SEVENTH GENERATION to come..."
-Oren Lyons, Chief of the Onondaga Nation

Futurely (a made up word) yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Frankenfish

Dear President Obama,

I personally am frightened about this GMO technology. I've heard foods that have been genetically modified humorously referred to as FRANKENFOODS. Good name.

I love the SLOW FOOD and CLOSE TO HOME and ORGANIC movements. We need to get back to nature and eat less processed.

If there is no stopping this MONSTER than at least REGULATE them and make sure that GMO foods are well labeled so that we know what we are getting.

Sincerely yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Scarecrow

Dear President Obama,

One of my readers asked that I make a collage that addresses GMO's and Monsanto's Round Up Ready and other related issues.  I stayed up till 2 am reading everything I could find. 

Of course you know about this biotechnology but for my readers...GMO's are genetically modified organisms. Scientists working in this field say that modified food is not harmful to humans as far as they know SO FAR. There has not been enough testing. Too much to say on this subject. LOOK IT UP AND READ ABOUT IT...fascinating stuff.

Now, this collage is a bit 'deep' if you don't know about .UP READY seeds.  A company called Monsanto has developed a corn seed that can tolerate the poisonous herbicide, Round Up. The Round Up kills virtually all plant life. Birds will suffer if a large-scale vegetation kill occurs. The loss of flora will have a negative impact on bird breeding grounds and areas where birds forage for food.  I could go on and on.....but this is why the scarecrow in my collage doesn't know what a CROW is!  OUCH.

If you want to know more...PBS did a special called HARVEST OF FEAR about this subject.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/viewpoints/risks.html

My next letter will be more about FRANKENFOODS! 

Sincerely yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Spring Clean

To Blog Readers...I'm posting an extra one today because I won't be able to for a couple daze! Thanks to Nan for this idea. I am open to suggestions with environmental themes!

Dear President Obama,

HAPPY SPRING!!! Time to do a little spring cleaning. We need to sweep the SMOGWEBS outta the corners. I am always shocked when we perform in the Los Angeles area...the thick yellow-gray haze that covers the horizon. YUCK.

On BAD days children cannot even go out and play if they have asthma. Which is on the rise even for adults! Yes...I know that they have toughened up on 'regulations' and it is better than in the 60's but obviously NOT NEAR GOOD ENOUGH.


WE NEED TO CLEAN UP OUR ACT!
Sweepingly yours,
One Worried MOm 

Obama Golfer

Dear President Obama,

By the year 2050, some 4 billion people (that's over HALF of the entire world's population) will be facing severe water shortages. In the United States, people living in southwestern states like Arizona could be facing severe freshwater shortages even sooner--by 2025!

This information comes from NASA, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies worldwide. And when you consider the facts, it's not hard to understand why there's a problem:

* The world's population tripled in the 20th century, and is expected to increase by another 40-50 % in the next 50 years.

* There isn't any more FRESH water in the world today than there was 1 million years ago. (I found this AMAZING)

* Water cannot be replaced (such as alternative fuel sources can replace petroleum.)

I hate seeing huge lawns in neighborhoods being kept alive during these droughts we are having...wasting gallons and gallons and gallons of precious water.  I don't see anyone out DOING anything on those lawns...mostly they are JUST FOR ORNAMENT! 

Now I understand that you are a golfer...so I apologize. I'm sure it's a fine sport but Golf Courses use way too much water to keep those fairways so pristine! I've been reading about EFFLUENT WATER IRRIGATION especially as being used by golf courses.  This is a process of using waste (sewage) water for irrigation. This might be a great idea to help with the water shortage problem but sadly enough, LITTLE or not enough attention has been paid to the long-term effects of sewage irrigation practices.  There can be serious environmental, public health and agricultural problems if it is not treated well before using as such! This contaminated water can easily leach into our precious ground water.  YUCK!

I hope your TEAM is putting a lot of SERIOUS energy and thought into WATER PROTECTION and CONSERVATION!

Waterfully Yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Puppet King

Dear President Obama,

I often think about what a challenging job you have as President (aka King of America). Often, Congress ties your hands and I bet you get a lot of pressure from BIG OIL and BIG MONEY to make choices that you would not make if you could pull your own strings.

I am an amateur puppeteer myself and have made several marionettes over the years. It is amazing to watch them dance, move and bow to MY command.

My heart goes out to you as you make every hard choice and decision in regard to the environment. I wouldn't want to be King (or even Queen for a Day).

I know it's impossible to please everyone and I know you have serious concerns about the XL Pipeline, and the long-term effects of fracking. The Mayflower disaster in Arkansas on March 29th, 2013 was a bit TOO close to home. As you know an Exxon pipeline ruptured and spilled over 5,000 barrels of tarry oil. Many children got sick and home values plummeted! It is an environmental disaster.

I read that according to Federal data there is a significant pipeline spill in the U.S. on the average of EVERY 3 DAYS!  Wow that is staggering.

Don't let those Exxon BIG OIL puppet masters of the universe PULL YOUR STRINGS. Cut them loose!  Please and Thank you!

ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Alien

Dear President Obama,

In a couple weeks, you should be expecting a package with over 1,000 letters/drawings from Arkansas school children. They all wanted to express their concerns about climate change and the planet. This is an Earth Day gift from them with the message MAKE EVERY DAY EARTH DAY!

One of the drawings is from a 3rd grader and it tickled me and I used it for the inspiration for this collage.

I imagined an Alien spaceship landing on Earth in a polluted industrial city full of concrete and steel or on a mountain top that had been strip mined or clear cut. They were horrified by all the destruction.



Ah, the wisdom of children!
Earthfully yours,
ONE WORRIED MOM

Obama Conductor

Dear President Obama,

I love this quote by Mae West on the conductor collage that goes with this letter,

"Personality is the glitter that sends your little gleam across the footlights and the orchestra pit and into that black space where the audience is."- Mae West

You have that glittering personality!  You are one of the most important conductors of the WORLD!

WE (us Worried Moms & others) are your audience in that black space...please create for the EARTH the most beautiful symphony EVER!
We will CHEER and APPLAUSE and shout BRAVO!  We will call for an ENCORE! 

Musically yours,
One Worried Mom

Obama Indigenous

Dear President Obama,

I am not very educated on all the ins and outs of this subject but I heard about President Morales of Bolivia and his commitment to addressing climate change.

His willingness to say NO to BIG OIL is brave indeed. I think leaders of the world could take heed and follow suit.

We can also learn much from indigenous peoples and elders.  We all share this planet, instead of thinking of ourselves as AMERICANS, BOLIVIANS, EUROPEANS, AFRICANS...and so forth...maybe we should call ourselves EARTHLINGS!

For the Earth,
One Worried Mom

 

Obama Wild Things

Dear President Obama,

Theologian Thomas Berry said, "The planet will never be so beautiful and abundant again...the Cenozoic Era that we are leaving behind, was when Earth was most lyrical, songbirds, flowering plants and GREAT families of mammals flourished. At this peak of beauty and richness humankind came. We are now responsible for the extinction of ONE OUT OF TEN species that we know of."   STAGGERING!

I used to read WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE to my son almost every night. Our Ozarks used to be home to countless WILD THINGS that are almost gone. (Maybe they hopped in a little boat and sailed away for a year and a day?) Maybe we need to change the name of the book to WHERE ARE THE WILD THINGS?

I know YOU are aware of a book called Moral Ground by Kathleen Dean Moore because YOU, Desmond Tutu and Sheila Watt-Cloutier (former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council) made POWERFUL arguments about our MORAL obligation in the face of climate change.  I have only read the interview about it and look forward to the book and what you had to say!   LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN!

Wildly Yours,
One Worried Mom

Obama Ben Franklin

Dear President Obama,

Wind power could work almost ANYWHERE if we turned to HIGH FLYING KITES! Companies in Germany are already running with the idea of harnessing high altitude winds though the use of 'kite surfing' technology. COOL.

Remote controlled kites would have an advantage over wind turbines because they can fly at much higher altitudes where wind speeds increase considerably and stay strong.

Such kites also cost much less to build than wind turbine towers.

I think ole Ben Franklin was onto something great way back when.



"ENERGY AND PERSISTENCE CONQUERS ALL THINGS."  - Benjamin Franklin

Windfully yours,
One Worried Mom

Obama Coffee

Dear President Obama,

This is a difficult letter to write because it is causing me to look at my own habits and how those choices affect the world.  My biggest vice in life is COFFEE!  Every since childhood it has been my comfort food. I remember my parents always had a pot of coffee on the stove. Mom would make me my own brew with 3/4 milk and a little coffee with lots of sugar for a special treat, as far back as I can recall.

I went to a songwriting retreat this weekend and we were instructed to write 4 lines about something close to us. Sitting in front of me on the table was a container of Jasmine Pearl tea. I have always felt a twinge of over indulgence whenever I poured a cup because each of the delicate tea balls were HAND ROLLED by someone over in Asia! Those lines then turned into a song (see below) that stretched from tea to coffee. I began to research about how coffee used to be grown on small farms in the shade of the rainforests. It was a safe haven where birds flourished. In past years, due to the ENORMOUS popularity of coffee shops, coffee growning is a huge business and those forests are being cut down at alarming rates.

Now...I have known this fact for years and I try to drink organic 'shade tree' coffee whenever it is available or at home when I buy it, but for the most part I have closed my eyes and continued to fill my cup whenever and with whatever~!

If I am going to write letters like this-complaining about this or that...I should try to walk the talk. This is SO hard to do...I am a SPOILED AMERICAN and I am embarrassed about that.

I guess this letter is more for ME than YOU...Mr. President. It's a reminder to myself of the CAUSE & EFFECT. I am going to try this (but I can't guarantee I'll succeed). When I drink coffee from now on, I need to know where it came from and if it was grown in a sustainable way. Fairtrade coffee is GREAT!  It is just a small step, but one in the right direction.  BOTTOMS UP!

Sustainably yours,
One Worried Mom

IGNORANCE IS BLISS
Words & Music Donna Stjerna April 2013

Jasmine Pearls unfurl...they unfold without a care
I think about Asian women...rollin em into tiny spheres
I pick up my china cup...settle in my comfy chair...
take a sip of fragrant tea, flavored with those women's tears

At night they cover racks of tea, with those precious Jasmine flowers
perfumed like a concubine...they blow away come the morning hours
I try to tell the future with...the leaves left in my cup
Everything has a price, close my eyes and drink it up

They say ignorance is bliss...but I wonder...if it is???

Coffee once grown in the shade...on small farms 'neath canopy
The Java Jive is on the rise...they're cutting down those precious trees
We throw away those paper cups, never take the time to think
I fill up my big ole cup...close my eyes and take a drink

Workers down in Guatemala...pic a 100 lbs a day
Children slave out in the fields...no one gets a living wage
Barista with a lovely smile, fills me up to the brim
Sometimes I ignore the facts...and then the coffee wins.

They say ignorance is bliss...but I wonder...if it is???

Obama Farmer

Dear President Obama,

I read that government agricultural subsidies favor Mono-Cropping because it is economically beneficial. Then I learned that growing high yield crops of a single thing (on the same land year after year) damages the soil by stripping it of precious nutrients thus creating a dependency on pesticides and artificial fertilizers which seep into ground water and surrounding soil.

In this farming practice an ENTIRE crop can but wipe out very quickly by a single opportunisitic species! This happened in Ireland creating the great Potato Famine of 1845-1849.  OUCH!   Maybe farmers should be REWARDED for rotating crops & using organic methods that SUSTAIN the land and make it HEALTHIER rather than destroying it and risking another Dust Bowl or worse. 

Land, Water, Food & Farmers are VALUABLE commodities- we NEED to take care of them.
HI HO THE DAIRY OH...THE FARMER IN THE DELL!

Naturally yours,
One Worried Mom

Obama Drowning Man

Dear President Obama,

Do you ever feel like you are drowning? Wish someone would throw a life preserver? I think despair is a HUGE problem these daze! I think that many folks have a sort of 'environmental PTSD', myself included (at times).

These letters I've been writing are my life preserver. They have been good for my soul, sort of like when your write a letter to a friend or lover that your are having issues with and you NEVER send it. You just get to VENT and then burn or tear the letter up.

These letters are not changing anything but ME, they are helping me refocus, I just signed up for a week long workshop in New Mexico with one of my SHE-ROS (female hero), Joanna Macy. The workshop is on despair and empowerment. It's a mentoring program to learn how to deal with feelings of loss (species & environment) and how to help others. For me this is especially important for children. Here are the lyrics to another song I wrote on this subject of feeling 'overwhelmed'. I had just watched the movies...THE 11th HOUR and AVATAR and they threw me into a low place. This song was very cathartic for me. Maybe it can be a life preserver for others.

THE WAILING WALL
Words & Music Donna Stjerna Jan 16th 2010

I feel like a prayer scribbled on a piece of paper
crammed into a tiny crevice in the Wailing Wall
How can I keep my words from falling on deaf ears?
Is anybody listening? My voice seems small.
I feel like a boy with his thumb in the dike
holding back a river of fear...we've done so much damage
to our fragile planet...I can't hold back my tears.

CHORUS
So I huddle in the corner, curl up in a cozy blanket
Close my eyes, forgetting everything
For a little while I need to give in to the crying
Acknowledge all the pain and suffering
and THEN......get back up again.

I feel like the very list Passenger Pidgeon
Carrying a message to the world...or a Bald Eagle
scavenging for food, when it used to be the symbol
of the flag unfurled...remember as a kid
when you fell off your bike, bumped your head
cried & cried...Mama picked you up-kissed away the hurt
made you get back up and ride.     CHORUS

Rap Talking Part
I'm a Polar Bear standing on the edge of thin ice
not knowing which way to turn
I'm a Toucan perched on the edge of the forest
watching the canopy burn...
I'm a Pelican diving into Gulf waters
feathers oily and black
I can no longer hide my head in the sand
Time is running out fast!

I fell like I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve
Raw and unprotected...I can watch it bleed
bent and broken, I've been down on my knees
The weight of the world, pressing down on me
I know sometimes...a good hard cry
I just what I need to do...SO if you're feeling
what I've been feelin'...here's my advice to you...

Huddle in the corner, curl up in a cozy blanket
Close your eyes, forgetting everything
For a little while you need to give in to the crying
Acknowledge all the pain and suffering
and THEN......get back up again.

Obama Coal Miner

Dear President Obama,

I LOVE BIRDS!  My partner and I are avid birders. We have the honor of teaching at a summer camp for 11 & 12 year olds every summer. It is an Audubon ecology camp and it is a powerful thing to help inspire kids to get out in nature and away from TV and computers.

In our travels, we find it odd that many habitats that we visit are missing bird species that we would expect to see.  We also participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count and year after year we log which birds we see in specific locations.  The numbers of many species are WAY DOWN.  Many birds such as the Red Headed Woodpecker and Bobwhite Quail have almost vanished here in our area, they used to be fairly common in the right habitat.



The loss of many species of birds, bees, frogs and other creatures is largely due to Climate Change. Scientists have shown this to be a fact.  I think that birds (and frogs & bees) are the CANARY IN THE COAL MINE.  They are much more sensitive to environmental changes than we humans are.
Coal miners, traditionally...would bring a cage with a canary into the mines. If the canary died they knew it was time to get out of the mine because the air was tainted and lethal.

We need to heed the loss of these beings and realize they are giving us a WARNING. 

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Letter Writer

Dear President Obama,

I've sent over 26 original collages and handwritten letters so far and have not gotten an obligatory 'form letter' yet.

Of course, I don't expect YOU to write a reply because you need to be doing the important work of saving the planet, not writing letters to every Tom, Dick and Worried Mom!  YEAH.

But on Earth Day this year, we are getting HUNDREDS (if not thousands) of kids from elementary schools in NW Arkansas to write you an Earth Day letter with a drawing of planet Earth!

These pieces will be hung in an Art Gallery for viewing and there will be a CONCERT FOR THE EARTH to go with the celebration. The next day we are going to ail them all to you.

For the KIDS, this project is sort of like writing a letter to SANTA! They want to KNOW that their message has been heard (thus a reply).

I'm curious...how many workers are on staff to sort and read the millions of letters you must get every day? Do the same people view my daily offerings?  (HI...if this is YOU)

I would LOVE to have a letter from the White House to post with all the letters on Earth Day for the KIDS sake.  (It can be a form letter, that's OK by me)  Thanks Bunches.

Earthfully yours,
One Worried Mom

Obama Spaceman

Dear President Obama,

I'm always amazed that we can put a man on the moon but we can't create a vehicle that doesn't pollute our planet!  That is one of my favorite rants.

A conversation that erupts in groups now and then about this subject is the notion that MANY HEALTHY car inventions have come down the pike only to be bought out by big oil money.

Not sure if this is fact but it sure seems plausible, we personally know several folk musician who are touring the country with 'veggie wagons' (vans outfitted with engines that run on spent french fry oil from McDonalds and such).  

One of our favorite documentaries of modern times is WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?  It poses many unanswerable questions  and allows us to draw our own conclusions.  BUT if it is TRUE we can build a better car...one that doesn't require the burning of coal or fracking, maybe solar run...I believe that would be the BIGGEST STEP FOR MANKIND!  America could step into this new frontier FIRST!!!  Be the FIRST to create a totally GREEN automobile that is AFFORDABLE for all folks. (Remember when the VW bug first hit the scene...a car for the PEOPLE.)

LETS GO WHERE NO MAN HAS DARED TO GO!

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Hmmmmmm

Dear President,

We (Americans and people of the WORLD) are standing with you at the crossroads. Which way do we go?

The choices you make now effect the future so profoundly.  It was interesting that we happened to be performing in Switzerland on the night that Bush got elected for the 2nd time.  The sentiment from the Swiss in the room was sadness that they had NO SAY in that choice. Folks said that...even though he is 'America's' president, the decisions he makes have huge impacts on the rest of the world, especially since America is SO POWERFUL and INFLUENTIAL!!!

Standing at this crossroads for the future of power PLEASE choose wisely. Make choices that don't harm this precious planet. Make choices that ensure a healthy future for our children and grandchildren.

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Bulldozer

Dear President Obama,

My partner and I are on the board of the Ozark Chinquapin Chestnut Foundation. These trees were one of the most important food sources for both animals and humans. A blight took them out in the 1950's.  This organization is working hard to bring them back into our ecosystem.

We were just at the annual meeting and I was reminded that in the early 1900's almost ALL the trees in the Ozark Mountains were cut down for Railroad ties and such. In the Missouri Ozarks there is a small stand of Shortleaf Pines still surviving that massacre. We are going to visit them next week. Folks call them the WHISPERING PINES.  I wonder what they are whispering?  I bet they are saying, "Never let this happen again."

When I see pictures of the deforestation in the rainforests I just want to hang my head and cry, those trees are our LUNGS!  We should not be clear cutting one of our most PRECIOUS resources...TREES!  While creating this collage, I thought of the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi. Here are some of the words to jog your memory, what an amazing song. 

BIG YELLOW TAXI
Joni Mitchell

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot SPOT
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
'Til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you've got
'Til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Hey farmer, farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But LEAVE me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
'Til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Obama against Bullies

Dear Mr. President,

Please don't let the BIG BULLIES talk you into going along with the Keystone XL Pipeline. This pipeline will cut through America's HEARTLAND and put people and wildlife at risk from toxic oil spills, polluted water and MORE!

You did great by REJECTING the 1st permit for this risky project but I understand that TransCanada has resubmitted and a final decision is at hand. YIKES.

The National Wildlife Federation is working hard to stop this horror. I have a question for you.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA TO WATCH THE MIGRATION OF SANDHILL CRANES?????

It is one of the MOST beautiful sights to behold on this whole planet. Right now, in springtime, tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes are stopping over there. Before you sign ANYTHING...go visit and see the phenomenon with your own eyes and heart!

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Flintstone

Dear President Obama,

I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I just heard on NPR yesterday that you are heavily investing in electric car technology! I applaud you!

I adore the Flintstones and their rock cars that are powered by their FEET! Wish we could all drive Flintstone cars. (Tee Hee)

I just read a letter in the latest Sierra Club magazine. It basically said that- YES, electric cars are MUCH better than gas guzzlers but they still require coal or nuclear plants to produce the power. we are merely trading one problem for another in the long run.

This is a step in the right direction because when we get the WIND and SOLAR technology 'fine tuned' - cars will already be 'on board' with electricity and will just need what ever conversion is necessary to convert them.

YOU ROCK! Keep moving in this POSITIVE direction.

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Fever

Dear President Obama,

Have you ever had a FEVER? When folks hear that the planet is warming a FEW degrees they don't understand that it is much like when WE get a fever.

I've heard folks say, "What's a few degrees in either direction? Here in Arkansas it can change several degrees in an HOUR. No biggie!"
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tell them MOTHER EARTH HAS A FEVER.

When your temperature rises to 99 degrees, you start feeling a bit puny, but still go about your business. At 100 degrees, you slow down a bit and consider taking off work. At 101 degrees, you climb into bed. At 102 degrees, you have chills and feel TERRIBLE! 103 degrees is DANGEROUS, call the doctor! 
That is just a FEW degrees but it can be lethal to let your temp go that high. Same with the Earth, our planet is ILL and needs to get to the emergency room PRONTO!

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Vegetarian

Dear President Obama,

Kudos to the First Lady for her work creating awareness and better food choices for children in schools.  We perform in school cafeterias almost every day and although some sport a salad bar, it is rare that we find a vegetarian main course option. (Sometimes cheese pizza or mac n cheese).

Becoming a Vegetarian or Vegan is an AMAZING way to help the environment. Land degradation and overgrazing is a huge problem. 30% of the Earth's land is devoted to raising livestock.  This translates to more and more forest and habitat destruction.
Rainforests are being cut down at an ALARMING rate to gaze cattle.

It also takes A LOT of water to raise meat. It takes far more grain to produce 1 lb. of beef than it does to feed a handful of people.

A Chicago University study found that switching to a Vegetarian diet was MORE effective in reducing your carbon footprint than driving a PRIUS!

Maybe if we all explored going MEATLESS even ONE DAY a week it would help. Maybe schools could implement VEGGIE WEDNESDAY (or whichever day) to start educating kids about the benefits of a vegetarian diet both environmentally and health wise.

Maybe Michelle can make this topic a part of her overall program?  Let's save the world one carrot at a time!

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Artist

-->

Dear President Obama,

Ohhh  NO...I be Obama knows how to spell PROCRASTINATE! (Error on collage, sorry)

We can’t PROCRASTINATE any longer when it comes to taking care of climate change issues.  We created this problem and it is time to find CREATIVE solutions!

We need to get out our painting box and explore new colors and draw outside the lines.  I love the Ted Talks programs, so many people exploring and discovering ways to clean up this mess we are in and PAINT A NEW REALITY. 

Another book that I love is called Blessed Unrest. It talks about the grassroots groups all over the globe that are doing amazing things UNDERGROUND, we don’t see all the positive work that is going on, in the news.  The news only paints a picture of all the negative things happening (which there are many) but I hope that like ‘the straw that broke the camels back’…all these great works by all these groups will culminate in a masterpiece!

Let’s paint a picture of the Earth with forest greens & bright sky blues and erase all the black smog and pollution from our creation!

Sincerely,

One Worried Mom

Obama Captain of the Ship

-->

Dear Captain Obama,

I love this quote by Martin Luther King Jr., “We did not all come over on the same ship, but we are all in the same boat!”

Wow, that is powerful!  My great grandparents came over on a ship from Finland. I love that this is a land of immigrants, a melting pot of cultures.  Even though I am American born and bred, my roots extend back to Scandinavia.  This boat called PLANET EARTH holds us ALL…Europeans, Africans, Asians, South Americans, Australians and our boat is listing.  It is taking on water!

The captain never abandons his ship, he’ll go down with it if he has to.  He will do everything in his power to keep the ship from sinking.

I think of you as our Captain…there are many ‘captains’ and crew steering this earth ship and they need to work together to keep it on course and sailing fine!

I was feeling rather down the other day, my alter ego ‘worried mom’ was sinking.  I wrote this song and it inspired this collage and letter.  Here are the lyrics:

 

SAIL AWAY

Words & Music Donna Stjerna March 2013

Tides are turning- woods are burning

My neighbor built a tornado shelter down the street

My compost pile- caught on fire

Hottest summer on record, unquenchable heat

The ice last winter made the branches splinter

So we piled ‘em up….like bird nests on the curb

Nobody’s listening to the North Wind whispering

Everything is so absurd

                                   

I wanna sail away,   I wanna sail away

We’re speeding down a mountain-Driving like a madman    

Speedometer on the dash- 105

We know what’s coming, we see the warnings

But ignore all the signs

We’re gonna swerve, when we hit the curve

Where the rocks are pouring down like rain

But if we slowed down, way on down

The outcome could change.

I wanna sail away,   I wanna sail away

The captain don’t abandon his ship he stays right at the helm

I’m gonna do the best I can…even though- I feel OVERWHELMED

So I’m gonna build me…a pirate boat

So I can float when the teardrops fall

It’s gonna help me stay the course,  help me through it all

It’ll be my anchor- my safe harbor…

Just like a…lighthouse in the dark

We need to listen to the North Wind whispering

And follow our HEART.

                                               

I wanna sail away,   I wanna sail away

Obama with Polar Bear

Dear President Obama,

I looked on Google for cartoons about global warming and there were millions of jokes about Polar Bears sitting on slivers of glacier and boo-hooing about the ice caps melting away.

I realize that when things are serious, it often helps to poke fun and make jokes to lighten things up. I totally appreciate that, but this is really NO LAUGHING MATTER!

The Polar Bear has become the 'poster child' of climate change...I think he is the canary in the coal mine! (Coal Mine-no pun intended)

One of my best friends is crazy about Polar Bears, she collects them and has zillions. We call her Queen of the Polar Bears. She dreams of going to Churchill, Canada some day and seeing them in person. I hope they are still around so she can fulfill her dream.  This blog specially for HER!

This little picture of the Polar Bear perched on a tiny piece of ice is SO touching to me...I can't get it out of my head.  I hope it keeps rolling around in yours too!                                                             SAVE THE POLAR BEARS!

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Baseball Player

Dear President Obama,

HIT ONE FOR THE HOME TEAM!  I think that we Americans are often TOO patriotic. We like to spout that America is #1, like it's some sort of contest or sport. I think we need to become patriotic about the WHOLE PLANET!!!!!

The world is getting smaller and smaller due to the Internet. I'm always shocked when I see photos of come remote village in Borneo or along the Amazon, with people wearing tee shirts with NIKE logos on them, Yikes.

Sportsmanship is about being a team player, working TOGETHER, being part of the whole. When will we begin to think of this Earth as belonging to ALL humanity and creatures equally? When will we start working TOGETHER, sharing and caring for our precious, limited resources?


LET'S STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND HIT ONE FOR THE HOME TEAM---PLANET EARTH!
(and the crowd goes wild)

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom
aka Donna Stjerna

Obama Decision Maker

Dear President Obama,

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions! I can't even begin to imagine all the intense decisions you have to make EVERY day. I'll bet you often feel like you have an angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other. (Of course those represent you conscience) There must be a constant tug-0-war going on between those 2 characters.

One voice is saying, "Drill those Tar Sands!" and the other is saying, "No way! that will be a disaster for the environment."

One voice says, "Fracking is great, it will reduce our dependency on foreign oil!"  The other voice says, "Yes, but at what expense? It's not worth it- we need to find a better way."

I see the worried look on your face, Mr. President...it must be difficult to have to make these choices. The decisions I make on a daily basis have nothing to do with life and death issues (at least at present). My heart goes out to you and I hope you choose wisely.

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Folk Singer

Dear President Obama,

Music has always been a way to get folks to listen to social/political messages. Music and songs can touch people in places that mere words can't reach.

Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and modern songwriters like Roy Zimmerman come to mind as well as all the young people that are using their voices such as Rage Against the Machine, just to name a few.

I too write songs of change and it is a HUGE part of my activism work...but often I feel like a song just isn't enough these days. I wish I had a protest sign as big as a skyscraper to march up to the White House with! I wish I could fly an airplane with a banner that is miles long, to make my voice heard...but alas, all I can do is write and sing my little songs, often preaching to the choir. I can send my collages to you, hoping beyond hope that you actually read them and they touch some nerve.
Mr. President, YOU CAN FLY THAT BANNER for us...YOU CAN HOLD UP THAT ENORMOUS PROTEST SIGN, you can be the voice of change that helps to heal this wounded world. You can be the voice for all us WORRIED MOMS!

I'm enclosing a copy of our MOUTHPEACE CD. The 3rd song is called THE LITTLE FOLK SONG. It is a song written from the perspective of a Little Folk Song who wants his voice to be heard. I thought it went well with this collage I'm sending to you.  Enjoy!

Here are the Lyrics:

THE LITTLE FOLK SONG
Words & Music Donna Stjerna

The little folk song wanted to be heard

but no one would listen to his radical words

so the little folk song adapted to the world

and threw away his peace sign.

Then the little folk song began to sing

only songs about relationships and funny things

cause everyone was finally listening to the little folk song.

But it broke his spirit and it clipped his wings

to never, ever sing about important things

he could feel himself homogenizing into the pop culture.

Well, the little folk song played it safe

he never, ever sang songs about social change

only songs about dogs, cars and trains and such.

Then the little folk song began to cry

“Oh, where’d I go wrong and why, oh why,

did I sell my soul for a pot of gold and a record label?”

When the world around was raging with war,

but no but no one seemed to want to sing about it no more,

the little folk song said “It’s time to get back to the drawing board”

His songs were great, they cut to the core

but no one seemed to want to listen to him no more

he was dropped from his record label….like a hot potato.

But the little folk song didn’t give a flip

he started singing like his life depended on it…

songs against the WAR and for the environment!

Well, the moral of the story goes like this

if you’re a little folk song always do your best,

speak your mind swim against the tide….for the love of it

Cause you’re a little folk songs…you’re a little folk song

You’re a little folk song!

                                           

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Spiderman

Dear President Obama,

I LOVE this letter from Chief Seattle, the thought that we are all strands in the Web of Life (see below) is profound. Often humans think they are the center of the universe and that nature is there for our USAGE and the taking. In the BIG PICTURE, we are no more important than any other creature on this Earth!

Many of the threads in the web are broken...we need you to be the Spider Man and help mend those severed strands! One of the most amazing nursery rhymes is Itsy Bitsy Spider. That little spider is SO persistent; he keeps trying and climbing up to his goal no matter what happens! We need to be like that spider to heal this planet.

EXCERPTS from CHIEF SEATTLE'S LETTER

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the Earth is our mother? What befalls the Earth befalls all the sons (and daughters) of the Earth.

This we know: the Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the Earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the Web of Life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to HIMSELF!

Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the Eagle be? Gone!

When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forest still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this EARTH as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it.

As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This Earth is precious to us, It is also precious to you.  One thing we know, no man, be he Red Man or White Man, can be apart. We are ALL brothers after all.

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom

Obama Prince Charming

Dear President Obama,

This collage features my adorable Godchild who is an artist/poet/dancer/actress and all around amazing child.

We went to visit her last year in California and took her to the beach. She kept pointing out the Tsunami Evacuation Route signs. They deeply disturbed her and she asked lots of questions about how probable it would be for a Tsunami to hit southern California.

Of course I can't answer that for her. Growing up in California myself, I had never even heard of a Tsunami...until recent years.

Poking around the net, I learned that Tsunamis are more frequent than in the past. The same holds true for hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms...etc.

In January, Bill Moyers had a very knowledgeable guest named Anthony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. (He oughta be on your staff).  Here is a loose version of the metaphor he gave, it made sense to me.

Imagine you are barreling down a mountain road at 100 mph ignoring all the signs that warn: DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD or FALLING ROCKS or CAUTION LANDSLIDE and if you don't SLOW DOWN, you will be toast! BUT IF you heed the signs and slow WAY DOWN...you may still get hit by some falling rocks but it might not be a total disaster.

We ALL want to have a Fairy Tale ending and live HAPPILY EVER AFTER...but we need to start heeding those 'Tsumani signs'.  You are my Godchild's PRINCE CHARMING. Please make PROTECTING the Earth your priority!

Sincerely,
One Worried Mom