Medicine Wheel, a Native American sacred site and National Historic Landmark in Wyoming
Wonders & Promises from the Ring of Fire, Lake Baikal, the Bones of the Aborigines & 100 Species of Bat Within Two & A Half Acres in the Amazon
By Richard Power
Despite humanitarian crises and crimes against humanity in Somalia, Iraq, the Congo, Darfur and Burma; despite the accelerating pace of destructive climate change, despite the multiple sustainability crises (i.e., water, food and energy), despite the deepening chasm between the poor and the rich, this planet, and the universe in which it whirls, is full of wonder and promise.
The goddess Pele is a beautiful, powerful and dangerous goddess. She lives within the Ring of Fire.
Currently, she is dancing along its Western edge from Chile to Alaska:
The Llaima volcano, one of Chile's most active, erupted again on Saturday, sending a stream of lava down its slope and spewing a long plume of ash, authorities said.
At the same time, the Chaiten volcano rumbled once again and could be preparing for another eruption, according to a Chilean volcanologist.
Recent seismic activity and ash emissions from Chaiten could lead to the "worst-case scenario" for reactivation, said Jorge Munoz of Chile's geological service. (International Herald Tribune, 7-27-08)
Okmok volcano's alert level went up to code red-warning status early Friday afternoon.
The volcano blew more ash into the air at midday.
Pilots reported ash to 40,000 feet, with satellite data confirming the cloud.
Winds are carrying the ash southeast. Some ash-fall could occur around the immediate area and on the eastern portions of Umnak Island.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory says lava or mud flows could also occur in the caldera.
The Aleutian arc volcano has been restless since it resumed activity earlier this month. (KTUU, 7-25-08)
Lake Baikal, located in southern Siberia, is the world's deepest body of fresh water.
It holds one-fifth of the planet's fresh water reserves. It also contains 1,700 species of plant and animal, many of them found nowhere else.
UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site.
Russian scientists are descending into Lake Baikal in two mini-submarines to explore its depths (approximately 1,700 meters) for the first time. (ITAR-TASS, 7-27-08)
What will they find?
In the Northern Territory of Australia, and perhaps more critically in Washington, D.C., powerful healing magic is being conjured:
A group of Aboriginal elders on Saturday left Australia for the United States to bring home the remains of 33 ancestors from the Smithsonian Institute, the first Aboriginal remains to be returned from the United States.
Aborigines have fought for decades for the return ofancestral remains from overseas universities and museums wherethey have been taken for scientific and anthropological studies.
Aborigines have inhabited Australia for some 45,000 years and have the world's longest living culture. They believe that their spirit can not settle until it is reunited with theirland, which they regard as their mother. Eco-Diaries.es, 7-26-08
In the Amazon, scientists have discovered over 100 species of bats co-existing within a few "ha" (i.e., approximately two and a half acres) of rainforests in the Ecuadorian region of the Amazon:
“The forest at Tiputini Biodiversity Station is known as one of the global biodiversity hotspots with extremely high numbers of plant, insect and bird species” explains Dr. Christian Voigt (IZW, Berlin). “We expected a high number of bat species when we started our study, but we were amazed ourselves by our final estimates. This forest is just super diverse in life forms, including bats. ... The forest is like a large city with people of various professions, some are specialised and some are generalists. The ecological role of bats in the forest is quite similar. Among bats we observed dietary specialists and generalists” states Voigt. (Science Daily, 7-16-08)
The bat is a strong and mysterious totem animal.
There are profound messages in that two and a half acres of rainforest.
Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.
Bats, Pele, Lake Baikal, Amazon, Volcanos,Ecuador, Aboriginals,Australia, Sustainability, Russia, Chile, Alaska, Richard Power, Words of Power