Tuesday 2 May 2013
Letter # 61
Dear President Obama,
I read recently about some invasive chives at a nearby pond. Having read this, I noticed chives in my lawn in the backyard – just a few here and there – certainly not invasive. But since the definition of a weed is a plant out of place, I dug up a few tiny bulbs from the lawn and transplanted them to three different flower beds with different amounts of sun. I like to cook with chives so would be happy for a group to naturalize in a corner somewhere. We’ll see how they do.
Transplanting and re-arranging nature is fine on a small scale, but the carbon our factories have been pouring into the atmosphere for 100 years, we now find is causing all sorts of disruptions and if left unchecked will cause great harm. We know how dangerous greenhouse gases are. So please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline Now. It’s very important for the health of the planet.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Wild Chive Harvester
Wed 3 May, 2013
Letter # 62
Dear President Obama,
Bronislaw Placik, Wettbewerbskrippe 1969
Museum Europaischer Kulturen, Berlin
In Jan 2006 I went to Berlin and was fortunate enough to see an exhibit of Polish creches (They are called Krippen). These amazing constructions, some are 3 ft high and more, are made out of candy wrappers and foil (think Hershey’s kisses …) and toothpicks and cardboard – and then entered in competitions between villages. I send you one as an example of REUSE and art made from cast offs. We need to be mindful not to waste our planet’s resources. These fragile, intricate structures are difficult to make and remind us of the intricate interplay of clouds and currents, wind and water which create our delicately balanced and human-friendly climate on planet Earth. We are near to toppling that delicate balance and we do so at our peril. Our climate is fragile, please protect it. Please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Admirer of Candy Wrapper Art
Sat 4 May 2013
Letter #63
Dear President Obama,
This Kandinsky postcard hangs near my desk. It’s called Composition VIII from 1923 and the colors are much brighter and nicer than this. It hangs there to remind me that little things matter. You can make beauty out of a life made up of small things going off in all directions. I’m sure as President you feel this way too as you juggle so many tasks. So I write to you today to say that the Keystone X L Pipeline may be a small thing compared to wars in Syria and Afghanistan. But by saying NO to KXL you add one more small beautiful action to your life, to my life and the life of the planet. Please say NO today.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Kandinsky Appreciator
Sun 5 May 2013
Letter #64
Dear President Obama,
I am more aware of spring this year than I have been in many years. That’s because I moved across the country this winter and have never seen spring in this new backyard of mine. There are flowers I recognize and many I don’t and as I look around at the backyard trees on my block, I don’t know what I’m looking at. Well that big one is probably a maple because it has 5-pointed leaves and heck, this IS New England. But what’s that one in the corner that just leafed out ? A few leaves were low enough for me to pick and I used my Tree-Finder Book to identify it : an American Elm. I love the Tree Finder (by Mary Watts, copyright 1963, 1991). I used one as a kid in Chicago. It takes you step by step to the answer – and this little book covers 300 trees. I wish there were a tool like this to educate people on climate change and greenhouse gases. But since that’s not possible, I’ll just keep writing letters. Please stop the Keystone XL Pipeline. It’s bad for the planet and bad for the trees.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Tree Finder
Mon 6 May 2013
Letter #65
Dear President Obama,
There has been a helicopter hovering/circling nearby for the past half hour. It creates an insistent sort of noise that I find difficult to ignore. I wish that climate change were like that helicopter – and would insist that we pay attention. People are pretty good at responding to sudden disasters, but we are not at all good at working on important issues that don’t flagrantly attack our 5 senses. So I write to you again today, a pretty, sunny, cool-ish spring day to ask you to Please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline. The evidence of dangerous climate instability is mounting and we must act now. I urge you to hear the insistent voices of climate activists, the insistent voices of scientists, the insistent voices of future generations, the insistent voices of truth. Please do it NOW. You can stop that pipeline and I insist that you do so.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Insistent noise-maker
Tues 7 May 2013
Letter # 66
Dear President Obama,
I joined the Harvest Co-op yesterday. It’s a local grocery store that is a co-op and stocks lots of organic and local food. By buying local we can support local small farms and businesses and nudge the country towards healthier, less factory-food practices. If I get a rebate at the end of the year, I’ll donate it to a local food bank. So many people in the world don’t have the time or means to choose what food they eat. they eat what they can get. They also don’t have the time or means to worry about climate change. They just scrape by. But millions of them will be affected by climate change, by floods and droughts. They are too poor to use much fossil fuel, but they will be the first ones hurt by climate disruptions. We need to cooperate more, governments, countries, ethnicities, to battle climate change. And we, the rich nations, need to step up and set an example. Cooperation and sharing would go a long way towards solving problems that concern all of us, globally. So in the spirit of cooperation, and taking a stance against corporate hegemony, please STOP the Keystone XL pipeline.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Co-op Member
Wed 8 May 2013
Letter # 67
Dear President Obama,
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
This is a postcard of the roof of the reading room of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, built by Henri Labrouste in 1867. There is a Labrouste exhibit in New York and the MOMA now, and I bought the book. But it does not include this lovely view of that glorious and quiet room. I was lucky enough to use this room frequently one year in Paris and you could almost hear the whirring brains all around – or so it seemed to me. It is customary to NOT speak out in a library and I think it is also customary, or shyness, or lack of time that causes people to NOT speak out to their leaders about issues they care about deeply. So please say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline and consider all the people who care deeply about climate damage but who do not speak out !
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Quiet Library User – Shhhhhh
Thurs 9 May 2013
Letter # 68
Dear President Obama,
There was a terrilbe piece of non-reporting in the NY Times today on the Keystone XL Pipeline. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/business/energy-environment/a-call-for-quid-pro-quo-on-keystone-pipeline-approval.html?_r=0
It seems like someone on your staff wanted to stir the pot and suggest you would APPROVE the pipeline and then give the eco-activists a consolation prize. I won’t speculate on the many speculations in the piece.
The science is clear. If you care about your grandchildren, you will STOP the Keystone XL Pipeline. Please stop it now.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Believer in Scientific Evidence
Fri 10 May 2013
Letter #69
Dear President Obama,
I used a Zip-car yesterday to go get some groceries. I do some shopping walking, but every 10 days or so I get a zip-car for an hour so I can buy a bit more and stock up on drinks and heavier staples. Zip-car is a great idea for urban areas – because parking is so difficult and most people here don’t have garages or off-street parking. It also works because the « T », the subway, provides pretty decent public transport. I’m a big fan of public transportation because it carries lots of people where they need to go, while using lots less fuel than individual cars. Reducing our carbon usage here on planet Earth is a big job that includes lots of different pieces. One piece is saying NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline – that’s what you can do. Please do it now. It’s important for us all and makes an important statement by the US President.
Thank you.
Susan J. Ringler, Zip-car User
Sat 11 May 2013
Letter #70
Dear President Obama,
Well it’s front page news. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/science/earth/carbon-dioxide-level-passes-long-feared-milestone.html
CO2 has passed 400 ppm and you still haven’t said NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline. Please do it now. Be a leader. Your grand children will thank you.
I thank you too.
Susan J. Ringler, 350.org Member
