30th January 2006

Julia Butterfly Hill made worldwide headlines with a two-year tree-sit to save an ancient California redwood and surrounding old-growth forest from chainsaws - quite a bit longer than Stroud's tree-sitters needed when they saved the trees from destruction by Tesco. Now, six years later, she's still fighting to protect the environment - but from ground-level.
 

Julia Butterfly Hill's extraordinary book, The Legacy of Luna" is about her experiences of tree-sitting. She now talks about disdaining disposables, being a joyous vegan, founding the group Circle of Life, and more.

See article:
http://www.grist.org/comments/interactivist/2006/01/23/hill/index.html?source=weekly
See her website:
http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/
Tree protests continue in Britain:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4647040.stm

Mindfulness in the Marketplace By Julia Butterfly Hill

In the past, human beings understood, acknowledged, and lived according to their sacred, interdependent place in the circle of life. Today, much of humanity is treating our earthly home -- a priceless treasure beyond compare -- like a trash can, or a toxic dumping site, or as something we can dispose of (as if there is such a thing as throwing something away.)

In the industrialised economies, the most basic principle of investment seems to have been overlooked in our dealings with the Earth; we have neglected to plan for the long-term. As consumers in the global marketplace, the collective power of our seemingly small actions is staggeringly large. Most of us, directly or indirectly, consume our own body weight in the natural resources of the Earth every day. We are literally stealing from the future to pay for our lifestyles today. What kind of planetary portfolio of leaving behind for those who come after us?

When we walk into a store filled with products wrapped in plastic, paper, and metal, let us choose to look deeply. As we stand in the brightly lit aisles bulging with stuff, may we behold the trees that were cut to produce wasteful packaging; behold the indigenous cultures pushed to the edge of extinction so that raw materials could be extracted from their land; behold the overwhelming amounts of energy, soil, and water wasted in the process; and behold the less privileged citizens of the world, who, as a result, are unable to enjoy quality food or clean water. Reopening to this awareness of our oneness we will see through the myth of consumption that claims we can fill the void in our hearts and spirits with things .

Instead, let us celebrate filling our lives with the company of loved ones, involving ourselves with our communities, nourishing our bodies with living food made locally, walking the land, embracing all forms of life and practising the mindful art of breathing deeply.

Compassionate consumption is not about sacrificing or giving up things we need. It is about reawakening to the sacred within and around us and celebrating this awareness in every action -- and in every transaction. Our conscious choices change the world. You, dear reader, are a powerful being, a bodhisattva for the Earth, and your actions are the difference.

See more similar pieces at:
http://www.nbo.org.uk/ecology/ecology%20news.htm