Solitude of the cemetery; a place for soul-searching

Posted on 02/05/2014 by J. Morris Hicks

We’re all transients here and have limited time to make a difference.

Since moving to Stamford, Connecticut a few months ago, one of my favorite walking routes is through the nearby Woodland Cemetery in my neighborhood of Harbor Point.

I snapped this photo two months ago in Woodlawn Cemetery.

I snapped this photo two months ago in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Occasionally, I stop and read the names and dates on the markers. Yesterday, I examined the markers of a couple who died in their seventies in 1995 and 2000 respectively. Each marker contained the deceased’s name along with the spouse’s name beneath. That is when I was inspired to write this blog.

My informal survey in the cemetery over the past few months indicates that the vast majority of people around here die in their seventies or younger, with only twenty percent living into their eighties or beyond. Turning 69 in a few weeks, that got me to thinking.

Life is fleeting. In another fifty years, with the exception of my grandchildren, almost everyone that I know today will be dead. That includes the rich, the famous and the powerful—all of them. None of us are getting out of here alive. But what about my six grandchildren?

Three boys and three girls: Peyton, Collin, Andrew, Cooper, Violet and Evelyn (due on February 18)

God willing, they should all be alive fifty years from now and very well may make it to 2100 or beyond. And what kind of life will they have? Unless many deadly trends get reversed in the next five or ten years, it saddens me to think about the extreme hardships they may have to endure. As such, I am committed to doing all that I can to ensure that they will enjoy the rich quality of life that I have enjoyed for all of my years on this planet.

The Woodland Cemetery in my Harbor Point neighborhood.

The Woodland Cemetery keeps reminding me that none of us are getting out of here alive.

A little background. In July of 2012, an article about global warming in the New York Times caught my attention (link below). In it, Mark Bittman described how it was now almost certain that parts of every coastal city in the world (where 70% of humans live) will be underwater by the year 2100. And it gets more certain every single day that we don’t start taking unprecedented, RADICAL measures to mitigate the worst effects of climate change before it’s too late.

Global warming could be the single biggest problem ever faced by the human species.

Global warming could be the single biggest problem ever faced by the human species. This is the photo that appeared with that article.

That article got me to thinking, “My grandchildren will probably still be alive in 2100.” And that sobering realization inspired me to write the blog entitled Forget saving the planet. Think great grandchildren (Link below).

Since then, I have written many blogs about sustainability, always making the point that we can forget “saving the planet;” she’s seen mass extinctions before and will be just fine. It’s our civilization and our future as a species that are in jeopardy.

My Challenge to You. Do your own homework until you are among the most “environmentally aware” people in your community. And that means making sure that you learn about the number one driver of global warming—something you won’t learn from your favorite environmental group that you’ve been supporting for the last twenty years. Check out all the links posted below; then do your own research and determine if you think I’m right about the most important topic (BY FAR) in the history of humankind. 

Why don’t the environmental biggies tell us the truth about global warming? Because the number one driver is our massive appetite for animal based foods—and it would be a “political loser” for your favorite environmental group to be perceived by their membership as being “anti meat.” As Michael Pollan said in a recent interview (See Titanic blog below), “It would hurt with their fundraising.”

GreenPeace and the Sierra Club, with millions of supporters, are just two of the large groups not telling us the truth about the environmental impacts of our food choices.

I am not picking on this one; the fact is that NONE of the large environmental groups are telling us the truth.

Personally, I find this bit of information disgusting, disgraceful and possibly fraudulent. The giant organizations that we support with our money and depend on to protect our environment—are not even telling us how we can easily avoid the worst disasters in the 200,000-year history of humankind.

Because it might hurt their fundraising, they choose NOT to tell us that all we have to do is change what we eat—to save our planet, our civilization and ultimately, humankind.

A fable of lost opportunity. Once you learn the truth about global warming and many other impending global disasters—that are driven by our food choices— you will know what to do. But will you have the courage to do it? Maybe this little fable that takes place fifty years from now will help you decide.

February 5, 2064 — Holden, MA. The six grandchildren of deceased sustainability writer and activist, J. Morris Hicks, all got together here recently for a family reunion. Most of them were not in very good shape; they all began to lack adequate clothing, shelter, food and water several years ago, but they have all managed to stay alive; the oldest now 63.

You see, the world began to feel the worst effects of global warming and water scarcity about ten years ago and things started to change very quickly. Entire nations were submerged, leaving their millions of people to become climate migrants and invade other countries—and that’s just a tiny glimpse of the unprecedented suffering most humans are now facing everyday. Not a single one of Hicks’s family is living a joyous and satisfying life these days.

One night, his oldest grandson, Collin (now 62), asked why this all had to happen and whether his parents and grandparents could have done anything to prevent the end of the modern civilization and quality of life that they all enjoyed themselves.

"If we eat the way that promotes the best health for ourselves, we also promote the best health for the planet." ---T. Colin Campbell, PhD

GranBuddy always said, “It’s like a blinding flash of the obvious, we’re eating the wrong food.”

One of his granddaughters, Violet (54), chimed in and said, “GranBuddy and Uncle Jason knew exactly what was about to happen and even wrote about it in this old book that I found in my mom’s attic last year while I was looking for old photos. I also found this copy of a blog he wrote about us fifty years ago today.”

“Apparently GranBuddy spent his final years writing and speaking about this topic until he died at the ripe old age of 105 in 2050. I guess not enough people listened to him.”

Note: I should point out that the Hicks grandchildren have fared no worse than most in the USA. Further, the collapse of civilizations around the world in recent years has been suffered mightily by billions of people, the super wealthy and the poor alike. As we have learned in recent years, when your civilization collapses, money doesn’t mean anything.

The Bottom Line. Here’s a question to ponder—one that people may ask your grandchildren at the memorial service following your death.

We have heard that, long before he died, your grandfather knew all about how the world could take decisive steps to avoid the worst effects of global warming, water scarcity, soil erosion and deforestation.

We also heard that he was a man of great means, yet he chose not do everything within his power to awaken the unsuspecting public who were never told that they could save their civilization by simply changing what they were eating.

So, here’s my question. If all that is true, why did he not tell the world the simple truth that we needed to save ourselves—while there was still enough time to make a difference?

Thirty years from now, will your grandchildren be able to say that YOU knew and that YOU did everything in your power to make things right for their future?

My three grandsons at Boston's famous Fenway Park -- Collin (10) Cooper (8) and Andrew (9). It was Cooper's very first trip to this legendary ballpark.

All I’ve got to say is this—DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN—my three grandsons at Fenway Park

Handy 5-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes 2 or 3 minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf page and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info:

Nutrition Certificate

Posted in Activism & Leadership, Sustainability | Tagged | 2 Comments

Food Choices. The primary cause of global warming?

Posted on 02/04/2014 by J. Morris Hicks

Or just the ONLY primary cause that we can change quickly? 

This blog is dedicated to the memory of Robert Goodland, who suffered an untimely death at 74, in December of 2013. Born in England in 1939, educated in Canada, professor in Brazil; his career was all about ecology, most notably, climate change. To my knowledge, this blog contains his last two video appearances and a link to his last published work. Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the U.N. Environment Programme, will speak at his memorial service in Washington, DC on February 27.  For more info, visit Robert’s website. 

Dr. Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, longtime environmental specialists at the World Bank Group, estimated in 2009 that livestock are responsible for at least 51% of human-induced greenhouse gas, and that replacing at least 25% of today’s livestock products with better alternatives by 2017 may be the only pragmatic way to stop further climate change before it’s too late. 

Let’s be clear. We’re talking a GLOBAL reduction of meat calories. With people in China and other developing nations increasing their meat consumption every day, it’s going to take a MASSIVE world-wide effort to accomplish that 25% goal. To be sure, in order to have a ghost of a chance of hitting that minimum target, hundreds of millions of humans must be replacing ALL of their meat-based calories ASAP.

Without a doubt, for any massive global effort to be successful, genuine support of the mainstream media will be required. So let’s take a look at what some of the mainstream folks are saying—people like New York Times columnist, Mark Bittman.

Robert Goodland (1940 to 2014)

Robert Goodland

Less Meat, Less Global Warming. We Could Be Heroes. That was the title of Bittman’s column NY Times article published on May 15, 2012. In it, Mark cited the works of Goodland and Anhang. Sadly, Dr. Goodland passed away a few weeks ago and I am dedicating this blogpost to him. Here is an excerpt of the Mark Bittman piece that describes his direct correspondence with Goodland:

Five years ago, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization published a report called “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” which maintained that 18 percent of greenhouse gases were attributable to the raising of animals for food. The number was startling.

A couple of years later, however, it was suggested that the number was too small. Two environmental specialists for the World Bank, Robert Goodland (the bank’s former lead environmental adviser) and Jeff Anhang, claimed, in an article in World Watch, that the number was more like 51 percent. It’s been suggested that that number is extreme, but the men stand by it, as Mr. Goodland wrote to me this week: “All that greenhouse gas isn’t emitted directly by animals.  ”But according to the most widely-used rules of counting greenhouse gases, indirect emissions should be counted when they are large and when something can be done to mitigate or reduce them.”

Mark Bittman is clear about what he enjoys eating. But he is consistently confusing when it comes to helping his readers learn about healthy eating.

Mark Bittman

The exact number doesn’t matter. What does is that few people take the role of livestock in producing greenhouse gases seriously enough. Even most climate change experts focus on new forms of energy — which cannot possibly be effective quickly enough or produced on a broad enough scale to avert what may be the coming catastrophe — and often ignore the much easier fix of adjusting our eating habits.

(See link below to this article in the Times.)

Short Video on Global Warming from Robert Goodland. The only way to begin curbing global warming quickly is to address the #1 cause—and that would be livestock. This video explains the simple big picture in less than three minutes.

In it, the narrator talks about the need to replace 25% of our animal-based calories with plant-based. To me, this is a little misleading, because this is a global problem—meaning that we must replace 25% of ALL of the animal calories in the world, not just in the USA. Plus, we know that ALL of the people are not going to comply—for whatever reasons. Right now, for each American going vegan, there are an estimated ten Chinese moving in the other direction.

Quite simply, we must encourage EVERYONE to replace as many of their animal-based as possible—the more the better. Then, we can only hope that the minimum of a 25% global reduction will be exceeded. Eventually, humankind will no longer consume ANY animal-based foods—maybe as early as 2100.

Remembering Robert Goodland. I never had the chance to meet this man personally although we did share an email exchange a few weeks before his death. Also I attended his memorial service in Washington, DC, and met his widow in February of 2014. Today, I want to honor him by providing two videos that were taken just months before his death–by Dr. John McDougall in Santa Rosa, California.

Six Minutes with Robert Goodland—September 2013

During the same weekend in 2013, the following video contains 17 minutes of excerpts from a 90-minute lecture to a live audience at the McDougall Advance Study weekend retreat in Santa Rosa, California.

“Only pragmatic way to curb climate change in time”

Back to the Worldwatch article referenced earlier. Before ending this blog, I want to cite a few excerpts from this exceptional paper. The opening paragraph reads as follows:

Whenever the causes of climate change are discussed, fossil fuels top the list. Oil, natural gas, and especially coal are indeed major sources of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). But we believe that the life cycle and supply chain of domesticated animals raised for food have been vastly underestimated as a source of GHGs, and in fact account for at least half of all human-caused GHGs. If this argument is right, it implies that replacing livestock products with better alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. In fact, this approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations—and thus on the rate the climate is warming—than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.

Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth

Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

Sharing these powerful truths with the world. To me, global warming is the single biggest issue of our generation. Most of the damage has been done during my lifetime (born in 1945) — and powerful steps to mitigate its devastating impacts are URGENTLY needed. We don’t have the twenty years or the $18 trillion to replace fossil fuels with renewables. We only have five or ten years MAX—so we must get started in earnest now.

It will take decades, if not centuries, to make a dent in the other major drivers of global warming, water scarcity, soil erosion and deforestation. But every individual can change what they eat overnight. And if they do, our free market system will deliver the healthy plant-based foods that we’re demanding—as billions of acres of land, now devoted to livestock, are re-forested and returned to nature—once again promoting health, hope and harmony on our planet.

And the greatest of these is harmony, because unless we soon learn to live in harmony with nature, there will be no hope for us or our civilization. And then it won’t really matter how healthy we are as we run out of water & food—and starve to death together. —J. Morris Hicks

As of today, February 4, 2014, the two videos above have each been seen on YouTube around 2,000 times. If they were each seen TWO BILLION times, we’d have something going. So let’s make that happen. Send this blog along to everyone you know and ask them to do the same.

I attended an Advanced Study Weekend at Dr. McDougall's California facility in 2007---the same site where Whole Foods CEO John Mackey brought a large group of his associates.

I attended an Advanced Study Weekend at Dr. McDougall’s California facility in 2007.

Thank you Dr. Mcdougall. A special thanks to my friend John McDougall who provided these priceless videos. It may turn out that they play a prominent role in helping all of us preserve our planet’s ability to sustain us as a species. What could be more important than that?

The following five books and one DVD can be purchased on Amazon for a grand total of less than $60—and will enable you to understand the overwhelming challenges we face—along with the single most-powerful solution of all.

Six-Pack from Hicks—for health, hope & harmony on planet Earth

  1. Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
  2. A life changer for millions, including James Cameron. Forks Over Knives DVD 
  3. An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell; the primary book that influenced Bill Clinton to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet.
  4. What have we done to our planet? Full Planet, Empty Plates by Lester Brown
  5. A horrifying wake-up call for leaders. TEN BILLION by Dr. Stephen Emmott
  6. Food choices are the primary cause of our environmental problems, yet our world leaders, scientists & experts are Comfortably Unaware, by Richard Oppenlander.

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes 2 or 3 minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf page and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info:

Nutrition Certificate

Posted in Activism & Leadership, Climate Change | 5 Comments

Global Depletion. The Big Picture. The Solution.

Posted on 02/03/2014 by J. Morris Hicks

In a 90-minute film and a one-hour read

An absolutely beautiful film about the most important topic in the history of humankind---our sustainability as a species.

An absolutely beautiful film about the most important topic in the history of humankind—our sustainability as a species.

Two and one half hours—for your children, for their children, and for the longterm  sustainability of our civilization. Before we can solve the greatest problems humans have ever faced, we must understand the truth about what caused those problems and exactly what we must do to correct them.

I sincerely believe that if everyone understood the terrifying big picture of global depletion as I do, that humankind could quickly get back to living in harmony with Nature. They would quickly understand the simple fact that our civilization cannot continue for much longer without radically changing the way we live.

Both the film and the book featured today do an outstanding job of describing the unprecedented environmental problems that we now face. But neither describes exactly how we must deal with these problems quickly enough to prevent the collapse of our civilization before the end of this century.

September of 2013. Sadly, this powerful book of truth has not been read by nearly enough people.

September of 2013. Sadly, this powerful book of truth has not been read by nearly enough people.

The film excels at painting the visual picture of the kinds of damage that humans are causing but then, at the very end, lulls the audience into thinking that everything is going to be okay. Sadly, the single most powerful step that we humans could take is only mentioned briefly and is somewhat buried amongst twenty other possible initiatives.

On the other hand, the book was designed to simply JOLT the reader into understanding that business as usual is not going to work. Rather, we must make RADICAL changes in the way we live or our civilization is almost certain to collapse.

Please take just two and one half hours to gain a “big picture” understanding of the horror show taking place behind the scenes of our outrageously unsustainable consumption habits. This level of understanding (shared by very few) should leave you ready to learn more about the ONLY viable way out of the mess that we’ve unknowingly created.

First, the 90-minute film, HOME. One of my earliest blogs (February 2011) was about this remarkable film that so beautifully documents how life began on planet Earth four billion years ago and how everything is connected. Beautifully narrated by Glenn Close, she speaks about the fact that, in just the last fifty years, we humans have inflicted more damage on the fragile harmony of Nature than all previous generations of humans combined during our entire 200,000-year existence.

Glenn Close

Glenn Close narrates HOME

As you’re viewing the stark reality of the damage we’ve inflicted, she mentions that we must change these deadly trends within the next ten years or it will be too late. Of course, she said that in 2009, which was five years ago—meaning that as of 2014, we now only have five years left.

The lulling begins during the last fifteen minutes, as she describes many initiatives currently underway that are making the world a better place. As she describes these noble initiatives, one tends to forget the URGENCY that has been described for most of the film.

Like our largest environmental organizations, she never explains the fact that quickly replacing most of our animal-based calories with plant-based calories—would do more to restore our fragile ecosystem than all other possible initiatives combined.

Yesterday, as I watched this film, it seemed to be a slightly different version than the one I saw in 2011. It even told the story of Easter Island that I don’t ever remember seeing. Even if you’ve already seen this film, you need to watch it again. Then, after reading Emmott’s book, you’ll be ready to hear more about the only viable solution.

Click here to watch HOME on YouTube in high definition.

Stephen Emmott BookNext, the one-hour read. To be sure, no one will ever accuse this author of trying to lull you into thinking that everything is going to be okay. No, he lays out the facts in an “easy-to-grasp” format, speaks of radical changes in behavior that are needed to avert the collapse of our civilization, then concludes that he doesn’t think we will make those radical changes soon enough. Hence, he concludes, that “I think we’re F_ _ _ _D.” Yes, those were the last four words of the book.

I disagree and shared my theories with Dr. Emmott when we met in London one month after the book was published. He concurred that a widespread switch to plant-based foods by the most affluent two billion people would have a remarkably positive impact on our environment. Here’s what I posted about this great book on my Store page. 

Dr. Stephen Emmott as he appeared in 2012 Forbes article.

Dr. Stephen Emmott as he appeared in a 2012 Forbes article.

TEN BILLION by Stephen Emmott, PhD. As of late 2013, this is my most recommended book—for people who are interested in learning more about the sustainability of humankind. I recommended it to James Cameron on 9-14-13 and he and wife Suzy read it the next day. I first read about this powerful book in July, 2013; then purchased a Kindle copy when it was published in early September.

Dr. Emmott is a scientist who heads up computational for Microsoft in the UK. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Oxford. Wanting his message to be a wake-up call to leaders everywhere, he paints a bleak (almost hopeless) picture in this book. But I am more optimistic because I see a plant-based solution out of the global mess that he so brilliantly describes. I visited with him in London on 10-9-13 and reviewed my plan with him. He agreed that it was the best plan that he had heard. 

Click here to order on Amazon

You can get the Kindle version for your laptop for $5.99 and can read before dinner tonight.

So what about that “Solution” mentioned in the title?

Well, I have been blogging about it for the last three years, having posted over 800 blogs during that time. I have been told by people who’ve read all of them, that the first two listed below are among the best I have written. Take one more hour and read these dozen blogs, all posted in the six months after SUSTAINABILITY became my #1 topic in July of 2013.

The first two blogs address the ONLY viable course of action that will enable us to avoid the worst effects of global warming, water scarcity, soil erosion and deforestation.

Handy 5-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes 2 or 3 minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf page and also enjoy some great recipes from Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info:

Nutrition Certificate

Posted in Activism & Leadership, Big Picture, Sustainability | Tagged | 1 Comment