Humorous Eco-Inspired Quotes – Part IV: By Some Famous American Television Celebs

I’ll let you be the judge of what’s funny but sometimes when you least expect it – a certain quip from a celebrity catches your breath with its nuanced eco-twist. Here then below is a list of my favorite eco-inspired quotes taken from a lighthearted comedic perspective:

1-“There’s so much plastic in this culture that vinyl leopard skin is becoming an endangered synthetic.” – Lily Tomlin

2-“A two pound turkey and a fifty-pound cranberry-that’s Thanksgiving dinner at Three Mile Island.” – Johnny Carson

3- “That’s the thing about Mother Nature, she really doesn’t care what economic bracket you’re in.” – Whoopi Goldberg

4-“Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.” – George Carlin

5-“According to a survey in this week’s Time magazine, 85% of Americans think global warming is happening. The other 15% work for the White House.” – Jay Leno

6-“It’s hard for the modern generation to understand Thoreau, who lived beside a pond but didn’t own water skis or a snorkel.” – Loudon Wainwright III

7-“Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.” – David Letterman

8-“ Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” – Robin Williams

9-“You know what happens when windmills collapse into the sea? A splash.” – Bill Maher

10- “Yesterday, a group of scientists warned that because of global warming, sea levels will rise so much that parts of New Jersey will be under water. The bad news? Parts of New Jersey won’t be under water.” – Conan O’Brien

11-“Do you really think they have chemical weapons stronger than living next to New Jersey?” – Jon Stewart

12-“Now I know why I haven’t paid any attention to this global warming fad. It makes horrible television.” – Stephen Colbert

13-“Researches at Yale found a connection between brain cancer and work environment. The No. 1 most dangerous job for developing brain cancer? Plutonium hat model.” – Jimmy Fallon

14-“We don’t hate giraffes here, we just put them in their place.” –Craig Ferguson

15- “Stuffed deer heads on walls are bad enough, but it’s worse when they are wearing dark glasses and have streamers in their antlers because then you know they were enjoying themselves at a party when they were shot.” – Ellen DeGeneres

16-“It’s absolutely stupid that we live without an ozone layer. We have men, we’ve got rockets, we’ve got saran wrap – FIX IT!!!” – Lewis Black

Memorable Eco-Inspired Quotes – Part III: By Illustrious Detectives, Master Spies, Mystery Writers, and Crime Novelists

While it’s great to relax and escape into a murder mystery book or a crime novel, most of us take for granted the strange background settings that make the plot and the characters so memorable – until perhaps – we are suddenly startled by an unexpected quip or passage that reveals the mood of the detective or the master spy or even the author himself. Let’s see then how well you know your murder mystery eco trivia?

1-Quote: “As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor.”
What is the name of this illustrious fictional detective, the crime novel featured and the author of this work?

2-Quote: “What’s this bird, this falcon, that everybody’s all steamed up about?”
What is the name of this illustrious fictional detective, the crime novel featured and the author of this work?

3-Quote: “There is a dead cobra over there. Please do me the kindness of having it removed.”
What is the name of this illustrious fictional detective, the murder mystery featured and the author of this work?

4-Quote: “Where would a wise man hide a leaf? In a forest. Where would a wise man hide a cross? In a forest of crosses. We have a forest of crosses ready-made for us. A forest of priests; a black forest, you might say.”
What is the name of this illustrious fictional detective and which notable English novelist invented him?

5-Quote: “The maid was in the garden, Hanging out the clothes;
When down came a blackbird, And pecked off her nose.”
This old English nursery rhyme was featured in what detective story and who was the detective featured in this crime novel?

6-Quote: “From the noise we heard upstairs you’re obviously going on the theory that Mr Noakes was killed by a herd of buffalo.”
What is the name of this illustrious fictional detective, the murder mystery featured and the author of this work?

7-Quote Exchange:
Villain: “A unique feat of engineering, if I may say so. I designed it myself. The glass is convex, ten inches thick, which accounts for the magnifying effect.

Hero: “Minnows pretending they’re whales. Just like you on this island.”
What are the famous names of both the fictional villain and the fictional world-renown spy and who is the author of this work?

8-Quote: “You’re the perfect choice, Toby…With you as his agent, Polyakov has a cover story that really sits up and works. The big three give you the little sealed packets of chickenfeed, and Moscow Centre thinks you’re all theirs. The only problem arises when it turns out you’ve been handing Polyakov the crown jewels, and getting Russian chickenfeed in return. If that’s the case, Toby, you’re going to need some pretty good friends. Like us. Gerald’s a Russian mole, of course.”
What is the name of this illustrious fictional spy, the espionage novel featured and the author of this work?

9-Quote: “A man who lives with nature is used to violence and is companionable with death. There is more violence in an English hedgerow than in the meanest streets of a great city.” What is the real life name of this English Baroness and crime writer?

10- Quote: “…It will always remain my private persuasion that Nature was absorbed in making cabbages when Mrs. Vesey was born, and that the good lady suffered the consequences of a vegetable preoccupation in the mind of the Mother of us all. ”
Who is the English author of this 19th century passage and the name of the novel he published in 1860?

11-Quote: “Come on, Joe (Leaphorn),” Capt. Pinto said. “I know how that theory works and I buy it. Hard, hot wind blowing gets the birds tired of flying. One too many birds land on a limb. Limb breaks off, falls into a stream, diverts water flow, undercuts the stream bank, causes a landslide, blocks the stream, floods the valley, changes the flora and that changes the fauna, and the folks who were living off of hunting the deer have to migrate. When you think back you could blame it all on that wind.”
Who is this 20th century American author of Navajo mysteries and what is the name of this fictional crime novel first published in 2004?

12- Quote1: ”The plants filled the place, a forest of them, with nasty meaty leaves and stalks like the newly washed fingers of dead men.”
Quote2: ”Even on Central Avenue, not the quietest dressed street in the world, he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.”
Who is this American-born detective fiction writer whose tough detective character speaks in the first person and enjoys chess and poetry? What is the name of this wisecracking “private eye” and what are the names of the two hardboiled crime novels from which these two quotes were taken from written in 1939 and 1940 respectively?

Answers:
1-Sherlock Holmes; The Hound of the Baskervilles; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2-Sam Spade; The Maltese Falcon; Dashiell Hammett
3-Hercule Poirot; Death on the Nile; Agatha Christie
4-Father Brown; G.K. Chesterton
5-A Pocket Full of Rye; Miss Marple
6-Lord Peter Wimsey; Busman’s Honeymoon; Dorothy L. Sayers
7-Dr. No; James Bond; Ian Fleming
8-George Smiley; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; John le Carre
9-P.D. James
10-Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White
11-Tony Hillerman; Skeleton Man
12-Raymond Chandler; Philip Marlowe;
Quote1: The Big Sleep (1939) and Quote2: Farewell My Lovely (1940)

So how well did you do? Well, you can make up for any incorrect or missed answers by guessing you know who —the name of the American author of the classic 1845 narrative poem, Quoth The Raven: “Nevermore” which was inspired in part by a talking raven in the historical novel, “Barnaby Rudge” written by the English novelist Charles Dickens back in 1841 —- Yes, none other than Edgar Allan Poe, the inventor of the detective fiction genre!

Giving Back To An American Tradition: Personalizing Philanthropy with Your Own Green Thanksgiving!

Each year across the USA, we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of the month of November (due in large part to President Abraham Lincoln who established it as a national holiday back in 1863) – with Family, Food, and Football – and to give thanks for our own blessings and life’s bounties in the time-honored tradition of the “First Thanksgiving” when in August of 1621, 53 Mayflower Pilgrims and 90 Native Wampanoag Indians sat down together at the New Plymouth Colony to celebrate their survival and good fortune with a magnificent “harvest feast”. But ever since the advent of the television and the rise of social media in just the last ten years alone, Thanksgiving has become much more of a “pre-Christmas consumer frenzy” – a new shopping holiday – marked by “Black Friday” when major retailers open their stores early (some at Midnight) to kick off the shopping season with deep promotional discount sales.

Yet for all the shopping bargains now associated with Thanksgiving – the majority of Americans are still in fact upholding the original meaning of Thanksgiving – celebrating relationships – celebrating the day with people they love and giving back to people they don’t know – and giving those less fortunate reasons to be grateful! And for many, showing Mother Nature their gratitude by making Thanksgiving Day – a little greener.

Here then are some tips for ‘Greening’ your own Thanksgiving and personalizing a great American tradition by creating priceless memories with thoughtful acts of generosity and resourceful living.

1- SET A GREEN STANDARD AT HOME WITH THOUGHTFUL HOSTING, SHOPPING, COOKING, AND ECO-DECORATIONS

Note: The “First Thanksgiving” Dinner consisted of cod, eels, bass, clams, lobster, mussels, ducks, geese, swans, turkey, venison, berries, peas, pumpkin, beetroot, onions, beans, corn and squash.

HOSTING:
A) Start a ‘No-Waste Thanksgiving’ – Reject Disposable/Throw-Away Plates, Utensils, and Napkins – Initiate a ‘Potluck Thanksgiving’ – Have Guests Bring Assigned Side Dishes and Their Own Placement Settings
B) Share Leftover Bounty with Guests – Ensure that Leftovers are Stored Properly in Reusable and Washable Containers for Tomorrow’s Meal by Putting Out Decorative Glass Jars that Every Guest Can Fill and Take Home
C) Start a Pre-Dinner Tradition – Ask Each Guest to Bring a Small Item Representative of Something for which They are Grateful and can Exchange – Go Around the Table and Ask Each Guest to Light a Beeswax or Soy Candle in Remembrance of a Family Member or Close Friend
D) Start an After-Dinner Tradition – Update Your Photo Album – Plant a Tree Outside – Play a Game of Chopstick Pass-Along – Ask Each Guest to Sign and Record their “gratitudes” or Special Prayers for the Year Ahead on a Designated Tablecloth

SHOPPING:
A) Start Your Own Eco-Friendly Tradition by Buying Local Produce and Locally-Made Organic Wine – Visit a Co-op or Farmer’s Market  by Checking out www.localharvest.org/ – Get Together with Friends and Neighbors and Buy in Bulk from Your Local Farmer – Order a Free-Range Organic Turkey* from a Local Farm – Support a Local Orchard or Vineyard *(A Meatless Substitute is ‘Tofurkey’ – an American Vegetarian Turkey Replacement Made from a Blend of Wheat Protein and Organic Tofu)

COOKING:
A) Stick to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables rather than Canned Goods – Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Dinner Entrees, Condiments, and Pre-Meal Snacks from Scratch i.e. Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Snacks, Apple-Raising Stuffing, Red Wine Salad Dressing, Cranberry Bread and Cornbread (Check out www.allrecipes.com)
B) Develop Your Own Signature Cocktail using Organic Juices and Organic Spirits. Make Your Own Hot Apple Cider with Organic Apple Juice, Cinnamon Sticks, and Cloves Heated on the Stove

ECO-DECORATIONS:
A) Decorate with Recycled & Natural Materials – Recycle Old Napkins with Buttons, Applique, and Trim – Reuse Old Fabric Scraps to Make Ornamental Pumpkins and Puffy Gnomes – Reuse Old Sweaters to Make Recycled Felt Leaves – Turn Pinecones into a Festive Turkey-Shaped Centerpiece – Turn Children’s Placemats Into Activity Placemats or Printable Thanksgiving Day Bingo Posters
B) Decorate with Edible Materials – Make Garlands of Fresh Popcorn and Home-Baked Cookies – Make Mantle Trimmings with Fresh-Cut Greens – Make Napkin Rings with Asparagus – Make Votive Candle Holders with Cored Apples – Make a Special Turkey-Molded Jello Dessert (Check out www.countryliving.com/, www.familyfun.co.com/thanksgiving, and www.marthastewart.com for more ideas.)

2-VOLUNTEER TIME OR TALENT FOR A CHARITY

Thanksgiving is a Time to Reach out to the Homeless, the Hungry, the Elderly, the Disadvantaged and Veterans in Need. One way is to Volunteer with Your Local Soup Kitchen or with a Local Health, Educational or Arts Organization. Another Way is to Organize a Group of Locals from Your Own Church or Synagogue to Volunteer on Thanksgiving Day. Any way you volunteer, you will be making a difference in someone’s life and creating precious memories! Be Sure to Check Out these websites: www.volunteermatch.org/ (Volunteer Match)
www.1800volunteer.org/ (1-800-Volunteer.Org)
www.pointsoflight.org/ (The Points of Light Foundation)
www.nationalservice.gov/ (The Corporation for National and Community Service)
www.liveunited.org/ (United Way)

3-DONATE MONEY OR ITEMS FOR A CHARITY

Thanksgiving is a Time To Seek Out Organizations to which You Can Safely Donate Food, Clothes, Books, and Various Household Items to Those Less Fortunate During the Holiday Season. Here are some outstanding examples:
-One Way is to Contribute to Your Local Food Bank.
-Another Way is to Contribute to the Veteran Memorial Foundation by Supporting Our Homeless Heroes this Thanksgiving thru their “Adopt-a-Vet” program. Check out www.thevmf.org/.
-Another Way is to Contribute to Non-Profit Organizations that Provide Specialized Meals and Groceries to Men, Women, and Children Living with HIV/AIDS, Cancer, and Other Life-Challenging Illnesses. Check out www.foodandfriends.org/.
-Another Way is to Contribute to American Indian Communities – Specifically ‘National Relief Charities’ – a Nonprofit, “Dedicated to Quality of Life for Native Americans Living on Remote and Poverty-Stricken Reservations in the Plains and Southwest.” Material Donations can be Given in the Form of Food, Water, Produce, Personal Hygiene Items i.e. Soap, Shampoo, Toothpaste, Household Cleaning Products, Toilet Paper, Laundry Detergent, Linens, Blankets, Coats, Winter Clothing and School Supplies. Check out www.nrcprograms.org/.
-Yet Another Way is to Contribute to Your Local Historical Society and Become a Good Steward so the Past is Preserved for Future Generations of Americans. Ideas for Donations include Community Artifacts i.e. Signs, Postcards, Flags, Maps, Photographs, Letters, and Genealogies. Why not Check out www.NorthAndoverHistoricalSociety.org/ and Learn About Their Preservation Efforts to Save a 200 Year Old Carriage Barn!

4-RUN OR FUND-RAISE AN EVENT FOR CHARITY

Thanksgiving is also a Good Time to Hold an Auction, Throw a Greenhouse Party, or Create Your Own Fundraising Campaign for a Great Cause! Best of all, Why Not Test Your Own Physical Fitness for a Charity Benefit by Running a Marathon or Half Marathon? Here are some shining examples: www.thethanksgivingmarathon.com/ in New York City
www.atlantatrackclub.org/ – Atlanta Georgia’s Thanksgiving Day Half-Marathon
www.some.org/ – Annual Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunter in Washington D.C. – Sponsored by SOME (So Others May Eat)
www.crowdrise.com/ – The Crowdrise website is a “unique blend of online fundraising, crowdsourcing, social networking, contests, and other nice stuff.”

In Conclusion, Thanksgiving is at its Heart – a Time of ‘Green Reflection’ – To Give Thanks To Those Who Have Tried To Make a Better World In Years Past and Those Who Are Trying to Make a Difference Now In Both Conserving our Natural Environment and Enriching the Lives of Our Fellow Human Beings. Being the 11th Great-Grand Niece of those Mayflower Adventurers who perished the First Winter, It Is Important to Remember Their Courageous Efforts, Their ‘Mayflower Compact’ – a Socially Conscious Contract Binding Them Together for the General Good of the Colony – a Charitable Tradition we try to Honor every Thanksgiving Day since!

Memorable Eco-Quotes – Part II: By U.S. Presidents, Writers, & Other Notable American Figures

From the very beginning of its founding, Americans have been drawn by the belief that they have it within themselves to control their own destiny. But what of their physical environment? Like their Native American Indian counterparts, many of the famous Americans quoted here come from a wide range of social, economic, and political positions but together they sound like a choir in unison – singing the praises of the American landscape and its natural resources whilst musical ironies work themselves through in the background with a thundering drum roll of polyphonic counterpoint progressions: ‘What if our physical environment is overlooked and misunderstood?’ This is what worried these celebrated Americans of the recent past – a concern that still resonates today within all of us – the security of our own environment.

1-“We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment.” – Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist, (1901-1978)
2-“The Materials of wealth are in the earth, in the seas, and in their natural and unaided productions.” – Daniel Webster, American Statesman & Senator, (1782-1852)
3-“He who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants,
the heavens, and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Essayist, Lecturer, Poet, & Leading Transcendentalist, (1803-1882)
4-“The sky is the daily bread of eyes.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
5-“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.” – Joyce Kilmer, American Journalist, Poet, Literary Critic, Lecturer, & Editor (1886-1918)
6-“Those who contemplate the beauty of earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” – Rachel Carson, American Marine Biologist, Conservationist & Author, (1907-1964)
7-“What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” – Henry David Thoreau, American Author, Poet, Philosopher, Abolitionist, Naturalist, Tax Resister, Development Critic, Surveyor, Historian, and leading Transcendentalist, (1817-1862)
8-“We can never have enough of nature.” – Henry David Thoreau
9-“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” – Henry David Thoreau
10-“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die discover that I had not lived.” – Henry David Thoreau
11-“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. “ – John Muir, Scottish-born American Naturalist, Author, Engineer, Botanist, Geologist
12-“The nation behaves well if it treats its natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.” – 26th U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, (1858-1919)
13-“When I hear of the destruction of a species, I feel just as if all the works of some great writer have perished.” – 26th U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
14-“There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.” – 26th U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
15-“I am led to reflect how much more delightful to an undebauched mind, is the task of making improvements on the earth, than all the vain glory which can be acquired from ravaging it, by the most uninterrupted career of conquests.” – 1st U.S. President George Washington, (1732-1799)
16-“I am once more seated under my own vine and fig tree . . . and hope to spend the remainder of my days in peaceful retirement, making political pursuits yield to the more rational amusement of cultivating the earth.” – 1st U.S. President George Washington
17-“In the environment, every victory is temporary, every defeat permanent.” – 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, (1743-1826)
18-“The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.” – 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson
19-“I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.” – 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, (1809-1865)
20-“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” – 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
21- “A nation that destroys it’s soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” – 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, (1882-1945)
22-“Organic buildings are the strength and lightness of the spiders’ spinning, buildings qualified by light, bred by native character to environment, married to the ground. “ – Frank Lloyd Wright,
American Architect, Interior Designer, Writer & Educator, (1867-1959)
23-“Almost every day, instead of going to school, I made for the fields, where I spent my day. “ – John James Audubon, French-American Ornithologist, Naturalist, & Painter, (1785-1851)
24-“As I grew up I was fervently desirous of becoming acquainted with Nature. “ – John James Audubon
25-“It is my intention to present – through the medium of photography – intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators.” – Ansel Adams, American Photographer & Environmentalist, (1902-1984)
26-“Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space. “ – Ansel Adams
27-“It’s your human environment that makes climate.” – Mark Twain, American Author & Humorist, (1835-1910)
28-“Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them.” – Mark Twain

Now for those of you who are drawn to the to the spookier aspects of nature at its haunting best
— Stay Tuned for my Next Installment of “Memorable Eco-Inspired Quotes – Part III: By Illustrious Detectives, Master Spies, Mystery Writers and Crime Novelists.”

And as Halloween is nearly upon us, I shall leave you with an eco-creepy quote from one of my very favorite American writers – Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) – The Father of the Modern Detective Story Genre:

“It was night, and the rain fell; and falling, it was rain, but, having fallen, it was blood.” – taken from ‘Silence – a Fable” written in 1837.

Memorable Eco-Quotes – Part I: By Native American Indians

Next month is “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month” and one of the best places to learn about the rich cultural history of our North American Indians and Alaskan Natives is thru the National Park Service (part of the U.S. Department of the Interior) which highlights a multitude of historic American Indian Properties open to the general public on their website – www.nps.gov/nr/feature/indian/. For most of us though, our knowledge of American Indian culture is deeply rooted in and limited to children’s cartoons, high school text books, and TV westerns featuring notable American Indians such as Pocahontas, Hiawatha, Sacajawea, Geronimo, Crazy Horse, Chief Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, and Chief Tecumseh who represent just a tiny fraction of the numerous and distinctive Native American tribes that once inhabited the New World for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in October of 1492. For me, personally, I have always been fascinated by American Indian Spirituality which is eco-centered – influenced by Animal Symbolism and the “Circle of Life”, by ceremonial Sun and Rain Dances, and by the Pow-wow gathering of Nations and their tribal celebration of the “Spirit of the Harvest”. But to get a true sense of the Native American Indian belief system, their ‘eco-philosophy’, if you will, let us take a look at some of the most memorable quotes attributed to our Native American Indian brethren. I think you will be surprised by the natural ‘plain speaking’ of many of these proverbs and their relevance to today’s environmental issues.

1- “The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. “ – Sioux Proverb
2- “There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail.” – Navajo Proverb
3- “One rain does not make a crop.” – Creole Proverb
4- “When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.” – Lakota Proverb
5- “Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins.” – Cheyenne Proverb
6- “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.” – Dakota Proverb
7- “To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature.” – Oglala Sioux Proverb
8- “We are all one child spinning through Mother Sky.” – Shawnee Proverb
9- “The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors.” – Chief Plenty Coups, Crow Leader and Visionary (1848-1932)
10- “All things share the same breath – the beast, the tree, the man…the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.” – Chief Seattle (c.1780-1866)
11- “When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.” – Arapaho Proverb
12- “Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.” – Oglala Sioux Proverb
13- “What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.” – Crowfoot, Blackfoot Warrior and Orator, Chief of the Siksika First Nation (c.1821-1890)
14- “I do not think the measure of a civilization 
is how tall its buildings of concrete are, 
But rather how well its people have learned to relate 
to their environment and fellow man.” – Sun Bear, Chippewa Medicine Man (1929-1992)
15- “Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught 
will we realize we cannot eat money. “ – Cree Proverb
16- “What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, Man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts soon happens to man.” – Chief Seattle
17- “When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear, when that happens, The Warriors of the Rainbow will come to save them.” – Chief Seattle
18- “Honor the sacred. Honor the Earth, our Mother. Honor the Elders. Honor all with whom we share the Earth: Four-leggeds, two-leggeds, winged ones, Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people. Walk in balance and beauty.” – Anonymous Native American Elder
19- “Everything on the Earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence.” – Mourning Dove, Pen Name of Christine Quintasket, Salish Ethnographer and Writer (1884-1936)

MY FAVORITE:
20- “May the Warm Winds of Heaven,
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit, Bless all who enter there.
May your Mocassins Make happy tracks in many snows,
and may the Rainbow Always touch your shoulder.” –
Cherokee Prayer Blessing

Note that some things are universal no matter the culture!

Compare this Cherokee Prayer Blessing with its European counterpart – this Old Irish Blessing:

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

Looking for Buried Treasure and Family Ghosts With A Cup of Tea? Meet the Curious Cox Curator of Orange Valley: the Eco-Cultural Green Knight of Bermuda!

Seared into the heart of the Bermudian landscape – into the brackish bosom of its Devonshire peat marshes — lies the buried treasure of an old sea captain – a magical, awe-inspiring sea chest wrested from the depths of Davy Jones’ Locker –  half-ghostship – half-house.

Docked alongside a pier of dry-stone walls – Hidden from view by a profusion of wild palmettos and cedars and evergreen fiddlewood trees—–this well-pressed twin-masted chimney structure with two-storied shuttered riggings and two centuries-old cedar beams across its hallway-like-foredeck neither lists today from hurricane-slashing barnacles or subtropical dry rot upon its hull – but rather this bewitching “house ship” is cocooned within a protective casing of the old sea captain’s making – ‘the jeweled fruits of his labor’ after years of sailing – many a citrus-flavored, life-extending plant traded from British Guiana, parts of the Caribbean and various ports of call on the Atlantic seaboard – known locally to all as “Orange Valley”.

Fate had once brought me here eleven years ago as an American expat but now here I was resolutely returning to present its curious owner, John Cox, the great-great-great grandson of Capt. William Cox — with a Green Knighthood Award – the First of its kind in the World – for thirty plus years of selfless acts of eco-cultural chivalry.

Entering thru the Front Room – one is immediately received by both the warm smile of its casually garbed curator and the rhythmically hospitable tick-tock behind him -Capt. William Cox’s prized possession – his mahogany-made 18th century grandfather clock brought over from London, England – one of a series of catenated ‘eco-links’ to the soul of the house.  Indeed there are ten clocks throughout the home and according to Mr. Cox “some work, some are beyond laboring, and some sit quietly, suspended in their own time.”

And to my right – not far from the drawing-room – I am greeted once again by the portrait of the mysterious Capt. William Cox himself – his eyes  still dazing upon the well-preserved and lovingly displayed dining accoutrements of holidays past – including his own pink and silver French tea set still scented by orange pomanders – whilst other paintings seem to bob and weave throughout the house – alternating between wind-blown ships of sail and pastoral settings of a Bermudian-like Eden – a chilling reminder perhaps of the great hurricanes of 1839, 1899, 1926, 1948, 1987, and most recently Hurricane Fabian of 2003.

Indeed, neither the charm of Mr. John Cox, nor his tenderly cared-for limestone-hewed home and woodland gardens that constitute ‘Orange Valley’, show any signs of weary-worn decay during these past eleven years nor have they lost their priceless ‘eco-cultural lustre’ – that harmonious union between human culture and ecological sustainability. To put it sociologically – there is a unique bond between the Cox Family’s ethical community practices of past and present with its own well-managed attendance of its natural ecosystem and the conservation of its unique biodiversity here at ‘Orange Valley’ – ever mindful of the climate, and the weather patterns, and the many generations to come.

Perhaps that is why the Family Ghosts love it here so – Three ghosts to be precise.*  The first spectral inhabitant to be noted for its whimsical hauntings is that of Mary Robinson Cox, first wife of Capt. William Cox, who died of pneumonia at the young age 41 in 1806 whilst her husband was away trading salt for sugar and molasses in the West Indies.  It is she who loves to hover around the first floor of the house – sometimes settling in the guest bedroom (formerly the original kitchen) conjuring up aromatic herbal brews and at other times, she is seen sailing thru the front hallway perhaps looking to welcome home her husband’s invisible footsteps. Next in line is Laura Cox, the spinster daughter of Capt. William Cox, who died of palsy at the premature age of 51 in 1861 and is now a lively Patroness ghost of her once beloved Rose Garden which had lain derelict for years but has been carefully restored.  And then there’s eccentric Aubrey Cox, the grandson of Capt. William Cox, who died of an anxious heart at the precipitous age of 67 in 1928 and who never ever tires of looking at the magnificent grounds below him from his tidy upstairs bedroom window in the back of the house.

I have often thought that ‘Uncle Aubrey’ is a ‘frustrated ghost’ – confined to his boxed-in quarters – having to grudgingly look from afar at his great-grand nephew’s (John Cox’s) splendiferously inviting outdoor afternoon tea party spreads from beneath a decidedly somber-crusted window sash – where splashes of colorful chinaware dancingly interplay with light and laughter happily bee-buzzing around a quizzical cone-shaped ‘buttery’ next to me – another architectural wonder unique to Bermudian culture – a not-so-long ago reminder of the days when household plumbing, electricity, and refrigeration was not a commonplace feature of Bermudian life.

And never wanting to deny his guests a moment of light delectable humor along with his perfectly presented organic almond cake and Bermudian-strengthened high tea, are — Mr. John Cox’s very own freshly prepared cucumber sandwiches with an eco-twist – brilliantly disguised orange nasturtium flowers squeezed into bits of triangular-baked bread servings that are commonly mistaken for bits of wild caught salmon by his gullible guests!  And as is required of the author of ten culturally rich historical books including “Life in Old Bermuda”, “At Home in Early Bermuda”, “Bermuda Lore”, “A Tale of Two Houses”, and “Lords of the Marshes” — one is never left bored or abandoned by the fanciful floodgate of stories of this raconteur’s repertoire.  And these stories, much like their annotated footnotes, are neither inseparable nor inconsequentially delineated from Bermuda’s unique ecosystem.  Indeed, the biodiversity of plants within these stories allows us to step into the past right into Bermuda’s golden era of sailing.  They often offer ‘green’ clues into Bermuda’s role within the context of the British Empire – and still others the status of the Cox Family itself.

And it is this Cox Family collection of plants that make Orange Valley what it is – a priceless outdoor ‘eco-museum’ – artfully complimented by Mr. John Cox’s decorative collection of fine Royal Sevres porcelain inside the home – each of which seems to have transported with it a superstitious tale of its own.  And in addition to the impressive array of fruit trees on the property – mandarins, sweet oranges, sour oranges, limes, lemons, guava, grapefruit, pears, peaches, pomegranates, mammy apples, large bananas, dwarf bananas, loquats, red figs, shaddocks and Surinam cherries – AND – one large black mulberry and one smyma fig – there is a maze of exotic trees to bedazzle the first-time visitor:

1)   There is the Royal Poinciana Tree, also known as “The Flame Tree”, or “The Flamboyant Tree”. It is a native of Madagascar and the world’s most colorful ornamental tree.

2)   Then there is the Indian Rubber Tree, a native of southeast Asia, first planted by Capt. William’s son in 1847 that marks the original carriageway to the house.

3)   Then there are the Coffee Trees native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia – No “Starbucks Coffee” needed here!

4)   And finally, there are the rare Black Ebony Trees, native to Africa, India, and Asia – known today for their variety of attributes in making fingerboards and keys for musical instruments.  Note that ‘Ebony’ is the Greek word for “Fruit of the Gods” and wands made of ebony were thought to have magical powers and drinking goblets made of ebony were considered an antidote for poison that could be used to ward off evil intent.

In closing, I am reminded of a taunt once aimed at me as a teenager by a high society friend out in west Texas upon my arrival at her new family home.  She had just moved from Los Angeles for the third time and to use the nautical vernacular, her boast  “knocked me down a peg” for she and her daddy had “never lived in a second-hand house”.   I had no answer at the time, having been, up-to-then, an insular 13th generation American living within the same 200 mile radius of the Eastern seaboard.

But I hope you, my eco-savvy reader, will now appreciate my rapid advancement in the ways of articulate etiquette – noting both the beauty and the history – AND – the ecological magic – that makes ‘Orange Valley’ an eco-cultural wonder and not just some ordinary half-spun ‘second-hand house’.   But above all, I must personally thank Orange Valley’s remarkable steward, Mr. John Cox, today’s recipient of Cherlton’s Green Guide’s “Green Knighthood Award” for his fearless and unflinching support, maintenance, and documented dissemination of Bermuda’s eco-cultural connections and traditions in the face of today’s ‘Bluetooth’, fast-paced, modern world of sentimental-swatting cyber gnats,  ‘Tick’ video games, and Mosquito iPods.  (For more information, please refer to my new encyclopedic eco-website at www.cherltonsgreen.com)

How metaphorically eco-appropriate then is the fact that the placement of Orange Valley’s lone silk cotton tree, first planted by Capt. William Cox two centuries ago, still firmly stands as the centerpiece of ‘Orange Valley’ – the oldest of its kind on the island – a much misunderstood tree by the casual passerby of Bermudian yesteryear.  Known elsewhere in the world as the ‘kapok’ tree, the ‘sacred tree’ or ‘the tree of life’, this fabled tree was first worshiped by the Mayans and later venerated by generations of other indigenous peoples of Central America in the centers of their plazas and villages.  To those who believe, this supernatural tree wards off evil (and time itself) and its mythical branches hold up the heavens and its roots extend to the underworld – and rarely, if at all – is this tree ever cut down – even if it happens to be in an inconvenient spot and in the way of human traffic.   So it is that the secret of the buried treasure of an old sea captain lies faithfully here.

Footnote: Legend has it that my own 8th great-grandfather, Thomas Cox, first arrived at Virginia before sailing up the coast to New Amsterdam and marrying Elizabeth Blashford on April 17, 1665 at Maspeth Kills, Newtown, Long Island. His marriage is the oldest marriage license on record in the state of New York – given by the First British Colonial Governor of New York, Sir Richard Nicolls.  Thomas Cox’s middle son in turn, was John Cox – my 7th great-grandfather – and John Cox’s nephew in turn was Colonel John Cox, Assistant Quartermaster to General Nathaniel Greene during the American War for Independence – and his grandson, in turn, was John Cox Stevens, the Founder and First Commodore of the New York Yacht Club.  Hence, there’s more to the ‘Cox’ surname than one would think at first glance.

*Special Note: There is the distinct possibility of a fourth ghost lingering around Orange Valley – that of Capt. William Cox’s own mother-in-law! For the present-day Coxes of Bermuda all descend from Capt. William Cox’s second wife, Mary Ann Dill, whom he married on October 16, 1806. Interesting enough, Mary Ann Dill, was the daughter of another enigmatic mariner, Captain John Dill of Devonshire, a time-honored member of the ancient ‘Dill clan’ of Bermuda, and his psychic wife, Christiana (Love) Dill – whose preternatural gifts of ‘second sight’ are as legendary as the number of times she has been seen floating over the various family estates in which her present-day descendants live.

L’Art de Vivre – To Be Sure There is Nothing Quite Like French Glamour – But Do You Know Your French Eco-Glamour?

What does Chanel #5, the world’s most famous perfume and Catherine Deneuve, one of the world’s most beautiful women, have in common? The answer is French Glamour.

And what of Limoges Porcelain, Gobelins Tapestry, Louis Vuitton Handbags, Savon de Marseille, Aubade Lingerie, and Fine Jewelry and Watches handmade by Van Cleef & Arpels all have in common? The answer is French Glamour – Yes, also synonymous with ‘LUXURY’.

And what of Monet’s Water Lily Paintings, and Claude Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ and the Musee du Louvre itself, one of the greatest museums in all the world have in common? ‘GREAT ART’ – True! – But the answer, once again, is French Glamour.

And finally what do you think of when you hear the brand names – Givenchy, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin and Yves St. Laurent? –Yes, ‘HAUTE COUTURE’ truly! – But once again the imagery that these great houses of fashion can evoke is much like the Palace of Versailles, the Castles of the Loire Valley, and the Vineyards of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne – a sumptuous collection of French Glamour at its very best.

My introduction to French glamour had its roots in both its language and its cooking style as it developed over the centuries – for I am the product line of a mad dash of 10th century Dukes of Normandy, a sprinkling of 12th century Counts of Poitou and Provence, a splendiferous mix of 13th century Capetian Kings and Plantagenet Kings and an unshakeable pinch of 17th century Huguenot craftsmen. But that is not why I and 80 million other tourists go back to France each year making France the world’s most visited country. Have you not heard? France is undergoing a ‘Green Revolution’ and its leading image is now that of Style AND Sustainability – in essence – FRENCH ECO-GLAMOUR!

You can see it in their development of glamorous green tourism businesses, (‘camping ecologique’) now taking France by storm – in moderately priced eco-campsites like the ones being offered by Celine Bossane’s ‘Huttopia’, which offers eco-camping in Versailles, Rambouillet and Senonche, Font-Romeu in the Pyrenees and Rillé in the Loire Valley – to luxury-priced eco-yurts in the Dordogne county of Aquitaine in southwestern France. Perhaps the most glamorous of these five-star eco-campsites is my favorite – ‘Camping Les Moulins’ – whose tents were designed by Cartier no less and are located on the lovely beaches of Ile de Noirmoutier in the picturesque Vendee region of West Central France. You can also see French Eco-Glamour in their sustainable farming techniques – my favorite being the production of ‘French Rabbit Wines’ by the Boisset family in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France – and in their eco-glamorous cutting-edge ski resorts – my favorite being Kalinda Village at Tignes les Broisses, the first and biggest eco-village in the French Alps.

You can also find French Eco-Glamour in their ‘Reversible’ brand-named eco-handbags made of recycled materials and Katell Gelebart’s transformation of food packaging into eco-chic dresses, jackets, and aprons and ‘Iroisie’s’ eco-beauty products for women, an organic skin care line of ‘cosmetiques biologiques’, founded by Anne Bontour whose source of inspiration came from her summers spent with her two grandmothers – countrywomen who lived by the sea in France’s northern Brittany – ‘Mer d’Iroisie’. How romantic-sounding is that? Not to be outdone by such eco-inspirational beginnings are the forests of France which have now doubled in size since 1950 making France the third largest forested surface area in Europe after Sweden and Finland. In particular seven miles west of Nice beyond the glitz and glamour of Cannes on the French Riviera, perched high above the medieval village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southeastern France, are the glamorous cedar wood lodgings of ‘Orion Treehouse B&B’ – the very definition of charm and excitement.

But not all that is French eco-sophistication and eco-glamour is new – indeed the conceptual birth of “Eco-Museums” originated in France back in 1971 – the brainchild of George Henri Riviere and Hugues de Varine – an idea which promoted special places whereby communities could actively participate in the preservation, interpretation and management of their own cultural heritage for sustainable development thru both indoor and outdoor exhibitions. As a result half of all the three hundred plus ‘Eco-Museums’ in the world today are in France.

And then there is the eco-glamorous ‘Paris Flea Market’, locally known as ‘Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen’ – the most renowned flea market in the world which covers 17 acres and welcomes 70,000 visitors per week with rows of discarded shards of civilization – bits of ‘distressed couture’ saved from bulging landfills and dumpsters. Opened in Paris in 1885, the Paris Flea Market offers shoppers with ‘upcycling’ talent – everything from hand-forged antiques to vintage clothes to decorative curiosities to playful kitsch and outright castoffs at bargain prices. Today, there are now customized ‘junk picking’ tours operating out of the USA to visit its 3000 plus stalls which gives ‘couture cycling’ new meaning – a sense of eco-glamour – which again is worth repeating – there is nothing quite like French glamor whether it be on the Avenue of the Champs-Elysees or your own repurposed French patterned pavers.

The Green Vibrancy of Today’s World Religions: Enriching our Eco-Conscious Efforts Center Stage

Pope Benedict XVI, Head of the Catholic Church is doing it.  Mormon elders, Buddhist Monks and Muslim Clerics are doing it and Hindu priests, Jewish rabbis, and indigenous tribes all across the globe are advocating it along with various Christian denominations here in the USA.   So exactly what is “it”?

“It” is the promotion of eco-friendly spirituality and environmental stewardship and it has been lifted up to a new level of eco-consciousness both on the world’s center stage and within the grass-roots efforts of local religious congregations.   Indeed, members of today’s world religions are celebrating faith and environmental well-being not only with their worship services and newsletters, workshops, recycling programs, and fund-raisers- but with their own eco-conscious energy efficient meeting houses and grounds such as the solar-powered LDS Chapel in Mesa, Arizona and the “Florida Avenue Baptist Church” in Washington, D.C., the First African-American church in the District of Columbia to power a church with solar energy – and the Tirumala Temple in southern India, (reportedly the richest and most visited house of worship in the world), which houses the world’s largest solar cooking technology on its roof to feed its thousands of daily visitors.  Then there is the small but progressive “Libertyville United Methodist Church” in Illinois with its own ‘Go Green Team’ and new bicycle rack meant to promote biking to church events and the “Prince of Peace Lutheran Church” in Gaithersburg, Maryland with its new church vegetable garden, communal compost bin, and rain barrel installation.  Perhaps one of the most dramatic examples of eco-friendly architecture is the Buddhist temple built by monks in northeast Thailand which consists of 1.5 million recycled beer bottles for its walls and roof.

Other changes meant to inspire its religious adherents to an ‘ecological spiritual journey’ of faith and nurture are the guidelines and green tips set forth by the “Episcopal Ecological Network” whose mission is to further the greening of its churches, camps, and conference centers across the USA and the ‘Earth Care Committee’ at the First Congregational Church in Sonoma, California and the ‘Environmental Task Force’ at the Edgewood United Church in East Lansing, Michigan whose support for a sustainable society includes the endorsement of local farmer’s markets, ‘eat local potlucks’, eco-responsible companies and labels and the fair trade purchases of coffee, cocoa, tea, nuts, cranberries, and chocolate bars.

To facilitate ‘caring for God’s earth’, Presbyterian churches across America have now established an ‘Earth Care Pledge’ along with worksheets, resources, and instructions for becoming an ‘Earth Care Congregation’ and most recently the Integrated Islamic School Shah Alam (ISSA) has launched a ‘Go Green Muslim Campaign’.  And to secure environmental justice, protect public health, and preserve biodiversity, the “Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life” (COEJL) has launched a ‘Four-Part Climate Change Campaign’ and a  ‘Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign Pledge’ mobilizing the Jewish community nationwide to “conserve energy, increase sustainability, and advocate for policies that increase energy efficiency and security”.

But some creative faith-based eco-initiatives can be found right within the worship service itself.  In Quebec, Canada, twenty-five Montreal-area churches – Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox – have agreed to replace their Californian-grown communion wine with a new locally produced Quebec wine.  And in the United States, 3556 congregations composed of Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics have gone the way of using “eco-palms” for their Palm Sunday services – palm stems that are harvested in a more environmentally friendly way.  Working together with eco-palm cooperatives in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala, this six year-old eco-palm program ensures that rainforest cuttings are not wasted by traditional methods and that villagers’ incomes are increased fairly and the habitats of birds and other species are environmentally protected.

And of course there are the eco-encyclicals and highly visible public statements of the Vatican’s chief administrator – Pope Benedict XVI – dubbed the “Green Pope”.   To date the Vatican has installed solar panels on the roof of its main auditorium, a solar cooling unit for its main cafeteria, and arranged a reforestation project in Hungary aimed at offsetting its CO2 emissions.  As for the hushed eco-whisperings of the indigenous tribes of South America, Africa, and Asia, and the Aborigines of Australia, and our own Native American Indians, they have now become mainstream – their spiritual relationship with the land that their ancestors once used and created – now continues in our time-honored religions of today.

Sailing Out of the Timeless Myths of Hamlet’s Elsinore Castle & Bluetooth’s Roskilde Fjord – Comes Denmark’s Legendary Eco-Designers of Today

It’s a funny thing about ancestral ghosts – Hamlet saw them, my grandmother believed in them, and Hans Christian Andersen made his entry into the world of literature writing about them back in 1822.  And that’s what makes Denmark so special – it is a “Land of Legends” with the oldest continuous monarchy in Europe, spectacular countryside and castles, 5000 miles of clean and sparkling white sandy beaches, and now over 4000 onshore wind turbines making it the world’s most windfarm-intensive country.

And that’s what makes Denmark so richly unique – it is constantly reinventing itself in sustainable ways that are consistent with its legendary maritime heritage, its premium on a close-knit social environment, and its respect for its physical environment – “the land of the Vikings” – many of whom went to France and founded Normandy only to rise later again as English nobility – including my very own ancestor, Prince Bernard of Denmark, Rollo the Viking’s chief counselor in the conquest of Normandy and the progenitor and founder of the “Harcourt” Family in England.

But today, Denmark is now embarking on a new kind of ‘viking raid’ – a globally ‘green invasion’ – and leading the way are the denizens of its very own capital – Copenhagen, nicknamed “Eco-penhagen” – one of the ten most eco-friendly cities in the world.  Over 50% of its hotels are “green”, its central bus system is battery-driven, and with over 300 kilometers of cycling paths, Copenhagen is on target to become the world’s leading ‘bicycle city’ of commuters by 2015.  And if that weren’t enough, topping this year’s #1 San Pellegrino list of best restaurants in the world – for the second time in a row – is “Noma” located in an ‘upcycled’ warehouse in Copenhagen whose philosophy to serve wild and natural food products directly from the soil and sea not only authentically complements the Danish sea and sky-themed atmosphere and terracotta pot filled salads and pebbly-served, starfish-powdered shrimps  – but as Chef Rene Redzepi puts it, (The Founder of the Nordic Cuisine Movement) – each dish is meant “to enrich the soul”.

That ability to link nature to innovation – from eco-cuisine to eco-transport to eco-planning is the hallmark of Danish culture – so much so that leveraging new eco-innovation models of management, economics, and technology is now part of a collaborative effort by the Copenhagen Business School to establish innovation networks worldwide whilst advancing Denmark’s competitive advantage in sustainable business development.  But perhaps nowhere better than in the multidisciplinary area of ‘eco-designing’ are Denmark’s modern-day ‘green vikings’ making the greatest impact worldwide – in the way of car designs, furniture designs, yacht designs, building designs, and urban planning designs.

When it comes to the art of designing eco-friendly luxury cars, perhaps no one can make a more sophisticated, more superbly eco-chic car than Danish-born Henrik Fisker in his new “Fisker Karma” car – a four-door, plug-in hybrid luxury sports car that has a 300-mile range using both electric and gasoline power.  And when it comes to designing environmentally responsible outdoor furniture of international calibre – there is none better than ‘Skagerak Denmark’ whose family’s passion for wood and Denmark’s carpentry traditions over the generations is “anchored in the values of the maritime world”.   As for designing sustainable architecture, the three Danish firms of Deve Architects, Henning Larsen Architects, Christensen & Co. Architects are amongst the world’s best eco-designing visionaries.   Indeed, Deve Architects of Copenhagen has now put a modern-day twist on Prince Hamlet’s Elsinore Castle by designing an urban eco-castle in the formerly industrialized city center of Augustenborg, Denmark whilst Christensen & Co Architects has built a ‘Green Lighthouse’ structure at the University of Copenhagen which is the first carbon neutral building in Denmark.   And Henning Larsen Architects of Copenhagen has designed and completed a unique housing complex of 140 apartments built into the shape of a wave nine stories high with five featured wave crests creating a beautiful connection between Vejle Fjord’s landscape and the town itself.  But perhaps the best example of this Danish eco-philosophy of linking nature to designing can be seen in the “Global Eco-Village Movement”, co-founded by Danish-born Hildur Jackson – the new worldview of linking nature to ‘human settlement designs’  – the creation of planned residential communities based on the holistic concept that human activities must be socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable.

Now looking backwards over the last thousand years of Danish eco-designing, my personal favorite is one that hits closer to home and my immediate family – that of the legendary eco-graphic design left by King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark (b. 935, d.985) – found in the form of a memorial rune stone in the town of Jelling – in memory of his parents, King Gorm the Old and Thyra Danebold.   One stone in particular has a serpent wrapped around a lion and on the other side, a picture of Jesus Christ wrapped in the tree branches of the Old Norse ‘World Tree’ – symbolic of King Bluetooth’s conquest of Denmark and Norway and his conversion of the Danes to Christianity.  Ultimately, his son, King Sweyn Forkbeard, would lead a full-scale Viking assault on England and be crowned King of England on Christmas Day in 1013.  Two of King Bluetooth’s granddaughters would hence marry into Anglo-Saxon nobility.  One of their female descendants in turn would sail to America centuries later to found New England and become the ‘First Poet of America’.  And in turn one of her descendants would become my orphaned grandmother – renamed “Dolly” as a child as she was wont to play with dolls around local cemetery gravestones.  And therein lies the key to my grandmother’s ancestral ghosts and the riddle that she was given – that “she was as old as Olde England itself” – the amazing discovery that her 33rd great-grandfather was none other than Danish King Harald Bluetooth himself.  Perhaps this is another reason why Denmark is so special – its legends never leave us!


An Ode to Sweden: From its Viking Runes & Ragnarok Roots to Today’s Recycling-Conscious Royals & Retailers

It’s been 1025 years since my outlaw ancestor, Prince Styrbjorn the Strong of Sweden, the Viking ruler of Jomsborg on the Isle of Wolin in Poland and brother-in-law and ally of King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark (and briefly England) – was killed by his uncle, King Eric the Victorious, (my one other notable Swedish ancestor) at the Battle of Fyrisval on Nov. 1, 985 near Uppsala, Sweden.  A firm believer in “Ragnarok” – the Norse prophesy that the ‘final great battle’, the ‘end of the world’, and the ‘destruction of the gods’ would ultimately result in a cataclysmic series of natural disasters submerging all of the earth’s known landmarks into the sea — Prince Styrbjorn illustrates not only the Viking’s world view of great storytelling symbolism but the Viking’s remarkable insight into their own eco-surroundings i.e. the brilliant use of polarizing sunstone crystals to navigate the high seas on cloud-covered days long before compasses reached Europe, the release of ravens (one of the 10 most intelligent animals in the world) after setting sail and losing sight of land, and the harnessing of seaweed, seafloor mud samples, and the North Star to estimate their location.  Perhaps more telling is the fact that the heyday of the Viking period – and “Ragnarok” itself – coincided with what scientists now call the “Medieval Warming Period” – the years between 800 and 1300 A.D.

Ironically, one thousand years later, the earth is now undergoing another global warming trend.  Indeed, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) of the Arctic Council has recently revised its forecasts and has now projected that the melting of arctic glaciers, ice caps, and Greenland’s massive ice sheet will raise sea levels by 35 to 63 inches by the year 2100.  Together with the ever-increasing prices in oil production, Sweden’s policy-makers have now committed themselves to ending the use of fossil fuels by 2020.  Already 28% of Sweden’s energy is renewable and eco-friendly.  But this is not the only reason why Sweden today is considered by many to be the “greenest country in the world” nor is their stunning aspirational drive toward an eco-efficient economy some recent reactionary proclamation by Swedish government officials. Rather there is something deep within the Swedish psyche, the Swedish culture itself, and in their love of nature that has persisted over the past millennium from their earliest Viking days – an unspoken notion that Swedes are somehow the sustainable guardians of the earth’s resources, not only the green care-takers of their planet but the innovative house-keepers of their planet.

One can particularly see it in their world renowned recycling projects – from recycling everyday newspapers to plastic packaging – and in their 3500 environmental technology companies — companies like three year old ‘Minesto’ in Gothenburg and its newly designed underwater kites that capture the energy in falling and rising tides and ocean currents and in 97 year old ‘Electrolux AB’ of Stockholm Sweden, the world’s second largest home appliance manufacturer and inventor of five novelty green vacuum cleaners made of recycled plastics found in the world’s seas and oceans.

One can also see Sweden’s eco-innovativeness in both its ancient textile traditions and up and coming eco-fashionistas – companies like ‘Ekelund Weavers’ – Master Weavers since 1692 and purveyors to the Swedish Royals for over a hundred years, noted for its organically grown fibers, naturally colored cotton, and eco-manufacturing processes that comply with the requirements of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation — and in young, hip companies like ‘Swedish Hasbeens’ of Stockholm,  eco-designers of handmade shoes made of natural grain leather and rubber and “Swedish alder wood and lime-tree that has been harvested and grown according to the regulations of the ‘Preservation of the Forests’.”

Closer to home here in America, Swedish entrepreneurs are now brandishing their eco-uniqueness with elegantly made “New Nordic Cuisine” and recycled “Gilded Lace” jewelry – in restaurateurs like ‘Smorgas Chef Restaurant’ in New York City whose devotion to serving fresh and flavorful food and managing their own food resources has now culminated in a newly acquired 150 acre eco-farm in the Catskills  — and in Monika Knutsson’s collection of fine art jewelry  – whose inspiration comes from the flea markets of Paris, Berlin, and New York and the early 20th century pieces she finds and dips into sterling silver or 24k gold.

And of course, there is the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce here in New York – whose active support and recognition of green businesses both here and in Sweden and its sponsorship of this year’s 4th Annual Green Summit and the Pre-Conference  Gala Dinner on Nov. 1st – will allow me to hear for the first time, the eco-introduction from none other than H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden – a graceful proponent of recycling efforts and clean water and energy initiatives – the heiress-apparent to the Swedish throne – and proudly I might add – a royal eco-reminder of my long lost Swedish heritage – in the  way of my 35th cousin – and 1026 years to the day since my 36th great-grandfather, Prince Styrbjorn Starke of Sweden met his fate at The Battle of  Fyrisval. Little did he realize the final ending of the Ragnarok prophesy  – that the earth would resurface again – be renewed and fertile and that Sweden would  take its rightful place as the world’s eco-sentinel.