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We Must Make The Wise Choice For Our Grandchildren

 We in Staunton have a choice to make.  It is up to us.  Shall we choose solar energy ? Twenty one years ago, I was adopted into the Shenandoah family, Wolf Clan, Oneida Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (People of the Long House).   White people call them Iroquois. We are taught to listen to our elders, learn to respect and act responsibly. Oren Lyons, 93, Wolf Clan, is an Onondaga Chief, and world leader of peace who teaches —  The Earth is our Mother.  She gives everything we need for life.  Imagine a living pine tree clinging to a cliff; getting all it needs for life from the earth.  We are like that pine tree.  Our Mother Earth provides, but time is running out.  We have little time to make changes in order to survive.  The economy of nations will be broken by natural disasters.  We see more disasters every year:  hurricanes, snow melt, coastlines washing into the seas, wild fires, drought, flooding, on and...

We Must Make The Wise Choice For Our Grandchildren

 We in Staunton have a choice to make.  It is up to us.  Shall we choose solar energy ?

Twenty one years ago, I was adopted into the Shenandoah family, Wolf Clan, Oneida Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (People of the Long House).   White people call them Iroquois.

We are taught to listen to our elders, learn to respect and act responsibly.

Oren Lyons, 93, Wolf Clan, is an Onondaga Chief, and world leader of peace who teaches — 

The Earth is our Mother.  She gives everything we need for life.  Imagine a living pine tree clinging to a cliff; getting all it needs for life from the earth.  We are like that pine tree.  Our Mother Earth provides, but time is running out.  We have little time to make changes in order to survive. 

The economy of nations will be broken by natural disasters.  We see more disasters every year:  hurricanes, snow melt, coastlines washing into the seas, wild fires, drought, flooding, on and on.  The haze today brings this reality to Staunton, VA.

We must follow the laws of Nature and stop the destruction we are creating.  We can’t keep doing what we are doing.  Business as usual is over.  We will not survive by unrestrained economic development.  We must join forces, unify, be of one mind and plan for the future.  We are here for a very short time.  We must plan for the future seven generations.

In 1950, there were 2.5 Billion people on Earth.  Today there are 8  Billion.  Population growth at this rate is not sustainable.  Imagine how tiny the Earth appears from space and imagine how tiny we are and what a short time we will live here.  We must change our thinking if humans are to survive.  We must stop competing and start cooperating.

Many believe the Bill of Rights is about their individual rights, but it’s about the rights of all the people.  It is about responsibility.  We must think together, as one mind.  We are in crisis.  We do not have time for self interests.  We must renew our relationship with nature.  Our well being is dependent on the health of the Earth.

Today we have the opportunity to choose solar,  a renewable, non-polluting energy resource. 

Burned fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere trapping heat around the Earth.  We must stop further destruction to the home on which human life is dependent.

We have qualified engineering and technical resources, for solar energy in Staunton.  This organization is known, by many of our own community members, to be reputable.  We can choose solar for human survival. It’s up to us.  We are responsible.

Time is running out.  We must make the wise choice for our grandchildren, seven generations forward.

Thank you.

Mary Miller, MD
Staunton, VA

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