Tacoma Chapter
Our solution to climate change? Democracy.
Our Chapter Art
'YON Quartet, cover of "SuSi" by Ben & Ben, (Philippine folk-pop group) using traditional Philippine kulintang instruments. Thanks to Cathy Carruthers for this contribution!
"Even with the weight of the world on your shoulders
Do not ever lose heart
I'm right by your side
Ignore their tirades
Tomorrow is drawing near
So keep on fighting
Remember why you started
Before you start giving in to defeat
Don't do it by yourself you are not alone
You are still the key to the door of your own destiny"
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To: CCL dedicated members, by Sue Liska, September 2022.
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We see the world environment crisis and are disenchanted
Sitting forlorn with sadness, often politically empty-handed
It makes me want to stand up and shout, “Time to expand it.”
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Don’t feel dejected at a temporary loss in political action
This group exists as a meaningful reaction
To a population in a state of inaction
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When we see severe climate issues continue unabated
It’s then we feel our spirits and minds heavily weighted
And that’s why to action we lean and are persuaded
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Could we do anything else but carry a banner forward?
With hearts knowing, we meet obstacles before us unfurled
We try to save some semblance or likeness of our world
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March on, caring people, make your voices heard
Others are talking about the world crisis and how it all occurred
Your work continues to inspire the nation
How lucky you are not deterred
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WATER (Part of the “I am Nature” series) By Sue Liska (friend of Nancy Atwood), August, 2022
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I am lonely, I am shrinking
In areas, I am sinking
In lakes and reservoirs meant for mankind
The heat is horrific
During summer blight prolific
My rings exposed, no replenishing rain I find
Most do not know that I keep memories in my flow
Of all that ever happened here on earth
And now I am shaking, the losses overtaking
As I lose some threads of history in this dearth
And then my nature, so affected
Precious growth intercepted
By global warming at the hand of man
Velvet leaves that once existed
Now crumple and are twisted
As plants dry up over the continent span
Green plants, so many fewer around
Our ecosystem once in balance, now browned
Soon I will leave all hope behind for this land
If I had any water to spare
I’d shed some tears in despair
This was never projected in earth’s grand plan
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Let’s say a prayer with others
Join our forces to discover
That it’s not too late to create a healing hand
The Giver of Life…The Taker of Life by Sue Liska (friend of Nancy Atwood)
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It’s a power unfathomable, forever high up in space
A distant burning star, from the beginning put in place
To warm our planet and nurture all life
With cycles of heat before enters the night
That mystery of dark, the absence of rays
Makes many of us sleepy, then rest from the day
The power, the glory, comes near us again
As earth and sun rotate, the heat and light it sends
Warmth and vision and now we all see
The giver of light, opulent and dazzling
Is the giver of life to all living, and to me
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Yet in a sudden flash, life can turn on a dime
Our abuse of planet’s bounty and we may be out of time
For this star can turn deadly in stages or all at once
Sending heat waves and fires, our plant life it stunts
A death star released at the flip of a switch
Hand of the one at the controls, she will not flinch
If mankind is not worth saving
With all of the troubles and turmoil we create
Our solar star becomes a taker of life
And we disappear, no tomorrows, eradication our fate
Barbara Menne, Untitled, alcohol inks, 2021.
Alex Atwood, Remnants, 2021. Musical Composition with Visual Accompaniment. Location is Chambers Bay Park.
Joanna Lepore Dwyer, Untitled, 2000. Yes, my daughter the artist! A high school work, it hangs on my office wall as a daily reminder of what we are up against.
From Nancy Atwood, a poem by her friend Sue Liska:
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What Do You See Off the Bow of Your Ship?
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A vision of blue, a promise of forever
The sky a pink hue, yet I feel a slight shiver
What upsets this earth picture so vivid with beauty?
A thought so distressful, in verse I think my duty
To paint a picture of plastic everywhere raining down
Entering our ecosystem, is it possible to rebound?
It affects my thoughts….. pollution is a dirty word
Ahead in time, I see fewer animals and birds
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Our Mission:
To make things right, to educate and care
To help erase this blight over our earth once fair
Develop technology to recover, reuse, redistribute
And to humanity’s future we will be a tribute
A Few Years From Now:
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Triumphant! We did it large scale, results plain to see
Our earth looks better, cleaning up was the key
On the horizon ahead, no longer to aggrieve
Healthier food and drink, and better air to breathe
This ship crosses waters near my town and yours,
And plastic recovery is a business that soars
Every piece utilized for man’s hungry desires
Captured in mobile bays, all excuses ceasefire
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Zero tolerance for scrappy discards that can’t be reused
Find them, surround them, recover, recycle, stop abuse
Then the view from your ship’s bow will surely produce
A satisfaction and success for planet Gaia--no excuse
TERRA NIL, video game on Steam, 2023. "An intricate environmental strategy game about transforming a barren wasteland into a thriving, balanced ecosystem. Bring life back to a lifeless world by purifying soil, cleaning oceans, planting trees, and reintroducing wildlife, then leave without a trace." Refreshing, uplifting, and calming. Thanks to my daughter Becca Lepore for this contribution. As she says, video games can be art too!