Three Cups of Tea

"Three Cups of Tea" is the title of a book by Greg Mortenson in which the author relates his long-term efforts to create peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As an individual, he has been remarkably successful by focusing his efforts on developing schools, particularly schools for girls.
A couple of weeks ago, Mortenson was interviewed by Bill Moyers. On Sunday, the Adult Forum, will watch the 30-minute interview and share our responses. The text below is copied from the PBS website, and it serves as a good introduction.

Please join us. We'll be happy to see you. Free, excellent and loving childcare is provided.

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From PBS:

Greg Mortenson is the co-founder of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute. His charity arm, Pennies For Peace, helps raise money for his school-building efforts in Central Asia. THREE CUPS OF TEA has been on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list for over three years, and was named a TIME Magazine "Asia Book of The Year."

Mortenson's new book is called STONES INTO SCHOOLS: PROMOTING PEACE WITH BOOKS NOT BOMBS, IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN.

As of 2009, Mortenson has established over 131 schools in rural and often violent regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where few educational opportunities existed before. These schools have provided education to over 58,000 children, including 44,000 girls.

In Pakistan, most of Mortenson's schools are in that country's two volatile border regions – one being its border with India, and the other its border with Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Mortenson's schools are located in seven different provinces, including some that are Taliban strongholds.

In 2009, Mortenson received Pakistan's highest civil award, Sitara-e-Pakistan ("Star of Pakistan") for his humanitarian effort to promote girls education in rural areas for 15 years.

Several bi-partisan U.S. Congressional representatives have nominated Mortenson for the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2009 and 2010.

Mortenson was born in 1957, and grew up on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. His father Dempsey, founded Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC), his mother, Jerene, founded the International School Moshi.

In the late 70s, he served in the U.S. Army in Germany, where he received the Army Commendation Medal, and he later graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1983.

Ideas Influencing the Science of Global Warming

In his presentation last Sunday, Dr. Wardeska covered the basics of historical temperature patterns and the rationale behind the conclusions that a) global warming is occurring, and b) identifiable factors, some of them man-made (anthropogenic) contribute to atmospheric temperature.
Next Sunday, Dr. Wardeska will begin looking at some of the factors that play a role in how we interpret the data, and where some of those biases originate. This should be fun. Please join us knowing that you'll be very welcome. Our excellent childcare continues.

The Science Behind Global Warming

This coming Sunday, January 17, Jeff Wardeska will present an overview of some of the factual-based findings that give rise to the concept of global warming. Here's his synopsis:

"Global Warming or climate change has become a topic of great concern in recent years. Everyone (almost) agrees the earth is the warmest it has been in many years and that since the mid 1800’s our increasing use of fossil fuels is causing the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to rise. Carbon dioxide is a product of the combustion of all carbon based fuels, for example, natural gas is methane and burning methane produces water and carbon dioxide according to the equation

CH4 + 2 O2 -> CO2 + 2 H2O

There are many other factors which affect the climate and there is some legitimate disagreement about how strong the link is between levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and recent atmospheric warming.

Most of the evidence for global warming comes from scientists who work under the umbrella of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). The IPCC, in addition to publishing their research in main-line scientific journals, issues comprehensive reports approximately every 6 years, the latest being in 2007.

Our increasing reliance on fossil fuels and the continuing build-up of carbon dioxide has implications beyond global warming, affecting the environment and the oceans (ocean acidification). We will also examine some predictions for the future resulting from these trends.

Jeff is trained in inorganic chemistry and is professor and chair of the department of Chemistry at ETSU. Please join us for an informative and entertaining discussion. You'll be very welcome. As always, wonderful childcare is provided.

Findings from the Pacific Ocean

On January 10 we are lucky to have Jim Kevin as a guest speaker. Jim comes to us via Jean K. He has spent time as an on-board volunteer for the University of Washington's oceanographic research vessel, "Thomas G Thompson." This state-of-the-art ship provides some of the latest findings on environmental and fisheries conditions in the Pacific ocean, in addition to answering questions of "so what exactly is down there." The ship has been part of studies featured on the PBS program "NOVA." Jim is going to fill us in on some of the TGT's recent work.

Please join us for this interesting presentation. We'll be glad to have you. As usual, the very best of child care is joyfully provided.

Compassion....and Hope

We are going to return the the Living the Question2 series for the first week of the new year. We're going to view and discuss chapter 19, "Compassion: The Heart of Jesus' Ministry." Here are a couple of quotes from the reading to set the tone:

"A student of anthropologist Margaret Mead once asked her to describe the earliest sign of civilization in a given culture. The young student expected the noted scholar of cultures to say that clay pots or crude axes or grinding stones were the first clues of civilization. Dr. Mead’s answer was 'a healed femur,' the human thighbone. She went on to explain that a healed femur indicated that someone cared. Someone had to do the injured person’s hunting and gathering until the leg healed. The evidence of compassion, she said, is the first sign of civilization."

Pretty good, that. And from Harold Beck in The Joys of Liberation Preaching:

"Albert Schweitzer said, 'Concern for people is the beginning of hope.' And when I find somebody hopeless I conclude that they are not very much concerned about anybody. Isn’t it funny that the great harbingers of hope in our time have been the (Mother) Teresas, and the (Martin Luther) Kings, and the (Oscar) Romeros, and the Gandhis? Good heavens, of all the people who had a right to resign from hope -- maybe Schweitzer was right, 'Concern for other people is the beginning of hope.'"

Please join us at 9:45. You'll be very Welcome. As always, excellent childcare is provided.