eating the first commandment

Eve admires Adam's fro while Adam worries about his job description.

the very first commandment that God gave human-kind is found in Genesis 1. in literature, order is consistently and intentionally used to convey chronology or importance. literally translated, God said, “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every animal that moveth on the earth.” God speaketh in olde Englishe! other than that one King, you heard it here first.

one verse’s translation says “I have given to you every herb sowing seed…” and so forth which in my professional opinion, loses meaning in today’s culture. normally, bestowing a gift to someone or giving something of great value and important implies certain expectations, namely, don’t muff this up.

with our modern notions of ownership and responsibility (or lack thereof), these ancient Scriptures are easily twisted to mean any number of things. just ask most of the GOP.

as the words “plunder” or “pillage” or “take complete advantage of” are conspicuously absent from God’s mouth in reference to the world and all things in it, let’s assume that the previous verses are important where God says “fill the earth, subdue it, and rule over every fish…” and so on. another translation says “have dominion over the fish… fowl… and animal…”

that’s a rich phrase. ruling demands care, intelligence, accountability, and a desire for the best for those in the Ruler’s care.

all you human beings out there, own this. claim it. it’s yours, like it or not. you are responsible for the earth and all in it. and unfit rulers don’t last. they face revolutions and uprisings and backlash and the like. Marky-Mark’s The Happening-style. ok. kinda kidding. but kinda not.

it’s halfway through February, but it’s never too late for a top 6 list for the new year, right? right. without further ado, whatisEikon pridefully presents simple things you can do to take better care of your home planet. at least until we find a new one.

the Sushi Sushi chef is good with knives. and he'll cut you if you don't follow these instructions.

1. eat sushi differently. some of the seafood out there is harvested carelessly, even dangerously to our environment. the Environmental Defense Fund has a list of Eco-Best, Eco-JustOK, and Eco-Villainous fishies. so that fluorescent pink glowing dye-injected farm raised “Atlantic/Norwegian/farm raised” salmon you see constantly on sale at the grocery store? move right on by and get the real, wild-caught Pacific or Alaskan salmon. not only does it taste better, it is free of PCBs, a toxic industrial compound. kudos to the EDF for not just listing this info, but for showing actual results with several former Eco-Worst seafood groups having been upgraded due to ecologically safer fishing practices and simply ceasing over-harvesting.

2. be neighborly. beef and lamb are carbon intensive, chicken and pork are less so. ever driven by a cattle ranch? notice the stench? that’s methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas, meaning its presence in our atmosphere traps heat from the sun and the earth rather than allowing it to escape. but more on that in a minute. purchasing locally grown meats and produce does a number of things: it supports the local economy, reduces the energy usage (and therefore cost) of transporting food, reduces the materials used to package and protect foods, which are primarily paper and plastic, ensures freshness, and helps limit your exposure to food-born diseases. as smaller, local farmers are supremely interested in turning profits on a smaller scale than large corporations, and thus, limiting waste, they harvest only when they can sell product. community supported agriculture is a growing concept in the US, and really, has stayed that way for much of the world, but by another name: good sense. take care of your city or town by purchasing goods and services from local sellers, and they’ll take care of you. rather than, say, outsourcing everything in sight. Scott, don’t hate.

the deadly side of the day we celebrate the birth of St. Valentine.

3. show us your “O” knowledge. yes, i’m using the O word. and you should be all about your O, too. for instance, the Department of Agriculture is tightening restrictions on what can be termed organic dairies. because let’s be honest here–you want the cows that produce the milk you pour on your cereal to be fed things they would naturally eat. like grass. and not plastic pellets that might contain pee or poo. because that’s gross. so cows that get to roam out on pastures get exercise for a little bit longer each year. and they can’t be force fed steroids or hormones like Mark McGwire. or the Guvono of Kalee Foneya. and here’s another good thought: don’t poison the people you love. pesticides used on flowers are more concentrated and poisonous than those used on fruits and veggies. and what’s the first thing your girlfriend or mommy does when you hand her a bouquet?

4.  creatively display your romantic side. ditch the flowers.  or at least get bouquets grown in-state. or consider buying a potted flowering plant native to your area. to be fair, there is some debate about this topic. to grow flowers in the UK, one needs a greenhouse that uses energy to maintain a warm temperature. Kenya’s high commissioner to Britain points out that energy used to transport African flowers to Britain is actually less than the energy used to heat greenhouses. and it provides a valuable export to an impoverished nation, and jobs to small farmers and their families. that said, know what you’re buying. take a few minutes to research what you support financially.

Ann Christy is in elbow deep. so don't mess with the mullet!

5. cover your poo. ok, don’t do anything but flush your poo, but there’s lots of playing with poo going on in the world of science. especially cow poo. tOSU prof Ann Christy has found that a half liter of microbe-filled fluid from a cow’s stomach produces as much energy as a AA battery. in the future, you could have a small appliance attached to a 2 liter bottle of cow bile! think of how nice it would be to use that electric toothbrush or portable razor every morning!  many dairies are combining cow waste into lagoons or covering piles of it with tarps and attaching digesters and converted engines to run trucks or pour power into electric grids.

6. if solid waste is not your thing, save your pee instead.

ok, i realize that these might be in order of decreasing usefulness for the average Joe. but it’s good to know that there are lots of little things anyone can do to help honor God’s first recorded command to humankind, from knowing what you’re buying, to joyfully flinging excrement for the betterment of planet Earth.