Archive for April, 2009

NewSpin column – April PULP

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

NewSpin

Christian Piatt

 

Originally published in PULP Magazine

In the spirit of April Fool’s Day, we are encouraged to write something out of character. For me, in this column, that would require me to write something complementary about local politics.

I feel the same way about this as I used to feel when my mom tried to get me to eat green beans. Maybe I’ll just hide my column under the table and hope the dog eats it.

Seriously, I am pretty stoked about the prospects—which I think are actually very real and achievable—of Pueblo becoming the Green Energy capital of the West. People were excited when Vestas announced they were coming to town to build one of the world’s largest wind tower plants, mostly because it meant good jobs.

We greenies, on the other hand, were excited for a whole different reason. The idea that the very ethos upon which our community has subsisted for decades could change in the very near future is such a big concept that I’m dumbfounded more people aren’t talking about it. 

Add to this that there is news afloat that we may also be the beneficiaries of one of the largest solar energy arrays ever built—enough to power every home in Pueblo county and then some—pushes us even closer. The fact that President Obama signed his new energy bill in Colorado speaks to our prospects as a Green state.

Leaning upon the steel industry to keep us afloat has yielded mixed results, but there are several benefits to retooling now, while we have the chance. First, our nation’s thirst for energy does not drop at nearly the rate that the demand for steel does when times are hard. Second, unlike steel, wind and solar are renewable, meaning they can continue producing indefinitely. Finally, there’s a good deal of money in the stimulus bill for infrastructure to encourage Green development like this, which means we might be able to get our workforce newly trained on the Fed’s dollar.

The possibility that Pueblo, of all places, could become a net-zero community (one that produces at least as much energy as it consumes) should have every citizen in our county limits chomping at the proverbial bit. It should, at the very least, be the final motivation we need to implement a county-wide recycling program, to suggest to the greater public that we actually believe in this Green Energy stuff, and we’re not just in it for the money.

Okay, enough positivity. On to Pueblo City Schools Superintendent Covington. If there’s any validity to the myth that Pueblo has a self-esteem issue, it’s reinforced by opportunists like Covington who, in about a year, was almost lured away to Louisiana, having used Pueblo as a convenient stepping stone to further his career.

Never mind that he’s set a multi-year plan into motion that he has no intention of seeing through. And never mind that would have left us holding the tab for a budget deficit in the millions. What’s worse is the message it sends to our children, which is to get what you can, when and where you can, and that long-term commitment takes a back seat to personal gain.

Though he has removed his name from consideration in Baton Rouge, much of the potential damage already has been gone. He knows, as do we know, that if or when the next best thing comes along, his bags are already packed and waiting by the door.

Faith 2.0 – May PULP

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Faith 2.0

 

What’s the difference between religion and theology?

 

There are two different definitions for religion, with one focusing on the belief in a supernatural deity or deities, and the other referring to an institution used to express this shared belief by a community. Theology, however, is a rational process based in systematic thought that sets about analyzing religion and its many facets. There are many different types of theological inquiry, but the root words come from Greek meaning “to study God.”

 

Why are there so many years of Jesus’ life unaccounted for in the New Testament?

 

It is true that Christian scriptures only record Jesus’ life from birth until he was about twelve, and the picks up again at around age thirty. Though no one knows for sure what went on during those “missing years” there are lots of theories. Some believe Jesus went east and studied the great eastern philosophies, whose influence arguably can be seen in his adult teaching. Another myth is that he traveled with Joseph of Arimathea, the wealthy man who provided Jesus’ tomb at upon his death, to England. There are also theories that he spent time in Alexandria, Egypt, with which he seemed to be familiar as suggested by the gospel texts.

New Podcast now posted in two parts

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

My new podcast, “All Or Not At All,” is now posted in two parts. Check it out.

This episode is a two-part interview with Josh Einsohn, Hollywood casting director and social activist. He founded www.AllOrNotAtAll.org in response to the passage of Proposition 8 in California.

We talk about life in tinesltown, civil rights, how his faith informed his worldview and what it’s like growing up a gay jewish kid in the Texas Bible Belt.

You can find this and other episodes at http://christianpiatt.podbean.com, find a player on my main site at www.christianpiatt.com, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by searching “Christian Piatt” in the iTunes store.