The average freshman living in an MU residence hall spends $25 a day for a place to sleep and bathe, for food, and for the utilities - water, electricity, heat and sewage, required to provide these services. The average African has $1.70 a day to meet the same needs, or less than 1/14 of the amount an MU freshman has. And if the African is a resident of Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi or Sierra Leone, he or she has less than 1/50 of the resources of an MU freshman.

The differences cannot just be explained by a lower cost of living. Africans typically get 59% of the calories and14% of the meat, milk, and eggs that an average American gets in their diet. Only 70% of urban and 44% of rural residents have sanitation services, which means that their exposure to water borne diseases is much higher. Approximately half of the women are illiterate because there are few or no public schools and parents don't have the fees to send all their children so they send the boys. Health care is so dismal that the under five mortality rate for children is 20 times that of the U.S., and the average life expectancy is 49 years. The poverty experienced by 700 million people on this planet is real and grinding, and conditions are only slightly better for another 2 or 3 billion. However economically disadvantaged we may feel relative to CEOs and movie stars, it helps to look in the other direction every once in a while and be thankful for what we've got.

In that spirit, and with Holiday shopping dominating the next two months, it might be time to reflect on the story of the original Santa Claus and its meaning. St. Nicholas (Santa Claus in the U.S.) was a Bishop in Myra in the 4th century AD. He took Jesus' instruction to the rich man to "sell what you own and give everything to the poor" quite literally and regularly gave whatever he had for the relief of the poor. Tradition has it that he secretly provided the dowries for a poor family's three daughters so that they could get married. The dowries, sacks of gold coins, were tossed into the window of the house in the middle of the night. So the real Christmas gift giving tradition isn't to gift your family or friends (or yourself) but to gift the poor.

Now it may seem that it would take all the fun out of the holiday to direct your giving to the poor, but giving to the poor actually provides lots of shopping opportunities (see the list below) so you can still get that buzz from finding a great deal. If you don't like shopping, think how easy it is to give to any of the local, national or international charities that help the poor. And you don't have to go cold turkey on your family and friends either, just start focusing on qualities of gifts that aren't material. For example, kids really like unwrapping gifts even if they don't play with them, so one year I bought my youngest niece a modest set of wooden blocks and wrapped them all separately, kept her busy for hours. Give a gift of time and/or skill - help with a major project, or provide an evening, day or weekend away from the kids. Find out what causes a person care about and make a donation in their name.

What does helping the poor have to do with the environment? High infant mortality, low female literacy, and low life expectancy are all correlated with high population growth and severe resource degredation. Taking care of the poor - which after all is the true spirit of Christmas - takes care of the planet as well.

Local Salvation Army 442-3229 Holiday Meals, New (unwrapped) Toys for Christmas Center (by Dec 13), Winter Coats (by Nov 10)

Central Missouri Food Bank 474-1020 Scan Cards at Grocery Stores, Food for Family Partner - $73 to feed a person for a year (what a great deal!) . www.centralmofoodbank.org

Habitat for Humanity 499-1202 Construction Tools, Indian Hills Houses materials and supplies. www.centralmohabitat.org

Voluntary Action Center 874-2273 Adopt a Family (over 1100 families this year!) www.vacmo.org

International Alternative Gifts International: http://www.altgifts.org/ Buy a medicine box, wheelchair, shelter or books Heifer International : http://www.heifer.org/giving_prog/living_gift.htm Buy a heifer, pig, chicken or other livestock

Bio Regional Quiz : When have most trees in Missouri lost their leaves?

Job of the Month : RESOURCE NATURALIST - Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium; Fort Myers, FL. Responsibilities: Individual will oversee the Center's collection of animals and perform some land management tasks; work with animal resource acquisition and ensure that all animals are cared for within all legal requirements; maintain trails, buildings and exhibits, this will involve designing and implementing land management projects, exotics removal and habitat restoration; provide other operational support as requested by the Executive Director. Status: Irregular work hours; Benefits. Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree in Biology, Environmental Science, or equivalent training in a related field; must possess strong organizational, problem solving, teaching and computer skills; must be able to work independently and in a team environment; must have cheerful and outgoing demeanor. Annual Salary Range: $22,000-$30,000. Application Procedure: Send resume and letter to Michael Simonik, Executive Director, Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, 3450 Oritz Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33905; or Fax to 239-275-9016; or Email to Michael@CalusaNature.com

SPECIAL EVENTS / CLASSES / PROGRAMS / TALKS
7th ANNUAL CONSERVATION FORUM: November 5, 5:30 to 9:30pm, Living World at the Saint Louis Zoo-Forest Park. Sponsored by the International Center for Tropical Ecology and the Nature Conservancy. Registration beings at 5:00pm. http://www.umsl.edu/~biology/icte/comin.html
BIRD BANDING DEMO: November 8, 7:00am, Meet in the parking lot north of Patricia’s (formerly Nowell’s) on Keene St. and I-70 SE. Sponsored by Aududbon and the Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area. For more information contact Lee Schiffel at 573-886-8518 or email at KraftL@missouri.edu
GEOCACHING: Saturday November 8, 9 am. Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. Learn about the sport of geocaching . ~10 -12 amtry out your geocaching skills in the park. Presented by Mid-Missouri Geocachers, sponsored by Friends of Rock Bridge Memorial State Park.
RECYCLING FORUM - HOW'S COLUMBIA DOING?: Tuesday November 18, 7 pm Columbia Public Library Friends Room. Speakers: Cynthia Mitchell, Columbia Public Works, Joe Priesmeyer, N.H. Scheppers Distributing Company, Hank Ottinger, Columbia Committee on Recycling and Litter Reduction.
SUSTAINABLE STUDENT: Wednesday November 5, 7:30 pm, Arts & Sciences Bldg. Room 200. Assessing individual impacts on the environment and ways to decrease your impact. Sponsored by Student Sierra Club Information on upcoming events: November 8, Stream Clean-Up. November 15, Recycling Study
PRAIRIE GARDEN TRUST: Monday November 10. 7 pm Unitarian Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd. Hear speaker Lorna Domke of the Prairie Garden Trust, sponsored by the Missouri Native Plant Society.
USE LESS STUFF HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN: November 16 through Jan 1. Call 874-6271 for more information

MU Organization Meetings and Contact Information
E N V I R O N M E N T A L A F F A I R S C O U N C I L : 882-7018
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: 882-7116 Thursday November 20, 8 am 218 A Tucker Hall
R E C Y C L I N G C O M M I T T E E ; 8 8 2 - 3 0 9 1 Thursday Dec 11 8:30 - 9:30 Room 185 General Services Builcing
S T U D E N T S I E R R A C L U B : 8 8 2 - 7 1 1 6 Wednesdays at 7:30 pm in 200 A & S

Organization Meetings and Contact Information
A U D U B O N S O C I E T Y ; 8 7 4 - 3 9 0 4 / c o l u m b i a - a u d u b o n . m i s s o u r i . o r g M e e t 3 r d W e d 7 : 3 0 p m , U S G S , 4 2 0 0 N e w H a v e n
B O O N E C O U N T Y S M A R T G R O W T H C O A L I T I O N ; h t t p : / / s m a r t g r o w t h . m i s s o u r i . o r g / , 1 s t W e d n e s d a y s 7 : 1 5 B o o n e C o G o v t C t r .
C E N T E R F O R S U S T A I N A B L E L I V I N G ; 8 7 5 - 0 5 3 9 o r h t t p : / / p e a c e w o r k s . m i s s o u r i . o r g /
C H O U T E A U G R O T T O ; h t t p : / / c h o u t e a u . m i s s o u r i . o r g / , M e e t 1 s t W e d , 7 p m , C o m m u n i t y R o o m o f t h e B o o n e E l e c t r i c C o o p
C O L U M B I A F O O D C I R C L E ; 8 8 2 - 7 4 6 3 o r e m a i l h e n d r i c k s o n m @ m i s s o u r i . e d u f o r i n f o r m a t i o n .
C O L U M B I A P U B L I C W O R K S V O L U N T E E R P R O G R A M S ; 8 7 4 - 6 2 7 1 o r h t t p : / / w w w . c i . c o l u m b i a . m o . u s / d e p t / p u b w /
C O M M U N I T Y S T O R M W A T E R P R O J E C T : h t t p : / / w w w . G o C o l u m b i a M o . c o m / P u b l i c W o r k s / S t o r m W a t e r / c s w p . h t m l
E N V E D U C A T I O N W O R K S H O P S A N D C O N F E R E N C E S : h t t p : / / w w w . c o n s e r v a t i o n . s t a t e . m o . u s / t e a c h e r / w o r k s h o p s /
F R I E N D S O F R O C K B R I D G E S T A T E P A R K ; 4 7 4 - 7 4 2 9 o r h t t p : / / r o c k b r i d g e . m i s s o u r i . o r g / M e e t 4 t h T u e s d a y s , 7 p m
G R E E N B E L T C O A L I T I O N ; 4 4 2 - 4 7 8 9 o r h t t p : / / g r e e n b e l t . m i s s o u r i . o r g M e e t 1 s t T u e s d a y s , 7 p m , O u t d o o r s B l d g , 2 0 0 O l d 6 3 S .
M I S S O U R I N A T I V E P L A N T S O C I E T Y ; n p s h a w t h @ h o t m a i l . c o m M e e t e v e r y o t h e r s e c o n d M o n d a y ( J a n , M a r , M a y , J u l y , S e p t , N o v ) a t 7 : 0 0 p . m . , u s u a l l y a t M D C F i s h a n d W i l d l i f e R e s e a r c h C e n t e r , 1 1 1 0 S . C o l l e g e A v e . , C o l u m b i a , M O .
M I S S O U R I R I V E R C O M M U N I T I E S N E T W O R K ; 4 4 3 - 0 2 9 2 o r h t t p : / / m r c n . m i s s o u r i . o r g /
P E D N E T C O A L I T I O N ; e m a i l : p e d n e t @ p e d n e t . o r g o r h t t p : / / w w w . p e d n e t . o r g
R O C K B R I D G E M E M O R I A L S T A T E P A R K ; 4 4 9 - 7 4 0 2 o r h t t p : / / r o c k b r i d g e . m i s s o u r i . o r g
S H O W M E C L E A N S T R E A M S C O A L I T I O N ; ( 5 7 3 ) 7 5 1 - 4 1 1 5 e x t 3 1 6 9 o r w w w . m o s t r e a m t e a m . o r g
S I E R R A C L U B ; 4 4 3 - 4 4 0 1 o r h t t p : / / s i e r r a . o s a g e . m i s s o u r i . o r g M e e t 3 r d T u e s d a y s 7 : 3 0 p m H i l l e l F o u n d a t i o n , 1 1 0 7 U n i v e r s i t y A v e
W I L D O N E S ; 4 9 9 - 3 7 4 9 o r e m a i l w i l d o n e s m o @ y a h o o . c o m , h t t p : / / w i l d o n e s . m i s s o u r i . o r g M e e t i n g s 2 n d S a t u r d a y s . C a l l f o r l o c a t i o n

A n s w e r t o B i o R e g i o n a l Q u i z : Most trees have lost their leaves by mid November. It might seem that there isn't much to look at after that, but once the leaves fall, the things hidden by them become visible. You can look for the grey papery tapered globes of bald-faced hornet nests, or the bunches of leaves that are squirrel nests. Check out tree architecture - the average length, orientation and arrrangement of twigs on branches is distinctive to each species of tree. Look for woodpecker holes and other animal habitats.

F e e d b a c k - G o t a n o p i n i o n ? I f w e h a v e s p a c e , w e w i l l c o n s i d e r p u b l i s h i n g i t . S u b m i t i t b y e m a i l ( e n v s t u d y @ m i s s o u r i . e d u ) , s n a i l m a i l ( E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t u d i e s , 2 1 1 L o w r y , M U , C o l u m b i a M O 6 5 2 1 1 ) , o r c a l l J a n W e a v e r t o t a l k a b o u t i t ( 8 8 2 - 7 1 1 6 ) . M U E n v i r o n m e n t a l N e t w o r k N e w s i s p u b l i s h e d b y M U í s E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t u d i e s I n i t i a t i v e . A l l o p i n i o n s e x p r e s s e d a r e t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f t h e e d i t o r . A n y p a r t o f t h i s n e w s l e t t e r m a y b e c o p i e d f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n b u t p l e a s e g i v e u s c r e d i t .

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