posted by Savanah on Oct 22
With a fantastic five-year forecast for its economic future, Oklahoma City is in a wonderful place to begin new initiatives, and to push the existing ones even further. Civic life here is something that continues to improve, and the citizens are community minded by nature. Since the city was founded over 100 years ago, there have been many changes, and it’s embraced the future in spectacular ways. It also takes in the valuable lessons of the past, and Mary Myrick’s Public Strategies is based on the fundamental idea that when we work for the common good, good things result.
It’s a very community-minded organization, and is moving the vision outwardly, with offices in DC, Texas, and Colorado. The team of 150 culturally diverse experts is working hard to help bring some of the vision of Mary Myrick to the public and private sectors. There is a concentrated effort, with every project, to determine the vision and highest ideals of every client, so that the work is geared toward fulfilling these intentions. Whether the need is for public relations, project development, training sessions, or organizational communication, there are team members here who can help make a dream into a reality.
One of the best examples of the commitment to the public good is Bev. Mary Myrick drives a sour green apple colored Smart car, nicknamed for Beverly Hills where she bought it, and she drives this around town to do the work she’s committed to. Thinking green, with an eye toward a sustainable future for our children, is a major commitment of hers. It doesn’t hurt that the car is a delight to the eyes, and often brings a smile to the faces of the people on the streets. It’s a dash of personal style that helps to make the everyday experience of going to work a little more colorful, and suggests that small changes can bring great rewards.
posted by Savanah on Jul 2
I was alarmed about the number of Shisham trees dying in India. I read a survey by the Forest Research Institute (FRI) which sites that the mortality of Shisham trees, also known as the ‘money’ tree in the timber business vernacular, has caused a loss of well over 1,000 crore in the Indian sub-continent. When I arrived and checked into the Palace Hotel India, my first call was to the Forest Pathology Division and make arrangements to help out as an environmentalist and scientist.
Nearly 8 to 10 lakh trees have wilted causing a huge loss in the nation. The FRI have set up multi-location trials through a series of root-dip methods. The trials, they tell me, are trying to bring back the resistance in the Shisham trees. These trees are the biggest provider of timber for making furniture and for building materials in India. So, the whole timber industry is helping out financially with these trials.
It appears that as soil-born fungus called Fusarium Solani is the root cause of the disease plagued Shisham. This fungus inflicts upon the trunks of the trees and causes them to be unable to recoup. A telltale sign that the fungus has stuck a tree is that the leaves turn pale and within a week, maybe two, the tree dies. The fungus works that fast. The staff at FRI showed me satellite pictures which show a brown haze over Delhi and extends the entire stretch of the lower Himalaya and up to West Bengal on to Bangladesh and other Southern Asian countries. They tell me that they believe it’s due to this phenomenon along side the drought which has aided to the stress of the trees not being able to fight off the fungus.
The Shisham is a most important timber in India, so we are taking steps to save it from further decay. I don’t know if there’s anything more to be done than what is already being done, but I’m not the only environmentalist working diligently on this task.