Sonoran Desert Charity
By: Lisa     

     Sometimes it’s interesting to see how you come to know someone, or at least of him/her. That “six degrees of separation” theory seems to pop up from time to time to prove its existence for those who may be skeptical. This was pretty much the case with myself and one of my favorite authors, Charles Bowden, only I think it involved fewer than six degrees. If you remember Zoar from our March 2004 issue, you may recall that the band used an excerpt from one of Bowden’s books, Blood Orchid, in their music. After reading the book, I decided to try and learn more about this writer and stumbled upon his email address. See what a little research can do for you, kids? Lo and behold, he wrote back, and I learned that he was working with an organization that’s currently trying to set aside a large portion of the Sonoran Desert for a national preserve. We’ve all seen what industry and lack of environmental protection has done to lands across the U.S., and the people for this park want to prevent it from happening there. With a diverse group of wildlife and plants, including wolves, hawks, snakes, cacti, and wildflowers inhabiting the desert, it is imperative that we help preserve the land in order to keep these creatures from becoming extinct, and we’ve had to witness far too many life forms die off because of our actions, or lack of actions. And let’s not forget that by helping preserve this land, we’ll be helping humans as well. For those of you who may not believe in the cause for the reasons I’ve listed above, think about the people who live in the surrounding areas who probably visit the desert for recreational purposes, and all the people across the country who make their way out there just to enjoy it. And think about the probability of industry making its way into the desert only to pollute and destroy (NJ citizens make up the majority of our readership, so I’m sure they can relate).

     In their song “Mass Destruction,” Faithless preach that “Inaction is a weapon of mass destruction.” And with all the terror and destruction going on in the world right now, we need to preserve what we can, for ourselves and for the future. That’s why Paragon is helping Charles Bowden and his friends raise money for this cause. You can donate by attending any of the concerts we put on at Victor’s House of Music (a donation box will be available), via Paypal on our website, or by snail mailing us (please email us at ParagonMM@hotmail.com for the address, as we do not accept unsolicited mail). Every little bit counts, even a dollar will help, so please don’t hesitate! We guarantee that your donations will be collected and given completely to the organization. Thanks for the support! 

For more information, visit: http://www.sonorandesertnp.org/