A Voice from the Eastern Door

The Four Winds

The Four Winds: We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help to bring the change of the seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.

Section I: The Importance of the Four Winds to the Haudenosaunee

Scientifically

Our Air

The air is probably the single most important resource we have. One can survive for several weeks with no food, several days with no water, but death come in minutes without air. When we are born our very first reaction upon leaving the safety of the womb is to fill our lungs with air, and the very last thing we do when passing is expire our life’s last breath. Second by second, for a lifetime, our body quietly pulls in the life giving air without ever giving it any thought. The process of breathing is automatic, controlled by the autonomic system in our bodies, so we really pay no mind to breathing unless it is a problem. Breathing becomes a problem if our lungs are damaged by disease or if there are pollutants in the air.

Life Properties of Air

Oxygen, the most important component of air, gives us life, drives our own body’s “chemical” reactions in order for us to function on the most basic cellular level. Oxygen in our atmosphere is found at 20.9%, with nitrogen representing the bulk at 78%, and with Argon, Helium, and Neon trailing at 0.9%, 0.0018%, and 0.0005% respectively. Were the percentage of oxygen to diminish to less than 19.5% or to increase above 24%, we are certain to perish. This delicate balance is very important for us to survive. The zone where most of life occurs, the biosphere, is a critical living zone, which literally separates life from death for organisms requiring air for living.

Not only is it important that the air we breathe maintain its delicate balance of gas mixtures, it is also important that the air we breathe is not contaminated with other materials that could affect or impair our health or respiratory system. Any pollu­tants or contaminants in the air can become introduced into our respiratory system and cause immediate or acute effects, cause long term or chronic effects. Contaminants can attack our bodies mechanically or chemically, and can result in injury to the respiratory tract, the digestive system, the nervous system, or vital organs.

The Wind Engine Drives the World

Where do the Four Winds come from? Wind is the movement of air. Winds move on a global scale to drive the forces of weather which we experience each day. The winds are created as air is heated in the equatorial regions of the earth and rise. As equatorial air is warmed, cool polar air flows toward the equator. Warm air is displaced by cold air that is warmed at the equator, and the cycle continues. These polar and equatorial wind patterns are known as the jet streams. So powerful are these winds, airline pilots take advantage of these winds to boost the speed of their aircraft when flying at high altitudes. This global movement of these air masses is respon­sible for generating the weather patterns we experience, such as rain, snow, fair weather, and storms.

The heating and cooling of air is greatly affected by the water or land masses from where the wind originates. The magnitude of the cooling or warming effect is manifested in the severity of weather. No where has this been more dramatic than with the El Nino and the severe weather patterns experienced in late 1997 and early 1998.

Scientists are anxiously trying to under­stand the patterns of El Nino because it is believed that human activity may have contributed to the El Nino patterns. It is thought that the greenhouse, or warming effect, may have caused the El Nino recently experienced. The greenhouse effect is caused by the trapping of sunlight energy and heat, causing increased water and air temperatures around the world. The greenhouse effect is caused by excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmos­phere. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, gasoline, and also from burning of wood. Also, because many of the forests of the world, which utilize carbon monoxide, have been destroyed, carbon monoxide normally consumed by plants and converted back to oxygen is accumulating. Wind, whether viewed on a global scale, regional scale, or local scale, is a very important component of life cycles. Wind is responsible for carrying migratory birds on their seasonal journeys to breeding and feeding grounds. Special winds, thermal convection currents, allow large birds, such as the eagle to stay aloft in the air for the long periods of time while hunting, by riding air rising currents. The winds carry pollen during the flowering season from plant to plant and ensure genetic diversity is maintained for plants. Seeds and spores, the next generation’s life source for plants is carried to new ground by winds, this is known as seed dispersion. Plants have adapted to dispersing their seeds with the wind, examples include: the maples, the ashes, dandelions, elms, pines, milkweed, and many more. The maples, in particular, make a spectacular descent by swirling in large numbers, spinning like a propeller to the ground. Without the Four Winds, plants have difficulty in reproducing. Wind is also known to be an important means for dispersion of spiders, mites, and snails.

Continued next week...

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