Earth Day is April 22, 2010

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

Climate Change - Blog Action Day #BAD09

The great blue heron is back again today. Statuesque, he's frozen with one leg crooked, eyes locked on some prey in the pond, ready to grab his breakfast. He'll stand there as long as it takes his hunting efforts to claim his prize. Normally it would probably be a frog, but with all the rain I suspect it's actually a fish today.

Watching him is like a meditation. Brown water flowing east. Golden brown and deep green pond bank vegetation. Shamrock green meadow background. Blue grey sky. Ripples of rain drops on the water. Melodies of the song birds flitting here and there. Whispers of wind blowing through the trees. Dark twilight blue plummage, white beard of feathers and that ridiculously fabulous top knot... the heron is poetry come to life.

If I let the dogs out, it will disrupt the scene. The heron pause from his mission, cock his head, gather himself together and launch. Spreading his magnificent wings he'll soar into the grey skies. Either he'll head on down the line of our seven spring pools or off to another of his haunts. As he glides away, I'll sigh. I'll sigh in wonder that such a huge bird can be spectacularly graceful. And I'll sigh at the gift of having seen this scene.

Living a rural country life is a special gift. There's a connectedness to the land that I suspect is rare these days. All I have to do is look out a window to feel the interwoven threads of life on this planet. What impacts Mother Earth impacts me directly. In my daily life. Not only in the contents of my larder - the results of gardening labors - but in my quality of life.

I try to be a good steward. Of the land and for my animals. I garden organically. I plant crops for wildlife, butterflies, birds, and bees. I avoid chemicals; reuse, repurpose, recycle. You know the drill. Is it enough? I'm old enough to have witnessed amazing changes in weather patterns and growing awareness of species that have already been lost. Our global climate is changing and therefore, my life is changing.

I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotations from Chief Seattle in 1855:

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.

We humans have managed to inflict many changes to the web of life which impact our climate and environment. Changes that, in turn, continue to cause alarming changes to our basic survival needs of food, water, air, and shelter. Changes, some of which are permanent and there's no going back. All in the name of "progress."

There's no "do over," however, It's never too late to walk more softly on this planet we call home. Going green has become a catch phrase and marketing ploy, however it can mean taking even small steps to protect life and to make sure we are not among the extinct species of the future.

I wonder about future generations. Will they be blessed with having the opportunity to witness the poetry of life? Will there still be red tailed hawks that make lazy circles in the blue sky over their fields? Will there still be honey bees buzzing in their orchards making sure fruit will be on their tables? Will the great blue herons fish in their ponds?

As for me, I'm with Mother Nature. I cannot spare her nourishment of my very soul.


Composed for Blog Action Day #BAD09

Meat Eating Contributes to Climate Change

One of my favorite resources is the Organic Consumers Association and I receive their e-newsletter. It never fails to get me thinking. A recent post is a good example.

It highlights a Washington Post article which summarized a number of recent reports indicating that one of the best things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint or greenhouse gas pollution is to reduce your meat consumption. [In the interests of full disclosure, I should note that we are not vegans.]

According the the article:

• A Carnegie Melon study found that the average American would benefit the planet more by being vegetarian one day per week than by switching to a totally local diet
• A University of Chicago study found that switching to a vegan diet would have a bigger impact than trading your gas guzzler for a Prius.
• The head of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recommended that people give up meat one day a week to take pressure off the atmosphere.
• According to a 2006 United Nations report, livestock accounts for 18 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
• Americans seem okay being told they should recycle, drive less, and weatherize their homes, but something short-circuits when you ask them to reduce their meat consumption

Climate Watch & the Bird Count

Mark your calendars for February 13-16!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a four-day event that engages people of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It's free, fun, and easy and it helps the birds.

Participants count birds for as long as they wish during a four day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count on the web. As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada.

They can also see how this year's numbers compare with those from previous years.Scientists learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. Bird populations are dynamic; they are constantly in flux. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to document the complex distribution and movements of so many species in such a short time.

Here are some of the questions scientist hope to answer with this year's count:

• How will this winter's snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations?


• Where are winter finches and other species that appear in large numbers during some years but not others?


• How will the timing of birds' migrations compare with past years?


• How are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions?


• What kinds of differences in bird diversity are apparent in cities versus suburban, rural, and natural areas?


• Are any birds undergoing worrisome declines that point to the need for conservation attention?
  

Scientists use the counts, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, to give us an immense picture of our winter birds. Each year that these data are collected makes them more meaningful and allows scientists to investigate far-reaching questions about the health of our planet.

Sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audobon Society