Short Term Memory

Summer time is definitely here in New Hampshire!  It seems like we've already had 3 weeks of 90 degree weather since summer started.  The summer 'blockbuster' movies have started to debut and we haven't seen a single one.
We have been busy with other things, Eye Help Animals among them, of course!

Every day we are hearing from or meeting people who seem to be experiencing what we can only describe as a sense of anxiety about what's going on with our weather: "I don't remember it being this hot this early in the season.", or "I can't remember the last time we had a tornado in New Hampshire!", and "Our tomatoes have never ripened so early in the season." (Actually, we do remember when the last tornado struck NH. It was in 2008 and destroyed many homes, disrupted a few businesses, and uprooted countless trees in its 50 mile path that passed within 3 miles of our home.)  Whether you believe in global warming or not, there have been many noticeable changes in the weather that seem to support the idea of a changing climate.

The world's never-ending march forward in the name of progress pretty much guarantees that our global consumption of oil is not likely to go down any time soon.  But, as the destruction of habitat and wildlife from oil spills like the one in the Gulf of Mexico continues, we wonder when enough people will start to notice and then maybe ask if there isn't a connection.

Well, we do what we can every day to protect both habitat and wildlife.  Our newsletter this month highlights just a few of the things that all of us could do to help make a difference.

PLASTIC: IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER

We are always looking for ways to minimize our impact on the environment.  Over the years, we have adopted more and more 'green behaviors' and made them into habits.  As environmentally conscious consumers, we always look for minimal packaging and recyclable packaging.  However, as conscientious as we are, I happened to see an image that made me rethink entirely just how much more we can do to minimize our impact on the environment.  This photo, shown next to the title on this article, was taken by Chris Jordan and speaks volumes about the hidden impact our consumer habits have on the environment and wildlife.
Clearly visible among the remains of this unfortunate albatross chick are plastic bottle caps.  How is this possible?  Watch this video to find out.  (Note: Chris took several trips to Midway in 2009 and is back there presently.  You can find out more at www.midwayjourney.com.)

So, how does this knowledge affect my consumer purchasing?  After seeing Chris' images and video, I made a promise to myself to use our stainless steel water 'bottles' as much as possible in lieu of any plastic bottled water.  For, although our town does recycle plastic bottles -- as with most recycling centers, they request that we 'remove all bottle caps'.  So, where do these caps wind up?  Well, besides adding to the waste stream going to landfills, they obviously wind up in places totally unintended and with dire consequences. I, personally, feel better knowing that if I can prevent even one bottle cap from winding up in the stomach of an albatross chick, that I am doing what I can to protect wildlife thousands of miles away from where I live.  One more 'green behavior' that does make a difference.

It's the End of the World as We Know it

Whenever I think about disasters in the world and how we are all interconnected and something in one part of the world affects all of us the whole world over, it still seems distant and like it won't really affect me and my immediate world.
But for some reason, this feels different.  Maybe because other disasters often affect the air - can't see it then it might not really exist.  But, you can see this.
Every day the news is showing us the oil as it continues to pump into the ocean.
Do we know the extent of damage to the ocean, to wildlife, to us?  Are we even thinking about how this is going to damage us?  Or are we thinking that, like the air around us, this will just blow over?

I'm afraid.  I've never been so afraid of a disaster.  Yes, it is a big ocean, but we are hearing about the areas the oil is reaching, miles and miles away.  How long will the oil pump out into the ocean?  For months, years?  And how long before everything in the ocean is dead?

Jim and I recently saw the movie "2012". There was a disaster that caused the end of civilization in the year 2012, when the Mayan Long Count calendar ends. Perhaps there is no connection to disaster at all and the change that is being predicted will be a spiritual one for people. Wouldn't that be nice? But when I look around at what we are doing, everyday, to our world, I am feeling more and more like we are killing our planet. What we fail to see is what is dying right along with the planet; the oceans, the wildlife, us.

And the song plays in my head, and I wonder, is it the end of the world as we know it?

Trashed

Jim and I completed our second trash pick-up earlier this week.  Our initial pick-up in April resulted in 23 bags of trash along 2 1/2 miles of our road.  We were told by a NH DOT worker that some of the trash we picked up had probably been there for about 20 years.
Obviously the second trash pick-up, just two months later, was a lot less back breaking from bending and picking up much less trash that had been thrown on the road.  We got a total of 5 1/2 bags this time.  Still seemed like a lot to me in just two months.  I would love to just enjoy a nice walk in my neighborhood without looking at the soda and beer cans, the cigarette packages, and the Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's styrofoam coffee cups.

Speaking of Styrofoam cups, check out my blog entry on Styrofoam.  An extremely harmful material for both the environment and wildlife, and by now you must realize harmful to humans as well, I have to wonder why Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's are still using styrofoam cups for their coffee.  It is tossed on the roadside and forgotten by the person who bought the large coffee.  Forgotten in an instant but sitting there on the side of the road forever.  Why aren't Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's considering the toxic cup they are choosing to use for millions and millions of coffee drinkers everyday?  Sounds irresponsible to me.
About as irresponsible as the people who throw them from their car windows as they drive down our road.