Let’s Clean Up the Great Garbage Patch

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy week at work, writing, and running. It seems like things are picking up speed. My youngest graduates this year, and it is bittersweet to say the least.

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The highlight of the weekend was when I attended the play, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” starring Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch. The cast put on an amazing show and Richard Thomas did not disappoint.

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But enough about that. Today, I want to talk about Earth Day. It was April 22^nd. I’m surprised we only have one day to celebrate our planet. Shouldn’t Earth Day be every day?

Yes. It should. We should be celebrating our planet every day for sustaining our lives. Not only should we be celebrating it; we should be taking care of it. We need to for our future generations.

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We can start by cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean. It is about 620,000 square miles of debris. It’s so large it has its own ecosystem living on it. Let’s clean that up. It originated from the fishing industry. Fishing boats who dump their trash and damaged fishing nets into the sea.

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Cleaning up the ocean would be good for our economy. Just think about all the jobs it would create. Wouldn’t that be nice if we could create jobs that did something good for our planet? Why haven’t we thought about this before?

I know it’s a big job. It’s huge. There must be some way a corporation could make a profit cleaning it up. We could make it a government contract. That’ll work. We could have all the nations pitch in and clean it up. Split it right down the middle. Make it a global event. That would work. Don’t you think?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. Do you have any ideas on how to clean up the Great Garbage Patch? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Rewilding for a Healthier Earth

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of work and writing, and cooler weather. This weekend is warmer and I’m spending as much time as I can outside. Once winter hits, I’m going to go into hibernation mode, but enough about that.

Today I want to talk about rewilding. What is it?

Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation. It’s about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes. Through rewilding, wildlife’s natural rhythms create wilder, more biodiverse habitats.

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What a great idea. I bet it would help the bee situation and the diminishing coral situation in our oceans and seas. Both of which we need to keep our earth alive and thriving. So, why is it so controversial? Well, it would cause some of our industries to lose profits. That’s right. Think of all those landscaping companies out there that would be put out of business, not to mention the fishing industry.

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The fishing industry is the biggest culprit in our oceans and seas as far as damaging ecosystems. They overfish which leads to extinction, not to mention, they pollute our waters as well . We need that predator/prey balance in our oceans to keep it thriving. So, if we were to rewild our soils and our waters, we’d be bringing our earth back into balance.

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I know what you’re thinking, what about our industries? Well, they’re smart people, they can become creative and come up with ideas that would work within the parameters that our panel of conservationists would set up. There’re some jobs right there. Then we’d have to have the enforcers who’d make sure the companies were doing their utmost best to follow the guidelines. More jobs.

It would be a drastic change. I know and we all know as humans we fight change, but here’s the thing. We need to make these changes to keep our earth alive for future generations.  I’m sure every parent out there wants to provide a safe and healthy environment for their descendants. I know I do.

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So, we need to buck up and get behind this idea. Oh yeah, and while we’re at it, let’s clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Let’s face it, humans have been defiling the earth for way too long. It’s time to clean it up. It’s our home, and the home of our future generations.

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Thanks for reading my post, how do you feel about rewilding? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve had a busy week of work and writing. I was able to get up north for the weekend, and it was great. I needed to get away and relax. Summer is almost over. Sob.

But it was nice to get out in the sun and enjoy the wind and water. I’m sure I got plenty of Vitamin D this weekend. But enough about that. Today, I’d like to talk about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

As I strolled along the beach, the wind blew strong, and the waves beat the shore. The waves brought sand, shells, and small rocks to the shore along with plastic. There was a sandal, a couple plastic bottles, a child’s shovel, and beer cans.

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

This got me thinking about the oceans and all the plastic floating in them. I’m sure you’ve heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s actually two large patches of marine debris floating in the Pacific Ocean. One is off the coast of Japan and is called the Western Garbage Patch, and the other is the Eastern Garbage Patch floating between the Hawaiian Islands and California.

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The patches are considered vortexes of plastic waste and debris broken down into smaller pieces. The Garbage patch is bounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. A Gyre is defined as a large system of swirling ocean currents. These currents pull the debris into the center where it’s very stable, and that’s where they stay.

We need to clean this up. It affects our sea life in a variety of ways. It looks like jellies to loggerhead sea turtles, and they eat this plastic. Of course, it can’t be digested so it causes internal damage and death to many. Other sea creatures feed this to their young and again the results are the same.

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This is going to have a huge effect on the ecosystem of our oceans. That same ecosystem we depend on to get our seafood. Now, I’ve got your attention, right? 😉

The problem is no country wants to claim responsibility to clean this up. It’s going to be expensive. Of course, it is. When we humans mess something up we do it all the way.

Here’s where I believe a global coalition will work wonders. If all the countries participate, and all share in the costs, we’ll all benefit. Let’s face it we’re all to blame. Let’s get going on this before it’s too late and that garbage patch gets any bigger. I know I’m being idealistic, but why don’t we give it a shot? Do you have any ideas on what we could do? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

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Our Most Valuable Resource

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of working, running, and hiking. I’m still writing, but since it’s been so nice out, I’ve had the desire to be outside as much as possible. So, I’ve been having a hard time sitting still.

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But enough about that, today, I’d like to talk about our most valuable natural resource. It’s our children.  We should be investing in their education and creating a world where they can grow and prosper.

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We need to create a world where they can have life sustaining jobs, and we need to take care of the earth, so they don’t inherit a bigger mess than they already are.

I wish we could work on the pollution problem in our world. All the plastic in the oceans is bad for everyone. The problem is how do you enforce other countries to follow the same guidelines and rules as us? This is the ultimate problem we’re facing in our world today.

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I feel strongly that we need to come together globally if we’re going to save our planet. We need to get everyone on the same page. I’m sure other countries feel the need to take care of the earth. Why can’t we have a summit that’s dedicated to creating some guidelines for all the countries who use our oceans and seas? It would be hard work, but I’m sure we could come to some sort of agreement that everyone can live with. It’s certainly worth a shot.

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We also need to make sure there are life sustaining jobs out there for our young people.  I know we love our kids and want to be with them as much as possible, but we’re not going to be around forever, and we need them to grow to be strong and independent, so they can take care of themselves.

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We need to revamp our education system. Look at what Finland is doing. They’re doing something right that’s for sure. Since the 1980’s they’ve made focusing on basics their priority. The list below are the guidelines they’re using for their educational system.

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• Education should be an instrument to balance out social inequality.
• All students receive free school meals.
• Ease of access to health care.
• Psychological counseling
• Individualized guidance

Their children aren’t bogged down with homework every night after school, and there is no standardized testing. They have developed a culture of cooperation instead of competition. In Finland, there is a lesser dichotomy to focus on college education versus trade schools. Both are considered professional and fulfilling careers. We need to make changes to our system to emulate Finland. It’s working wonders for them and will benefit our children. I’m sure of it.

What are your thoughts about the world we live in? Do you have any ideas on how we can save the future for our kids?

Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Save the Bees!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of working and writing. I’m making progress on my story, and I’m excited about it. But enough about that.

This week the weather was spectacular. I ran outside a couple of times and I’m definitely in the mood for summer. My tulips are coming up this year. They didn’t last year, I’m not sure why. I wasn’t expecting them this year, but low and behold there they are.

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Which brings me to my topic for today. We need to take special care of our bees and other pollinators. They are vital to the survival of trees and flowers on our planet. According to reports, the honeybee population has declined by 89% and is on the verge of extinction.

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There are a variety of factors contributing to this decline, climate change, pesticides, declining habitat, and disease.  The honeybee is a critical link to our agriculture. They are the pollinators that keep our flowers growing as well as a variety of food staples we humans eat. I find it ironic that such a tiny insect has such an impact on our earth.

We humans have to wake up and save the bees. If we don’t, and they do go extinct, our supply of fruit and vegetables will be substantially reduced. According to Einstein, we could survive maybe four years without bees. That is a scary thought.

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So, what can we do to save them? Stop using pesticides. Plant flowers for food for them. The bottom line is we need bees to maintain the quality of life we’ve all enjoyed. Now it’s time to step up to the plate and make sure we can sustain it. We need to do this not just for ourselves but for future generations too.

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We need to do something now. Don’t you agree?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. How about you? Do you have any ideas on how to save the bees? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Saving the Earth

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve had a busy week at work and writing. I also took some time to get together with friends this weekend and walk down memory lane a little bit. I needed a night out, but enough about that. Today, I want to talk about cleaning up our planet for the next generation.

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The first thing I want to address is taking better care of our oceans. Eighty percent of pollution in the oceans is plastic waste. Approximately, ten million metric tons of plastic enters our oceans every year, killing marine life, fish, and seabirds.

This is not just a United States problem. This is a global problem. We need to recycle and get everyone around the globe on board with it. The oceans are keeping our planet alive they provide at least half of the oxygen for the earth. It’s imperative we start cleaning them up now.

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But what can we do individually?

We can recycle. That’s the biggest step we can take as individuals. The less plastic we use the better. We can stop using pollutants like bug sprays and fertilizers. All of these find their way to the ocean.

So, by taking these steps we can take care of the ocean, but pollutants also have a negative effect on our land. They seep into our drinking water and contaminate our soil which makes growing food that much harder, and let’s not forget about the Bee. This little insect is so important for pollination, which is essential for us humans in growing our food. The use of insecticides kills these pollinators.

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 We should start growing our food organically and stop using pesticides all around the world. I know this will be hard to do, but if we get everyone around the world to agree to some kind of treaty, it’s not impossible.

I want our earth to be a viable place to live for future generations. I’m sure you do too. What steps do you think we can take now to ensure our kids have a sustainable planet? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

It’s Time to Take Care of Mother Earth

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. Today is the first day of daylight savings time where we turn the clocks ahead one hour and lose an hour. I don’t know about you, but I hate daylight savings time. It messes me up for a whole week. I don’t sleep well and that makes me cranky.

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On a more positive note, my pinched nerve is so much better. I’m going to try to make it through the day without any muscle relaxers or anti-inflammatory meds. My index finger on my left hand is still numb, but at least I can still type.

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But enough about that. Today, I’d like to talk about taking care of our planet. We humans sure have made a mess of things. From depleting our rain forests to the great garbage pile in the ocean, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

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Why don’t we get smart and create a global organization whose primary purpose is to clean up the mess we’ve created? That way every nation would have to be involved. I wonder if that would help get rid of the wars? I mean if we’re all working toward the same goal, wouldn’t we have to get along?

Just like the trees in the forest cooperate with the fungi in the soil, we could cooperate with other countries and clean up our planet. Wouldn’t that be something?

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I know, I’m being idealistic, but sometimes the answer really is that simple. If we don’t do something soon, future generations are going to be in trouble. It all starts with the forests and the oceans. They are the things keeping our earth alive. Along with our pollinators, let’s not forget the bees.

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The bees keep our forests and flowerbeds growing. Isn’t it interesting that the health of the planet depends on such a tiny insect? Let’s do our part this spring and plant flowers so the bees have plenty of sources to collect their pollen. That’s one small thing we can do right now for our planet.

How about you do you have any ideas on how to keep our earth healthy? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

How do We Save Our Planet?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of writing, running, and work. Less writing this week because I had a busy week with work, and it is treadmill season, so I’m changing up my running routine. Not to mention day light savings time. This combination of a perfect storm had me exhausted at the end of the day.

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At work this last week we had what management calls a boot camp. Kind of a training to hone your skills. Anyway, every morning to get things started we would do an ice breaker. One day one of the ice breakers was “Would you rather.”

One of the questions was “Would you rather live forever or move to a new planet?”

I chose, I would want to live forever. The reason being, I could see my kids grow up and see future generations. I was surprised to find other people in my group chose to move to a new planet because they didn’t want to see the demise of the earth.

My first thought when I heard this, was how do you know the earth is going to die? Maybe scientists will come up with something to keep it alive. So, I did some investigating and found that the earth is in fact, in dire straits. According to this article, https://www.livescience.com/ghastly-future-global-crises.html life as we know it will change drastically due to climate disruption, biodiversity decline, and human overpopulation and overconsumption.

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This does not paint a pretty picture for our world. We need to start taking better care of our planet today to ensure future generations have a world they can live in. That means we need to clean up our act.

We need to clean up our oceans and plant more trees. Both are like the lungs of our earth. They both provide us the oxygen we need to breath and they soak up carbon dioxide out of our air.

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So, there are two steps we can take. The next thing we need to do, is take care of our honeybees and other pollinators. By doing this, we will help slow down the biodiversity decline of our many plants and shrubs that we need to keep the earth alive.

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The next thing we need to do is address human overpopulation and overconsumption. This is where we run into trouble. What do we do? Limit the number of kids people can have? Is that even ethical? Do we start rationing our resources? I don’t have an answer for this one. There are too many cons to these suggestions, so I pose the question to you. How do we save our earth? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Saturday Wisdom

I saw this on Twitter and it resonated with me, so I thought I’d share it with all of you! Happy Saturday!