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!

There is No Planet B

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy week at work and rewriting one of the first scenes in my story. I like it much better, but I’m going to have to go through and tweak a few more scenes, but that’s okay. It’ll be worth it in the end.

But enough about that. In honor of Earth Day, I’d like to talk about humans and their effect on the earth. After watching shows like “Erin Brockovich,” “Dark Waters,” “The Big Short,” and “Seaspiracy,” I’ve concluded that humans aren’t good for the Earth. There, I’ve said it.

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We’re all connected. The trees speak with each other through their roots and release oxygen into the atmosphere while soaking up carbon dioxide. The ocean produces over fifty percent of the air we breathe while also regulating the climate.

We need the oceans and the trees to stay alive. Yet, we’re so busy cutting down the forests and overfishing our seas that we’re slowly but surely killing our planet.  We manufacture things that poison our drinking water and kill people all to make money. Who is behind these atrocities? Man.

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We are the most intelligent species on the planet. We can think critically and invent amazing things, but we do so recklessly. In the movies “Erin Brockovich” and “Dark Waters,” huge corporations were making products that poisoned the surrounding town’s water supply. Each company knew about the damage, but instead of halting production and cleaning it up, they covered it up and pretended it wasn’t there because it would eat away their profits.

In “Dark Waters,” Dupont invented Teflon, but found that working with the chemicals caused birth defects. They didn’t tell their employees and continued to allow them to work while pregnant which resulted in deformed children. Now we’re finding that our own government officials have made decisions that adversely affected their constituents. Look at what happened in Flint, MI.

We need to make some drastic changes. It makes me sick what we’re doing to the planet and to each other just to make some bank. We need better regulatory agencies and we need to hold corporations accountable for what they’re doing. It’s the only way future generations will have a place to live.

We also need to start cleaning up the mess we’ve created in the oceans. I’m holding the commercial fishing industry responsible for that one. I think each company should pay a tax each year and that money goes toward cleaning up the sea, and if they’re caught dumping waste into the ocean, they lose their fishing license for a certain amount of time. They must also pay a fine, and they must help in cleaning up the ocean while their fishing license is revoked.

I know it sounds harsh, but drastic changes are needed. What are your thoughts? What changes would you make to save our Earth?

Could the Movie Wall e be Prophetic?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve been working hard at work and on my story. I’m at the last part of the story and I’m so excited. It’s turning out to be a good one. I’ve put a lot of my heart and soul into this one, but enough about that. I don’t want to give away too many secrets on that one. 😊

 

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Today, I’d like to talk about what kind of Earth we’re leaving to our kids. Have you seen the movie Wall e? It was popular when my kids were younger and when I saw the movie, I felt it was strangely prophetic.  It’s the story of how humans had destroyed the Earth by leaving mounds of garbage and waste all over. They also destroyed the air because of smog pollution, so the planet  had become toxic to humans. They had to move into a new world in Outer Space where every technological advantage was available to them. They became overweight and lazy. Pushing buttons for food, drink, and transportation.

Wall e is a robot that has been left behind on earth until one day he meets Eve. A new, sleek search robot, who comes to Earth to see if there are any signs of life. There are, she finds a plant that has started to grow. Wall e falls in love and follows her back to the new and improved world that humans now occupy. It’s a great movie and ends well with the human’s returning to earth.

Even though Wall e ended well, I wonder if, we’ll be so lucky.  Our oceans are heavily polluted endangering sea creatures, and just last week, I found out the Amazon rain forest was burning. We need to take better care of our planet if we want it to be there for future generations. We need to clean up the oceans and take care of the bees and the trees.

I know, it’s a big job, and it’s going to be hard because we need the whole world to participate and get involved. It can’t just be the US. We need some sort of international treaty that holds all countries and continents accountable, but it also has to be done on an individual level. We all must take responsibility for cleaning up after ourselves and taking care of our trash.

I have an idea. Let’s make recycling big business. Can you imagine what it would do to the earth if we could sell our garbage to the highest bidder? People wouldn’t be throwing plastic in the ocean anymore, it’d be worth too much. It’d be like throwing money out the window.  Who does that?

So, let’s make sure Wall e stays a fictional story and do whatever it takes to take care of our planet, because our planet takes care of us.

 

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

Lessons from Nature

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. It’s been a while since I’ve written a post and I apologize. I’ve been busy with work and kid events. My youngest has decided to play tennis, and it has been great fun watching him. He is improving every time he plays and that has motivated him to keep practicing.

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I’m so thankful to the coach who asked him to play. His father and I had been trying to motivate him to try a sport because he’s very agile, but whatever we suggested he just wasn’t interested in that activity. Sometimes it takes another adult that you respect that makes all the difference, and for my youngest it was his math teacher who was also the tennis coach.

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So, I am very thankful for his teacher who recognized a spark in my youngest and motivated him.

 

But enough about that, today I’d like to talk about something I’ve noticed in nature, and that is, every species seems to work together to take care of each other except for humans.

For example, there is evidence that trees in a forest can communicate with each other through their root system. When there is one tree that is doing poorly, the other trees send nutrients and healing antibodies (for lack of a better word) to the one that is sick.

 

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Another example is elephants. Did you know the females stay with their mother their whole lives and help raise the babies? When one of the weaker elephants falls and needs to rest, the other females circle it with their tails facing their fallen friend and ward off predators until their friend can continue her journey.

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Did you know the only species that kills within their species is humans? Sure, animals fight for positions within their herd, pride, or tribe, but they never reach the point where one of them dies. Why is that, I wonder?

Maybe we’ve gotten too far away from nature and need to go back. I wonder what kind of world we would have if we all tried to cooperate and look out for each other? Instead of competition we’d have cooperation. Wouldn’t that be nice?

I know, it’s an unrealistic thought. There’s always going to be competition. It’s the way humans are wired, but if we can, we should take a lesson from nature and do our best to look out for each other. 😊

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment!

Getting back into the Swing of Things

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a long week of work. I’m itching to get back to writing. I haven’t written anything except blog posts since I’ve been sick. I’m finding out Bronchitis takes a long time to get over, but the worst of it is over. Thank God.

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Spring is finally here, it was supposed to snow last night, and I believe it did, but it didn’t stick. I’m happy about that. Because I’ve been sick, I haven’t been exercising for about a month. I can tell the difference and I’m anxious to get moving again and get writing again.

I’m going to start my exercise routine by walking first, just to see how my body reacts. I don’t want to do too much too soon and get sick again. I’m going to hike in the woods and get some of those healing phytoncides from the trees.

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Trees are amazing. Did you know it has been proven that they communicate through their root system, much like the communication between the synapses of our nerve cells. Isn’t that amazing?

The older trees help and communicate with the younger ones so that they all flourish. Kind of like the female elephants who stick together and help raise the babies. It’s just another piece of evidence that shows we’re all connected. For more information about tree communication, check out this article. http://www.ecology.com/2012/10/08/trees-communicate/

So, if you’re looking to start a new exercise routine, add hiking in the woods as part of it. It’s good for you, both body and soul. Getting back to nature is one of my goals this summer. I always feel better when I’m in the forest or at the beach. Both places are good for you.  The fresh air is good for you. Don’t be a victim of the indoor generation. Get outside and get healthy!!

 

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Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. What are some of the things you do to stay healthy? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

What Should We be Teaching our Future Generations?

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today and I’m talking about some vital skills our future generations will need to survive on our planet.

 

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Our kids are going to inherit this messed up world we inhabit and they’ll inherit all the problems our greedy society has created in our quest for more. More money. More possessions. More power. More. More. More.

 

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The thing is we’re teaching our kids that striving for more is the only way to be. It’s not.  We need to teach our kids the concept of enough and the concept of balance.

 

Why?

 

Because being in Striver mode all the time is not good for our health.  If we continue in Striver mode and we continue to reproduce at the rate we are, we’ll soon be fighting over smaller and smaller space. We’ll be producing more trash and our landfills will overflow. This is a problem. By any chance did you see the movie “Wallie?” The Trailer is below.

 

 

In the movie, humans have to leave earth and move out into space into a floating world because earth is no longer able to sustain life. It’s covered in garbage and all the humans are too heavy to move or exercise. It’s an awesome movie and I’d recommend watching it with your kids if you get the chance.

That’s where our society is headed if we don’t start taking care of our planet and each other. Haven’t you heard? Obesity is an epidemic.

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We need to teach our kids to slow down and take care of themselves.  Because we’re in Striver mode, we eat fast food and processed food. We do this because it takes less time to prepare and gives us more time to work. What happens when we reach that pinnacle of success? We have more money than we ever dreamed of, but we can’t enjoy it because we don’t have our health.

 

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Sad.

We need to slow down and teach our children to garden and how to cook for themselves so they can control what they put in their mouths. By doing this, they control their health.

 

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  We need to teach our kids to be fair. We can do this by teaching them to empathize with their fellow man. Empathy? How do you teach that?  By encouraging a love of reading.  By reading about different characters, our kids step into their worlds and learn about them.

 

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The more knowledge and tolerance they have for others, the better they’ll be at getting along with their peers. A vital skill when space is becoming smaller and smaller, wouldn’t you agree?

Reading you say? Yes reading. It’s also an awesome coping mechanism when you’re dealing with stress. Just an FYI. 🙂 Sadly, it isn’t a cure-all. We need to teach our kids how to communicate, using I messages so they can resolve conflict without a lot of negative feelings.

These Negotiation Skills will be in high demand in the future.

How can we teach this? By having our kids interact with their peers. Don’t let them play video games all day long. Don’t let them use their phones as their only means of communication.  Arrange play dates and get them outside, playing games, and solving their own conflicts.

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Last but not least. Teach them a love and respect for nature. Walking in nature is good for you. It’s called “Forest Bathing.” This practice originated in Japan, and there’s scientific proof it’s beneficial. Something I’ve known for a long time, but didn’t know there was actual proof of it.

 

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“A 2010 research review found that forest environments promoted lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than city environments. ^[6]

Forest environments have been found to be advantageous with respect to acute emotions, especially among those experiencing chronic stress.^”[7]

Nature isn’t just good for you, we as a species need the trees and the bees in order to survive. The bees are our biggest pollinators. Thirty percent of our food crop depend on them to grow and ninety percent of our wild plants depend on them to flourish. That’s a tall order for those tiny bees wouldn’t you agree?

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And trees? They provide oxygen. It takes TWENTY-TWO trees to provide enough oxygen for one person. There are 7.442 BILLION people on earth. That’s a lot of trees. Now do you see why it’s important to have a love and respect for nature?

 

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So there you have it.  My view on some of the essential skills our kids will need to survive on a shrinking planet. Are there any vital skills I’ve missed? Share your thoughts!  I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

 

A Tribute to Trees

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you! I’m back today with a quick post because I’ve had a busy weekend helping my mom move. After I helped my mom, I met with an awesome friend who’s helping me research another idea for a story. I’m so excited about this one! I can’t give you any details yet, but it’s going to be good!

Anyway, I’m loving this fall weather. It has just been incredible. I’ve noticed some awesome colors this season and I’ve taken some pictures. They’ve turned out well and I’m going to try and paint them when my painting ladies get together. I’ve found a new hobby! 🙂

I thought I’d share some of the pics with  you. I’ve been drawn to trees lately, so along with the pics I’ve included one of my favorite RUSH songs and one of my favorite poems. I’ve pondered why I’ve been drawn to trees and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s because trees are a symbol of wisdom for me. They endure the changing seasons by being flexible, yet they stay strong, rooted in the earth and reaching for the sky. So here you go. My tribute to Trees. 🙂

 

ADVICE FROM A TREE

By Ilan Shamir

Dear Friend,
Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
Feel the wind and the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light
Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots
Enjoy the view!

Aren’t these colors awesome! I love fall. I love watching the cycle of the seasons reflected in the changes in the trees. 🙂

Here’s a RUSH song about Trees. It’s good!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by my Blog today and checking out my tribute to to the trees. 🙂 What’s your favorite season and why? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!