Every Day is Earth Day 🌎

Image Credit: NASA (2023 collection)

A couple of weeks ago we were so enamored by the solar eclipse that occurred and is predicted to occur over America, projected August 23, 2044. This totality is expected to occur in Europe in 2026. But can you imagine if people, the citizens of this world had the same type of excitement and admiration every day for embracing and protecting Mother Earth?

Earth Day reminds us to honor and celebrate ‘our’ planet through the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and take action for a healthier planet and brighter future.  Today, as millions of people worldwide are celebrating Earth Day, my opinion piece about this day will not come from a scientific angle but a spiritual thought.

While my mind is perplexed about climate change deniers, I think many of us, especially poets who garner much of our inspiration from nature, know otherwise. We see the changes occurring. I love the amazing world of our universe, and our home galaxy, the Milky Way. I am blown away that there are between 100 and 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe, and between 800 billion and 3.2 trillion planets.

Planet Earth is like a huge house with many family members inhabiting its space. What affects many, who many don’t think will affect them, actually does. But when I think about the effects and after-effects of such things as war (the bombings, the mass destruction, the chemical warfare), air pollution (creating the increase in chronic health issues, water, and air quality), littering (air, sea, and land creating dangerous scenarios for marine life and soil contamination), and deforestation (causing homelessness and migratory displacement for wildlife, as well as, over-population problems for many towns and cities), the cause and effect is alarming and mindblowing.

Image Credit: Mohamed_hassan

On the spiritual side, however, I think about those who want citizenship on the moon, mars, or in outer space. I applaud their curiosity to understand the worlds beyond, but exploration is one thing and habitation is another. While I am intrigued with the art and science of what’s beyond our planetary borders, if we can’t take care of the planet God designed for us to live in, and we are careless and wreckless with how we take care of Mother Earth, then what makes us think that we can be successful living beyond our planetary border so intrusively? “To much is given, much is required,” but somehow so many are looking past or ignoring the requirements of what we have been given while seeking more, more, more without any thought of compassion or empathy. If we don’t take care of what we already have, how do we expect to acquire more?

Without changing our patterns of behavior, the domino effect with be catastrophic. Seasons seem to be confused about their appointed time. Many of our trees that typically begin producing buds in March or April, began budding in late January or early February. Butterflies and bumble bees started showing up weeks ago. While the earth and universe have their natural course of life and evolution, humans have also contributed to the pains and unusual behavior nature is experiencing these days due to years of abuse and neglect.

If we continue to ignore the needs of Mother Earth, it is with certainty that Mother Earth will stop meeting ours. For more information about the Earth Day initiatives, click here.

Image Credit: TheDigitalArtist

Image Credit: Yuri_B

Earth Day is every day!

From Winter to Spring in the Blink of an Eye

Image Credit: fszalai

How did we get here so quickly? Today is the last day of winter for us and tomorrow is the first day of spring. It never ceases to amaze me how fast time is moving on, all around me, whether I am prepared for it or not. But the seasons here now, aren’t the seasons as they were when I was growing up. We always had distinctive seasons, and during the winter, we dressed in wool overcoats, boots, hats, and gloves. For the last decade or so, I didn’t need to wear an overcoat for winter. A jacket and occasionally wearing gloves were fine.

But the years have shown that our seasonal changes are almost blurred into each other and in a heartbeat, the temperatures can change significantly whether the mercury shoots up or down. Our temperature is cool for the moment, although last week was in the lower 70s. I see many trees and flower bulbs have already bloomed as if spring is in full swing. But as Mother Nature is revealing that global warming is a new norm, I have no choice but to adapt to her lead accordingly. Yet, I had hoped we would have seen a little bit of snow during the winter months. Oh well.

So for now, hasta la vista winter, and hello spring! 🌳🌷🍃

Now the Wine Industry is Altered by Climate Change? 🍇

Image Credit: Dario Sabio

Last week we experienced three seasonal changes in seven days (Fall, Winter, and Spring). I even watched a hibiscus tree I have in a pot on my porch begin to bloom again. I watched 60 Minutes last Sunday and saw the episode on how Europe’s wine industry is being altered by climate change. While I still don’t get why some people think that climate change is a hoax, I have seen the weather intensify to extreme conditions I have never seen in my life. Just look at the recent devastation from the deadly tornadoes, which hit places that have never seen such extreme weather before.

Global rising temperatures are shaking up much of the wine industry, from the grape’s growth cycle to, in some cases, how wine tastes. For “60 Minutes,” Lesley Stahl traveled from France to Great Britain to document how famous wine-growing regions, like Champagne, France, are being impacted.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wine-industry-climate-change-60-minutes-2021-12-26/

Even parts of Napa Valley’s vineyards are being affected by the side effects of climate change. Grains used for beer are also affected. In my area, when I drove down to my local grocery store, I passed by fields where corn, okra, soybeans, and melons once grew. Now, those same fields have been plowed, and cleared away, as a new crop of houses and condominiums are planted and rise up.

Now, I am not an avid wine drinker, but I think about how this is going to affect all of the places that serve wine on a daily basis. We talk about how our earth continues to warm up, and we see extreme weather patterns popping up in places where they never did before. Here we are in the midst of winter, and as I look outside, there are flying insects reappearing as if it is summertime. The “climate change” alarm has been going off for a while, and even if we can’t do a lot, we can do something to strengthen Mother Earth. Our lives and livelihoods depend on it.

Don’t Choose Extinction

Image Credit: Janusz Michalczuk

I saw this video and wanted to share it with you. It was posted by the United Nations. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was truly an eye-opener. Interestingly, I recently posted several thoughts about this in previous posts, but here’s a little something to look at, listen to, and think about. Have a good day and #DontChooseExtinction.

Cry, Our Beloved Planet

Image Credit: Keith M.

I felt the shift, it’s been going on for decades now

not enough people paid attention, no one tried to help me

I have been battered and abused for a long time now

me, the mother provider, the birther of new life

I have been sending out warning, after warning, after warning

seeing the jarring images of my ecosystems under stress,

rising temperatures, increased fires, violent storms ravaging and damaging,

drought, pest invasions, glaciers melting, displaced wildlife

I am watching it all unfold, human causes, human denials

my temperature intensifying, my body metastasizing with illegal toxins

drastic changes where seasonal differentiation only blends together

with mounting disasters I ask if people will remain complacent and complicit

while my climate levels rise and humans turn to look away

my demise is long-term resulting in much suffrage, so much damage

I cry, oh how I cry, looking at what you’ve done to me, letting me erode and corrode

I must ask one important question, will you just sit there and continue to do nothing

watching me die, wasting away, as if this is not your problem at all?

I watched the haze blurring the sun over the past few days. It’s actually smoke floating in a path that traveled from the west coast and has now landed on the east coast. It’s so heartbreaking actually. We are merely getting a whiff of the catastrophe happening to people who are victimized once again by these wildfires that are sprouting up due to the drought. Any little spark, even from the muffler of a car can create some catastrophic situations in our forests, dominoing into the mass destruction of homes, businesses, and life.

I know it’s no secret that we have been experiencing climate change for years now. The scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect was first identified (nrdc.org).

When I step outside and scan over the flora and fauna in my yard this morning, I am grateful, humbled, inspired, and filled with a sense of tranquility watching the fruits our mother planet produced. I ask myself daily, in order to continue watching the beauty of nature as I look at it right now, what can I do to protect and help mother nature flourish? I may not have the scientific answers or environmental finesse, but there is something I do know. I can certainly do my part to make sure I am not contributing to the problem, but being proactive as a viable contributor to the solution, no matter how small or big that may be.

Our beloved planet is crying and suffering. Are we truly trying to comfort her and relieve her of her pain? Nature is my muse of creativity. Can we do better to protect her from further abuse? Or will we continue with business as usual, none the wiser to her suffrage?

Image Credit: Keith M.

Without a Healthy Ecology the Economy Suffers

Image Credit: Circe Denyer

“The economy is a subset of the ecology. The economy is a reflection of our ecology.” -Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money

We are the caretakers of creation, but we have fallen tremendously short on our duties and responsibilities. I was listening to a 2017 interview Oprah Winfrey had with author Lynne Twist about her book “The Soul of Money.” It was interesting how she zeroed in on how interconnected our economy is with our ecology. If we continue to ignore the agony our environment is crying out to us on a daily basis, if we continue to ignore climate change, pollution, dumping toxic waste into our waterways and land, reckless littering, and deforestation, then everyone regardless of your socioeconomic standing will be destined to destitution.

When we continue to flip off mother nature, it won’t be long before mother nature flips us off. We need her more than she needs us. We must be proactive before its too late to be reactive. Just think about it.

Image Credit: Luis Paredes

Has Anybody Here Seen My Old Friend Winter?

Our region is a true 4-season area. As a native of this southern region, I remember the attire we wore each season as we rotated our spring clothes to summer and then prepared for Back-to-School by rotating our Fall and Winter apparel, bringing those now to the forefront of our closets.

For the past 8 years now, I have not worn my heavy wool, cold-weather overcoats at all. The temperatures have not fallen that drastic in order to wear my overcoats as liberally as I once did during the winter seasons past. This year, we have experienced some days of freezing temperatures, but it quickly warmed back up to an Autumn climate. Plus, the days are getting longer!

Now, as we enter February with early springlike temperatures, everything seems to be out of sync. We had a brief 10-minute stint, a false alarm of snow intertwining with rain that made us think we were finally seeing the arrival of winter that has been missing in action in our area. I noticed my canna lillies beginning to sprout, my rose bush has been popping out new buds, and there are insects like wasps and bees flying around three months ahead of schedule. Meteorologists say that we may get a popup winter storm before long, but that’s a big “if.” So here we are in the midst of winter, with springlike temperatures. I haven’t even had my typical, curling up with a good book, a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows days yet.

Oh where, oh where has my winter gone? Oh where, oh where can it be? And to think, some folks who should know better still yell out and swear that global warming is a hoax! Eyes wide shut, ears stopped up and brains allergic to thinking? Hmmm…

It Doesn’t Take a Rocket Scientist to Tell Me The Climate is Changing

We continue to hear the reverberating echos from scientists, environmentalists, and activists that we are experiencing severe global warming/climate change. It is evident that you have seen the climate shift and the uptick in flooding, glacier melting, earthquakes, wildfires, tornados, volcanic eruptions and even drought occurring globally. While some climate disasters result in catastrophic natural shifting, humans are even more responsible for their irresponsibility.

Illegal and unregulated dumping and drilling, massive litter blanketing our landscapes and waterscapes, nuclear warfare, and extreme deforestation are prime constituents of what has been gradually eating away at our planet. Will we allow enemies against nature to come at a colossal cost to our health and welfare? Or do we conform to unprecedented financial greed and gain by sacrificing the environment that helps us to live?

Credit: AFP/Getty Images – MIGUEL MEDINA

Whatever your beliefs may be regarding climate change, it’s getting to the point where we can no longer ignore what’s happening or stand by and watch disasters continue to unfold and do nothing.

Check out some of these images “Venice flooding: City inundated by exceptional high tide” to see how the landscape of this historic city and tourist attraction is sending the city into ruins.

Marine Heat Wave Stressing Out Hawaii’s Coral Reef?

When I visited Hawaii 20 years ago, I was absolutely mesmerized by the vibrant marine life that energizes and makes the islands what they are known for. Yet, in all of that beauty, I would never have thought that 15 years later something was lurking below the surface of the water that was changing the dynamics of marine life as we witnessed back then.

Our coral reefs are in serious trouble and folks you best believe climate change is very real. Yesterday, Caleb Jones from the Associated Press published an article that is a must-read about the signs of stress Hawaii’s coral is experiencing due to the marine heatwave. This is expected to be a catastrophic season for coral.

According to Jones’ article,

Coral reefs are vital around the world as they not only provide a habitat for fish — the base of the marine food chain — but food and medicine for humans. They also create an essential shoreline barrier that breaks apart large ocean swells and protects densely populated shorelines from storm surges during hurricanes.

In Hawaii, reefs are also a major part of the economy: Tourism thrives largely because of coral reefs that help create and protect iconic white sand beaches, offer snorkeling and diving spots, and help form waves that draw surfers from around the world.

Read more about the thermal stress to coral in this article, Hawaii coral show signs of stress amid record-setting heat. Be aware of the critical fact that global warming is not a publicity stunt, but a life and death emergency alarm for every living thing on this planet to take notice of and to respond to like you truly care about Mother Earth.

In this Sept. 12, 2019 photo, fish swim near bleaching coral in Kahala’u Bay in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Just four years after a major marine heatwave killed nearly half of this coastline’s coral, federal researchers are predicting another round of hot water will cause some of the worst coral bleaching the region has ever seen. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

While humans may not be able to solve many of the extreme climate concerns which in some cases is too far gone, there is so much each of us can do before life as we now know it becomes extinct. Just sayin’.

Phytoplankton Will Intensify the Ocean’s Color

It comes as no surprise that climate change is affecting every aspect of creation. Pick any region on the globe and you will learn that the impact of global warming is a matter of life and death, one way or another. We see glaciers melting and crashing into the sea like crushed ice from a soda fountain machine.

Yet, one of the most astonishing things to occur to the earth’s oceans as a result of climate change is the growth and interaction of different species of phytoplankton (algae). You’re probably asking “and?” Well, phytoplankton is a microscopic organism living in water environments and are known as bacteria, single-celled plants or protists. Protists are primarily microscopic and unicellular or made up of a single cell.

So, what does this mean? Well, as the interaction and growth patterns of phytoplankton are stimulated, this algae absorbs and reflects light that will intensify the colors of the surface of our oceans. Research from MIT suggests that warming in the ocean will make the blue and green hues more intense, but on the downside, food webs phytoplankton supports are seriously affected.

According to Stephanie Dutkiewicz, lead author of MIT,

The model suggests the changes won’t appear huge to the naked eye, and the ocean will still look like it has blue regions in the subtropics and greener regions near the equator and poles. That basic pattern will still be there.

But it’ll be enough difference that it will affect the rest of the food web that phytoplankton supports.

PHOTO SOURCE: Earthsky.org – In the future, scientists will be able to track climate change by looking at how it affects phytoplankton and the resulting changing colors of the oceans. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

There were several variables this research was based on, such as the effects of climate change on phytoplankton by looking at satellite measurements of reflected light alone. No matter how you look at it, our planet is truly changing with tremendous side-effects from global warming.