Green Thought Thursdays: Carpooling

Once a week, I am offering up a tip or action or idea that we can all engage with to work towards living in ways that allow for more health and wellbeing for all aspects of the planet. Last week we talked about spaying/neutering our pets.

This week the green thought is about carpooling.

Driving causes a lot of problems. Some of these problems arise directly from cars. Smog, chemical air pollution, burning fossil fuels, noise pollution, time spent in traffic, money spent buying gas, and money spent buying cars are just a few! Other problems are indirectly associated with cars. Repairs to roads as a result of high traffic, creating materials to build all the cars needed, the fossil fuel used in transporting cars to market, and the fossil fuels used in transporting fossil fuels to gas stations are just a few of these.

Carpooling individuals. Photo: King County.

One partial solution is to carpool. Carpooling is when multiple people share a ride in the same car. This means fewer cars on the road which would help alleviate the direct an indirect issues listed above. It also opens some doors to people to do not, or cannot, drive by providing them is an way to reach places of employment that might be impossible without a car. There are drawbacks such as extra coordination of pickups and dropoffs and also the need to find multiple people who all live close to one another and also work close to one another. However, the benefits are huge and certainly outweigh these costs.

What do you think of these thoughts and the solution? Is this a step you will take? Do you have any other solution ideas?

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Green Thought Thursdays: Spay/Neuter Pets

Once a week, I am offering up a tip or action or idea that we can all engage with to work towards living in ways that allow for more health and wellbeing for all aspects of the planet. Last week we talked about protecting the ozone layer.

This week the green thought is about spaying or neutering our pets.

Pets are wonderful! They bring joy and love and companionship to millions of households around the world. But those millions of pets can have some significant impacts on the natural world, and one of those impacts comes when pets have babies. This will generally happen in one of two settings. Either the pet will have babies in or around a home with their humans, or the pet will have babies on their own in a more feral setting. Both cause issues. Having a litter of puppies, kittens, etc. can be exciting, but it also means that we, the pet owners, are now responsible for a bunch more creatures. Finding homes for these little animals can be very challenging, and if unsuccessful, may contribute to shelters and pounds that are already overfull, or contribute to the feral population. If the pet escapes or is released into the wild, it may become a member of a feral population and its babies will as well. Feral animals have a huge impact on natural systems in the form of predation of wild animals, competition with other predators, and the spread of diseases. I have a video on my YouTube channel discussing the impacts of feral cats, specifically, if you want to learn more.

One solution is to spay or neuter our pets. This relatively minor, very safe, and pretty complication-free surgery means that we can get all the benefits of a loving pet without the worry, responsibility, or negative environmental impacts of the offspring of those pets. Win-win!

Informational reminder for all of us to spay/neuter our pets. Photo: Davidson County, NC.

What do you think of these thoughts and the solution? Is this a step you will take? Do you have any other solution ideas?

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The 2022 Drake’s Beach Sanderlings Bird-a-thon!!!

Dear Reader,

I am posting this to ask for your support of the longest running youth bird-a-thon team, and the team that I lead, the Drake’s Beach Sanderlings. The Point Blue Conservation Science Rich Stallcup Bird-a-thon is currently underway, and the Drake’s Beach Sanderlings are looking forward to participating again this year!

This year, the team will be meeting up in-person on October 1^st! We will crisscross Marin County in a fast-paced day rocketing from site to site and habitat to habitat in search of as many species as we can possibly find!

The 2021 Drake’s Beach Sanderlings members. Photo: Aaron N.K. Haiman

This event, and the Drake’s Beach Sanderling’s wild day, is a fundraiser for Point Blue Conservation Science. As such, I ask that if you have the means to please donate and support this amazing team of young birders (the longest running youth team that I know of!), and Point Blue.

By donating to this cause, you will be supporting the amazing work that Point Blue Conservation Science does around the world from climate research to habitat conservation to the effects of urbanizations on birds. Your donation will also support and encourage this group of young birders who represent a hope for the future of our planet that is badly needed. You can donate by following this link (also added at the end of this letter) and clicking the ‘donate’ button just to the right of the team photos.

My heart-felt thanks goes out to each person who contributes in support of this amazing cause.

Sanderlings Donation Page: https://pointblue.securesweet.com/teampage.asp?fundid=937#.Yyih2nbMI2w

#richstallcup #birdathon #countingforconservation

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Green Thought Thursdays: The Ozone Layer

Once a week, I am offering up a tip or action or idea that we can all engage with to work towards living in ways that allow for more health and wellbeing for all aspects of the planet. Last week we talked about reusable shopping bags.

Hole is the ozone layer (blue) over Antarctica. Photo: Vox.

This week the green thought is about the ozone layer in honor of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer which will be tomorrow. The ozone layer is a thin layer of gas in the Earth’s atmosphere with a high concentration of ozone (O3). This layer is extremely important because ozone absorbs many of the types of rays produced by the sun that are harmful to living organisms. However, chemicals such as halocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons destroy ozone. These chemicals are found in common household items such as air conditioners, refrigerators, fire extinguishers, some foams, and many aerosols. The resulting ozone depletion is a contributing factor in cancer rates and other health impacts.

One solution is to stop purchasing and using products that contain these ozone-depleting chemicals. There are many products that contain ozone-depleting chemicals, but there are also many that do not. By carefully selecting things like cleaning supplies and home appliances, we can all help drive the market away from producing items that harm the ozone layer and towards products that leave the ozone layer intact. Reducing carbon consumption will also help as the burning of fossil fuels is another source of ozone-depleting chemicals. Buying local, driving less, and making our homes more energy efficient are all helpful steps.

What do you think of these thoughts and the solution? Is this a step you will take? Do you have any other solution ideas?

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Green Thought Thursdays: Shopping Bags

A variety of reusable shopping bags. Photo: Sapphirevn

Once a week, I am offering up a tip or action or idea that we can all engage with to work towards living in ways that allow for more health and wellbeing for all aspects of the planet.

Last week we talked about giving to charities.

This week the green thought is about shopping bags. Single use plastic items are definitely bad for the environment. Once discarded, plastic degrades in the environment releasing toxins and breaking down into microplastics that clog the digestive and respiratory systems of animals who ingest or inhale them. Plastic shopping bags are one of the items that contribute to microplastics in the environment. Additionally, plastic bags also pose risks to sea turtles because when they are suspended and floating in water, they resemble the jellyfish that sea turtles eat. They also pose a risk to whales because plastic bags can easily be swallowed by a whale unintentionally and then become lodged in their digestive tract killing them.

One solution is to stop using plastic bags. Taking reusable shopping bags with us when we head to a store is a small step that each of us can do that will have major benefits to animals and the environment. Bags are available made of all kinds of materials such as cotton, coconut fibers, bamboo, and even recycled plastics. They can also be homemade! Reusable bags are easy to carry, easy to wash (if necessary), and easy to use. Plus, they will save a bit of money as more and more stores charge for single use bags. All we need to do is remember to grab those reusable bags on our way out the door. While this may not be a habitat we currently have, it is certainly one we can all start practicing to learn.

What do you think of these thoughts and the solution? Is this a step you will take? Do you have any other solution ideas?

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Green Thought Thursdays: International Day of Charity

Once a week, I am offering up a tip or action or idea that we can all engage with to work towards living in ways that allow for more health and wellbeing for all aspects of the planet. Last week we talked about planting native species.

Logo of the United Nations. Photo: United Nations

This week the green thought is about charity. The United Nations has recognized that “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.” I think it is a really important point that the UN links poverty with sustainable development. When individuals or a community are in poverty, they may be forced to make decisions that not environmentally friendly, but do produce short-term benefits. So if we as a society can reduce, or even eliminate, poverty we will go a long way towards allowing humans to make decisions that help the whole world in the long-term.

One solution is the UN’s International Day of Charity that is observed every September 5th. Since that date is right around the corner, I thought it would a good time to bring it up and keep it in all of our minds. While I am not wild about who is commemorated by the September 5th date (it was chosen because it is the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa who I am not a big fan of), I do really like the idea of an occasion where we can all think about ways we can support those less fortunate that ourselves, and in so doing we can all help make this a safer, healthier, and more ecologically sustainable world for humans and all other living creatures.

What do you think of all this? Is this a step you will take? Do you have any other solution ideas?

Thank you for visiting my blog! Please check back in next week for another Green Thought Thursday!

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