All posts by naltneu

Animals, Kindness

Valentine’s Day

Red-heartFebruary 14th will soon be here and with it, lots of chocolate. A few people will go to the movies, out to dinner, or for a walk in the park. Others may stay home and enjoy a quiet day.

As someone said to me, Valentine’s Day is a great time to cultivate our hearts and be grateful for the love we have in our lives. Pets are a great source of love. They effortlessly add smiles to our faces and warmth to our hearts. I started to wonder, what if we had a holiday called Animal Day? We could take some time to play with our cats and dogs, and celebrate the entire animal kingdom.

Climate change is affecting animals. Experts predict that one-fourth of the Earth’s species will be extinct by 2050 if we do not reduce global warming. We already lost the golden toad in 1999. And we could lose polar bears in the next 100 years because of melting ice in the Arctic. Polar bears use the ice to hunt. If there is no ice they are forced to go on land and find other food sources. But the question remains if polar bears can do so and find the right food alternatives.

For those of you who are penguin fans, the Adelie penguin is at risk because of declining krill stocks. Krill live under ice sheets in the Antarctic. Penguins eat krill. As the ice retreats and krill populations fall penguins have to spend a lot of energy to find food. This makes it harder for them to raise their young and breed.

There are so many amazing creatures on this planet. They are worth fighting for. I love giraffes, seals, zebras, dolphins, elephants, cougars and orangutans. What do you love? Slowing the rate of climate change is crucial for many animals. It can mean their survival or death. Without animals we are impoverished. We have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference by reducing our carbon footprints, using alternative energy, reducing pollution, and ditching fossil fuels. Our actions affect others –especially animals.

Oceans, Seals

Oceans, Seals & Garbage

Did you ever stop and wonder, like I have, what happens to the tons of garbage we produce every day? Sure, some of it gets recycled. And some of it gets burned. And some of it ends up in a landfill. But a lot of it ends up in the ocean. In fact, more than a million pounds of plastic is dumped into the ocean every hour. Yes, read that again, over one million pounds of plastic goes into the ocean every hour.

Right now there is a great Pacific Ocean garbage patch that is believed to contain more than 3 million tons of plastic. And there is another patch in the Atlantic Ocean and one in the Indian Ocean.

What does this mean for the seals, dolphins, fish, whales and other animals? It means a lot of these animals are eating plastic. That plastic ends up in their stomachs. And we all know plastic is not a nutritious food source. I met a beautiful seal who survived a bad diet of plastic because she was rescued in time. Her photo and the garbage which came out of her stomach is above. Sadly, many other seals and animals are not as lucky. They die.

So, what can you do? What can I do? Our garbage goes away somewhere. When you think about it, garbage never really goes away. It just gets transported to another location. I look at my own consumption patterns. I even read about someone who carried his garbage around with him everywhere he went for several weeks. You can bet that he bought less and had a re-usable water bottle. What if we all did that? What if we stopped buying so many things? What if we stopped using and producing plastic? What if we changed our ways? Each one of us makes a difference. Each and every one of our actions counts.

Dolphins, Oil spills

Children, Dolphins & Oil Spills

Over the summer the Obama administration announced the authorization of the use of sonic cannons along the Eastern Seaboard, from Florida to Maine, for oil and gas exploration. This is the first time in decades that the area would be opened. The cannons shoot sound waves and allow companies to locate oil and gas deposits. Sadly, these sound waves are 100 times louder than a jet engine and could harm/kill 138,000 sea mammals such as dolphins, turtles and whales. This is certainly not what we need to be doing. Instead, the administration should be announcing federally subsidized rebates for solar panels and a revenue neutral carbon tax.

Did you ever watch a dolphin as it gracefully arcs in the water or a whale as it surfaces? Have you ever seen a seal as it swims its way northward? Oil and gas exploration are not the answer. We do not need to rely on oil. Solar energy is a much cleaner, safer solution. Every hour the sun shines on to the Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for a year. Have you ever heard of a solar spill? Will you let your child build a sand castle next to an oil spill? It is time for positive change. It is time to stand up to protect our oceans and our environment. Tell elected officials where you stand.  Your children are counting on you. Sea mammals are counting on you. I am counting on you.