Category Archives: Animals

Animals, Kindness

The Holidays

It is almost the end of the year — and for many it is a season of reflection, joy, sadness, cooking, making snow people, wearing sweaters, shopping and spending moments with loved ones. As we speed through the minutes and hours into tomorrow may we take a moment to be grateful for all of our blessings. May we take time to honor those animals, friends, relatives, or strangers who are no longer with us. And may we take time to enjoy the food we eat (that someone probably grew on her or his farm) and may we thank those, even strangers or pets, who show us kindness. You see, kindness does not cost anything and yet it gives us so much. A simple act of kindness has the power to bring the giver joy and good feelings, AND it brings the same to the receiver. So, at this time, I ask you to see if you can share some kindness today, no matter how big or how small. Thank you. May you have many blessings and peace in your heart.

Animals, Nature

Inspiring

Image by Freepik.com

Many of you are aware, Climate Week took place in Manhattan, NY the week of September 17th. Many people, from all walks of life, got together to talk about climate change, nature, and reducing carbon footprints. There were speeches, marches, seminars, discussions and cultural performances. I was fortunate to attend some of the events and was really touched by an organization called Junglekeepers, http://www.junglekeepers.com, founded by Paul Rosolie. He and his team are protecting 30,000 acres in Peruvian Amazon, and doing work that truly inspires me. I saw a video he shared showing a beautiful puma and jaguar. I also had a chance to speak with him. May we all remember that the Amazon is home to millions of trees, numerous Indigenous communities, and uncountable numbers of animal heartbeats. Sadly, new roads, illegal logging, poaching, and mining have begun to seriously degrade the forest.

Fortunately, Junglekeepers is doing work that makes a positive difference. I invite you to support Paul’s team and other groups working to protect forests, and the precious animals in them.

Animals, Carbon Footprint Reduction, Children, Climate Change, Kindness, Leadership, Life, Uncategorized

Hope

I hope you all had a nice summer and enjoyed some time with your loved ones. There is so much hard news out there and devastating forest fires in Canada, the United States, Greece, Spain, Croatia and Vietnam. People and animals have lost their homes, and many died from smoke inhalation. And yet, I remain hopeful that we can turn this situation around. There are so many people working to mitigate climate change and make sure that the Earth’s temperatures stop rising and start to decline. So, this is message which is meant to be encouraging in its nature. In the words of so many, we can do this. We each, individually, and collectively, can make a difference to help our fellow humans, and the precious animals of the world. Please reduce your carbon footprints, eat less meat, consume less, and take a walk in a forest or swim in the ocean. I have said it previously, each minute counts. Each one of us matters, and we can positively impact the future.

Animals, Carbon Footprint Reduction, Leadership, Life, Nature

Canada’s Wildfires

I write this blog while scorching wildfires race through eastern and western Canada.  Honestly, my heart is quite heavy and I fear greatly for our precious, livable planet.  The fires are out of control and over 9.4 million acres have already burned.  The fires affect countless people, pets, and wild animals.  The smoke from the fires is so bad it has reached down to New York, NJ, and Washington DC.  Air quality levels have been frightening and New York City ranked among the worst cities in the world.  People have been told to stay at home and schools are conducting remote classes.  As I think about all of the animals inhaling smoke who can’t shut themselves in an enclosed space with air purifiers, I shudder.  I wonder about the animals in Canada literally fleeing the fires and dying.  I had to bury two dead birds that I found lying on my lawn.  When will we end this chaos?  When will we all wake up and drastically cut our carbon footprints and change our ways of life?  This matter is so urgent and time is of the essence.  Please, we must WAKE UP!!!  We must make different choices.  It is truly a matter of life and death.

@climatereality
@gretathunberg

Animals, Carbon Footprint Reduction, Climate Change, Leadership

The Motivation of Hope

I recently watched this moving video (below) where David Attenborough, a British biologist and broadcaster known for his natural history television series, talks about reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and hope. He said, “Nature is a key ally. Whenever we restore the wild it will recapture carbon and help us bring back balance to our planet.” He went on to state that “we must use this opportunity to create a more equal world. Our motivation must not be fear but hope.” I urge you to continue to make a positive difference in this world.

Animals, Kindness

Happy Holidays!

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There are numerous holidays at this special time of year and I would like to give thanks to you for reading my blog and being part of my life. Let us all rejoice in good health and many blessings, and may we remember to care for one another, and the world we live in.

Animals, Dolphins, Nature

Biodiversity & Climate Change

Pink River Dolphins

The World Wildlife Fund recently released its “Living Planet” report. Sadly, there has been a 69% drop in the numbers of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish since 1970. Populations in the Caribbean and Latin America did the worst, with an average decline of 94%. Global freshwater species also declined by 83% on average. The report said the key drivers of biodiversity decline include habitat loss, species overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, climate change and disease.

Anyone who cares about animals and wildlife must urge policymakers to transform economies so that natural resources are properly valued. Since biodiversity loss and climate change share many of the same underlying causes actions which transform food production and consumption, cut emissions, and increase investment in conservation can mitigate both.

“The world is waking up to the fact that our future depends on reversing the loss of nature just as much as it depends on addressing climate change. And you can’t solve one without solving the other,” says Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF-US. “Everyone has a role to play in reversing these trends, from individuals to companies to governments.”

Animals, Climate Change, Oceans

Marine Life

According to new research, global warming is causing such a drastic change to the world’s oceans that it risks a mass extinction event of marine species that rivals anything that’s happened in the Earth’s history over tens of millions of years.

“The future of life in the oceans rests strongly on what we decide to do with greenhouse gases today. There are two vastly different oceans we could be seeing, one devoid of a lot of life we see today, depending on what we see with CO2 emissions moving forward,” said Justin Penn, a climate scientist at Princeton University who co-authored new research published in “Science”.

So what can you do?  Reduce your carbon footprint, eat less meat, avoid using or purchasing items that are wrapped in plastic, and plant native trees.  Trees are one of the best ways to take carbon out of the atmosphere.  Thank you!

Animals, Leadership

Some good news

Active panda climbing tree
  1. China’s giant pandas are no longer endangered.
  2. Renewable energy generation hit an all-time high in 2021.  The world added 290 gigawatts of renewable power production capacity, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency.
  3. A marine-protected area around the Galapagos will be expanded by 60,000sq km (37,282 sq miles).
  4. A hole in the ozone layer is healing.  The ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.
  5. There is some recovery happening in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef which has been suffering from coral bleaching and storms.  Scientists are using in vitro fertilization (IVF) to regenerate the reefs.