Category Archives: Animals

Animals, Birds

Shapeshifting

Nicole Altneu

A warming climate is causing animals to ‘shapeshift’.  Climate change is a human problem and an animal one.  Animals have to adapt to it too.  Some warm-blooded animals are changing in shape and getting larger ears, beaks, and legs to better regulate their body temperatures as the planet gets hotter.  Bird researcher Sara Ryding of Deakin University in Australia describes these changes in a review published on September 7th in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.  Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds such as the North American dark-eyed junco and Australian parrot.  “Shapeshifting does not mean that animals are coping with climate change and that all is ‘fine,’ says Ryding. “It just means they are evolving to survive it — but we’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving.”  I wonder what will happen to this great blue heron.

Animals, Carbon Footprint Reduction, Leadership

Still Very Important

This video, from September 2014, is still very important. Dr. Jane Goodall said, “in 200 years people will look back on this particular period and say to themselves, how did those people, at that time, just allow all those amazing creatures to vanish?” She continued to say, “if we all lose hope there is no hope. Without hope people fall into apathy. There is still a lot left worth fighting for.”

Animals, Life

Finding Beauty

I was thinking about life and all of the challenges we now face.  In particular, how do we stay positive when our aesthetic surroundings are ugly?  I usually derive happiness from a beautiful stream set in a lush pine forest, or when the sun is shining and I am standing at the ocean’s edge.  So, what am I or you to do, when we are faced with a gray day, no trees, and a cityscape with no redeeming qualities?  What do we do when we have to work in that type of environment every day?  As I search for an answer, I ask myself if I really just need to look inside and find beauty in my own heart.  Isn’t that what we are supposed to do?  Or maybe I must find the one or two things in that cityscape that are pretty or find beauty in a stranger’s smile.  Perhaps I must find beauty in the curve of a building’s architectural line or in the fact that I have family and loved ones who care for me.  Perhaps it is up to me to recall a stunning landscape that I once visited.  Let me know what you think and how you have found beauty, even in the ugliest of times.

Animals

“My Octopus Teacher”

“My Octopus Teacher” is now one of my favorite films and I urge you to watch it.  It is a great story about a man who befriends an octopus.  Admittedly, I was not a fan of octopuses because I was scared of them.  After seeing this film, I have become a fan and am truly amazed by them.  Can you imagine, most of them only live for only 1-2 years and basically give up their lives to give birth to their offspring.  And they can change color, their shape, and their texture!  Wow, what if we could do that?  Octopuses are also very intelligent, they can very quickly figure out a strategy to outwit the sharks who wish to eat them and when to inject venom into a mollusk for dinner.

Here is the link for the film trailer:

and a link to the Sea Change Project, a nonprofit dedicated to making connections between humans and animals, and the wild places where they live.  https://seachangeproject.com/

Animals, Children

Vote

Vote

Vote because you care about your children’s future.

Vote because you care about your grandchildren’s future.

Vote to protect wild animals and endangered species.

Vote to keep families together.

Vote because women are human beings and not sex objects.

Vote to stand for a unified country.

Vote to bring people together and not tear them apart.

Vote because you care.

Please vote, your voice matters!

Thank you.

Previously published in 2018

Animals, Leadership, Life

Do Something Now

To say we are living in challenging times is an understatement.  We are witnessing great tragedies among us and are facing many divides.  What I would like to say is that we are all in this world together.  We may not have the same beliefs or backgrounds but we all wish to be safe, we all wish to be loved, and we all wish to have a home.  That goes for human beings and animals alike.

Fires are whipping through California destroying homes, crops, and killing animals.  COVID-19 has taken many loved ones away from us.  And artists, the ones who inspire and uplift us, are struggling to make a living and pay their rent.  I urge you to support them, as it is the painters, musicians, actors, and dancers who touch us and make us better people. 

Go buy a piece of art directly from an artist such as Donna Grande.  Her art is stunning and the link is below! Donate money to a struggling performing arts group or an animal welfare organization like the World Wildlife Fund.  Please do something  –whether you spend a dollar or $2,000.  Just make a positive difference.  Lives are in your hands.

http://www.donnagrande.com

Animals, Climate Change, Water

No clean air, no clean water?

We all need clean water and clean air.

Right now, more than ever, we need clean water, clean air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.  Clean air and clean water are integral to our health, and to the lives of animals.  Without them our immune systems are compromised and we are less able to fight off increasingly virulent viruses.  If we keep increasing the amount of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide (all greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere the planet will continue to heat up.  This in turn, will help to further the spread of deadly illnesses.

Sadly, the Trump administration shows no concern for any of the aforementioned things.  In fact, it is busy weakening or rolling back 98 environmental rules.  His administration, for example, has loosened rules to reduce toxic emissions from industry, has weakened fuel mileage standards for cars, has relaxed air pollution emission levels from new power plants, has lifted a ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is now allowing coal companies to dump mining debris into streams, is allowing hunting in wildlife refuges, is putting more endangered marine mammals and sea turtles at risk to be killed by fishing, and is making it more difficult to protect wildlife with changes to the Endangered Species Act.

It is time to speak out again.  It is time to reach out to your senators and congressional representatives to tell them to protect our water, air and our environment.  Please call or email them, time is of the essence.

Animals, Kindness, Leadership

10 ways to help and save wildlife

Mountain Lion in Grand Teton National Park
  1. Urge elected politicians and government agencies to support policies—such as ivory bans and other restrictions on wildlife trade—that protect animals.  Your voice matters!
  2. Visit a national wildlife refuge, park, or other open space and learn about the endangered species and other animals that live there. Stay informed and support policies that keep these areas wild and protect native species.
  3. The Endangered Species Act has proven to be an effective safety net for imperiled species—extinction has been prevented for more than 98 percent of the animals under its care. Urge your elected officials to preserve the important safeguards in the Act.
  4. One of the easiest and most effective ways to help wildlife is to preserve the environment in which the animals live.
  5. Participate in or hold your own local trash clean-up to help protect the habitats of endangered species and other wildlife.
  6. Reduce, reuse, and recycle!
  7. Save energy. Driving less, using energy efficient vehicles and appliances, and simply turning off the lights when you leave a room reduce energy use. Many power plants rely on coal and other fossil fuels that damage animal habitats when they are extracted and pollute the environment and contribute to climate change when they are burned.
  8. Plant native flowers, trees, and bushes in your backyard. This gives local wild animals food, shelter, and a place to raise families. Avoid chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
  9. If you see an animal at the park, on a nature trail, or near a water source, let them be and do not remove them from their environment. These animals survive best in their own habitat. Take a picture instead.
  10. Be An Educated Consumer and Think before you buy.  Learn more about consumer choices that are better for animals and the environment.
Animals, Nature

On Fire

Badly injured koala at Lake Innes Nature Reserve

Australia started the beginning of 2020 on fire. I saw horrific photos of kangaroos badly injured or burned to death. The number of animals that have died is approximately 1 billion, and this is on top of the animals who were lost in Australian bushfires in 2019!  This is more animals than the population of humans in the United States.  Entire species are thought to have been wiped out.  Okay, folks, things have to change and we have to reduce our carbon footprints quickly!!! There is absolutely no time to lose.  We all want to be loved, to be happy and to be safe.  Animals do too.  Climate change is contributing to the fires.  Above is a photo of a burned koala bear.  Work to save Earth’s inhabitants now!

Please donate to the World Wildlife Fund, WWF: https://donate.wwf.org.au/donate/appeals/emergency-fund/wildfires-appeal-2019-2#gs.qhbolu

Human Society International, HSI: https://donate.hsi.org/page/36521/donate/1?&ea.tracking.id=artm-ausfire-20-website&_ga=2.26927807.382743097.1579567943-1976509624.1579567943

International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW: https://secure.ifaw.org/united-states/save-wildlife-australia-bushfires

Thank you!