Category Archives: Nature

Leadership, Nature, Water

How to Fix the Fires in the West

Sugar Fire, California

As you know, California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada have been experiencing some of its worst fires this year, and the fire season has only begun.  For a very long time, I have thought that we, on the east coast, could send those states water, via pipelines.  Many people have told me that was not feasible.  I don’t believe them and was overjoyed to read that someone else has been thinking along the same lines as me.  Joseph Schulman, John Schaefer, and Henry Miller wrote an article about it entitled, “An “interstate water system” could fix the West’s water woes”. https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/an-interstate-water-system-could-fix-the-wests-water-woes They propose an interstate water system so that no part of the United States would experience water shortages and to help mitigate the wildfires racing across those lands.  The pipelines would create jobs and facilitate growth.  Let me know what you think.

Nature

Art & Nature

The Foothills by Donna Grande, © 2021 all rights reserved

I had the honor to spend last weekend with my favorite professional artist, my mom.  She exhibited her art at the Westport Fine Arts Festival, and despite the rain and cold temperature, it was great to be there.  It felt wonderful to spend time with my mom and be her co-pilot, as we spoke with clients and helped them find the right piece of art for their home.  I am always amazed at how art uplifts us and brightens our spirits, and am so grateful we can all enjoy it.  My mom takes her inspiration from nature and paints en plein air, which means she stands outside to create and work on her paintings.  Feel free to check out her website http://www.donnagrande.com , and remember, art is a gift to us all.

Nature

Nature’s Power

Blue Ridge Mountains by Nicole Altneu

“Man has created lovely dwellings

some soul-stirring literature.

He has done much

to alleviate physical pain.

But he has not…..

created a substitute for a sunset,

a grove of pines,

the music of the winds,

the dank smell of the deep forest,

or the shy beauty of a wildflower.”

Harvey Broome

Leadership, Life, Nature

Historic time

Anne Frank 1940

There is no doubt, we are living through a historic moment in time and our whole way of being in the world is being challenged because of COVID-19.  Some people have already lost their lives and we are all struggling to find order in the midst of the anxiety-producing situation at hand.  May we remember that kindness is a gift we can all afford to give and that nature is and can be a balm to our souls.

Ann Frank, a young Jewish girl who was forced into hiding for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, said it well, “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.”

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!

Kindness, Leadership, Nature

Inspiring Couple

Sebastiao Salgado and Lelia Deluiz

I thought it would be time for some good news, something inspiring and hopeful.  I recently read about a Brazilian man and his wife who planted over 4 million trees to replant 1,502 acres of forest!  It was so good to hear about someone doing beneficial for the planet, instead of destroying it.  It took Sebastiao Salgado, Lelia Deluiz, and more than 24 workers about twenty years to do so and the results have been amazing.  An area which was barren is now flourishing with 172 species of birds, 33 species of mammals, 293 species of plants, 15 reptile species and 15 reptile species.  And there are now 8 natural springs which had previously dried up, hydrating a drought prone area.  When humans work with Mother Nature, creation and rejuvenation spring eternal.

Animals, Leadership, Life, Nature

Tofu versus Wildlife?

New work, led by Professor Ron Milo, and published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” stated that the world’s population of 7.6 billion people represents just .01% of all living things.  Plants, on the other hand, make up 82% of all living matter and bacteria makes up 13% of all living matter.

Part of the problem lies with the way we eat.  Of all the mammals on Earth, 96% are livestock and humans, only 4% are wild mammals.  That means that tropical forests and wild spaces are disappearing, at great cost to everyone.

Despite these numbers, we have had a huge impact on the natural world and have been expert at exploiting the natural resources of the planet.  Since the rise of human civilization, 83% of wild mammals have been lost, 80% of marine mammals have been lost, 50% of plants have been lost and 15% of fish have been lost.  One way you can make a difference is by eating differently.  Your dietary choices have a tremendous effect on the habitats of plants and animals.  So, choose a tofu burger instead of that hamburger.  Or try a vegan hotdog instead of a regular one.  They are better for the planet, and your health.

Animals, Birds, Nature

Some Inspiration on this April Day

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

When despair for the world grows in me

And I wake in the night at the least sound

In fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief.  I come into the presences of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light.  For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

–Wendell Berry