Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

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environment

Day 2 of 3 Quote Challenge #3dayquotechallenge

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John Muir Quote

 

The Three Day Quote Challenge continues! I couldn’t NOT include a quote by naturalist and conservationist John Muir.

When I lived and worked in Houston, I would pack my lunch and go outside when it wasn’t too hot. Right next to our building was a large grassy area with park benches and a fountain.

Sometimes in the elevator a co-worker would ask me what I was doing. Many times I heard, “Wow, I’ve never done that.” Here was a lovely strip of nature right outside the office, and people frequently ignored it.

After many hiking vacations, we could no longer live indoors with air conditioning. The pull of fresh air and the woods grew too great, and we moved to western Washington where we could be outdoors as often as we want.

Doctors and mental health researchers, more and more, are looking at the physical and mental benefits of time in nature, and there are numerous articles such as this one online. Nature Deficit Disorder is a popular phrase these days after Richard Louv wrote Last Child in the Woods.

I don’t need a study, though, to tell me how much it matters for me to connect with the great outdoors every single day.

Outside, whether I’m in the garden or walking the many wooded trails that wind through our town, I am at peace. Some days I have to drag myself out there, but five minutes later I’m rejuvenated. Throughout my day, between bouts of writing or research, I’m out the door. Here, in a small town, I can connect with sunrises and sunsets, with equinoxes and solstices, with subtle shifts of temperature that tell me of a change in seasons or an early spring.

Maybe if our politicians and lobbyists spent more time outdoors, our national priorities would be different.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have berries to pick.

How about you? Do you get to spend time in nature? What’s your favorite outdoor activity?

 

 

 

W is for Water #AtoZChallenge

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We’re in the final days of the AtoZ Challenge! It’s gone quickly. While I’m ready to slow the pace a bit, I’ve had a lot of fun.

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Water. We can live without it for three days. We need it to grow everything we eat, from fruits and vegetables to meats. California’s drought is particularly alarming since the state grows much of the nation’s food.

Even here in the rainy Pacific Northwest, we are officially in a drought. The snowpack on the Olympic Mountains in minimal this year. People are concerned, and complete strangers have initiated conversations with me that begin with, “Can you believe there’s no snow on Hurricane Ridge this year?”

There seems to be some squabbling in California about who should be conserving water. People don’t want to think about not flushing their toilets as much when Nestle is harvesting water for bottling, or water-intensive fracking is going on. I get it…but it doesn’t matter. When we’re in a crisis, we each have to do what we can.

I grew up with parents and grandparents who were products of the Great Depression. They didn’t waste anything. My grandma washed out her plastic bags for re-use, and I remember rubber bands hanging from a cabinet knob. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems as though we have changed as a society from one that conserves to one that consumes and then brags about it.

We take water for granted because we are used to its flowing freely from our spigots. Still, there’s no reason we can’t conserve. If all of us pitch in, we can make a difference.

So, what can we do?

  • We keep a bucket in our bathroom. When I start running the shower, the water is too cold, so I collect it in a bucket until it warms up. I then use the water on my plants.
  • Keep showers short. I like a long shower as much as the next guy, but we just need to get clean.
  • Grass requires a lot of watering. Consider replacing grass with native plants that don’t require much watering once they’re established.
  • I’m admittedly a meat eater, and it takes a lot of water to produce the meat we eat. My body does not do well with a vegetarian diet, but we have cut back on our portion sizes, so we’re using less.
  • If you’re a gardener, water early in the morning. If you water in the heat of the day, it’s less effective. Use drip irrigation where possible.
  • Mulch your plants. This will help retain moisture in the soil, so you’ll need to use less water.

For more water saving tips, click here.

Book Recommendation: My Plastic-Free Life by Beth Terry

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Beth Terry confesses that she’s shy. An accountant in the Oakland, California, area, this sprite of a woman is the unlikely David to the Goliath of plastic over-use. In 2007, though, after seeing a disturbing photograph, Terry had the light-bulb moment that made her want to try living a plastic-free life. She documented her experiences and experiments in a blog, now known as My Plastic-Free Life, and has written a book called Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.

In our fair town, plastic bags were banned as of November 1, and our local food co-op brought Beth Terry to town to share her expertise. I knew I’d be out mushroom hunting earlier in the afternoon (more about that tomorrow) and didn’t know if I’d get back in time, so I downloaded her book and started reading it in advance of her visit. Hubby and I were already working to reduce our plastic waste, but My Plastic-Free Life has given me even more ideas.

For example, our co-op allows us to bring our own containers and buy items in bulk. This has allowed me to reduce my usage of plastic containers for automatic dishwashing detergent, laundry soap, protein powder, and more. However, I am a soda junkie (I’m not kidding, I’ve tried numerous times to quit), so what can I do? As a result of reading Terry’s book, I’ve learned that I can make my own. With some experience making kombucha under my belt, I feel comfortable with trying the fermentation method of soda, which creates the lowest environmental footprint.

Still, despite my good intentions, I’ve become painfully aware of the many ways that plastic finds its way into our lives. My Thanksgiving shop was an eye opener! Thankfully, I redeemed myself somewhat later in the day when I made my own toilet bowl cleaner and all-purpose cleaner, using re-usable containers.

Terry stresses that she doesn’t try to tell anyone what to do, and she doesn’t attempt to “guilt trip” people into living the way she does (she brought a two-pound bag of plastic to the presentation, which represented ALL of her plastic waste for 2011). She wants to demonstrate what’s possible over time, and suggests that we start with one or two small changes and go from there. She didn’t go cold turkey and doesn’t ask that we do, either. Collectively, if we all do SOMETHING, we will make a big difference.

Terry’s book is matter-of-fact and packed with resources for plastic-free products you may not realize are available. She also shares stories of some of her heroes. If you’re thinking about reducing your environmental impact or the toxic load in your home, this book is for you!

 

Disaster Response, Disaster Preparedness

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When a disaster like Hurricane Sandy hits, we are reminded yet again that life is fragile. We’ve been reminded before with 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and many other disasters. However, once the dust settles and we’ve had a few days to calm down, the lives of those of us not affected return to normal…and we forget to learn lessons.

Right now, the main focus is on assisting the survivors of this devastating storm. To that end, blogger Jen Malone is offering a charity auction…check out her website if you have an interest in any auction items. I learned about this auction through the Rach Writes blog, so send her some love for passing this on.

What can we learn? Are you prepared for a disaster? Most people aren’t, as evidenced by the way grocery stores empty out just before a storm. I had gotten pretty good at preparing for hurricanes, mainly because I dislike crowds! I guess an anxiety disorder is good for something! We’ve been much more lax, though, now that we live in earthquake country — an unwise move, given that earthquakes often strike without notice. I spent some time yesterday ordering supplies and starting the process of getting organized in case the unthinkable happens. We can’t stop nature, but we can empower ourselves.

Regardless of what type of disaster you are most likely to experience in your area, there are things you can do to be prepared. They include:

  1. Find a safe place to store insurance and financial records. This could be a safe deposit box, or even on the “cloud.”
  2. Never let your car’s gas tank go below a half tank. Has anyone seen the long lines for fuel in the Northeast right now?
  3. Store at least seven days’ food supply and one gallon of water per person per day for seven days.
  4. Keep a “to go” backpack in the house and car. This includes emergency food, first aid, and personal care products. The Red Cross has created several useful kits from which to choose.
  5. Have an evacuation plan.
  6. Learn where to shut off all utilities in your home.

There are a lot more tips available on the Red Cross Website. Washington State also has GetEmergencyPrepared.com, which offers a free, eight-part course on disaster preparedness. It includes a variety of national links useful to anyone.

The weather is changing and becoming ever more severe. The best way to avoid living in fear is to take action. Listen to Hurricane Sandy and the lessons she is offering. Take care!

Sandy: The Scariest of Hallowe’en Stories

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I have a lot of blog posts stacked up, but today they all seem trivial. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, as the clean-up begins and we wait for the latest death toll numbers, we are left with questions. How do we keep Americans safe in the midst of ever-increasing, ever-intensifying weather events? How do we repair a crumbling infrastructure when money is tight — and yet, how do we not? How do we even consider electing someone for our country’s highest office who would privatize the work that FEMA does?

Passionate debates occur online and in the media. Some still stick to their guns that the climate change we see isn’t man-made. Even after Sandy. Even after Richard Muller, a Koch brothers-funded climate change denier, changed his stance last summer. Even with more than 97% of scientists in agreement.

Scary.

We do what we can. A few years ago, when my old Mustang bit the dust, I opted to live without a replacement. We keep our thermostat turned down and add layers of clothing instead. I dry only sheets and towels in the dryer, and hang all our clothing on drying racks. We recycle, compost and look for ways to reuse and reduce the packaging that we use. Most of our food comes from nearby, reducing the energy costs of getting the food to us.

Still, I feel a sense of futility. My efforts feel puny and inadequate.

Yes, let’s donate to the American Red Cross and other organizations who can help our friends and loved ones in the Northeast. Yes, let’s pull together as Americans still seem to do, even in our divided political landscape. But let’s also not waste this catastrophic event to have the real discussions we need to have. I am grateful for Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg for daring to utter the words “climate change,” which have been erased from political debates. We need to bring those words front and center.

Today, local children will dress up in their costumes and parade through downtown, where we will applaud them. We’ll give away lots of little Kit Kat bars (I hope so, anyway, because we sure have a bunch of them!). We’ll have fun and enjoy Hallowe’en. Maybe we’ll tell a ghost story or two…and we’ll try not to let the real scary story keep us up at night. This is not an imaginary monster hiding under the bed. This is real. We need to change.