The ruminations of an artist on art & life...art quilts, beading, knitting, drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking are all my passions, I love to explore creating....

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Blog Action Day: SAVE OUR MOTHER

Climate Change is the theme for this year's annual BLOG ACTION DAY.

"BLOG ACTION DAY is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance."

I believe we are at a crossroads...and we must choose carefully what path we now take....

or we will not be able to continue to enjoy wild pathways like this one above which I photographed in one of the last great wilderness in North America--ALASKA.

In Alaska and Siberia the permafrost is now melting---you might think--so what? This is way North--how will it effect me? But the consequences of all the permafrost melting could have a dire impact on all of Mother Earth---because when permafrost melts it releases methane gas---a greenhouse gas 22 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. These northern frozen beat bogs (the tundra) may contain billions of tons of methane gases.....and the release of all these gases will undoubtedly effect our atmosphere and "scientists have reacted with alarm at the finding, warning that future global temperature predictions may have to be revised."

To me, this is just the tip of the iceberg---there are many other scientific documented signs that our Mother Earth is in trouble. The question is: what are we doing about this??? Are we fiddling while the Earth burns?

Here are some personal actions I have taken to preserve our resources and reduce my carbon footprint. This is not to say I do all these things everyday or that I do them perfectly, but I try my hardest to do these few actions. I invite you to join me and if you have other actions you do to reduce your impact on our Mother Earth, please leave me a comment.

1)I conserve water whenever possible : example--- shorter showers, be aware when I turn on the faucet and don't let the faucet run needlessly

2) I recycle diligently

3)I never buy water in plastic bottles, (I carry my own metal water bottle)--in fact avoid as much as possible all plastic packaging

5) Whenever possible (and sometime even when it is inconvenient) I take public transportation or walk or bike instead of driving my car

6)I try to buy nothing new--I shop for clothes and other goods at thrift stores---this has the added positive of saving me quite a bit of $$$$. I even find good paper, yarn, crafty supplies and notebooks at my fave local arts and crafts thrift store--THE EAST BAY DEPOT FOR CREATIVE REUSE if you have never been there--do go and check them out!

7)I support strong climate legislation in the US by making frequent calls or writing to my Senators

8)I buy food locally--I shop at my farmer's market and buy only in season locally grown produce, cheese, olive oil and grains

9)I make it a habit to turn off appliances--by unplugging them if necessary--- when not in use--including my computer

10) I Celebrate our Mother Earth in any way I can--from artwork to song to poetry. I believe if we all saw our Earth as our Mother and had reverence for her, we would not be despoiling her.

I do more than this--but a list of 10 seems good for now---what are you doing???

I believe--based on my life experience--that all small actions have an impact, so please do not think that our small efforts to conserve do not help--every little bit helps. A friend once told me "it is better to light one candle, than to sit in the dark"---I'm choosing to light the candle whenever I can.

3 comments:

Granny Smith said...

This is beautiful, Aurora. I put a link to your blog from mine so that others could see your list of ways we can all help. I hope you don't mind.

Gretchen said...

I stopped using paper towels and us rags instead.

The kids use reusable lunch bags and tupperware instead of paper lunch sacks and zip-top baggies.

Thanks for your 10 -

EmandaJ said...

Hi Aurora,

Thanks for a great blog. I almost always carry and use my canvas totes for groceries and such. I'm also a "slacktivist" -- an online activist -- that stays on my elected officials by sending petitions, emails, and letters from organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC.org). Also, we don't water a lawn, thus saving money and precious water.

Keeping the "faith" for our Mother!
Emanda