Twelve national parks in the West are under serious threat from climate change. That’s the message of a new report from the NRDC and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, “Losing Ground.” According to the report, the parks in 11 western states are “endangered” as a result of climate change-related phenomena including drought, decreased snowfall, and wildfire. The report says landscapes in these national parks could be “drastically altered” if nothing is done to stave off the potential impacts of global warming. (An RMCO report released last summer showed western temperatures on the rise and snowflakes in decline.)
Being susceptible to the appeal of adventure eating, I've embraced the consumption of oddities of brows both high and low in places across the globe. I've had foie gras in some of New York's finest restaurants, calf fries in Fort Worth, and street food in Hanoi, and never has my cast-iron stomach failed me. So as I shivered through gut-wrenching pain under a heavy blanket in a sweltering apartment in Hong Kong, my sense of betrayal was plaintive and vast. Even worse, I suffered at my own hands: I knew there was something amiss with the Chinese scallions I sliced into my tuna salad, but my better instincts abandoned me. Fortunately, like most sufferers of food poisoning, I was back in the saddle in a day or two, but I did have some lingering questions: would I have gotten sick if I'd spent another HKD $10 (about USD $1.30) for Japanese or Australian scallions? How does one go about trying to buy healthy and sustainably-produced fruits and vegetables in an unfamiliar landscape?
As a global economic powerhouse and pillar of military might, it's hard for the U.S. to accept second place in any international contest… much less 28th. Such is the dismal outlook of the Environmental
Interests: Horseback riding, watching the silence of the snow, obviously anything creative, cooking
Inspiration: Like most of you, when I heard of recycling to save the earth, I naturally assumed I needed to separate my plastics, newspapers and glass. I was helping. That was all I needed to do. Then one day, I was searching around for something fun, some art, and I came across this abstract piece. It was gorgeous - it looked like a naturally formed wave of icy white water bursting into the air. When I looked closer at it, I saw that it was made from recycled plastic caps. I was in shock. What kind of imagination and talent does that take to look at a plastic cap and see more to it then what it actually is? How can someone be so ingenious that they can take something that we normally throw away and create such a piece of beauty with it? This is the thought process that I could not stop pondering and it took over my mind, body and soul and soon enough became my muse.
I began Earth's Journey for this reason. I wanted to show the world that there was more to saving the earth than just recycling. There is beauty in things we can't even imagine, and so many ways to help our planet flourish. There are products out there that we all could use to completely decorate, furnish and run a home... all environmentally safe. You can buy organic bedding, non-toxic cleaning detergents, solar power, or make a change in a small way by using energy-efficient light bulbs. But the best part of recycling and being eco-friendly is the beauty that you'll find here, with all of our different artisans. As you can see I'm very passionate about this type of artistic creativity, and I hope you will be too.
I invite you to sit back, relax and ... Be Inspired by Green!