Posts Tagged ‘Connect the Dots’

Connecting the Dots + Climate Change + People = HOPE

Saturday, May 5th, 2012


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Climate Impact Day has unfolded around the world, and to me it has been an incredibly humbling, humanizing and reconnecting experience. The idea that one picture can “speak a thousand words” is so very true. Looking at the Connect the Dots website, seeing people, all over the world, stand up and say: “Look how climate change is impacting my home, my town, my park and my family,” is overwhelming.

Margaret Mead’s words: “Never doubt that a small group of determined individuals can change the world, in fact that is the only thing that ever has,” take on new meaning for me, and gives me hope.

I am hopeful that together, we can open peoples eyes, minds and hearts, and that real people with real concerns will be heard and seen. That together we CAN and WILL stand up to the money, politics and special interests that are trying to keep us addicted to fossil fuels; the burning and mining of which are changing our climate in ways which are neither compatible nor sustainable for the future of the human race.

On my “Connect the Dots” journey I met so many wonderful, incredible and inspiring individuals. We talked, laughed and shared stories of family, life and love of our planet, as we hiked together to the proposed site of a natural gas pipeline. This proposed pipeline could carry “fracked gas” from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, through New Jersey to where – we aren’t sure. These pipeline companies will only say they have “markets” for this gas, which may in fact be overseas. The inability to clearly state where this gas will go, defeats the idea the gas companies are trying to “sell us” through TV, radio and internet ads, that this gas, is somehow “patriotic,” and will provide energy security; something we are expected to accept, regardless of the huge environmental costs it will extract on our own country, our own people and on people around the world. I am hopeful that through our raised voices and shared concerns, the real costs of fossil fuels will be realized and that renewable energy sources will become the obvious and chosen path for energy security in the USA, a path that is already becoming a super highway in other parts of the world.

Check out some of the amazing photos on the Connect the Dots website.

I feel HOPEFUL and POWERFUL, what about you?

Yours,

Climate Mama

5 Family Friendly Earth Day Activities

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012


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Earth Day “trending”….! Earth Day inspires and brings out different feelings, emotions and actions in each of us. We wanted to share with you some of our favorite Climate Mamas and Papas suggestions for Earth Day “to dos.” You may want to adopt some of these ideas and put them on your list of favorite family activities – for Earth Day or any day. All us Climate Mamas and Papas know that every day is and should be Earth Day!

1. Get your “glee on” out in Nature – Get outside, sing a song, do a dance, have a picnic, BBQ, go camping, walk on the beach or take a hike. Whatever gets you there, gather your family and spend some time outdoors. Talk to you kids, introduce them to nature better yet, let them introduce nature to you! Remind yourself and the kids in your life of the treasures nature has given us, and why we need to fight so very hard to protect them.

2. Memory Lane Walk Down the Red Carpet “Favorite Earth Day Movies”– Watch, enjoy, lose yourself in the moment and learn something too. Movies for everyone: The Lorax, Chimpanzee, Avatar, Planet Earth, Wall-E and March of the Penguins. Documentary movies for older kids and adults: Queen of the Sun-What are the Bees Telling Us? Tapped, Gasland, Bag It, An Inconvenient Truth, Revenge of the Electric Car, Moby Duck – Learn something important., and have fun at the same time!

3. Spring Cleaning and Letting the Sun Shine In – Open the windows wide and get the kids to help you clean them. You’d be surprised to see what a difference a little water and vinegar, or even just a crumbled piece of newspaper can do to “shine up” and “clean up” your windows! Pack up winter clothes, in particular those that don’t fit anymore and give them to a local charity. Got other items you don’t need but someone else might use, consider selling them on Green eBay or giving them away at Craig’s list, or Free Cycle! Get your kids to help you change the air filters in your air conditioner (maximum energy efficiency). Also, make sure there are no leaky faucets in or outside your house. Change your light bulbs to energy efficient CFLs or LEDs, and consider putting your outside lights on timers. Saving energy not only reduces power plant pollution but it can also save you money too.

4. Get “Down and Dirty” – plant a tree, or better yet plan a garden with the kids in your life. Vegetable, herb, or flower – the garden can be as big or small as you have room for…Herbs grow great on window sills, and corn, pumpkins and beans are fun and easy to cultivate and very cool to watch grow! Plant some milkweed and help the Monarchs find their way to Mexico. Have you heard of a rain garden? This is a “trending topic” all on it’s own and a great way to plan for and mitigate storm water run off that some of us are having to get used to as heavy rain events are becoming a more frequent occurrence of our changing climate. Consider getting a rain barrel too!

5. Stand up to Climate Change – Show your kids you care about their future. Climate Impact Day is May 5, 2012. Protest, educate, document and volunteer along with thousands of people around the world to support the communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. Grab the kids in you life, right now and sign up and commit to a family “Act of Green,” show your kids that they are one of a billion people ready, willing and able to make the commitment to a “greener” world! Find out what and who are caring for the Earth in your own community. Check out your town’s website, and attend an Earth Day Fair or event near you, get involved! If you live in the NYC metro area, check out our Featured Partner, Earth Day New York.

And finally, encourage others to make every day earth day….

Got any other great tips? Let us know!

P.S. We recently featured Chuck McCutcheon, author of “What Are Global Warming and Climate Change? Answers for Young Readers,” on ClimateMama. Chuck is giving away one copy of his book in honor of Earth Day!

To enter for a chance to win, all you have to do is visit and “like” his Facebook Page. Then email Chuck at cmacdc1@gmail.com with your address!

TIP UPDATES:
1. 5 Ways to GET OUT of Your Comfort Zone for Earth Day via Green Momster
2. Earth Day Science via Kitchen Pantry Scientist


Welcome to Climate Mama

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You are a mother, a father, a grandparent, an uncle, an aunt, a teacher or a child at heart. When you hear the Native American saying, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”, it makes you stop for a moment and think. You love nature, travel, adventure and believing in a world that is special and unique. Climate change and global warming are words that alarm you, that often seem too big to get your arms around. You care about what’s happening to the world and notice small changes in your own life that seem to point in the direction of a threatened environment. But you wonder if these changes are real, and if they are you can’t imagine what you can do to help change what is happening.

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Climate Mamas and Papas

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Climate Change so often seems too big to get our hands around. We wonder where we can start and how we can actually make a difference. Each one of us has a different path that we will follow. Some of us cut a wider swath than others, but each of us has a role to play. We would like to introduce you to some amazing individuals, Climate Mamas and Papas who are making a difference, who are, through their daily lives, affecting the lives of all of us. They inspire us, empower us, and challenge us to reach for the stars, to strive to do the best we can to help change the crash course we are currently on with our environment. Lets meet some of these amazing people and find out what inspires them. Meet our featured Climate Mama, Desiree Di Mauro today!

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Featured Partner & Campaigns

 

The Climate Reality Project is one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to mobilizing action around climate change. With a global movement that is more than 2 million strong and a grassroots network of trained Climate Leaders, Climate Reality is "spreading the truth and unleashing the cultural momentum to solve the climate crisis."

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