• Green End

    Say it With Flowers

    Say it with flowers… REAL ones There’s a tradition in the United States – and elsewhere – of placing flowers on the graves of loved ones as tokens of remembrance and respect. In fact, “sympathy flowers” (as they’re known in the funeral and flower marketing sectors) are a huge business for the death industry, accounting for millions in annual sales. Flowers are a wonderful way to show love and care, but a couple of trends have raised their heads in the last few decades – namely, artificial flowers and elaborate displays on artificial mounts. These create an unexamined burden on cemeteries, the environment, and landfills. Fortunately, these practices can change…

  • RE-THINK,  Think Piece

    One

    Think about the little actions you take every day and how they add up. I’m writing this just after the turn of the year, at the beginning of 2023. It’s the tradition to make resolutions in January. This year, I will work on ONE thing at a time. ONE is so much less daunting than the whole long list of “shoulds” – those things that we feel we should accomplish. A counselor I knew said “Don’t should on yourself.” I agree! I am one of those individuals who always have lots of thoughts inserting themselves into their heads. Lately, the thoughts are about ONE: • One planet home • One…

  • Education,  Nature

    Fred the Monarch

    Monarch butterflies were plentiful during my childhood: I remember following them through the garden, craning to get a closer look at those magical wings. It is now quite rare to see a Monarch where I live in Oregon, and sadly, the species was added to the endangered list last year. We Need More Ambassadors of Childhood Wonderment Climate change is the likely cause of mass extinctions of Monarch butterflies and so many other species around the world, but something stops us from taking action. This widespread human inaction begs the question: do we really understand what is at stake? As soon as the pollinators are gone, we won’t be far…

  • ENERGY,  Fossil Fuels

    Exxon Knew

    Exxon’s scientists were as “skillful” as independent experts in predicting how the burning of fossil fuels would warm the planet and bring about climate change.

  • Go Electric

    Electrifying Stories

    The solution is simple: stop burning fossil fuels and switch everything to electric power. A simple solution but a massive global undertaking to make it happen.