MOM’s Organic Market’s ER Blog

Recent conversation around my dinner table at home has been leaning in the direction of extinction and the depletion of the world’s natural resources. The one fairly new to the conversation plate, alongside our sunchokes and rice or spaghetti squash, is the recent announcement by scientists that the world’s seafood will soon be depleted. It is crazy to think that entire species that we depend on for food will be wiped out by 2048.

The prediction came after a four year study based on effects of pollution, overfishing and other environmental factors. All these things combined could spell extinction for popular fish species that fill our plates and bellies, as well as hamper the ocean’s ability to produce and filter enough nutrients to keep the stocks up and the spread of disease down among commercial and non-commercial fish alike.

It’s hard to imagine that in a world that is comprised of over two thirds water, which is filled with so much diversity, wonderment, and the backbone of so many cultures, that it could come to the point that soon the only seafood that will be available will be that raised in hatcheries. But it makes sense, right? We are living in the 21st century where now more than ever people are eating more healthy and are encouraged to fit fish into their diets. According to recent reports, we are consuming more seafood than ever before, and harvesting faster than the species have a chance to repopulate. Add on top of that pollution, global warming and human ignorance, and we have a recipe for catastrophe.

As someone who likes to keep an open mind, I, along with the scientific predictions, could be wrong. Nature could suprise us. (Probably not.)

Kenyan Nobel prize winner launches campaign to plant 1 billion trees in 2007 By Elizabeth A. Kennedy ASSOCIATED PRESS

5:59 a.m. November 8, 2006

NAIROBI, Kenya — A Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner called on people around the world to plant 1 billion trees in the next year, saying Wednesday the effort is a way ordinary citizens can fight global warming.

Wangari Maathai, who in 2004 became the first black African woman to win a Nobel in any category, urged participants to ensure the trees thrive long after they are planted.

“It’s one thing to plant a tree, it’s another to make it survive,” said Maathai, who founded Kenya’s Green Party in 1987 and focused on planting trees to address the wood fuel crisis here.

Maathai said the campaign is meant to inspire ordinary citizens to help the environment.

“This something that anybody can do,” Maathai said Wednesday at the U.N. conference on climate change, which has drawn delegates from more than 100 countries to Kenya.

Scientists blame the past century’s 1-degree rise in average global temperatures at least in part on the accumulation of carbon dioxide, methane and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere — byproducts of power plants, automobiles and other fossil fuel burners.

Africa is the continent expected to suffer most from shifting climate zones and droughts, like the one now in its fourth year in East Africa.

Destroying trees through burning contributes to global warming, releasing about 370 million tons of greenhouse gases every year — about 5 percent of the world total — scientists say. Planting trees can offset climate change in part because they absorb carbon dioxide.

The tree-planting project, organized by the United Nations Environment Program, shows that “action does not need to be confined to the corridors of the negotiation halls,” said Achem Steiner, UNEP’s executive director.

The project calls on participants — including individuals, schools and governments — to sign up on UNEP’s Web site and register the trees they planted.

Also Wednesday, some climate conference participants said the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections in the United States were a good sign for environmental issues. The U.S. — the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases — has rejected mandatory emissions cuts, saying they could hamstring the economy and because poorer countries are exempt.

On Tuesday, Americans swept Democrats into power in the House of Representatives for the first time in a dozen years and largely dismantled the GOP Senate majority.

“President Bush still has two more years in office so it’s very unlikely that the U.S. negotiating posture will change,” said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

But, he said, the fact that Democrats, many of whom support emissions caps, took control of the House means climate and energy issues will be prominent in the 2008 presidential campaign.

On the Net: www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign www.greenbeltmovement.org/

Weather proofing your home, I’m sure, seems like a common theme. We’ve talked about setting your thermostats and preparing your home for the summer, but what about the winter? With the price of energy always going up, and more homes and businesses entering the grid, now is the time to think about energy conservation and how we can best tackle the issue. Here are a few ideas to get you started in the right direction, that will not only save you money, but also keep you warm in these coming months.

* Seal your doors and windows with weather stripping to help prevent drafts and the loss of precious heat.

* Be sure to check your furnace, filters and ducts to make sure that they put out top performance.

* Install a programmable thermostat and be sure that it is turned down to at least 65 degrees when you are away.

* Closing your blinds or curtains on cold overcast days or at night will help insulate your home. Opening them back up on sunny days will help heat your home naturally.

* If you have storm doors and windows for your home, don’t leave them lying around your basement collecting dust. Installing them will be a snap and you’ll feel the difference.

* If you’re cold, put on a warm sweater or a pair of sweatpants. The air between the layers of clothes will heat up and stay insulated.

* Throw another blanket on your bed or have some handy near the couch to snuggle up with.

Have you ever made a new year’s resolution to eat better, exercise more or finally sit down to read those books you bought so long ago? I know that for the last few years I’ve been making the promise to myself to exercise more and to start my day with a good stretch. For one reason or another, I start the year strong and then as quick as I start my resolution, I stop.

I know that for myself, maybe you can relate, I throw out the excuse that I just don’t have enough time or I have too much going on. It’s not as if doing so would take up a considerable chunk of time. We’re talking about 30 minutes to an hour a few days a week. So, how do I motivate myself enough to make time to do this?

I actually had a conversation with someone that I met the other day about exercise and how it can directly relate to the environment. We decided that the more you exercise, the more stress is released. The more stress that is released, the better outlook you may have. The better outlook you have, the bigger impact you may have. You get the idea.

Why wouldn’t I want to exercise? I feel like, for me, exercise clears my mind and untangles all the ideas floating around in my head. If exercise helps to clear that up and give me a clearer outlook, whether that be on work, a relationship or the environment, I’m all for it.

If there was ever a time to get outside to enjoy the sights, scenes and smells, it would be right now. The fall is the most beautiful time of year when the leaves are all changing colors, anywhere from a vibrant golden yellow to a bright firey red.

So many times are we trapped inside our homes weathering the cold or confined in the walls of our jobs. Find a window, spend your lunch outside, go for a walk, find any excuse to get outside. Even if just for a minute, because one day you’ll turn around and all those beautiful leaves flapping in the wind will be gone and blown away. You’ll have to wait a whole year to see it again.

Now, I know, it sounds like I’m really putting the pressure on, but why wouldn’t I? The fall is my favorite season and I could spend all day every day outside cold, warm, raining or sunny. I feel like, as a society, we spend too much time wrapped up indoors. We need to get outside and reconnect with the environment, as it provides us with just about everything we need to live. Maybe, and this is just a thought, if we all went outside to enjoy the day, if even for a few minutes, we might appreciate it more and want to do more to protect the environment.