According to the NWF website, today is Squirrel Appreciation Day. What is one suppose to do with that information you ask? Living in the Northeast whatever the season, even in the midst of winter with 2 feet of snow on the ground, squirrels are busy driving the neighborhood dogs crazy, traversing yards, jumping from tree to tree, enjoying nature with what seems to be a playful but focused attitude. Let the kids in your life help you celebrate nature today, use Squirrel Appreciation Day as an excuse, channel some of that energy and help them focus and remember why we need to take care of our environment – both they and squirrels deserve to have a safe and sustainable place to play!
To go along with the various reports of animal die offs these past few weeks, the latest news comes to us from Vietnam where over 10,000 cows and buffalo have died in the past week – in part, it is believed – due to unusually harsh winter conditions.
At Climate Mama we aren’t sure if it’s our Canadian bias, but we love this recent piece in the Huffington Post by Raffi, the singer, songwriter and activist behind one of our children’s favorite songs, “Baby Beluga.” Raffi eloquently tells us that we need a new “lexicon” for conveying climate change, as the greatest threat on earth, a tragedy of epic proportions, especially for the very young. He tells us we have a choice, Gaia’s gifts or the Midas curse, and that it is time for us to make some hard decisions on how we live our lives and what we want for our children. Or it will be too late.
For all you eco-moms and dads out there – are you waiting impatiently for the launch tonight of Portlandia which airs on IFC? The show is touted as a fun, irreverent, and humorous take on the lives of a group of eco-conscious friends living in Portland. Let us know what you think of the show!
Finally, from our friends in Spain, share the tale of the “Garbage Hotel”
with the kids in your life. The “Hotel” is up until the end of June and is built entirely from garbage that has washed ashore on Spanish beaches. As our oceans continue to warm and fight for survival, we do an added disservice to our natural world when we forget to properly dispose of the garbage around us and close our eyes to where our trash might be going. If you missed our post on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, you may want to catch it now.
Carpe Diem, Seize the Day!
