December 2021 -

Understanding The Importance of Mushrooms for Health and Our Planet

There’s a subterranean network lurking just beneath my feet that becomes evident every time it rains. A labyrinth of mycelium, a fungus-like colony of bacteria, neither plant nor animal, thrusting its fruiting bodies above the soil.

Mushrooming overnight, they bear names that figment my imagination: bolete, puffball, chanterelle, shaggy mane, and morel. Finding them, photographing, and sometimes eating them is a passion that’s gone well beyond reason.

For good reason……

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My Little Pet and The Race to Save the planet

December 17, 2021December 17, 2021 Melody Meyer

What’s the best way to incorporate a beloved pet into our quest to help the planet?
Photo by Jf Brou on Unsplash

Animals have been a precious source of companionship all my life. Aside from my paternal grandparents, no one has displayed such unconditional love such as they have.

In turn, I have learned about responsibility and respect for the web of life.

It all began with two small dachshunds and went on to encompass gerbils, mice, reptiles, birds, and kittens.

I once raised two turkeys, named X-mas and New Year’s, that followed me around like their momma hen before I plucked and served them forth! (But that’s another blog about love and our relationship with food.)

As a pigeon fancier, I bred tumblers that fell and racers who flew hundreds of miles to come home.

I “kept” hundreds of chickens, some exotic breeds that came away with blue ribbons.

My friend Mary, no spring chicken herself, recently retrieved a Labrador puppy, and I had to ask her, “what is the best way to incorporate a beloved pet into our quest to help the planet?”

She offered up a few things to consider when choosing an eco-friendly pet.

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Travel, well-being, What is Organic

To Scrooge or Not to Scrooge? Seven Tips for an Eco-Friendly Holiday Season

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 Melody Meyer

Time for an Eco-Friendly Holiday Season
Photo by Anna Popović on Unsplash

It’s that time of year when the sun low in the sky reminds us that we are just spinning and tilting around a red-hot star.

We begin lighting candles and thinking about end-of-year festivities, honoring the traditions of our forebearers.

Do we shower myriads of gifts wrapped in tree skin to display our love? Do we spend resources on meaningless stuff because Santa no longer bulges down some prophetic chimney?

Does the holiday feast, the decorations, the wrapping all need to scream of overconsumption? How much ends up in landfills?

Those of us concerned about resources, biodiversity, and Climate Change may want to turn into a Scrooge-like malcontent this year.

While we can’t make changes for everyone and how they celebrate the holiday season, we can start with our families and make new Eco-Friendly traditions.

Here are a few ways not to let Scrooge be your holiday guide:

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What is Organic

As Climate Change Turns up the Heat, Conserving Water is Everyone’s Business

December 1, 2021December 1, 2021 Melody Meyer

Water is a precious and limited resource on the planet. Either we have too much, as the deluges in British Columbia sweep lives away, or we have precious little, as California remains bone dry.

The amount of water on Earth now is the same as when the planet was formed. Yet 97% of it is salty, bound up in the oceans. Another 2% is frozen (for now) in glaciers. That leaves only 1% for human and animal needs.

If we’re going to keep our heads above water, we need 1 billion Climate activists to become Water Conservationists right now—today.

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