Maddie Perlman-Gabel

We have all done it many times, thrown perfectly good food into the trash. You might think this is not a big issue, just an unhappy accident of over consuming, but the problem is bigger than that.

Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean your tree has outlived its usefulness. Give your tree a second life by recycling it.

Two weeks ago I attended a local Sierra Club meeting as follow up to the People’s Climate March. The meeting covered a range of topics from the actual attendance of the march (in the 400,000s), to affordable solar panel options like Solar City, and the governor of our fine states decision to remove us from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Of all the issues discussed, the discussion of the proposal for the construction of a pipeline to transport oil through my state really struck me.

According to a recent study reviewing and analyzing past studies on glass./bird fatalities published in The Condor, an ornithological journal, between 365 and 988 million birds are likely killed each year in the United States.

Summer can be a very inspirational time for creative types. Nature is in full bloom, allowing artists to truly explore the world around them. One such “artist” was the 19th century American poet Emily Dickinson. Best known for poems like “I’m Nobody! Who are You?” and “Hope Is A Thing With Feathers”, only a few of Dickinson’s poems were published while she was alive even though she was a prolific writer. Many of these poems included imagery found in nature.

Installing the AC has always been a summer ritual in my house. It is the day I admit that I am weak and need some electronic help to stay cool.

Some people like to spend their vacations in a luxurious spa with the AC blasting, a never ending buffet, and a chlorinated pool they never step into but instead just lie around. That’s good and fine, but many of us prefer a more back to nature approach to vacation, like camping.

Often we forget the impact our political gestures have on wildlife. There have been many examples throughout history. One such example is the rabbit populations that lived predator free within the Berlin Wall.

Strange is good. Innovations that start out as weird can eventually become major game changers. The “Ooho” water container may be one of those game changing ideas.