The dirty thirty

Well it has happened.  I am 30 years young.

It is not so much the number that worries me, it is my ever pressing brain with all the ideas and activities and travels I must complete before it is too late that worries me.  If life was a race, I would be a little behind my planned pace, BUT I must remember that I always picked it up the second half of the race.

My friends and I took a fantastic trip to the mountains in New Mexico to celebrate the dirty thirty.  I am so happy that my friends were able to join me in such a unique environment.  We traveled from the dry, treeless desert, to the evergreen mountains in about 3 hours!  One of the best parts of living in El Paso is the close access to so many amazing areas.  The pictures really tell the story of this journey better than my words:

These silly kids could not get enough of the mountains and the pictures.

A cold hike at 11,000 feet.

Warmed up during the hike and all smiles!

 We stayed in a cabin with a wood burning fireplace in Ruidoso, New Mexico for two nights.  We trekked up to 11,000 feet to Ski Apache and braved the cold and wind for a short hike.  This winter we hope to make it back up to Ruidoso for some snowboarding!  Excited.

No view of the Mountain today.  Guess we will have to come back. ;)

A scary drive up to 11,000 feet.

Just outside of Cloudcroft, New Mexico we stopped on the side of the road to hike down to a beautiful creek: 

Beautiful cold mountain water.

Shan and I made it through this day.

Great friends make life great.

I am so happy this weekend came together!

It is like we are dressed for different climates! 

Nobody told me about the left arm memo.

Heading out of the mountains. The quick change of scenery. One minute trees and the next none to be seen.

On our way back to El Paso we made it to White Sands National Monument just before dark.  We paid $3 per person to explore for 45 minutes and it was well worth every penny.   The white sand is actually gypsum and this area is the world's largest gypsum dunefield.  The dunes lie in the Tularusa Basin which are surrounded by Mountains.  Gypsum (soluble in water) is carried down from the mountains into the basins by rivers, and because the basin does not have a drainage the water evaporates and the gypsum remains.  The result is a beautiful 275 square miles of wind carved gypsum dunes.  What I found most interesting in this area is that evolution is happening right before our eyes!   The animals that inhabit the area have evolved lighter coloring than their counterparts elsewhere to be able to survive these extreme conditions.  A great example is the lesser earless lizards, which have evolved white coloration to better camoflauge and protect themselves from predators.  Take a look at a quick article with pictures on this phenomenon (evolution happening today).   Natural selection at its finest is displayed in the animals of White Sands.  

It's like you are at the beach, but the gypsum is much softer than sand!

Climbing the dunes so we can slide back down.  Many people brought sleds.

Shan and David in the sunset.  Great picture.

Rough housing at the dunes.

I was trying to capture David and Shan sitting on the tailgate but ended up with this sweet pic instead.

Bridge to the unknown.

An inspiring quote on one of the signs in the park.

A world of gypsum.

In just three short days we were able to experience all of this!  Everyone's life is extremely busy and it is hard to remember to take time to do the things you want to do.  For my next 30 years, that is what I am going to try and do better.  I have a life list and it is time to start checking some items off! 

By the way, are you looking for some adventure inspiration?  National Geographic has posted stories, interviews and pictures of the 2012 Adventurers of the Year.   From a woman that broke the Appalachian trail hiking record, to people that have summited Everest and para glided down to an extreme snowboarder, 19 year old champion woman surfer and more.  Check out their pictures and more here on the website.  

... oh to dream.  Well screw just dreaming, I am going to make things happen!


Dream and DO.

My green Thanksgiving. If we all do a little!

Instead of posting things that you can do to be more green during Thanksgiving I am going to post things I will be doing!  These tidbits are simple and if I can do them than anyone can.

1.  Turn off your heat when you are not there.  Well at least turn it down.  We live in a place where we do not need much heat so I just turned off our heat.  Otherwise turn it down to a level good enough to keep the pipes from freezing (50-55F)

2.  Unplug appliances.  I ran around the house before we left making sure everything was unplugged.  Phantom power - when appliances are turned off they still take energy (coal/oil)!

3.  Make your own!  I will be making lasagna for the day before Thanksgiving and I have not bought a box of pasta in over a year (if not more).  If you make your own noodles it is easy and tastes 10 times better than those random hard noodles you buy in the store.  Home made actually soak up the tastes of whatever you make.  Next time you buy pasta in the store, read the ingredients.  The ingredients should be flour, eggs and water.  See what you find!  Lots of items that should not be in there.

4.  Pack a cooler.  Yes we are driving 16 hours for the Holiday.  Yes we are taking David's gas guzzler but much comfier and more roomy truck.  So I do what I can and packed a cooler so we would not eat fast food.  I packed us some drinks to so we wouldn't have to stop and buy styrofoam gas station cups.  I will recycle the cans of Hansen's Natural Soda (total hipster).

So do what you can this Thanksgiving and make a commitment to do something! Think about your actions and make some different choices.  A little bit does add up.

Which reminds me:

I recently listened to a guest speaker who talked about climate change.  I found myself perplexed by some of what he was saying.  Most of his presentation was urging and demonstrating that climate change is real.  My opinion: Of course it is real, lets move on and talk about what we can do about it! 

At times during his presentation I felt like he was being persuaded somehow by the oil companies.  He stated that we can not live in a world without oil and argued that the Toyota Prius is more environmentally degrading than the Hummer.  Interesting point that I have heard before.  He stated that the hybrid battery used in the prius is made of nickel which is an extremely environmentally degrading process to harvest.  Click here to read a good article explaining the argument.  The nickel battery is shipped across the oceans to Japan and back before being used but guess what so are regular lead batteries.  Another part of this argument is that the Hummer lasts three times as long as a hybrid.  From the research I did that is not necessarily true.  Also - just like a lot of this gentleman's presentation this Prius vs Hummer argument is old.  The article I linked to is from 2007.  Technology is fast moving.  Some car companies have started a loan process for the batteries so that they can recycle and continue to use the same batteries instead of harvesting new materials.  Climate change is a dynamic changing force with much going on day to day.  If you are so inclined to speak about it, you better have the most up to date info.  Many times during the presentation he mentioned that he needed to update his slides.

The other big problem I had with his talk is basically his debunking of my job and my viewpoint.  I truly believe that if we all do a little bit to help out the environment it will add up.  Just like if you save 25 cents per day it adds up, or if you work out a little bit every day your health gets better, or if you add trash to the trash can every day it adds up.  Well if you do something small to help the environment every day it will help.  It may not make a huge difference if just you do it, but there are 7 billion people in the world.  Together, even just 1/4 of that population can make a difference.  A huge difference. 

I think what happened is the speaker was a bit deflated about his work.  He needs some posititvity brought back into his life that we can make a difference.  I didn't get a chance to speak with him after but I wish I did.  Smile buddy and go out and make a difference yourself.  You have the opportunity to speak to thousands of people.  Prep your slides, get back involved and make a difference.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."  Ghandi.

You can make a difference.  Start small and dream big!

 I saw this pic and it got me thinking.  I hope it randomly inspires you as well.


Tidbits add up! 

My top 5 favorite FREE "green" apps.

Why yes, I did end up getting the iphone 4s and I love it!

"A thneed is a fine something that all people need!"  A quote from the book, The Lorax by Dr. Suess in which the Once-ler encourages people to buy a thneed, a product he has made from chopping down the truffula trees.  By the way the movie is coming out next year with Danny Devito as the Lorax.  Click here to watch the trailer.  But yes, my iphone is a thneed.  Something I don't really need.  As humans, we are going to have an effect on the environment but do we have to have a huge impact?  I think not.  I always encourage kids and adults to make small changes in their lives that together will add up to make a difference.  Therefore, I will use my iphone for good!  So here is my list of helpful green iphone apps.  Let me know if you know of others I should check out!

1.  GoodGuide.  It is very hard to be an informed consumer and buy healthful as well as environmentally friendly products.  I always read the backs of labels and inspect the ingredient list but I am often surprised at how often companies will fool you.  GoodGuide, with a database of over 120,000 products makes it easy to find safe, healthy, green and ethical products.   It has a barcode scanner for easy access to the info!  Tonight at the grocery store I scanned the herbal detergent in the organic section and then Purex Natural Elements detergent and guess which one had a better rating?  Purex!!

2.  Twitter.  Yes that sounds funny but twitter has so much information in one quick place.  Here are some of my recent green favorites to follow: @huffpostgreen @inhabitat @grist @helprecycle_com @water @care2  - and of course @naimajeannette!

3. Locavore.  This app tells you what fruits and vegetables are in season and for how much longer in your area.  It also lists the farmers markets.  The more we support local farmers, the more all the food items they list will be available to buy.  For a crazy challenge, try just eating food items from within 150 miles of your area. 

4.  Seafood Watch.  Do you like seafood?  This easy to navigate app will warn you about what seafood to stay away from and what seafood is harvested in a sustainable manor and ok to consume.  Lately at my grocery store there has not been any seafood on the "green" list.  Availability must have something to do with seasonality as well so make sure to keep up with the app.  The general rule I use with seafood is stay away from farmed anything from Asia.  I also used the app in the tuna aisle today!

5. Treehugger.  For the ultimate in environmental info download this app.  It keeps you updated with environmental news around the world, recipes for sustainable food, energy efficiency tips and so much more.  There are also Podcasts from Treehugger radio!  They have guests from all over the world on green everything (architecture, green tv, green fashion, etc).  The app also can give you local info on where to recycle all kinds of products!

So download the apps and get to it!  They are FREE so you have nothing to lose.  Just remember you have them!  The apps work on the iphone 3G and I think they have equivalent droid apps.

ALSO - you do not have to have a smart phone to enjoy all of these tools.  They all have websites that you can visit as well!  

PS:  The iphone 4S has an awesome camera!  You should be on your toes for my next blog too!

Here is a pic tease for my next blog.  Any guesses where this is?

Thneeds!

Happy Halloweeeeen!

Happy Halloween all! 

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays although I did not dress up this year.  I had visions of dressing up as a bat with white nose syndrome but it just didn't come to fruition.  I wanted to draw attention to white nose syndrome (WNS).  In the past week scientists made a small breakthrough and were able to prove that a fungus (Geomyces sp.)  causes white nose syndrome.   White nose syndrome was first seen in New York in 2006, has been spreading ever since and has made its way across the Mississippi river.  Over One Million bats have died from WNS and although it effects more than one species the little brown bat populations are declining rapidly due to WNS.  To date, WNS is confirmed in 19 states and now threatens the endangered Indiana myotis, gray myotis, and Virginia big-eared bats. 

You may be wondering who cares?  Well one little brown bat can eat about 400 mosquitoes in one night.  I don't know about you but I HATE mosquitoes and if we lose bats the population of insects will increase, and the diseases mosquitoes carry (such as West Nile virus) will also increase.   You also may be worried about somehow magically getting rabies from seeing a bat.  Less than one percent of bats carry rabies.  Unless you are consistently picking up bats, you are at more risk to aquire rabies from a dog or squirrel.  Any mammal can carry rabies.  During graduate school, I had the lucky (or unlucky) pleasure of of being bit by lots of bats from mexican free tailed bats, big brown, pipistrelles and more and have yet to show signs of frothing at the mouth due to rabies. 

So what can you do to help bats in the wild?

1.  Build a bat house!  I am sooo excited for January as we will be hosting a bat workshop where we build bat houses!  Need more info?  Click here.

2.  Contact your government officials and urge them to support bat conservation!  For more info and sample letters click here.

3.  Learn more about bats and take a look at Bat Conservation International.  A phenomenal organization whose mission is: to conserve the world's bats and their ecosystems to ensure a healthy planet.

4. Celebrate Year of the Bat!  The United Nations has declared 2011-2012 as year of the bat.  Many organizations around the world will be hosting events to bring awareness to bats.  Get involved in your local area!  If there isn't already something going on, why not host an event!  For more info click here.

BOO at the ZOO: This weekend was Boo at the Zoo at the El Paso Zoo and we had a blast!  Almost 8,000 people came to participate in pumpkin bowling, Halloween maze, Halloween games, candy stations and over 20 animal enrichment programs!   It was very busy for three education specialists with 26 educational programs to carry out.  I  was excited to reach out to so many people.  Hopefully while they watched the animals playing with their Halloween enrichments, they were inspired to help support them in the wild.  To refresh your memory of what an enrichment is, read a recent blog post: click here. 

I spoke about so many conservation initiatives and ways to get involved, if one person takes it home then I have done my job.  Here are a few of the conservation initiatives I brought up during programs: recycling, buying recycled products, buy local, avoid palm oil, plant native plants, sustainable seafood, water conservation, and so many more.

I loved watching the animals receiving their enrichments and so did the public.  The Enrichment Coordinator and all the keepers worked very hard to have pumpkins, scarecrows and bobbing for apples for all the animals.  The animals were very grateful.  Here are some pictures:

 Cisco, the Mexican burro figuring out how to get his treats out of the pumpkin.

 I LOVE this picture because you can see she is smiling!

 Pumpkin Squish.

A Capybara searching in his pumpkin for goodies.

 

 The Galapagos tortoises loved their pumpkins.

 Ibu (Sumatran Orangutan) delicately bobs for apples in her kiddie pool.  Such a lady.

 Meli (Malayan tiger) wrestles with her scarecrow with chunked meat inside.

 Seri perfectly demonstrating how enrichments bring out natural behaviors of the animals.

The Malayan Sun bear is a little apprehensive about her scare crow. 

 Thank you to Carrie (Enrichment Coordinator) for all the great pictures! 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!


Happy Halloweeeeen!