Posted on May 8, 2015 by Pam Lazos

Geese through a Lens

Through a Lens

International migratory bird day — the second Saturday in May in the U.S. — focuses on conserving migratory birds and their habitats around the world. One of my favorite migratory birds is the small, but mighty ruby-throated hummingbird who treks 600 miles each fall from the Eastern U.S., crossing the Gulf of Mexico on a non-stop flight all the way into Central America and Mexico, only to return to Pennsylvania in the spring (April/May), and then continue traveling further up the East Coast as the weather improves. I’m enamored of this little bird whose wings beat so quickly that it needs to eat constantly to provide its body with enough food and warmth to keep going, a veritable poster child for strength and resilience. Plus it can hover, so it’s got my vote for the coolest bird trick award.

My other favorite, not because of it’s amazing feats of strength and aeronautics, but for its sheer presence and elegance is the snow goose.

Read more here…

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Orphan Train

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Pam Lazos

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Orphan Train

“[T]he people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our most ordinary moments. They’re with us in the grocery store, as we turn a corner, chat with a friend. They rise up through the pavement; we absorb them through our soles.” Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train

Some books speak to your love of history. Some books’ characters float up and off the page. Some books give you justice or take it, while others embrace your imagination and do a little dance with it. Christina Baker Kline’s, Orphan Train manages to do all of these at once…

Read More Here…


 

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I Speak for the Trees

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Pam Lazos

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I Speak for the Trees

My favorite tree ever was a giant oak, over 100 feet tall with a girth so large, three adults had trouble getting their arms around it. The oak and I grew up in a backyard in South Jersey. There’s a home video of me, only a few months old, wrapped up against the cool of a crisp fall day, and lying on a blanket beneath the oak, engaged in conversation, some secret language only we two knew. I think the oak imprinted my soul that day which is probably why I still talk to trees, if only in my head. For years I climbed it, or tried to, hid behind it, told stories beneath it. I noted its battle scars, one inflicted by my father who had tried to cut it down because he feared its size and proximity to the bedroom. He succeeded only in leaving a scar. In exchange for its life, the oak didn’t fall on the roof.

Read more here…

Posted in Sustainable Living, Trees | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Make Every Day Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Pam Lazos

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photo by Erin Lafferty

One Less Bag

When I was a kid, I spent a summer working in my parents’ deli in Sea Isle City, New Jersey.  I had various odd jobs, but my main job was running the cash register.  I met all kinds of people at work: summer-long, and weekend vacationers, shoebees (a/k/a day trippers), and my favorite, the locals.  Many came in every day for the same items:  coffee, donuts, cigarettes (40 years ago smoking was still okay), a meatball sub.  Some would indulge me with a smile, a word, a bit of wisdom.  I recall one gentleman in particular.  He never took a bag whether he had one or five items despite my repeated offerings.  “If everyone took one less bag,” he would say, “imagine how many trees we could save.”  I credit him with planting the seed of environmentalism in my 11-year old brain.  In the 1970’s, when I was working the register the paper bag ruled.

Read more here…

Posted in clean water, conservation, dioxin, eco, environment, environmental conservation, Great Pacific garbage patch, plastics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Worth of Water

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Pam Lazos

Ben Franklin

The Worth of Water

On my way to the 8th Annual Global Water Alliance (GWA) conference in Philadelphia on March 26, 2015, I took a shortcut across the University of Penn’s campus and, given that I am navigationally challenged, overshot my destination (which sounds better than saying I got lost). As usually happens when I take a wrong turn, something magical occurred. I ended on the 37th Street Walkway also known as Benjamin Franklin’s Way. The walkway, a cut-through between lecture halls, stretching from Walnut to Spruce Street, was a 45th reunion gift from the class of 1962 and boasts a series of pavers with many of Franklin’s often pithy, always wise advice. My favorite, “when the well’s dry, we know the worth of water,” was apropos advice given that I was on my way to a water conference.  Read more here…

Posted in access to water, clean water, environment, Uncategorized, water, water conservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fun Foodie Friends Interviews!

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Pam Lazos

Print

The Fun Foodie Friends Interviews!

I don’t know what’s more exciting. Putting your own creative works out into the universe, or promoting another’s work because you love it and you can. The promotion part is at the heart of every grass roots movement. “I just read this great book and I’m excited to share it,” takes on more meaning when a friend recommends it rather than an advertisement. The concept of, “and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends,” is exactly how movements grow and also how the world changes.

I previously reviewed Fun Foodie Friends, and now I’d like to introduce you to the women who created it. While I’ve known Elaine for over 30 years, we’d lost touch and only recently rekindled our friendship. Coincidentally, we were both publishing books at the time and were able to help each other along on our new and exciting journeys. Who says the universe doesn’t always know exactly what it’s doing?

So without further delay — meet Elaine and Joyce, creators of Fun Foodie Friends!

Read more here…

Posted in cooking, healthy foods, intentional eating, kids' cookbook, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Silent Spring

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Pam Lazos

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Silent Spring

When Rachel Carson penned Silent Spring, first published in 1962, she probably had no idea that it would be one of the most influential books of the modern environmental movement. A smart, savvy scientist, Carson wrote the seminal book on what not to do in caring for the planet and in the process was the impetus for the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Before the EPA, before the Kyoto Protocol, before the U.N. Millennium Goals there was Rachel Carson, a shy, research-oriented scientist with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (which would later become the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) who had started seeing patterns where none existed before, patterns of increased incidences of cancer, infertility, mutations and blight.   Read more here…

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Don’t care about spots on my apples…

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Pam Lazos

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Don’t care about spots on my apples…

Today, in a magnanimous and demonstrated show of concern for the health and wellbeing of the citizens of our nation, for their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of a toxin-free happiness, the nation’s chemical companies announced they will no longer produce pesticides, herbicides, and biocides, and instead, will fund research and development for natural ways to control agricultural and household pests.

April Fools!

Read more here…

Posted in DDT, paradise, pesticides, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fun Foodie Friends

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Pam Lazos

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Fun Foodie Friends

      Hey moms and dads! Want a fun-filled, rainy (or snowy, or sunny) day activity to do with your kids? One that will impart tidbits of knowledge, provide critical life skills, and have you and your child yucking it up at the same time? Well, Fun Foodie Friends, written by Elaine Callahan and Joyce Kesler, provides the template to do just that, and what’s even better, your kids get to run the show.    Read more here…

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I Am Water

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Pam Lazos

Ocracoke dock

I  Am Water

And so are you. At least about 72% of you is, along with the person you love, your kids, your friends, all your acquaintances, all mostly water. Several billion years ago, a few single-celled organism started focus groups, formed bonds, discussed logistics, and eventually crawled their way out of the primordial soup. At one time oceans covered the planet. At one time dinosaurs roamed the earth. We’ve come a long way since then, but we’re still drinking the same water the dinosaurs did.

Read more here…

Posted in clean water, eco, environment, water, water conservation | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments