Book Blurb Friday

It's Book Blurb Friday at Writing in the Buff. Here's my suggestion at a mere 78 words, written in honor of Earth Day.

Storms and Sunshine

Acclaimed environmentalist, Stanley Greene, writes a compelling account of his secret twenty-year relationship with Mother Nature.

Greene's frank and down-to-earth expose finally puts to rest the rumors surrounding this enigmatic lady. Is she saint or sinner?  A breath of fresh air or a whirlwind? And what does she really think about the impact of the human race on her domain? 

Discover it all for yourself, including Mother Nature's eye-opening opinion of Greene's crowning achievement, the Stan Greene Movement.

Happy Earth Day 2010

It's hard to believe that today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It's even harder to believe that I participated in the very first Earth Day back in 1970. We've come a long way since then, but there is still much to do.


Sometimes, it's the little things that make a difference. For example:

We can pick up litter...




















We can recycle...

We can conserve water...

We can go green...

And we can love the plants. We can love the animals. We can love the earth.

What are you doing to protect our planet?

Tote That...Garbage?

This photo of a crystal clear Missouri stream that I visited recently illustrates one of my "pet" peeves.

I will never understand why people believe it's okay to toss cans, bottles, plastic, paper, and assorted other trash on the ground or into the water.

Is it laziness? Stupidity? A completely self-centered attitude?

Perhaps it's a bit of all three.

For years I served as co-leader for my daughter's Girl Scout troop. Whether on field trips or campouts, one phrase always applied:

"Leave the area better than the way you found it."

Don't you wish everyone lived by that motto?

Garbage is ugly. It's harmful to fish and wildlife. It pollutes and helps destroy our environment. If you read this blog, I know I'm preaching to the choir, but consider this informal pledge among us friends.

Let's try to change things.

From now on, we'll each do our best to leave any place we visit a little better than the way we found it. Maybe we can encourage more people to join. You know, get a real movement going. What an impact that would make!

I guarantee that every one of us, from the tiniest critters all the way to the top tier of creation (Could that be people? H'mmm. Sometimes I wonder) will benefit.

So, Rubbish Removers of the world...Unite!

Make a difference in OUR world.

Slither and Yon

Photo credit Honolulu Zoo.

Recently, there has been coverage of the burgeoning population of Burmese Pythons in Florida. It’s speculated that these snakes have been released by owners who are no longer able or willing to care for them. In the warm, moist atmosphere of Florida, the snakes are multiplying rapidly. Scientists have been monitoring this problem for several years, and although Burmese Pythons are typically identified, other constrictors have also been discovered.

Burmese Pythons are native to Southeast Asia, and imported to the United States primarily to become pets. Because the snakes grow to substantial sizes (20-30 feet in length and hundreds of pounds at maturity), these same pet owners eventually have a problem they can’t handle...hence the release.

The National Park Service estimates that there are at least 100,000 free roaming constrictor snakes in Florida, and as a non-native species, they are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Thus the mission of authorities now is to find, capture, and destroy as many as possible for there is significant evidence that the constrictors have the ability to migrate throughout the southern portion of the United States, where warm weather and mild winters provide a perfect place for them to thrive.

This is yet another unfortunate example of the result when people obtain exotic pets. I had an experience with a constrictor owned by my son many years ago. I won’t go into the details here, but suffice it to say it’s not an experience that I care to repeat.

Please, if you have an exotic animal, consider that this may not be the best situation for either you or the critter. Find an appropriate sanctuary to take the animal in, and never, ever consider releasing it into the wild.

Our fragile environment may depend upon it.