When you start to research agricultural methods and pesticides, you may seem a bit put off by the information that you gather. The effects that agriculture and pesticides have on the environment and your overall health are dumbfounding. Couple that with rising food costs and you may come to the conclusion that organic gardening is really the only way to go.

Even to the most experienced of gardeners organic gardening can seem intimidating. The use of chemicals has been so ingrained in us by our day to day activities that not using them at all can seem like an almost impossible goal. You don’t need to be scared away by it though. Organic gardening takes some planning and patience but it is well worth the effort.

When starting an organic garden, remember that it’s ok to start small. Gardening, in general, is a process not an event. There is no need to Read more…

She’s a beautiful, old soul.

Raven upon arrival at the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

With jet black hair and sad, gentle eyes that say much more than her underweight 19-year-old frame allows.

Nothing is known of her history, how long she went without food, or how long blindness has clouded her left eye.

She was abandoned, a victim of circumstance, hard times, and debilitating drought.

And she isn’t alone.

The Perfect Storm

For nearly a year now, Texas has endured a punishing combination of drought, consecutive days of climbing 100 degree temperatures, vanishing water supplies and, now, pockets of sporadic wildfires racing across acre after acre of cracked earth.

Currently, 96 percent of the state is facing exceptional and extreme drought conditions, with area lakes dropping as much as 41 feet in some cases, according to a National Weather Service Drought Information Statement issued September 8, 2011, with little to no relief expected in the upcoming months.

Read more…

Ah, the Bahamas.

So warm, so relaxing, so…. progressive?

Hey, I’m not just talking about their ever expanding drink menu, or the arguably the greatest invention ever – island time.  Nope, I’m talking about something even better, something that’s even got our environment-loving friends to the North beat, and it can be wrapped up in one word.

Sharks.

photo by Rob Stewart

No, really. It’s their sharks, or more importantly, the Bahamas approach to this long-feared fish of the deep that’s leaving countries around the world in its clear blue wake.

More specifically, it’s the July 2011 banning of shark fishing in the nation’s territorial waters that’s making everyone else look primitive in comparison.

What’s shark fishing anyway you wonder?

Feeding a Caribbean reef shark, Bahamas. Photo David Hannan.

Well, according to award-winning shark conservationist Rob Stewart, it involves the sale, import, and export of shark products that were acquired by fishing, most often Read more…

What inspires you?

I spent the last week investigating The Nature Conservancy’s website for my next TSCB article and I have to say I am truly inspired by the work of this organization.

The Nature Conservancy has an impressive legacy as the leading conservation organization that protects ecologically significant land and water for nature and people. It’s their mission to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

They work in all 50 States and in more than 30 countries protecting habitats and addressing threats to conservation involving climate change, fresh water and conservation. They have protected more than 119 million acres of land, 5000 miles of rivers and operate more than 100 marine conservation projects worldwide.

Check out their latest video highlighting some of their work last year:

Founded in 1951, The Conservancy can trace its history Read more…

40,000

That’s the number of  students that attend my alma mater; that’s more than ten times the number of tigers living in the wild today.  Threatened by poachers and human encroachment on their habitat, the tiger population has decreased dramatically in the last century, dropping to fewer than 4,000 tigers in the wild today. Scientists estimate that these beautiful creatures could become completely extinct by 2022.

But the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) wants to prevent the complete extinction of tigers.

In the late 1970s, the tiger population of India dropped from 4,000 to about 2,600. The WWF launched Operation Tiger and committed $1 million in emergency funds. The project established tiger reserves in Corbett, Kanha, Manas, Ranthambhore, and Sunderban. Over the years, the number of reserves increased to 15 tiger reserves.

But it hasn’t stopped the poaching and the population decline. Today the WWF estimates that only 1,300 live in the wild Read more…

Every single thing you do has an impact on the world we all share.

Every item you buy, every trip you take, every piece of mail you receive, and every bite of food you eat.

Consider all the decisions you make in a day. Now multiply those decisions by 6.7 billion, and imagine the effect of all those choices on the world around us.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature [WWF] knows that the future is man made.

This ad is just one of many from the creative and provocative advertising department at the World WWF, all designed to remind us that with every new development, we take away habitat and resources needed by the populations that share our planet: animals, plants, and, well, everything. The ads are part of a global initiative to draw attention to the ways we all hurt every living thing.

Where it begins, Where it Read more…