Forward on Climate Rally

Have you ever opened an email, read it and thought to yourself, "This is important.  I need to be there.  Sign me up!"  That's what immediately popped in my head back at the beginning of January when I opened the first email from 350.org about the Forward on Climate Rally in DC.  My immediate desire to want to be there stemmed from this quality that I have about believing in the difference we can make together versus being one person.  As individuals sure we can do a lot, but together... that's where amazing stuff happens.

Going to the Forward on Climate rally was a chance to let President Obama truly see how passionate and committed we are about him rejecting the Keystone Pipeline and moving our country away from dirty energy to clean renewable energy sources.

So on February 15, my family and I made the 5 1/2 hour drive to Washington, DC because we knew it was important for us to be there.  Having never been to Washington, DC we spent Friday and Saturday going to museums, ice skating and touring our nation's capitol.  Then on Sunday, we made our way to the Washington Monument to join the largest climate rally in history!

Walking to the Washington Monument was a sight to behold... people were streaming in from all directions... all headed to the same place-- Forward on Climate.  

The temperatures hovered around freezing, the wind was biting and my kids were definitely affected by it all.... and expressing it.  As we were crossing the street, a random act of kindness was bestowed upon us.  A man overheard my kids say they were cold, reached in his pocket and as he gave me some hand warmers he said, "for your kids. hopefully they'll help warm them up."  Unfortunately, the hand warmers or hot chocolate just couldn't get my kids past their cold feet. :(  My husband decided to do the best thing for our three kids and took them to some museums to warm up while I stayed at the rally.

There I was in the middle of over 40,000 people... 

I'll be honest, I was a little nervous when my family first left.  Then just like that, I quickly realized that not only were these 40,000+ people passionate about our environment and clean energy... they were also SUPER friendly. The energy was unbelievable.  The speakers were inspiring and moving... there's something about hearing someone else say what you've been thinking AND hearing those words loud and clear over a speaker system.  You ever had that feeling where it feels like your heart is smiling?  My heart was smiling.  Being at the rally felt like everything was exactly as it should be.  People coming together... really coming together for a common cause.  

One thing that I often say about the issue of climate change is that it has no barriers.  This movement is about everyone.  Being at the rally, it was easy to see that this movement goes beyond race, religion, ethnicity, age, nationality... we're all connected in this great big beautiful world.  And at the Forward on Climate Rally it really showed.

I saw first hand that there are a whole lot of people who care.  People who want to make the world a better place.  People who care about the future of our planet.

Were you at the rally?  What did you think?

Oh yeah... check out this highlight video and be inspired.

We told Obama how we feel about the climate.  Now he needs to hear it from our Senators, too!

Take action with The Sierra Club here:  Write Your Senators

Sooo.... what's next?  350.org is asking for our thoughts on what the next steps should be.

Take their survey here: 350.org "What's Next"

Responsibility Is Not Convenient

After doing our 81st clean up at Access 16, we headed further down the beach to Access 39 so that my husband could stand up paddle board.  When we walked up the access I saw this overflowing trashcan that normally would have made me so frustrated...

Even though trash was falling and blowing out all over the beach, I wasn't frustrated because I knew that  I could fix this problem.  I said to my husband,

"I'm not leaving it like this... I'm going to get a trashcan."  

Hoping to find a near empty trashcan... I walked to the next access and then to the next... both trashcans were half full.  I hesitated and thought to myself... "What am I doing?? ... I don't know if I can do this... wait, I have to do this.  Responsibility is NOT convenient."  I made the decision to choose the closer of the two and I drug it across the beach...

In the midst of dragging the trashcan, I called my friend Ginger to let her know that I had officially lost it.  Dragging the awkward, sticky, ant infested trashcan across the beach wasn't easy... but this is the way I saw it:  There was a problem that needed to be fixed.  Do I wish that people would have taken their trash with them instead of leaving it on the beach??  Absolutely.  But they didn't.  I can't change that.  I can't change what happened before me... I can only hope to change what happens after me.

 Responsibility is not convenient.  Doing the right thing takes extra effort... but trust me... it's always worth it. :)

Our Daily Ocean: Day 60

On Monday-- not 5 minutes into our 20 minute clean up at Access 43-- we found the ultimate example of irresponsibility.  A broken beach chair, left for someone else to carry off the beach.  And one thing is blatantly obvious: whoever left it knew that they left it.  Unlike many things left on the beach... leaving a beach chair takes thought...  there is an exact moment when someone makes the conscious decision to pass off their responsibility and walk away.  (Oh how I wish I would've taken a picture of my daughter carrying the broken chair off the beach)

And I'm not going to lie... it's true that it can get a little disheartening going to the beach and seeing how people treat one of my most favorite places in the whole world.  BUT... as much as it's disheartening....I don't feel helpless...

Every time I take a photo, share what we find, exchange knowledge and personal experiences... I feel empowered.  Because everyday is an opportunity to help create awareness.

Awareness creates consciousness that helps to form change.

Something to think about:  We've picked up over 17,000 cigarette butts in 60 days.... making our average about 284 cigarette butts every 20 minutes.  Could you imagine if we picked up 284 water bottles every 20 minutes??  In my opinion, 284 of anything in 20 minutes is absolutely ridiculous.  I have a feeling that the people involved in creating this short video would also agree.

Last week, my Aunt and my cousin were on a 4th grade class field trip to the Mississippi River.  While dipping nets into the Mississippi to explore life in the river, one net came up with a cigarette butt.

With nothing to see, the students were to empty the net back into the river... BUT...a young girl questioned whether or not they should put a cigarette butt back in the river.  Having learned from what we've been doing, my Aunt quickly chimed in and let the teachers know that cigarette filters are made from a type of plastic.  (They had no idea!!)  Later that day, my Aunt forwarded the teachers my Brita FilterForGood film .... and the next day my cousin's 4th grade class-- in a small Iowa town-- watched my film in class. :)  YAY!!  I am so appreciative of my Aunt for saying something... and have so much gratitude for my cousin's teacher taking the time to teach students something that isn't in school books.

Here's what I'm thinking... err... feeling, right now: There are so many people in this world on this same mission to create change... and no matter how big a person's reach is-- whether to one person or thousands of people-- ripple effects are powerful and far reaching.  I have no doubts that change is going to come.

20 minutes on May 2, 2011 at Access 43

Litter by weight: 2 lbs 2.2 oz plus a broken beach chair
Cigarette butts: 151

The beach chair is broken... the aluminum frame is snapped. :( In an effort to keep it out of the trash, I'm going to be dropping it off at Re-Eco to be (hopefully) repurposed!! :)

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 60 days:

17,057

Be Heard

I first registered to vote in 2008.  There was a lot going on locally (and there still is) that really irked me...  I figured the only way for me to change what I wasn't happy about was to register to vote, figure out what issues were MOST important to me... research ALL of the candidates and then decide what really matters and vote for what I believe in....  

‎"I have a lot of faith in people. I don't think the corporations reflect the kindness of people. I don't think our politics reflect the kindness of the people they represent." It's up to us to figure out how to change that.

-- Colin Beavan 

What Do We Fuel??

Have you seen Fuel??? Over the past week, I kept having it put in front of me... only for me to say, "I'll watch it later." Last night, it was put in front of me again... and I thought to myself... "what am I waiting for??"

SO... Late last night, was my "later".... I have so many reactions to this film... and one question I keep asking myself is:

"What do *I* fuel???"

Don't wait to watch "Fuel".... watch it NOW....

Our WORLD as we know it needs to change....

We need to create a sustainable planet and....

We need to change it TOGETHER.

Step 1: Register to Vote Here

Step 2: Contact Your Senators

(let them know that you want clean, green, sustainable energy)

Step 3: Make personal changes and strong commitments in how you use energy.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."-- Margaret Mead

An Evolution

I used to have a vision for how I wanted my life to be....

(this was about more than getting married and having children--which I happily have)

...this is about where I saw myself and how I saw myself living.

It went a bit like this:

A big house mansion set atop a hill with gates to keep everyone out....

with an overpriced, but beautiful convertible sitting in the garage.

Over the past couple of years, I've been saying that I just want to simplify life... and I've been doing just that... by having my own garden, riding my bike to the farmers' market,  realizing that shopping is not really a sport, giving  (I give what I could've spent shopping to things that really matter) and so many more reasons that go beyond a list...

SO...what I used to want... I don't want any of it anymore... somewhere along the way something in me changed.

Now I envision my life a bit like this:

A small house walking distance (or a bike ride) to the beach and a farmers' market... with the chillest neighbors that hang out on their front porch and take the time to talk to their neighbors and wave to passer-bys...

and next to my two feet.... the coolest convertible around-- a beach cruiser-- to get me everywhere I need to go.

...and a whole lot more than I know how to write in a list.

Something is pulling me... I just haven't figured out what or where it is...

My Garden of Herbs

Five years ago--on Mother's Day--my husband and 2 children (then 3 and 11 months) planted me my very first herb garden. At the time, I had been talking about wanting fresh herbs for at least a year. I was an avid watcher of the Food Network... and one day on The Naked Chef... Jamie Oliver talked about using fresh herbs.  He said (in loose quotes... this was at least 6 years ago... so this is the gist of how I remember it),

"Using fresh herbs is great, but the idea of fresh herbs is that they're FRESH... not drive to the store 'fresh'... fresh does not come in a package."  

What he said, has been morphed over time... but the meaning of what he said has held strong for me for the past 5 years.  Using fresh herbs should be an organic process of cooking where you reach for herbs that are growing from the soil...when they're supposed to be growing... the idea of fresh herbs as a packaged product really undermines what using "fresh" is all about.   

So... that year, my husband got a big half wine barrel and various other pots and planted my most used herbs: Thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives (didn't use quite so much), dill, and basil.

5 years later, a cross-country move to St. Louis and back to Wilmington...I still have an herb garden... it's just in a different form. No longer contained to a wine barrel (it's now home to a contained forest of mint)....now my herb garden grows along the side of my house. It's also grown in the variety... I now have planted an unconfined forest of mint, rosemary, oregano, flat-leaf parsley, dill, thyme, lemon thyme, chives, sage, "Italian" basil, lemon basil, cilantro, chocolate mint, and a bay bush.  The only original plant that I have from that original Mother's Day herb garden are the chives. They've doubled and quadrupled in size... and while I don't use them as much as some of my other herbs... I LOVE having the ability to use them when I choose to :)  As with all my herbs, I cut what I need, when I need it and leave the rest to grow.  No plastic container, no rubber-bands, no twist-ties needed... and that means no waste.... because it takes nothing more than me and a pair of scissors.

My favorite thing about chives is their flowers.... ;)

Here's some Parsley and Dill growing from seed...

A little of my Mint forest and some Sage....

Rosemary and Thyme,

Cilantro,

Oregano,

and Basil.

What to do with all those herbs??  Get cooking (or let them grow and flower for the pollinators ;)).  

Over the past couple of years, I have made the commitment to only use fresh herbs from my garden.  That means that I only use what herbs are growing in my herb garden during a given season.  I'm able to reap the bounty of Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Oregano, Mint and Chives through all seasons.  Parsley comes and goes throughout the year.  I only use basil in spring and summer... yes... I make loads of pesto to keep in my freezer to last me all winter.  I try my best to center my cooking around what is growing...if a recipe calls for an herb that's not growing, then I make a substitution for something that is... the best flavor comes from the freshest ingredients... and you can't get any fresher than your own backyard (or patio or windowsill).

Here are a few photos of some recipes that I've tested for The Blissful Chef using herbs straight from my herb garden....

Since I'm recipe testing, I can't give out recipes.  BUT...  Magical Raw Tacos (above) were featured on The Blissful Chef Blog... SO make them...with whatever you have growing... they are absolutely AMAZING Magical ;)

In 4 Years...

Just imagine the future and how you can change it. That's what this blog is all about. WE can change the world.....

(Thanks to Jason Mraz for sharing this video :))

How to Feed the World Video

How to feed the world ? from Denis van Waerebeke on Vimeo.

a film directed by Denis van Waerebeke for the « Bon appétit » exhibition,

aimed mainly at the kids aged 9 to 14.