The Last Mountain

Back in May, I posted two times about mountain top coal removal-- Flip 'Em Off! and End Mountain Top Removal.

So you can imagine my excitement when we arrived in Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival to find out that Brita had given us tickets to see the world premier of the documentary "The Last Mountain." (YAY!!  Thanks Brita!!)  Having read up on the topic, I wasn't shocked by what I saw... although it pained me to see the horrible truths of the coal industry on the big screen... I was completely devastated by what the coal industry is doing to the health of the people in Coal River Valley.  (...and really all across our nation.)

At the end of the film, there was a Q&A with the director... AND....an activist that was in the film said, "Now you know.  You have to do something."

Soooo... I thought to myself... what can *I* do???  What can WE do???

A good first step is to become aware that we are ALL connected to this problem.  Find your connection to mountain top coal removal at iLoveMountains.org.  Then take social action through conserving, helping and supporting the groups in Appalachia, and taking political action.

To learn more about the problems of mountain top coal removal and how you  WE can make a difference.... visit: The Last Mountain: Social Action

From Mountain to Ocean

Over the weekend, we went camping in Montebello, VA (it's part of George Washington National Forest).

As part of our trip, we sponsored a trail clean-up held by the Rover Owners Association of Virginia. The rules were simple: Whoever picked up the most litter (aka trash) on the trails, they'd win $100 and we'd make a matching donation to The Plastic Ocean. We were so excited to be getting more involved with The Plastic Ocean by informing people of the issues and making donations to help fund their efforts.

You may be curious... why donate to an ocean cause when we're doing a clean-up in the mountains?? Simple... the issues of littering in the mountains are no different than littering at the beach... one day... a piece of litter thousands of miles inland will find its way to the ocean...it's only a matter of time...EVERYTHING is connected.

At the end of the day, we were completely overjoyed to see the bags of trash that people had picked up. In fact, the winning group picked up 3 very full trash bags of litter... and said that their kids were "totally into it." After the winner was announced, my husband briefly talked about the issues of littering and the effects it has on the environment, educated about The Plastic Ocean and explained why we were making a donation. A day after we got home from our trip, the winners let us know that they, too, wanted to make a donation to The Plastic Ocean. (Ripple) YAY!!! We'll be sponsoring trail clean-ups at all the camping events (at Nat'l Forests and Parks) that we attend and keeping up with making matching donations to our friends at The Plastic Ocean.

What can you do?? Anything, as long as it's something.

Get involved: Don't litter (intentionally or unintentionally), don't walk past litter, learn about the issues, speak up, teach, and give back.

A couple of years ago, I read this article and it had a huge impact on me....I highly recommend reading it:

"Our Oceans Are Turning Into Plastic... Are We??"

Ending Mountaintop Removal: Video

I have sat down numerous times in the past couple of weeks to write about my garden, my CSA, my rain barrels, water conservation... you name it... and then I read or see something and I get completely side-tracked. SO... today is no exception!! As I was getting ready to sit down to write about our most recent camping trip to George Washington National Park in Virginia... I open my email to this video that goes along with a post that I wrote at the beginning of the month: Flip 'Em Off

Check out the short video (0k... it's really an advertisement) and then visit www.iLoveMountains.org to find out how you can help :)

Flip 'Em Off!!

Lights that is ;)

I am a lover of light. I NEED light... I like my house to be bright... not dark and dreary.  At one time, I was the girl that had to have every light on in the house. I was a perpetual light "leaver onner." I'd walk into a room and my hand was like a magnet to the light switch... flip... and on would go the light(s). Sure... I always heard, "You're wasting electricity. AND money." That line never phased me. Then I saw a picture and learned where some of the power comes from to keep my lights on...

Yes, that is a picture of what mountaintop removal looks like. AND...That used to be a mountain. :( The saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words"... couldn't be more true because it was a picture that put the wasting of electricity into perspective for me. From the moment I realized that in order to keep my electricity running... mountains were being destroyed for coal... I changed my thinking. If I leave my lights on....No longer am I just wasting electricity or money... I'm wasting mountains (amongst other things).

Check out this link to find out: What's YOUR connection to mountaintop removal?

Of course, by habit, I often reach for the light switch when I go into a room. Then I stop and pull my hand back from the switch and head to the windows to open up the shades/blinds to let the light IN.  There is no better light than the light of the sun :)

Now... turning off lights has become like picking up litter... habit... I can't walk past a light left on just as I can't walk past a piece of litter without doing something about it.  SO...I go in someone's home, my kids schools, restaurants, model homes (it is possible that realtors LOVE light more than anyone ;))... you name the place... I've turned off a light there :)

Also, one of the biggest things that I do-- and am trying my hardest to teach my children-- is when I go into a room, I judge whether or not I need a light on based on if I'm able to see my hands in front of me. I think about how much light I really need to do what I'm doing... for example: doing laundry or brushing my teeth does not require much light.  Reading, on the other-hand, does ;).

So instead of saying to my children, "Turn off the lights, you're wasting electricity."

We say, "Turn off the lights, we love to visit the mountains... go camping.... and we want to keep them ALL beautiful."

Here I am with my daughter at Beech Mountain, NC :)