Let’s put a new spin on what kids know as the three 3’s! You know the ones: readin’, writin’, and rithmetic! Those will always be the standard, but what about Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle? From what I’m hearing from the neighborhood kids and the local parents I meet, it seems that more and more schools are integrating “green” messages into their curricula. But does this message really sink in if they don’t get it reinforced at home, too? School lunches are the perfect place to start. Instead of sending juice boxes (yes, I know they’re cool and convenient), plastic silverware, and other throw-aways, stop and think about your alternatives. Send juices in screw-top sippers and sandwiches in inexpensive plastic containers. You can find any and everything you need for “green lunches” at your local supermarket. Sure, some of the containers may not make it back home at first, while the kids adjust to the responsibility of actually not throwing everything away, but it’s all part of progress! The average school kid creates 67 pounds of trash from discarded lunch packaging every school year. That’s a lot of waste that ends up in landfills! Help lighten the load. Heck, you can even make it fun by letting your kids customize their containers with stickers and stuff. I would have loved that when I was a kid? Wouldn’t you?

I was at my local recycling center the other day, the back of my truck piled high with bags of stuff that had been accumulating for awhile. Everything was properly sorted. In front of me in line was someone with similarly sorted stuff. When it came to his several cans of odds and ends—yep, that stuff that you don’t earn money back on—he grew irate when the attendant told him there was no cash value. “Well, I’ll just throw it away next time!” he shouted as he took his voucher and stormed off. When the attendant called out that it all does get recycled, regardless, the guy just waved his hand in disgust. My point? While you can leave your recycling center with a nice chunk of change, please don’t recycle just for the money. Do it because you care about saving our landfills…and saving our planet. Consider the cash a little bonus, a little reward, for having your heart in the right place. And then go back home and fish out of your trash all of those pieces of plastic with the recycle symbol but no redemption value — not in dollars, any way, but in good sense!

The other night I was watching one of the many episodes of the Planet Earth DVD series that was produced by the BBC. It’s a series of documentaries that investigates life on this beautiful planet and takes you to places you would never even imagine exist. I’ve heard, read, and seen a lot of evidence of global warming and the disastrous effects it’s having on life here as we know it. One of the most striking, though, was footage in this particular episode of a polar bear struggling to survive. Looking for food, he tried to make his way across ice that crumbled beneath his big feet. With nowhere left to walk, he was forced to swim…and did so for three days straight. When he finally found land, he was too weak to successfully hunt the many walruses on shore. They fought back…and the polar bear collapsed to meet his fate. The ice that once supported polar bears (and numerous other animals) grows thinner and smaller in range with each passing year as global warming takes its toll. That means that the Artic regions sustain less and life each year. It’s up to us all to take steps every day to slow and maybe even stop global warming. We can do it…and you can feel great about yourself in the process!

Okay, I love to take a long hot shower just as much as you do. But, I do my best to be a conservationist at every turn. And with friendly reminders, it gets easier all the time. In fact, just the other morning, I got my usual email from the National Wildlife Federation and found that they now have yet another useful tool on their site. The Good Neighbor Pledge is a quick and easy list of tasks that you can do to ease your carbon footprints on this beautiful planet. And most of it is simple stuff, too…things like turning off lights when you’re not using them and, yes, cutting your shower time. Even I can do that…and so can you. When you reach 20 points, you’re officially part of the Good Neighbor group and you even get a handy water bottle for stepping up and doing your part. So log on, sign up, and do your part every day!

Every October in the city of Santa Barbara, California there’s a big ocean party! I’m not talking about just showing up on the beach with your towel and sunblock. Hosted by the Ocean Channel, this year’s celebration is actually the 5th Annual Santa Barbara Ocean Film Festival. If you happen to be close enough to attend, you’ll get to see amazing sea stories told through award-winning videos and films that will make you even an even bigger fan of our precious oceans than you already are. It runs for two nights, October 22 and 23, and all benefits go to the EDC, Environmental Defense Center. They’re an organization that’s been helping to protect California’s coastal areas for over 30 years. I guess you could say they’re Ocean Protectors, too. Even if you can’t make it, check out www.ocean.com to learn more about what this organization is doing to protect our planet and how you can get involved. There are lots of cool short films from around the world that you can watch, too. Thank you, Ocean Channel!

There is a lot of talk about global warming but I wonder how many people recognize what’s going on in our world. A piece of the Antarctic broke off in 2001 and disintegrated — a piece as large as Rhode Island, and now it no longer exists! The Arctic ice pack has been reduced by 40% in the last 40 years, and will continue to melt at a rate of 9% every decade. Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa (19,340 feet), is expected to lose its ice cap in the next 15 years. Glacier National Park in Montana will have no more glaciers in 70 years if we don’t begin to address global warming soon. Global warming isn’t something that might happen. It IS happening, right now. Remember this when you drive a car that burns a lot of gas (the second largest contributor of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere). Think. Act. And spread the word!!

Scholastic, a leader in educational resources, surveys school children every year to vote on the status of our environment. The Environmental Report Card this year represented the opinions of 17,00 children in grades K-12. When asked, “What’s your biggest environmental concern about ocean life?” 58% answered “Pollution”. To the question, “How would you rate the response to the environmental challenge posed by global climate change?” 39% of them gave our efforts a failing grade: “F: Awful! Much more needs to be done.” I hope that the next administration in the White House recognizes that we are failing our kids. There is so much work to do and, with good leadership that is committed to preserving our resources, perhaps we can get a better grade in the years to come.

Nine year-old Jericho Scott is a good pitcher in the Youth Baseball League of New Haven, CT. One of 100 kids in the league, Jericho throws a fastball that reaches 40 mph — unheard of in a young player.

Well, I should say that Jericho was a pitcher in this league. He has been banned from pitching because the league’s administration says parents fear he might hit a batter, even though that has never, ever happened! In effect, Jericho is being punished for being too good! When the coach refused to bench Jericho, officials said they will disband the team and send the players to other teams — everyone except Jericho. But they will refund his $50 fee! (more…)