Halloween is just around the corner! Aside from lots of candy, that means lots of new costumes and all of the essential make-up and garb to complete the right look. Well, I love Halloween and always have. But I started wondering today about how many costumes are worn just once and then sent to local landfills. I mean, kids outgrow costumes and even if they didn’t, who wants to be the same thing two years in a row, right? So, please, on November 1st, when the kiddos’ costumes are lying in a crumpled heap on the floor, wrap them up and either save them for a neighbor or friend’s children to wear next year, or just deliver them to your local Goodwill or other such second-hand shop. In fact, you might even want to shop for this year’s costumes there! Aluminum cans and plastic bottles aren’t the only things that can be recycled! It’s really amazing how many simple things we can do to help save the environment!

For the first time in history, the Great Lakes will be protected! The National Wildlife Federation and other affiliates/partners have been hard at work for ten years to get legislation passed to protect these natural resources from overuse and diversion. The Great Lakes Compact was passed by all eight Great Lakes states and the U.S. Congress. It was just signed into law! Most people probably don’t realize what a major resource—not to mention place of beauty—the region is. Believe it or not, the Great Lakes hold more than 90% of the fresh surface water in the United States and 20% of the world’s supply. That’s a lot of water…and a great loss because only 1% of the water we have been using has been renewed each year. Thankfully, that’s all about to change! And that means good things for wildlife of land and water…and for ensuring the future of our fresh water supply!

For a lot of areas in the US, fall means elevated wildfire danger. Areas of California get hit with eastern/Santa Ana winds and the entire western region of the country is dry from summer heat. Left to its own cycles, natural vegetation and fire maintain a perfect balance, where fire is actually a blessing, burning off overgrowth and making room for fresh greens and natural re-seeding of native plant life. While there are always casualties, wildlife actually thrives in areas razed by fire, thanks to all of the new growth at the bottom of the food chain. Of course, human loss and safety is a major concern, especially in rural areas so subject to fires that can spread to the cities, and no one wants to lose a home or a life to fire. Our job as humans is to be responsible residents of this planet and adhere to fire codes for clearance of brush, rubbish, etc. By maintaining your own property/yard, you help to protect yourself, your family, and your home by reducing the risk of a fire. However, you can also help protect the planet and the wildlife in your area…because if your home burns, countless toxins enter the atmosphere in the form of smoke and melted-whatevers. Wildfires are inevitable and actually necessary…but do your part to help the planet maintain its natural balance.

I was at a friend’s house the other day and happened to notice a bag of clothes sitting next to the trash can. I played dumb and asked him what was in the bag. He responded with, “Oh, just a bunch of old junk I don’t wear anymore.” I stopped him right then and there and barraged him with questions: Were the clothes ruined beyond use?…Didn’t he think someone else might be able to use them?…Had he stopped to think of taking just one extra step to pass them on to someone who needed them more than he did? Of course, he didn’t know what to say. When I reminded him that there are drop-off points for Goodwill and other such organizations all over the place, he simply said, “Oh, yeah!” So, I guess what I’m saying is, the next time you have old clothes that your kids (or you) have outgrown or you simply have an excess, find your local thrift store, homeless or women’s shelter, and give someone else a chance at them. You’ll be helping other people…and helping the planet by “recycling” your clothes. The fewer t-shirts, pants and whatever that have to be made in a mill somewhere, the less we exhaust our natural resources!

Now that’s a great idea! Of course, China clamped down on pollution restrictions during the Olympics, but on September 22, they took it a step further, with their Second Annual Car-Free Day…meaning no cars. People were still allowed to drive, but cities across the country restricted private vehicles in a lot of areas from 7:00am to 5pm that day, and all drivers were encouraged to leave their cars at home. Here’s the thing, though. China’s Car-Free Day was actually part of International Car-Free Day, an event in which countries all over the world participated. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t hear anything about here in the USA. 1,500 cities in 30 countries took part, and I sure would have liked to join in. Don’t get me wrong; it probably got some news headlines, but I would like to see this movement take hold in communities all over the U.S. Check out the website and see how you can get your city or town involved. Let’s start planning now to make a difference next September. And in the meantime, be car-free whenever you can!

I was listening to one of my favorite radio stations this morning during an early commute. The morning show is great, and the hosts always have interesting subjects they open up for listeners to call in and discuss. This time, the subject was the presidential race…and the call was only open to kids. Of course, they asked them—ages 5 to 13—if they would vote for Obama or McCain and why. Now, I don’t want to turn this into a political discussion, so it doesn’t really matter who the kids favored. What caught my attention was the fact that nine out of ten of the kids mentioned the environment as a concern for them. If children are concerned enough about our planet, our ecosystem, our home to know that the leader of our country can impact it and by extension future generations, shouldn’t we ALL start taking more action? Naturally you could argue that these children are just mirroring their parents or other elders and repeating things they hear. But kids hear a lot of things, and they don’t care to engage in conversations about most of them. The environment and “going green” is on the minds of kids because they care about their futures. Shouldn’t we put something more than good intentions into it?

With so many uninspiring things to share about the state of our global environment, a little good news goes a long way. The National Wildlife Federation has a really cool program going on right now, one that’s fun and engaging for kids! It’s called the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Habitat Flickr photo group. Kids of all ages are invited to join over 170 others who have shared more than 1,000 inspiring photos of wildlife they enjoy watching in their yards. That’s right, this program encourages kids to get outside and get involved with the natural world…and, better yet, share it with and inspire others. Kids can also post their own stories about the pictures; just follow the links on the page. The deadline is October 6, so get outside, get some fresh air, bring your camera, and enjoy the splendor of the great outdoors…even if it’s just on your patio. From my experience, enjoying a little wildlife inspires me even more to want to take care of our earth-home! Let’s share that feeling with future generations.

Yep, the equation is simple. The combination of warm water and warm, moist air creates hurricanes. In a nutshell, unless we halt global warming, we’ll continue to endure more and more of the devastating hurricanes that have been wreaking havoc lately. People will die. Animals will die. The oceans and lakes will unfortunately—simply by default—receive much of the litter and waste that’s left in the wake of the horrible storms. It’s much more complex than that, of course, but from my perspective, it’s a pretty simple story. And what can you do about it? Reduce, reuse, recycle. It’s a complex process, but every piece of plastic, glass, paper—whatever—that you recycle means less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That, in turn, means just a little less “greenhouse” effect or global warming. Consider yourself a force of nature in the battle to save nature from what we have done to this beautiful planet we call home!