Dear Earth Connection readers–

Many of you know that my husband Andy Schmookler is the Democratic nominee for Congress where we live, in Virginia’s sixth Congressional district.

As the campaign has become increasingly time-consuming, it has gotten more and more difficult for me to post regularly on THE EARTH CONNECTION.  In fact, I have not found the time to post anything at all in the last several weeks.  And so I have decided to ‘suspend’ the site, at least until after Election Day, November 6.

I am sad, in a way, to have to give THE EARTH CONNECTION a rest.  Since I launched the site on Earth Day 2008, it has been truly a labor of love.  Planning regular postings has meant I ‘had’ to spend more time in the woods observing, more time reading about the natural world, more time researching actions that have benefited our planet, and more time investigating steps we all can take to help protect the Earth.  Knowing that hundreds of people are visiting THE EARTH CONNECTION every day has spurred me to dig deeper, to work to better express my feelings of love, wonder, and anguish about our magnificent planet.

Part of what has made THE EARTH CONNECTION so rewarding for me has been hearing from you, the people who read my site.  I have been inspired, warmed, and educated by many thoughtful comments from readers over the years.  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my site and for posting comments.

And while I am sad in a way to have to set THE EARTH CONNECTION aside, working on Andy’s campaign is simply another way to work for a healthier planet than offering postings on the Web.  Andy has been outspoken on the urgent need to address climate change, and his campaign is focusing on the more fundamental problem that what’s going on in our political system these days has made it impossible for us as a nation to act responsibly and constructively to address climate change and the other pressing issues we face.

Here is a link to a video of a five-minute speech Andy gave that has gone viral.  It well describes the nature of our crisis.

Thank you all so much!  And stay tuned for future developments. . . . . . .

For Our Earth–

April Moore

THE OWL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

As is often the case, I was wide awake the other night, when I would rather have been sleeping.

But the anxieties that usually visit me at such times were suddenly stilled.  The low, nighttime din of insects had been pierced by a sweet whistling.  Beginning on a high note, the whistling continued, each note lower than the last.  After seven or eight notes, the whistling stopped.  Then, a few moments later, it resumed in the same way, starting high and ending low.  After several trips down the scale, each sequence followed by a pause, the pattern changed.  Now the whistling was one low, sustained note, filled with vibrato!  It sounded absolutely quivery.

The owl doing the whistling must have been very near, closer than I can remember ever hearing an owl in the 14 years we have lived on this ridge in the Shenandoah Valley.  I lay in bed, listening intently, thrilled to listen to an owl’s nighttime calls.  Insomnia had paid off!

After what must have been more than a minute, the owl stopped its whistling.  And the night was the same again, silent, except for the ongoing summer sounds of the insects.

But I was different.  My anxiety had been replaced by deep joy.  Happy, I drifted into a pleasant sleep.

P.A.  I think the owl I heard was a barred owl.–April Moore

My cousin recently showed me how I can clean my glass stove top with baking soda instead of specialized stove top cleaner. Since then, I have been thinking that there are probably many household uses for the humble sodium bicarbonate. A simple compound, baking soda is likely much more benign than many household cleaners that come with warnings to avoid contact with skin or eyes.

I went online, and sure enough, I found dozens of around-the-house uses for baking soda. Here are a few of my favorites, taken from the website, TIPNUT.

**Whatever type of stove top you have, if it’s crusty and gross, baking soda can save the day. Generously sprinkle the stove top with baking soda. Then spray with hot water, enough to dissolve the baking soda without making it run all over. Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes. Then you should be able to scrub the stove top clean without difficulty.

**Remove coffee mug stains. Just wipe the cup’s inside with a wet cloth. Then rub with baking soda. If stains are stubborn, pour in hot water mixed with baking soda, and let sit overnight.

**If the usual cleansers you’ve tried don’t do the job on bathtub stains, make a miracle paste of baking soda and bleach. Apply the paste to a wet sponge and wipe down the tub.

**If you’ve been using toxic Soft Scrub on your stainless steel sink, you can stop. The sink will get just as clean by sprinkling it with baking soda and then rubbing the sink with a damp sponge.

**You can even freshen stale-smelling luggage with baking soda. Sprinkle baking soda inside the suitcase, close it, and then reopen after a day or two. Odors will be gone, and you can just vacuum up the baking soda.

**Make your own air freshener spray by mixing 2 cups of hot water with 1/8 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Shake to dissolve, and simply spray in your home as needed.

**You can remove rust from cast iron cookware by using baking soda as a scouring powder.

**Water stains on wood can be removed by making a paste with a few drops of water and baking soda. Rub the paste into the stain, and then wipe off.

**When the sink drain is clogged, solve the problem with baking soda. First, remove as much water as you can from the stopped-up sink. Toss 1 cup of baking soda down the drain, and follow it with 1 cup of white vinegar. Plug the drain with a sink stopper and let it sit for a half-hour. Then, unplug the sink and pour a kettle of hot water down the drain.

**When the dog smells less than sweet, you can make a doggy deodorizer with baking soda. Mix 1/2 cup with 2 cups of water. Soak a bandana in the solution, and then let the bandana dry in the sun. Tie the bandana around the dog’s neck to help keep odors at bay.–April Moore

one of the tomato plants on our deck

As I am enjoying the bright red, delicious tomatoes we’re growing on our deck, I think of Pablo Neruda’s wonderful Ode to the Tomato. Enjoy.–April Moore

ODE TO THE TOMATO
—-Pablo Neruda

The street
filled with tomatoes,
midday,
summer,
light is
halved
like
a
tomato,
its juice
runs
through the streets.
In December,
unabated,
the tomato
invades
the kitchen,
it enters at lunchtime,
takes
its ease
on countertops,
among glasses,
butter dishes,
blue saltcellars.
It sheds
its own light,
benign majesty.
Unfortunately, we must
murder it:
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera
a cool
sun,
profound,
inexhaustible,
populates the salads
of Chile,
happily, it is wed
to the clear onion,
and to celebrate the union
we
pour
oil,
essential
child of the olive,
onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper
adds
its fragrance,
salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding
of the day,
parsley
hoists
its flag,
potatoes
bubble vigorously,
the aroma
of the roast
knocks
at the door,
it’s time!
come on!
and, on
the table, at the midpoint
of summer,
the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.

As I sit here in our bedroom, with the laptop on–the usual place–my lap, I am completely distracted by an avian drama unfolding just a few yards away, outside the sliding glass door that opens onto the balcony.

The hummingbird feeder hanging next to the doorway is the place, hummingbirds agree!  Five or six of the little guys  are darting about, up and down, all around, perching on nearby branches between feedings.  Somehow, these little guys caught on, within minutes of my filling the feeder, that this is the spot for tasty nectar.

How can I not set aside what I’d intended to write, with so much buzzing going on? The dainty look and diminutive size of these little creatures is belied by the loud, bee-like buzzing  their wings make when the birds are in motion.  In fact, they sound like warlike little commandos as they dart about.

The buzzing sharpens with hostility as one of the tiny warriors chases another hummingbird away from the feeder.  Clearly, ‘share and share alike’ is not the hummingbird’s mantra.  Instead, these tiny birds seem to embody an ethic of ‘look out for number one.’  Even though the feeder is equipped with 10 feeding holes, a hummer who has the feeder to itself for a time will almost always chase off an approaching fellow hummer than tolerate its presence at one of the other nine holes!  Only occasionally do I see two birds drinking from the feeder at the same time.  And it’s usually not long before one of them decides to chase the other off.

In fact, hummingbirds spend so much time running off their fellows, darting this way and that, and hovering above, below, and beside the feeder, I’m surprised they don’t use up more energy in all that movement than they take in at the feeder!

In the last few minutes, as I’ve been writing, it has begun to rain, and there was just a loud clap of thunder.  Suddenly, the buzzing has stopped, and I see no hummingbirds.  Where did they go, I wonder.  Did they find their way to their usual nighttime retreat?  Or are they huddled, unseen, on some branch nearby or under some leaves?

In any event, I must remember to refill the feeder so that tomorrow I can enjoy the same distraction from my work!–April Moore

One of the planet’s most important nesting sites for the endangered leatherback sea turtle has just been protected!

Puerto Rico’s Governor Luis Fortuno recently signed into law a measure that will protect almost 2,000 acres of the island’s coast from large-scale development.  The protected area, part of an area known as the Northeast Ecological Corridor, has been designated a nature reserve.

The Northeast Ecological Corridor includes such diverse landscapes as a bioluminescent lagoon, mangrove swamps, coral reefs, and dense tropical rainforest.  Besides the leatherback sea turtles, many other threatened or endangered species also make their homes in the corridor.  The West Indian manatee, the hawksbill sea turtle, and the snowy plover are just a few.

This new protection has been a long time coming.  In 2009, Governor Fortuno overturned his predecessor’s decision to protect the Northeast Ecological Corridor.  Fortuno wanted, instead, to open the land to large developers and their plans for mega-resorts and golf courses in the now-protected area.

But the Sierra Club, other environmental organizations, and Puerto Rican citizens said no.  Activists circulated petitions calling on Fortuno to protect the Northeast Ecological Corridor from development.  And both houses of Puerto Rico’s legislature voted unanimously to protect the leatherback sea turtle’s nesting grounds.  Ultimately, Fortuno had little choice but to go along with the people.

There has been even more good news for leatherback sea turtles in 2012.  In January, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration designated 42,000 square miles of ocean along the U.S. west coast as critical habitat for the Pacific leatherback sea turtle.

These protective designations are so needed!  The worldwide population of these giant reptiles has declined 95% since the 1980s, thanks to the destruction of natural habitat, changing ocean conditions, commercial fishing, and the theft of eggs.

A few facts about the leatherback sea turtle:

• It is the largest reptile in the world, and an individual can weigh as much as 1,200 pounds.
• The leatherback’s lifespan is not known, but scientists believe it lives at least 40 years and maybe as long as 100 years.
• Scientists believe the leatherback reaches sexual maturity at about 16 years.
  
• In the U.S., the leatherback nests on the beach from March to July.  A single female may produce several clutches of eggs in a season.
  
• Once hatched, baby leatherbacks make their way to the ocean.–April Moore
  

I find that this, our nation’s Independence Day, is a fine time to remind ourselves of how dependent we actually are, in the big picture.–April Moore

DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE: A DECLARATION FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL

When, in the course of human events, it becomes apparent that the
activities of humankind are causing severe and potentially catastrophic
injury to the land, air and water that compose our home – the Earth -
it becomes necessary to declare humanity’s innate Dependence on the
Earth, and demand that governments take immediate action to redress
such harmful acts and make elemental changes to prevent further injury
to the Earth. Such declaration requires the causes that impel such
demands be set forth.

I hold these truths to be self-evident: that all humans are created
equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness; that humans are but one life-form amidst the chaotic
perfection weaving the web of life that exists on Earth; that should
human activity damage the web, life, as it is now known, will cease to
exist; that time is of the essence. That to safeguard these rights and
ensure the continuity of Homo sapiens as a viable species, Governments
are instituted among People, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed. – That when world business practices coalesce
with the laws of governments to harm life on Earth, it is the right of
people to bring an end to such injurious practices and ineffectual
laws, and enact new laws; laws that root their foundations in
principles that will secure the continued vigor of the web of life, and
provide for the prolonged existence and welfare of humanity.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that laws long established should not be changed
for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath
shown that people are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves by modifying the forms to which
they are accustomed. But when a long train of environmental abuses,
pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to overwhelm life
on Earth; it is their right, it is their duty, to alter such design and
demand new laws to protect the web of life, thus securing sanctuary for
the human race. Such has been the patient sufferance of humans, and
such is now the necessity, which compels them to demand fundamental
changes to laws not suited to safeguard the environment. -

The history of humanity’s relationship with the Earth is a history of greed and
power to take from nature without recompense, all having in direct
object the establishment of monetary wealth with little, if any, regard
for the sacredness of life on Earth.

The world’s current and growing population of nearly 6,500,000,000
humans transcends the Earth’s capacity to absorb our consumptive and
polluting behaviors. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid
world:

I. We are fouling the skies with greenhouse gases that have altered the
Earth’s atmosphere, initiating global warming. Such warming is causing
planetary climatic change that endangers all life forms.

II. We are polluting the air, water and land in, and around, towns and
cities of the world so that the health of humans, flora and fauna is
imperiled on a global scale.

III. We are diverting, depleting and polluting the Earth’s fresh water
resources so that humans are oft unable to find clean water and, in
many locales, water borne flora and fauna struggle to survive.

IV. We are overfishing and polluting the Earth’s oceans, seas, lakes
and rivers so that survival of a growing number of aquatic species is
threatened.

V. We are endangering and causing the extinction of a wide variety of
the Earth’s plant and animal species by disrupting, polluting and
destroying their habitats.

VI. We are contaminating the Earth’s productive soils with fertilizers,
herbicides and pesticides; modifying natural crop species via genetic
engineering; and paving over and building upon untold acres of fertile
land. Taken together, these practices jeopardize the Earth’s
agricultural bounty.

VII. We are cutting vast tracts of the Earth’s natural forests
resulting in denuded hillsides that erode in rain showers and, in
countless locations, no longer sustain trees that recycle carbon
dioxide into oxygen.

VIII. We are mining immense amounts of the Earth’s rich ores and minerals causing pollution to land, air and water.

In summary, we are taking freely from the Earth, irresponsibly using
her natural resources with a wanton disregard of the future. We now
live in fear of our own unyielding needs and desires, which gravely
injure life on Earth and threaten our ongoing survival.

In every stage of human activity causing harm to the web of life,
citizens have petitioned courts for Redress in the most humble terms.
These incessant petitions have been met by new and ever-increasing
injury to the Earth. Thus, the laws involved are tainted by every act
that despoils the environment and are unfit to shield the Earth from
harm.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our governments. We have
relentlessly warned them of the daily injuries inflicted upon the Earth
and the far-reaching consequences thereof. We have reminded them of our
inherent connection to the Earth for everything we have from air,
water, food, clothing and shelter to cell phones, palm pilots,
computers, automobiles and atom bombs. We have drawn their attention to
our birthright on Earth, and appealed to their intrinsic bonds with
nature and religion. They too have been deaf to the voices of reason
and action. Hence, I must acquiesce in the necessity, which demands
immediate attention to humanity’s peril on Earth and hold them, as I
hold myself and present-day civilization, Enemies to our continued
existence.

I, therefore, a human on Earth, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
Universe for the rectitude of my intentions, do, in the Name, and by
the Authority of the good people of the world, solemnly publish and
declare: that humans are dependent on the Earth for our survival; that
the Earth is in imminent danger of irreparable injury to her life
supporting functions; that we have found these functions unique to the
Earth in our exploration of the near bounds of space; that now is the
time to act firmly, with resolute conviction, to save our home the
Earth. And for support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the
protection of divine Providence, I pledge my life, worldly goods and
sacred honor.

With the Earth enduring ever-increasing environmental harm each ensuing
day, is it not time for such a declaration?

Together, we can save the
Earth.

Greetings, Earth Connection visitors.

I have spent many frustrating hours attempting to post my friend Ira Shorr’s lovely Driftwood Diary, his series of photos and commentary from a British Columbia beach.  But alas.  I lack the computer smarts to figure out how to post Driftwood Diary in a manner that will allow the reader to enjoy the photos and commentary simply by scrolling down the page.

After much gnashing of teeth, the best I could do  was to post links to each short segment of Ira’s work.  I hope you will click on each link, starting with the first one, and enjoy Ira’s creative presentation.  It will take a little while, but I think it will be worth it.

And let me put out a call.  If anyone reading these words has experience using Word Press and can advise me as to how I can post text and photos from a Word document, without having to resort to links, I would be grateful if you would contact me.–April Moore

driftwood-diary-part-1

driftwood-diary-part-2

driftwood-diary-3a

driftwood-diary-3b

driftwood-diary-part-4

One of the many wonderful things about a family reunion at the beach last week was watching ghost crabs on the sand.

These pale, sand-colored crustaceans, common along the U.S. east coast, blend in perfectly with their beach home.  They even appear translucent, which may explain their spooky-sounding name.

It was a delight to walk along the beach and spot these little fellows, scuttling sideways, this way and that, along the sand.  Often I would watch a crab perched motionless at the edge of the opening to its burrow.  And before I could make a move for my camera, the crab had disappeared down the hole, out of sight.

Sometimes I noticed sand flying out from a burrow entrance.  Below, an unseen ghost crab was industriously making improvements to the shaft or chamber that made up its home.  Now, some burrows sported a neat little pyramid of sand beside the entrance, while other burrow entrances were surrounded by messy-looking little collections of sand.

Well, I had to learn more about these ghost crabs, so I did a little research.

Apparently, the orderly pyramids of sand denote a reproductively mature male’s burrow.  The carelessly tossed sand indicates the home of a female or a young individual.  Scientists speculate that females use the neat pyramids to find potential mates.

The burrow is an important part of a ghost crab’s life.  In summer the burrow is a cool retreat from the hot sun, and during the winter it serves as shelter from the cold.  In fact, a ghost crab may hibernate in its burrow for up to six weeks during the coldest part of the winter.

The ocean is also important to the ghost crab.  The crab makes nocturnal trips down to the water line to wet its gills, which must be kept moist for breathing.  And the female ghost crab releases her eggs into the ocean, where they develop into marine larvae.

A true sea creature, the ghost crab won’t drown if submerged.  It is protected by its air-tight exoskeleton, which also prevents water loss from internal tissues.

While ghost crabs are sea creatures, they spend much more of their time on the shore, where they scavenge for food.  And they are not picky eaters.  They’ll eat just about any plant or animal material that washes up onto the shore.  Mature ghost crabs do most of their scavenging at night, while the younger ones can be seen scurrying along the sand’s surface during the day as well.

And do these crabs scurry!  The fastest crustacean on the planet, the ghost crab can reach a speed of 10 mph!  Of its 10 legs, two (the largest) are used for feeding and digging a burrow.  The other eight legs–slender and pointed at the end–are for movement.  For a walking pace, the crab uses all four pairs of legs.  To speed up, the crab lifts one pair of legs off the ground.  And to speed up even more, the crab shifts into ‘high’ gear by pulling up all but two legs.   Then it runs across the sand!

Ghost crabs live as long as three years.  And like other arthropods, they molt.  Inside the hard, external skeleton, the crab’s body grows, encased in a new, soft skeleton within the rigid outer skeleton.  After awhile, the tight, outer skeleton cracks, and the crab squeezes out.  While the new skeleton is still soft, the crab enlarges it to gain some growing room  (like buying shoes a size too large in order to grow into them).  Once the new skeleton has hardened, the crab resumes foraging on the beach.

At maturity, a ghost crab is about two inches wide.–April Moore

Below is a lovely, poetic tribute to summer by Denise Levertov.  For me it captures the glory of summer.–April Moore

LIVING
by Denise Levertov

The fire in leaf and grass
so green it seems
each summer the last summer.

The wind blowing, the leaves
shivering in the sun,
each day the last day.

A red salamander
so cold and so
easy to catch, dreamily

moves his delicate feet
and long tail.  I hold
my hand open for him to go.

Each minute the last minute.