Earth Day was April 22.
This year was the 40th anniversary of it's celebration.
Some say one of the catalysts for this event was the fact the Cuyahoga river, in Cleveland, caught on fire - in 1969.
I certainly heard about this a lot when I was in college in Cleveland in the early-to-mid 80's.
Earth Day was also a catalyst of sorts for a variety of environmental awareness activities, leading-up to WED on June 5.
Pittsburgh has been selected as the North American host city by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). There are multiple events planned in Pittsburgh which will culminate with the Global "Water Matters" conference on June 3 and World Environment Day (WED) on June 5. Events will be held in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, North America's first LEED-certified (gold) convention center and the largest "green" building in the world.
Closer to home, I'm already getting tired of mowing my lawn and it is only April!
Despite the cold and record snowfall this winter, the grass has sprung-up again, as green as ever, and the spring rains make it grow at a really fast pace. If you do not mow it a minimum of once a week, you risk damaging it when you cut it later (and you cut off too much of each grass blade).
Related to this, I read a great tweet on my Twitter stream last week, though I don't remember who posted it: "Working on your lawn a bit in the spring, ensures more hard work throughout the summer."
Humor helps in this situation.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Virtual Wanderings
My daughter needs to compose a travel diary for a school project.
Each student was given a hypothetical sum of money (budget) and told to select their destination (somewhere in N. America), make travel arrangements, find lodging, create an itinerary for a seven-day stay at this destination and keep a diary of daily impressions, visits, etc. Of course she has to stay within her budget too.
Without any direction from me, she chose Charleston, SC as her destination.
She found a low price airfare on a travel website and after considerable research, found a hotel with reasonable prices and accommodations - she even made a list of (actual) restaurants she would visit and estimated how much she would be spending on food.
We lived in Charleston for almost eight years in the 90s, so when it came to the itinerary, she came to me to give her ideas. Going from memory, I started numbering a variety of places for her to visit and things she could do. She took notes, as she was much too young to remember any of these when we lived there. As a next step, she will continue to do her online research, find more information about each destination or activity, including any fees associated with it, and start writing about this fictional trip.
I am looking-on, trying not to interfere too much, amazed at how much information she has been able to uncover online and how much detail she is fleshing-out in her travel diary from her virtual wanderings in this place we used to call home.
Once upon a time, when I was only a few years older than she currently is, I would satisfy my desire for wanderlust by loading a backpack with my stuff and heading-off for one of the Greek islands. The degree of planning back then was typically limited to word-of-mouth and sometimes on a travel guide that listed mostly historical sites (which I found quite boring in those days). I am amazed at the degree of information that has been made available in the intervening thirty or so years and can only begin to imagine what the next thirty years will bring.
Each student was given a hypothetical sum of money (budget) and told to select their destination (somewhere in N. America), make travel arrangements, find lodging, create an itinerary for a seven-day stay at this destination and keep a diary of daily impressions, visits, etc. Of course she has to stay within her budget too.
Without any direction from me, she chose Charleston, SC as her destination.
She found a low price airfare on a travel website and after considerable research, found a hotel with reasonable prices and accommodations - she even made a list of (actual) restaurants she would visit and estimated how much she would be spending on food.
We lived in Charleston for almost eight years in the 90s, so when it came to the itinerary, she came to me to give her ideas. Going from memory, I started numbering a variety of places for her to visit and things she could do. She took notes, as she was much too young to remember any of these when we lived there. As a next step, she will continue to do her online research, find more information about each destination or activity, including any fees associated with it, and start writing about this fictional trip.
I am looking-on, trying not to interfere too much, amazed at how much information she has been able to uncover online and how much detail she is fleshing-out in her travel diary from her virtual wanderings in this place we used to call home.
Once upon a time, when I was only a few years older than she currently is, I would satisfy my desire for wanderlust by loading a backpack with my stuff and heading-off for one of the Greek islands. The degree of planning back then was typically limited to word-of-mouth and sometimes on a travel guide that listed mostly historical sites (which I found quite boring in those days). I am amazed at the degree of information that has been made available in the intervening thirty or so years and can only begin to imagine what the next thirty years will bring.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Airport Shuffle
I was waiting at a US Airways gate in the Charlotte Douglas International airport (in Charlotte, NC) yesterday for my flight to Pittsburgh to depart. It was a rather monotonous Saturday afternoon, when first one and then a second of the electric carts you typically see transporting elderly or handicapped individuals zoomed up to the gate next to ours.
Three police officers got off the first one and a couple of paramedics got off the second one, which was also equipped with a wheeled stretcher, just like those used with ambulances. Something was up!
Seconds later the door leading to the skyway opened and a couple of individuals with "Charlotte Fire Department" emblazoned on their shirts entered the gate area. We had a "full house" of emergency responders in the gate area now - a couple of them were already wearing the disposable gloves worn when treating accident victims. My guess was that a passenger on an inbound plane must have experienced some type of emergency during the flight and they were summoned to treat this individual.
I quietly snapped a picture as they milled-around waiting for a plane to land (they typically do not appreciate being photographed).
Once a plane had landed, they rushed on board and reappeared a few minutes later, helping a middle aged woman walk to the cart and carrying her hand luggage. What seemed interesting was that the woman seemed perfectly capable of walking on her own, however they insisted she be strapped onto the stretcher, which was subsequently placed on the electric cart and they all zoomed off.
Minutes later, as the rest of the passengers were getting off the plane a very old woman emerged and another electric cart appeared to take her to Baggage Claim - a nice courtesy to an elderly passenger.
Interesting to see the degree of readiness these emergency responders exhibited.
It is good to know they are there, though I hope their services are not required often.
Three police officers got off the first one and a couple of paramedics got off the second one, which was also equipped with a wheeled stretcher, just like those used with ambulances. Something was up!
Seconds later the door leading to the skyway opened and a couple of individuals with "Charlotte Fire Department" emblazoned on their shirts entered the gate area. We had a "full house" of emergency responders in the gate area now - a couple of them were already wearing the disposable gloves worn when treating accident victims. My guess was that a passenger on an inbound plane must have experienced some type of emergency during the flight and they were summoned to treat this individual.
Once a plane had landed, they rushed on board and reappeared a few minutes later, helping a middle aged woman walk to the cart and carrying her hand luggage. What seemed interesting was that the woman seemed perfectly capable of walking on her own, however they insisted she be strapped onto the stretcher, which was subsequently placed on the electric cart and they all zoomed off.
Minutes later, as the rest of the passengers were getting off the plane a very old woman emerged and another electric cart appeared to take her to Baggage Claim - a nice courtesy to an elderly passenger.
Interesting to see the degree of readiness these emergency responders exhibited.
It is good to know they are there, though I hope their services are not required often.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Shaken
Another earthquake struck today ... this time it struck near Mexicali, Mexico and it registered a 7.2 on the Richter scale.
Experts tell us this one was about five times stronger than the one that struck Haiti in January, yet there were only a handful of buildings that collapsed - one was a parking garage in Mexicali - while several buildings (on both sides of the border) were damaged and will need to be repaired before they can be used again.
Loss of life reported so far - two dead (and less than 50 injured).
Why such a disparate difference in damage and casualties between these two earthquakes?
Could it only be the substantially stricter building codes (and the enforcement of those building codes)?
If so, the Haiti earthquake seems all the more tragic.
So much 'preventable' human suffering and subsequent misery...
Experts tell us this one was about five times stronger than the one that struck Haiti in January, yet there were only a handful of buildings that collapsed - one was a parking garage in Mexicali - while several buildings (on both sides of the border) were damaged and will need to be repaired before they can be used again.
Loss of life reported so far - two dead (and less than 50 injured).
Why such a disparate difference in damage and casualties between these two earthquakes?
Could it only be the substantially stricter building codes (and the enforcement of those building codes)?
If so, the Haiti earthquake seems all the more tragic.
So much 'preventable' human suffering and subsequent misery...
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Cure
I borrowed this quote from Jane Perdue's (@hrgoddess on Twitter) Twitter stream:
"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." ~Isak Dinesen
Why does this quote speak to me?
- Is it the fact that I enjoy gardening/landscaping (and the sweat equity that goes with these activities) as a means of "escape"?
- Is it the psychological condition I find myself in these days before Easter?
- Is it my love of the sea, travel, exploring new places (whether by boat or on foot)?
Maybe the correct answer (like in many multiple choice questions) is "all of the above."
"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." ~Isak Dinesen
Why does this quote speak to me?
- Is it the fact that I enjoy gardening/landscaping (and the sweat equity that goes with these activities) as a means of "escape"?
- Is it the psychological condition I find myself in these days before Easter?
- Is it my love of the sea, travel, exploring new places (whether by boat or on foot)?
Maybe the correct answer (like in many multiple choice questions) is "all of the above."
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