| 6-05-06 Father's Day and Global Warming |
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In This Issue:
1. Times, they are a changin' Father’s Day is fast approaching, and so it seems appropriate to turn a recent conversation with my father into the topic of this month’s Gardenerd newsletter: Global Warming. When I was a girl, I would sit on our porch swing in the back yard with my head tilted back, staring up at the morning sky. How immensely vast and deeply blue it was. I marveled at it each morning of summer vacation; it meant freedom to me. I also distinctly remember the day when I looked up at that same sky from that same porch swing and thought, “What happened to the sky? It’s pale.” There was a sadness, a feeling of loss, and a knowledge that somehow nothing would ever be the same. That was the beginning of my environmental awareness. Since I began my organic garden, I have witnessed climate shifts in our little microcosm of Southern California. We used to wait until late June to plant tomatoes; now we plant them in March. We used to start fall crops in September; now October is almost too hot for seeds to sprout. We used to have a heat wave for a week in December; now that heat wave is almost 2 weeks long. Yes sir, times are changing. There is a debate as to whether humans are the cause of this climate change or not. As a subscriber to a handful of environmental groups, I sit on the side of the fence that believes that we are indeed the cause. Recently I saw a film called The Inconvenient Truth, that illustrates how far off the charts we are in all categories regarding our inhabitation of this fine planet – far further off the charts than any regular cycle in the last 600,000 years of ice ages. I beg you all to see this film, or if you can’t stand to listen to Al Gore, buy the book and see for yourself what 30 or so years of intense research has to say. Please visit www.climatecrisis.net for more information about how you can take action. (Stepping off my soapbox now…)
2. Gardenerd Product of the Month: The Baseball Cap Making an encore appearance this month is the Gardenerd Baseball Cap. What dad wouldn’t want (or need for that matter) to cover his cranium with this cool cap? Whether your dad has a full head of hair, or that little donut hole in the back like my dad, keep him covered this Father’s Day from the intense summer heat in style. 3. Gardenerd Tip of the Month: Real Goods I first discovered Real Goods back when I was in college. Leafing though the catalog and reading about the Solar Living Center in Hopland, California, set my heart on fire. The idea of living and gardening in sustainable ways was not only fascinating, but also possible! Check out their website for everything from compost bins to solar powered lawn mowers, irrigation systems to sustainably harvested deck furniture. There’s something for everyone here. Enjoy! Link: http://www.realgoods.com Stay tuned for more gardening tips and tidbits from the Gardenerd. Happy Gardening! |
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