I’m a creative, experienced, multi-purpose artist and art director
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Sunday, January 19, 2020

"Red Panda"

I was only dimly aware red pandas exist before IF inspired me to look them up.  Now I know they look kind of like raccoons and Wikipedia says there are fewer than 10,000 of them in the Eastern Himalayas and South Western China due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding.  Sad pandas.

I don't know what I can do for them.  The extinction of plants and animals around the world worries me, and I hope somebody can save them, but it is just too big an issue for me to handle.  I suspect most of us feel this way.  Maybe we donate to a charity and then just go about our lives.  There's probably something I should start or stop doing to save the pandas, but I don't know what it is.

Ignoring problems or getting depressed about them don't solve those issues.  What can we do?

I read about the decline of Monarch Butterflies.  Around 1 billion of them have disappeared since 1990.  I like butterflies.  They're pretty.  They pollinate things.  They eat milkweed.  I'll plant some milkweed.  This may not solve the larger issues of big agriculture's chemical use, but it's at least something within my abilities.  One positive action off my to do list.

The point is to do something, anything that helps.  I have a little landscape pond in my back yard for the wildlife.  I enjoy watching the song birds splashing around in it.  I keep goldfish in it to eat bugs.  More people need to have ponds and bird baths because the birds need water.

I don't use chemicals in my yard.  It only makes sense to me that a product designed to kill one thing will probably kill more than the intended targets and isn't healthy for anyone.  Other people's lawn chemicals get washed off and leak into the water supply which poisons all of us, including the plants and animals.

I compost.  Healthier soil makes healthier plants which are stronger in their fight against the things that attack them.  Healthier plants also make for healthier animals.  I've shown you how glossy and healthy my groundhogs are.

I take my own bags to the store.  There's no reason for me to get plastic bags every time I shop.  I try to avoid buying plastic or things packaged in it.  After I wash clothes, I hang them up to dry instead of running the dryer.  I wash my dishes by hand because it takes less hot water (and I don't have a family to clean up after).  I use cruise control on the freeway (mostly to stop myself from speeding too much, but it takes less energy too).  I turn off lights and use energy-efficient bulbs (except for where I read).  I recycle.

There are a lot of ways we can help the planet.  I welcome your suggestions.  Let's do what we can to live in a world with butterflies and pandas.

3 comments:

  1. I agree Linda that there are some things we can't help with but lots where we can all do something. We have used our own bags for a long time here..perhaps the last 5 years which has saved lots of plastic. Water comes out of our tap so who needs to buy it in plastic! I don't own a tumble dryer so washing either gets dried out side or in the spare room. We now eat little meat and try to buy locally where there is less packaging and we hardly use our car, being able to walk or take public transport to where we need to get. I won't bore you with the rest but yes every little helps. Sadly though our actions will mean nothing unless other high polluting countries get their acts together and jump on board too! xxx

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    1. Good for you Jane! Buying water in plastic is one of my pet peeves. I'm hoping the US election this year will change this country's environmental priorities soon!

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  2. You seem to be doing quite a lot for the environment - following the saying act locally, think globally. We can all learn from you when it comes to the former. As for the latter, we need to work for a change of the economical system. The free, unregulated, globalized market ideology will never be able to deal with the challenges ahead of us.

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