Has Spring Sprung Too Early?

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:25:39 +0000

Aah, Spring. It’s in the air! Its bursting forth from the soil! Its buds are shooting from plant stems and tree branches! Its hailing the end of winter with a profusion of fragrance and color! Nothing makes you feel more healthy and alive than springtime, does it? I’ve noticed a change in my chiropractic patients when they come into my clinic. They are happier, more energetic, and more-than-ready to join the great outdoors once again. Spring lifts the spirits more than any other season. Could there possibly be a downside to its appearance? Unfortunately, according to Project BudBurst, a nationwide citizen science effort in its fourth year of research, it’s happening way too soon. Why the big deal? Who among us wouldn’t wish winter away as quickly as possible? Unfortunately, the early appearance of key plants, like common lilac, red maples, Virginia bluebells, and other popular ornamental plants, is a sign of warming trends here in the USA.

The data has been compared to a 50-year record (1950s through 1994) of when plants bloom and leaves bud in the Chicago area. The information is contained in the book,”Plants of the Chicago Region” and according to Kayri Havens of the Chicago Botanic Garden, data from 15 species of plants have been cross-checked between Project BudBurst and the book. Pictures and descriptions of the plants can be found at the Project BudBurst website. And, you can participate in the research. All the instructions are available on the project website . Head to the website today, Earth Day, and sign up to help identify the “too-early springers.” The more we know, the more participate, the more we can do to help Planet Earth.

Technorati Tags: Earth Day, global warming, Project BudBurst, spring flowers

Too Soft for the Environment

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:37:05 +0000

In the late 1980s I went to China with a group of chiropractors. We were on a tour and back then, China for tourists was not the same China for the Chinese (and it still may not be). The money was different and so was the food that were served. The accommodations, not just in the hotel, but in restaurants and tourist attractions, especially when it came to restroom facilities. I didn’t realize how very different the restrooms were until I inadvertently went into restroom for employees at the jade factory we were visiting. As I entered, a Chinese woman in full view was urinating into a communal trough-like unit. She didn’t look up and when she was finished, she proceeded to “dry off” with a towel (the one and only towel in the room). I am a female, so my quick exit had nothing to do with being the wrong gender. When I went back downstairs I found the ladies room for tourists with all of the familiar amenities. Now, you may be wondering why I’m retelling that moment after all these years. Well, the fact of the matter is that I was just now reminded of it when I read an article in The Washington Post about environmentalists wanting to “wipe out plush toilet paper.”

“It’s a menace, environmental groups say — and a dark-comedy example of American excess.” I would have to agree with that assessment. While some of us, myself included, may purchase recycled paper goods, like most Europeans do, there is apparently a “demand” in the U.S. for not just plush toilet paper, but three-ply “ultra plush.” And, plush toilet paper is usually made by chopping down and grinding up trees that may be decades or even a century old.

Let’s face it, anatomically, we humans are all alike head to toe and all parts in between. In order to help save the trees, we may not need to go as far as sharing one towel among many users, but certainly single-ply, recycled paper is good enough for any of us when it comes to the environmental bottom line.

Full article and sources at washingtonpost.com

Technorati Tags: cutting trees, environment, environmental issues, plush toilet paper

Oblogatory Anecdotes » environment

Has Spring Sprung Too Early?

Too Soft for the Environment