i am honored to take part in the global initiative,
blog action day, for 2009. this year's topic: climate change. not being terribly scientific but, rather, somewhat observant i thought i'd write about what we personally have experienced this year and what we can do to maybe shift the...shift.
albuquerque, traditionally the high and dry desert, has an average rainfall of about 9 inches a year. over the past several years albuquerque has far outpaced that average. it is rainier than normal, and of course few people are complaining. i remember living there in 1995 and there was a record stretch of absolutely no precipitation for over 9 months straight. extra rain in the desert doesn't seem like a big deal--no water restrictions, the plants look better, it smells nice--but it is not the norm; it is likely a symptom of climate change.
here in eastern iowa, it is a very different story as this year alone several undesirable records were set: one of the coldest months ever recorded in january, a late last frost date, coldest average temperatures in july on record, rainiest august on record...and this october is on track to be much colder than average, too. why is this important? because iowa is a farm state; we grow copious amounts of corn and soybean here. without those two crops our food industry, for better or worse, would fail. and despite personal opinions about the viability of the american model of agriculture, and i admit to having very strong ones, crop failure due to climate change is something we should all care very much about. of course, the corn and soybean reports for 2009 in iowa say this was a bumper year...so i'm not really sure where i'm going with this. perhaps i should have examined the melting of the ice caps and the reduction of polar bear habitat. i do know that there was a ton of blight on veggies of the non-corn and soybean variety here because of the lack of sun...
back to the issue at hand: if we accept that climate change is a very real shift in our world, which i do, even if i can't prove that it is happening exactly where i live (sorry), what can we do to slow or halt the progress of such? MANY THINGS.
this is a selection of what we as a family do:
1. rich rides his bike, every day, rain or shine or snow or freezing whatever, to work and back.
2. gus walks, every day, rain or shine or snow or freezing whatever, to school and back.
3. i shop at farmer's markets and buy locally-grown (i.e. not transported from another state or country) meats, fruits and vegetables.
4. i try to limit the amount of meat our family eats, but i admit we still probably eat too much.
5. i drive a hybrid car when i need to drive (please no emails about how bad the batteries are for the environment).
6. we turn off lights when we leave a room and unplug appliances when they aren't in use.
7. we reuse then recycle everything possible.
8. we keep our house well-maintained.
9. we teach our children about the importance of hindering global warming and to make mindful choices in order to combat it.
of course, i am always open to other suggestions and i would love to know what you do to lessen your impact. interested in rapidly reducing your personal carbon footprint? join me (and lots of others) for
no impact week (a carbon cleanse) starting on october 18th. it should be an adventure; i'm sure i will be terrified to learn exactly how bad we are.
be good, use common sense.
a bunny in the headlights
sophie definitely not convinced this place is safe (it certainly smelled evil)
sophie looking mischevious in the hay bale maze
then she decided to hell with this and did the hay bale maze the way she thought it should be done
and then taught the rest of the class how to do it right
on to the petting zoo! sophie loved the chickens
and feeding the goats
and petting a quail
and petting a bunny named chocolate
and trying to be a dino
sophie and her friends on a hayride
it was pretty cute
sophie almost gets left behind...
...for snacktime!
hooray for sophie pumpkinhead...the field trip is over and sophie garnered a sweet souvenir
72 hours later: back to the farm with gus and daddy! sophie on the horsie swing
and see-saw with gus
and swing, again, with gus
too many things to do on the farm!
rich, who is too tall for his casket
sophie was really trying to play dead...
...but gus was the most convincing
sophie realizing she is back in the scary haunted house
both she and gus were pretty happy to have dad in there with them
taking the easy way through the hay bale maze
gus of the flowing locks
sophie revisiting the chickens
the bunny feeding the goat
and feeding other goats
sophie playing house
gus and his calabacita
rich, in his usual on-call outing pose
this is lindsay, my most beloved little sister, who will always be cooler than me
lindsay the magnificent and her party bus of friends: during the week they are engineers, architects, nurses, maybe a lawyer or two...professionals of many varieties
and a well-behaved party bus it was at that--amy is using two hands (i think) to drink her beer! and jake looks mighty respectable next to the guy with crazy eyebrows
lindsay and jake...just too cute for words...mainly because they match...i wonder if that was a planned decision? will they be the matching tracksuit couple powerwalking the malls in thirty years? you know what the disgusting truth is: even if they are that couple, they'll still look better than everyone else doing it. and probably me and rich on a good day.
this is the reason they were on the party bus in the first place: an allman brothers/widespread panic concert
completely respectable partying at the concert--absolutely nothing to note here...
i'd like to imagine that guy on the orange cell phone calling some mutual friend of theirs and saying, "oh my god lindsay is rocking the shit on the party bus back home...i wonder if this thing shoots video?" i'm totally going to scout youtube after i finish this post.
continuing to rock the shit
i love amy's face at this gesture! is this party bus surfing? wait, should i be imitating this? oh crap, i have no idea--i am so out of the loop. maybe gus knows.
jake decides it is time for an intervention; party mode lindsay considers the sleep function
jake is contemplating the antics of party mode lindsay and how much he loves her...but hates that he spilled beer on his longhorn shirt. damn bus.
in rich's head, this outfit works
sweet sophie bunny on day six of her pokes...
...as doctor daddy prepares to take them out, on our kitchen table
she screamed like a banshee and thankfully the neighbors didn't call the cops...but sophie forgot her troubles in a giant bowl of chocolate ice cream (don't we all?)
la mariposa monarca (this is the female i tagged--the butterfly, you pervs)
gus tags his butterfly--a big healthy male
perfect placement
gus looks down in amazement as he realizes that he has drawn his own butterfly out of the 60 or so that had been tagged and placed in a holding pen before release
gus doesn't want to let go but feels certain his will make it to mexico (as did the breeder); the girl behind him is having major league second thoughts about releasing hers
what the hell?
it SNOWED. hell, i thought it was the rapture. fortunately, the kids love it...as they do everything about iowa (and yes i know it makes things easier). while it may have only left a dusting, the psychological damage was done...
...and then forgotten because gus lost a tooth the same day!
rich was feeling left out of the pictures...so here is rich. read the bottom caption to see why this "world's greatest dad" shirt is a big ol' lie. love you, honey.
since we had our first snow i made the traditional "first snow" cake--however i did forego the penguin cookies this year. i think that special edition iowa hawkeyes bud light can had something to do with it; i know it had everything to do with forgetting to tell the tooth fairy to come and visit gus...i think rich and i might be the worst parents ever.
