Earth Policy Institute
Today's Date: November 30, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
Although we had pets, the outdoors had more of an impact on me, being able to play for hours in the hills and woods near my home.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
No one spot, just all of it.
Now? The nearby trails for biking/running/walking as they follow a small stream and woods.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
The big cats, but I don’t know why exactly. Perhaps the way they move and run.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Two challenges: population growth and climate change.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Consider the future generations who will inherit the choices you are making today.
Thanks to my sister Michelle McIlroy for designing the logo!
November 30, 2006
November 29, 2006
Dr. Chudamani Joshi
Ecologist/ Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Nepal
Today's Date: 29 November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
As a child growing up in Nepal I played hide and seek with woodpeckers and I could gaze for hours at a pair of vultures building a nest.
I enjoyed the natural world around me when I was young. Yet as a boy I did not realise that this was slowly but surely disappearing due to population growth, landuse change and habitat loss. I witnessed this happening in my home country Nepal and decided to take action.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
An Adina cordifolia tree near my house having a whole in its huge trunk and appeared some short of cave was my favorite place when I was young.
Now? Almost none. In this busy and fast growing city, hardly anyplace left to go.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Wild chicken, they are very colorful.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Landuse change and global warming in future
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Think globally, act locally
Today's Date: 29 November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
As a child growing up in Nepal I played hide and seek with woodpeckers and I could gaze for hours at a pair of vultures building a nest.
I enjoyed the natural world around me when I was young. Yet as a boy I did not realise that this was slowly but surely disappearing due to population growth, landuse change and habitat loss. I witnessed this happening in my home country Nepal and decided to take action.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
An Adina cordifolia tree near my house having a whole in its huge trunk and appeared some short of cave was my favorite place when I was young.
Now? Almost none. In this busy and fast growing city, hardly anyplace left to go.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Wild chicken, they are very colorful.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Landuse change and global warming in future
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Think globally, act locally
November 20, 2006
Olivia Robertson
co-founder, Fellowship of Isis (www.fellowshipofisis.com)
Today’s Date: 17 November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
A wolf
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
A wilderness
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Dogs- loyal, loving
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Global warming
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Share the Earth with ALL her inhabitants
**sent via postal mail**
Today’s Date: 17 November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
A wolf
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
A wilderness
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Dogs- loyal, loving
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Global warming
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Share the Earth with ALL her inhabitants
**sent via postal mail**
November 18, 2006
Manisha Gutman
The views expressed here are purely personal and should not be taken to be the views of Kalpavriksh.
Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group
Today's Date: 18 Nov 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
When I first started exploring issues of the environment I was living in a spiritual community near a big city in India. Periodically I would have to travel into town for work. On the route to the city, there was an area where a road was being widened. Flanking the road were two huge and majestic trees that may have been a couple of hundred years old. I soon realised that eventually they were going to be sacrificed for the sake of a few extra meters of road. Everytime I went into town I looked out for them and began to develop a love for them. One day after a long day in the city, I was returning back to the community, and saw that the deed had been done. The large tree lay cut in pieces by the side of the road. It was almost as though a dear friend of mine had been massacred heartlessly. What was worse was that the reason seemed so absolutely meaningless - those few extra meters were not really needed on a road that did not have much traffic in the first place.
I reached home and must have cried for nearly an hour - deeply moved by the helplessness of the tree and the stupidity of humanity!
This episode was a turning point for me. Although I had already read a lot of books and understood the logic behind the environmental movement - this event was a heart connection to nature. After this I found myself speaking to trees, nurturing plants and animals spontaneously.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
Not really. I grew up in a big city and our contact with nature was limited. The only real natural element near us was the sea and even though we visited it often it was really more of a leisure activity than anything else. However, in the spiritual community I lived in, Nature was deeply respected, almost worshipped. My teacher was an avid lover of nature and the environment of the community was lush and energised.
Now? I don’t really have any one favourite place yet I love being in nature.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
I would say that I have several favourite animals. The Indian cow to me is the epitome of elegance, grace and beauty. The elephant I love because of the gentleness that emanates from it. However I have never really had the chance to know either of these intimately. In the past few years I have had several dogs and cats in my life and I am grateful to them because they have taught me how to love. I have often experienced a psychic connection with the cats in my life - telepathic communications and uncanny coincidences. The cat has taught me that it is indeed possible for humans to communicate with other species as clearly as they do with each other. The dogs I have known on the other hand have been generous with their affection and joy.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
I feel that the inner disconnect between humans and nature is the source of all current environmental challenges. This could possible be because most of us are also disconnected from our own inner selves, unable to control our thoughts and emotions, making choices out of fear and discontentment.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
My advice to folks would be to learn to love nature. To keenly observe her and relish the beauty and grace of all things natural. Once peoples hearts have opened to the immense beauty and compassion that nature embodies, conservation will become a priority for them in their own personal lives but also in the choices they make as professionals, government officials or corporate executives. The links between conservation and human survival will become clear - because even though these issues seem complex and entangled - they really stem from a simple truth - that we do not love nature anymore.
Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group
Today's Date: 18 Nov 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
When I first started exploring issues of the environment I was living in a spiritual community near a big city in India. Periodically I would have to travel into town for work. On the route to the city, there was an area where a road was being widened. Flanking the road were two huge and majestic trees that may have been a couple of hundred years old. I soon realised that eventually they were going to be sacrificed for the sake of a few extra meters of road. Everytime I went into town I looked out for them and began to develop a love for them. One day after a long day in the city, I was returning back to the community, and saw that the deed had been done. The large tree lay cut in pieces by the side of the road. It was almost as though a dear friend of mine had been massacred heartlessly. What was worse was that the reason seemed so absolutely meaningless - those few extra meters were not really needed on a road that did not have much traffic in the first place.
I reached home and must have cried for nearly an hour - deeply moved by the helplessness of the tree and the stupidity of humanity!
This episode was a turning point for me. Although I had already read a lot of books and understood the logic behind the environmental movement - this event was a heart connection to nature. After this I found myself speaking to trees, nurturing plants and animals spontaneously.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
Not really. I grew up in a big city and our contact with nature was limited. The only real natural element near us was the sea and even though we visited it often it was really more of a leisure activity than anything else. However, in the spiritual community I lived in, Nature was deeply respected, almost worshipped. My teacher was an avid lover of nature and the environment of the community was lush and energised.
Now? I don’t really have any one favourite place yet I love being in nature.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
I would say that I have several favourite animals. The Indian cow to me is the epitome of elegance, grace and beauty. The elephant I love because of the gentleness that emanates from it. However I have never really had the chance to know either of these intimately. In the past few years I have had several dogs and cats in my life and I am grateful to them because they have taught me how to love. I have often experienced a psychic connection with the cats in my life - telepathic communications and uncanny coincidences. The cat has taught me that it is indeed possible for humans to communicate with other species as clearly as they do with each other. The dogs I have known on the other hand have been generous with their affection and joy.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
I feel that the inner disconnect between humans and nature is the source of all current environmental challenges. This could possible be because most of us are also disconnected from our own inner selves, unable to control our thoughts and emotions, making choices out of fear and discontentment.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
My advice to folks would be to learn to love nature. To keenly observe her and relish the beauty and grace of all things natural. Once peoples hearts have opened to the immense beauty and compassion that nature embodies, conservation will become a priority for them in their own personal lives but also in the choices they make as professionals, government officials or corporate executives. The links between conservation and human survival will become clear - because even though these issues seem complex and entangled - they really stem from a simple truth - that we do not love nature anymore.
November 17, 2006
Joan Brown, osf
Franciscan sister, president of interfaith non-profit, Partnership for Earth Spirituality (http://www.earthspirituality.org/)
Today's Date: November 17, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
I am from a farm in the bluestem prairie land of Kansas. My family still farms. My life there growing up still forms and informs my personal choices, lifestyle and ministry. My relationship with the earth and sky are significant, ie. seeing the stars at night, watching thunderstorms build in summer, walking to catch the country bus and feeling the ever present winds of Kansas on the plains (not a favorite element, but formative), the smell of soil plowed, standing in fresh rainwater streams and rivulets in our dry region, being part of the immense sky with sunrises and sunsets of firey colors. The sensual engagements of living within the earth community on the farm is significant.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
A pond where I could see sunrises and sunsets, watch the stars at night and hear the frogs croak in the summer...I felt such an intimacy and being known by the Holy One and being part of a large sacredness of life.
Now? I live in the city and it is my backyard in this arid region where we live on one of the original acequias from which we receive water from the Rio Grande and irrigate fruit trees, flowering plants and provide habitat for birds, turtles, frogs, a pair of cooper hawks, numerous finches and woodpeckers, bees....we have a year round garden, chickens, ducks and bee hives...
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Deer. Deer has come to me often in times when I needed spiritual wisdom for decisions. She teaches me much and has a deep tradition within scripture such as the psalm "AS a deer longs for running streams, so longs my soul for you my God."
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Global warming, global warming and helping people feel a connection with the natural world, seeing themselves as part of a Sacred Earth Community, not outside of nature.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
If we do not care for the earth, we are not caring for our own souls and we do not really care about God. It is vital to know ourselves in an integrated way as human beings and so important to live this out in our lifestyles as a gift for the children. This is the most important action and must be part of addressing policy issues.
Today's Date: November 17, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
I am from a farm in the bluestem prairie land of Kansas. My family still farms. My life there growing up still forms and informs my personal choices, lifestyle and ministry. My relationship with the earth and sky are significant, ie. seeing the stars at night, watching thunderstorms build in summer, walking to catch the country bus and feeling the ever present winds of Kansas on the plains (not a favorite element, but formative), the smell of soil plowed, standing in fresh rainwater streams and rivulets in our dry region, being part of the immense sky with sunrises and sunsets of firey colors. The sensual engagements of living within the earth community on the farm is significant.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
A pond where I could see sunrises and sunsets, watch the stars at night and hear the frogs croak in the summer...I felt such an intimacy and being known by the Holy One and being part of a large sacredness of life.
Now? I live in the city and it is my backyard in this arid region where we live on one of the original acequias from which we receive water from the Rio Grande and irrigate fruit trees, flowering plants and provide habitat for birds, turtles, frogs, a pair of cooper hawks, numerous finches and woodpeckers, bees....we have a year round garden, chickens, ducks and bee hives...
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Deer. Deer has come to me often in times when I needed spiritual wisdom for decisions. She teaches me much and has a deep tradition within scripture such as the psalm "AS a deer longs for running streams, so longs my soul for you my God."
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Global warming, global warming and helping people feel a connection with the natural world, seeing themselves as part of a Sacred Earth Community, not outside of nature.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
If we do not care for the earth, we are not caring for our own souls and we do not really care about God. It is vital to know ourselves in an integrated way as human beings and so important to live this out in our lifestyles as a gift for the children. This is the most important action and must be part of addressing policy issues.
November 15, 2006
Charles Hall
Professor - State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Today's Date: Nov 15 06
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
All of it --- probably the fish of my childhood ponds was what got me started – I was fascinated with everything about fish.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
Everywhere – probably my uncle’s farm in Western Massachusetts
Now? Patagonia
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
How can I say? All of them
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Now --- development and population growth. In longer view global climate change, population growth, the end of cheap oil
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
There are very serious limits to what humans can do and should do and “Mother nature, in the long run, holds the high cards” i.e. we must in time work within Nature’s rules.
Today's Date: Nov 15 06
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
All of it --- probably the fish of my childhood ponds was what got me started – I was fascinated with everything about fish.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
Everywhere – probably my uncle’s farm in Western Massachusetts
Now? Patagonia
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
How can I say? All of them
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Now --- development and population growth. In longer view global climate change, population growth, the end of cheap oil
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
There are very serious limits to what humans can do and should do and “Mother nature, in the long run, holds the high cards” i.e. we must in time work within Nature’s rules.
László Bartosiewicz
Lecturer - Loránd Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary
Today's Date: Nov. 14. 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
Two dogs kept (consecutively) on the 2nd flood of an urban apt. building.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
The hills around my home town, Budapest.
Now? The same and Lake Balaton in Hungary.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
They are hard to compare. Dogs and cats for companion, but I have always adored moose and okapi for looks.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
CO2 emission rates and the storage of nuclear waste.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Optimize the use of energy and water.
Today's Date: Nov. 14. 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
Two dogs kept (consecutively) on the 2nd flood of an urban apt. building.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
The hills around my home town, Budapest.
Now? The same and Lake Balaton in Hungary.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
They are hard to compare. Dogs and cats for companion, but I have always adored moose and okapi for looks.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
CO2 emission rates and the storage of nuclear waste.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Optimize the use of energy and water.
November 10, 2006
Jim DiPeso
Policy Director, Republicans for Environmental Protection
Today's Date: November 9, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
My work as a journalist covering Lake Tahoe turned me onto a path dedicated to taking good care of the natural endowment that takes good care of us.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
The sunny, mostly empty beaches in Morro Bay, California.
Now? Anywhere near saltwater. Must be genetic. My ancestors were fishmongers in southern Italy.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Any member of the cat family. Their sleek grace and solitary nature open doors to a mysterious world where human vanity is a fleeting, irrelevant abstraction.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Global warming now, global warming decades from now. It is the most vexing, complicated, all-encompassing problem ever confronted by a dominant species that, for the sake of self-preservation, must learn new habits of foresight and self-discipline that are contrary to eons of wired-in and cultural drivers.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
To borrow a thought from John Muir, everything is connected to everything else. Whatever we do, for good or ill, radiates outward in astonishing ways. Think carefully, act wisely.
Today's Date: November 9, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
My work as a journalist covering Lake Tahoe turned me onto a path dedicated to taking good care of the natural endowment that takes good care of us.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
The sunny, mostly empty beaches in Morro Bay, California.
Now? Anywhere near saltwater. Must be genetic. My ancestors were fishmongers in southern Italy.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Any member of the cat family. Their sleek grace and solitary nature open doors to a mysterious world where human vanity is a fleeting, irrelevant abstraction.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Global warming now, global warming decades from now. It is the most vexing, complicated, all-encompassing problem ever confronted by a dominant species that, for the sake of self-preservation, must learn new habits of foresight and self-discipline that are contrary to eons of wired-in and cultural drivers.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
To borrow a thought from John Muir, everything is connected to everything else. Whatever we do, for good or ill, radiates outward in astonishing ways. Think carefully, act wisely.
November 06, 2006
James Siegel
PhD candidate Anthropology Univ of Georgia, Biologist with Yakama Nation in Toppenish, WA
Today's Date: Nov 5, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
Had large ornamental pond in my childhood in the backyard with fish and frogs. I lived in the suburbs of New York City. It was like having an aquarium in the backyard you could fall into.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
The Roslyn Duck Pond in Roslyn, NY, A Victoria era public park with ducks, geese, gulls, and terns. Lots of fish and salamanders in the area.
Now? My favorite place right now is a BLM Umtanum Creek, off the Yakima River in the Yakima River Canyon between Ellensburg and Yakima, WA
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Turtles by far – any kind land or water turtles.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
I think the loss of biodiversity is the present problem and global warming will be the future huge problem, if not now. The Arctic regions will be particularly vulnerable.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Although most environmental problems today seem biological in nature, they are actually cultural and social problems having to do with land use, economics, environmental decisions and cultural models of nature. All the environmental problems flow from sociocultural conditions. The solutions are as much cultural as biological.
Today's Date: Nov 5, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
Had large ornamental pond in my childhood in the backyard with fish and frogs. I lived in the suburbs of New York City. It was like having an aquarium in the backyard you could fall into.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
The Roslyn Duck Pond in Roslyn, NY, A Victoria era public park with ducks, geese, gulls, and terns. Lots of fish and salamanders in the area.
Now? My favorite place right now is a BLM Umtanum Creek, off the Yakima River in the Yakima River Canyon between Ellensburg and Yakima, WA
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
Turtles by far – any kind land or water turtles.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
I think the loss of biodiversity is the present problem and global warming will be the future huge problem, if not now. The Arctic regions will be particularly vulnerable.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Although most environmental problems today seem biological in nature, they are actually cultural and social problems having to do with land use, economics, environmental decisions and cultural models of nature. All the environmental problems flow from sociocultural conditions. The solutions are as much cultural as biological.
November 05, 2006
Lynda Collrin
Cherry Brook Zoo Inc.
Today's Date: November 5, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
Having lived in a zoo since 1979 it is difficult to single out one animal that has had the biggest impact on me. As a primatologist at the beginning my area of expertise was of course primates but working in a small nonprofit facility I have worked with every species from hoofstock to carnivores. Perhaps the defining moment was in 1981 when our Celebes Ape rejected her baby and it was brought to me to hand raise. There was not much information on hand rearing at this time and the baby was not doing well, I knew that the life of this tiny primate was in my hands and my decision to change it's diet from the standard one made me responsible for whether this animal lived or died, but having it look straight into my eyes and feeling the complete trust this animal put in me it was to me a milestone in working with animals. I am happy to say that my diet worked and the primate went on to be reintroduced back into another troop. My masters thesis was on working with these primates having hand raised five of them and finding out how to reintroduce them back to their own kind (this was not done prior to my research).
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
Yes, the small family farm before they became large conglomerates and put small farmers out of business. My favorite time was hand milking the dairy cows in the early morning in the barn before letting them out to pasture.
Now? The Cherry Brook Zoo - mostly before the public is in or at night when I listen to the sounds of the animals through the night. The zoo is a noisy place and I guess not many people live withe the sounds of a zoo at night. I am one of the lucky ones.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
That is truthfully a question I cannot answer - each animal has it's own unique personality and though I can't say I love them all I can say I respect each and every one of them - all animals deserve to be respected for what they are, not because you can pet or feed them - we have no feeding allowed and there is no petting area in our zoo. We want to teach children that animals are worth something for their place in our environment and not because you can pet or feed them.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
I believe our greatest challenge is over population of our planet, the loss of habitat, the loss of animals and the decline of our oceans is a direct link to over population and our course to reaching a level that our planet will not be able to sustain.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
We must recognize the ties between our global environment and how they affect all of us. We must realize that what happens in another country does affect us and most importantly that one person can make a difference. By reducing our use of everyday products such as gas, lights, etc and reducing the amount of waste one person can make a difference, and if we approach it on a personal level then one person will affect another and hopefully it will have a domino effect. I also believe that our governments can do more but at this time they will still give money to save the painting of the tiger rather than support those facilities working to save the animal itself. Preserving the works of man and not funding the preservation of the works of nature.
Today's Date: November 5, 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
Having lived in a zoo since 1979 it is difficult to single out one animal that has had the biggest impact on me. As a primatologist at the beginning my area of expertise was of course primates but working in a small nonprofit facility I have worked with every species from hoofstock to carnivores. Perhaps the defining moment was in 1981 when our Celebes Ape rejected her baby and it was brought to me to hand raise. There was not much information on hand rearing at this time and the baby was not doing well, I knew that the life of this tiny primate was in my hands and my decision to change it's diet from the standard one made me responsible for whether this animal lived or died, but having it look straight into my eyes and feeling the complete trust this animal put in me it was to me a milestone in working with animals. I am happy to say that my diet worked and the primate went on to be reintroduced back into another troop. My masters thesis was on working with these primates having hand raised five of them and finding out how to reintroduce them back to their own kind (this was not done prior to my research).
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
Yes, the small family farm before they became large conglomerates and put small farmers out of business. My favorite time was hand milking the dairy cows in the early morning in the barn before letting them out to pasture.
Now? The Cherry Brook Zoo - mostly before the public is in or at night when I listen to the sounds of the animals through the night. The zoo is a noisy place and I guess not many people live withe the sounds of a zoo at night. I am one of the lucky ones.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
That is truthfully a question I cannot answer - each animal has it's own unique personality and though I can't say I love them all I can say I respect each and every one of them - all animals deserve to be respected for what they are, not because you can pet or feed them - we have no feeding allowed and there is no petting area in our zoo. We want to teach children that animals are worth something for their place in our environment and not because you can pet or feed them.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
I believe our greatest challenge is over population of our planet, the loss of habitat, the loss of animals and the decline of our oceans is a direct link to over population and our course to reaching a level that our planet will not be able to sustain.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
We must recognize the ties between our global environment and how they affect all of us. We must realize that what happens in another country does affect us and most importantly that one person can make a difference. By reducing our use of everyday products such as gas, lights, etc and reducing the amount of waste one person can make a difference, and if we approach it on a personal level then one person will affect another and hopefully it will have a domino effect. I also believe that our governments can do more but at this time they will still give money to save the painting of the tiger rather than support those facilities working to save the animal itself. Preserving the works of man and not funding the preservation of the works of nature.
November 03, 2006
Kate Povey
Communications Officer, The Gaia Foundation (www.gaiafoundation.org)
Today's Date: 3rd November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
One that I've remembered recently is being shown around an orchard by the owner when I was about 8 years old. The orchard was near to where my grandfather lives and Mum used to help pick apples during harvest time. She was getting a bit old and was said to be quite a prickly person! But she seemed to take a liking to me and showed me around the whole orchard.
The grass was very lush and dewy as it was a damp misty morning, and the apples trees loomed up ahead, field after field. We walked over an old stone bridge and caught a glimpse of a kingfisher - the first one I'd seen. The flash of brilliant blue and orange has stayed in my mind ever since, and I suppose you could say it had an impact because I've just moved back to Devon with my partner and we are about to regenerate an old orchard there, in order to conserve old apple varieties and do small scale fruit juice and cider production.
I love the heritage of the English apple - the folklore surrounding it, the powers such 'sacred' trees can hold - I don't want all this knowledge lost.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
I grew up in the countryside and had lots of favourite places. One was an old oak tree, in the field next to our garden. My friends and I would climb in it and sit and have picnics in it. Down the middle was a huge hole (probably struck by lightning) and once we'd lost our flask of orange juice down it. It was too far down to be able to rescue it! The roots of the tree were also exposed and were just high enough to help me get on the pony that a friend of ours kept in the field and could ride bareback around the field before it decided to stop and have a roll!
Now? Now, I am still discovering our new farm. We have a woodland of about 5 acres but I haven't yet explored it properly. The most relaxing spot is at the back of the cow shed in the evening, when the sun is going down and it's nice and warm and protected from the wind.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
The animal I form most attachment with is probably my cat! I don't know if you were talking about pets and domestic animals or prefer what wild animal is my favourite but I think cats I have most experience of relating to. I like any native British wild animal but you can't get too emotional about them as you see so much road kill nowadays and farmers have problems with badgers, deer, rabbits and foxes - it can be quite a sensitive issue in the country!
My favourite wild animal would probably be the blue whale or killer whale - such magnificent creatures with strength and grace to take your breath away. I haven't seen one in person though.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Climate change - has been my greatest concern for over 10 years, now hopefully everyone else is waking up to it too. I think it will dominate the future too - together with how we live, carbon emission, use of energy, transport etc - it really does affect everyone's whole lives.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Don't waste anything! People buy so much rubbish that doesn't last. Think about every little thing you buy and dispose of - and try to cut it down drastically. It is not just a matter of governments taking the lead with regulations and legislation, EVERYBODY has to think and act.
Today's Date: 3rd November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
One that I've remembered recently is being shown around an orchard by the owner when I was about 8 years old. The orchard was near to where my grandfather lives and Mum used to help pick apples during harvest time. She was getting a bit old and was said to be quite a prickly person! But she seemed to take a liking to me and showed me around the whole orchard.
The grass was very lush and dewy as it was a damp misty morning, and the apples trees loomed up ahead, field after field. We walked over an old stone bridge and caught a glimpse of a kingfisher - the first one I'd seen. The flash of brilliant blue and orange has stayed in my mind ever since, and I suppose you could say it had an impact because I've just moved back to Devon with my partner and we are about to regenerate an old orchard there, in order to conserve old apple varieties and do small scale fruit juice and cider production.
I love the heritage of the English apple - the folklore surrounding it, the powers such 'sacred' trees can hold - I don't want all this knowledge lost.
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
I grew up in the countryside and had lots of favourite places. One was an old oak tree, in the field next to our garden. My friends and I would climb in it and sit and have picnics in it. Down the middle was a huge hole (probably struck by lightning) and once we'd lost our flask of orange juice down it. It was too far down to be able to rescue it! The roots of the tree were also exposed and were just high enough to help me get on the pony that a friend of ours kept in the field and could ride bareback around the field before it decided to stop and have a roll!
Now? Now, I am still discovering our new farm. We have a woodland of about 5 acres but I haven't yet explored it properly. The most relaxing spot is at the back of the cow shed in the evening, when the sun is going down and it's nice and warm and protected from the wind.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
The animal I form most attachment with is probably my cat! I don't know if you were talking about pets and domestic animals or prefer what wild animal is my favourite but I think cats I have most experience of relating to. I like any native British wild animal but you can't get too emotional about them as you see so much road kill nowadays and farmers have problems with badgers, deer, rabbits and foxes - it can be quite a sensitive issue in the country!
My favourite wild animal would probably be the blue whale or killer whale - such magnificent creatures with strength and grace to take your breath away. I haven't seen one in person though.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
Climate change - has been my greatest concern for over 10 years, now hopefully everyone else is waking up to it too. I think it will dominate the future too - together with how we live, carbon emission, use of energy, transport etc - it really does affect everyone's whole lives.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Don't waste anything! People buy so much rubbish that doesn't last. Think about every little thing you buy and dispose of - and try to cut it down drastically. It is not just a matter of governments taking the lead with regulations and legislation, EVERYBODY has to think and act.
Berol Robinson
Environmentalists/Ecologists For Nuclear Energy (EFN). I am a member of the Scientific and Medical Committee and president of the affiliated EFN-USA. Website www.ecolo.org
Today's Date: 02 November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
[no answer given]
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
I was a city boy. When I was young, Boy Scouts was the thing to do, and I was an Eagle Scout. That was the most outdoor thing I ever did, and it didn't take.
Now? I'm still a city type.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
I think penguins are real cool ! I watched them one day in the penguin house at the Detroit Zoo, and I could watch them forever. The recent film "The March of the Emperors" was very moving.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
The world's population is much larger than the Earth can support. We live in an economy based on cheap oil - not only for electricity and transport but also for the very food we eat. We have new crops which feed us - the so-called Green Revolution has changed India from a famished land to a grain exporter, for example. But those new crops depend heavily upon fertilizer - derived from petroleum. It is said that "the soil is a tool for turning oil into food". And the oil is now running out - reserves of oil and natural gas are estimated to last a few decades, and we are discovering new deposits at a rate much less than current consumption - so we are living up our diminishing capital of energy.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Another source of energy is at hand: clean, safe, reliable, economical, and almost inexhaustible. It is nuclear fission; the technology is mature but subject to great improvements in the next 20 to 40 years. My fear is that the energy of nuclear fission may be set aside - that we may refuse to use it - for essentially trivial considerations: fear of radioactivity and radiation, the non-existent "problem" of radioactive waste management (dubbed "insoluble" by many), and fear of another accident like Chernobyl.
The problem of nuclear weapons proliferation remains, but that horse got out of the barn a long time ago. Every effort must be made in international politics to slow proliferation, but in the long run it is inevitable. Civilian nuclear power must not be sacrificed on the altar of weapons non-proliferation.
Today's Date: 02 November 2006
1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
[no answer given]
2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?
I was a city boy. When I was young, Boy Scouts was the thing to do, and I was an Eagle Scout. That was the most outdoor thing I ever did, and it didn't take.
Now? I'm still a city type.
3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?
I think penguins are real cool ! I watched them one day in the penguin house at the Detroit Zoo, and I could watch them forever. The recent film "The March of the Emperors" was very moving.
4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?
The world's population is much larger than the Earth can support. We live in an economy based on cheap oil - not only for electricity and transport but also for the very food we eat. We have new crops which feed us - the so-called Green Revolution has changed India from a famished land to a grain exporter, for example. But those new crops depend heavily upon fertilizer - derived from petroleum. It is said that "the soil is a tool for turning oil into food". And the oil is now running out - reserves of oil and natural gas are estimated to last a few decades, and we are discovering new deposits at a rate much less than current consumption - so we are living up our diminishing capital of energy.
5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?
Another source of energy is at hand: clean, safe, reliable, economical, and almost inexhaustible. It is nuclear fission; the technology is mature but subject to great improvements in the next 20 to 40 years. My fear is that the energy of nuclear fission may be set aside - that we may refuse to use it - for essentially trivial considerations: fear of radioactivity and radiation, the non-existent "problem" of radioactive waste management (dubbed "insoluble" by many), and fear of another accident like Chernobyl.
The problem of nuclear weapons proliferation remains, but that horse got out of the barn a long time ago. Every effort must be made in international politics to slow proliferation, but in the long run it is inevitable. Civilian nuclear power must not be sacrificed on the altar of weapons non-proliferation.
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