Ellen Evert Hopman

Druid Priestess, Order of the Whiteoak - Ord na Darach Gile (www.whiteoakdruids.org)

Today’s Date: 28 October, 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

I live in an Oak forest in Western MA. I started writing when I moved to this house and the trees continue to inspire me, twenty years later. I now think of myself as a forest creature, just like the bears, moose, foxes, eagles, ravens and deer that visit my garden.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

We moved a lot when I was a child (State Department brat). I always gravitated to the wildest area near the house; the ocean, a forest, or a field filled with sheep.

Now? I love waterfalls and visit all the local ones regularly.

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

Meerkats, because they are so civilized. They know how to co-operate. They take care of each others children, watch out for the group as a whole, and perform heroic acts of self sacrifice for the good of the tribe. For example they will stand guard and not eat or drink for many hours just to make sure the tribe is safe. If humans become extinct I am quite sure that Meerkats will rule.

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. Instead of spending a billion dollars a week on violent wars to capture other nations’ oil supplies, we could be spending that money to re-vamp our entire energy infrastructure. We could be on a "war time" footing to convert to wind, solar, geothermal, biomass fuels sources. For $100.00 every car in the current fleet could be converted to ethanol. Farmers would benefit and we could cut our dependence on oil. It is time for an energy revolution, not more pre-emptive wars.

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

See #4. War is the most barbaric, primitive and stupid approach to solving our energy needs. We need to be smarter than that. Oil is on the way out as a fuel (most analysts agree that we have already hit the peak of world production and it is downhill from here) what legacy are we leaving for future generations?

Karen Coshof

Stonehaven Productions

Today's Date: October 28, 2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

seeing the red sandstone Utah desert for the 1st time

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

any woodland

Now? my woods in Vermont

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

They are all my favorites, especially parrots, dogs, elephants and dolphins

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 [Stonehaven Productions created and produced the new feature film The Great Warming, www.thegreatwarming.com which opens November 3, 2006 – JT]

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

[no answer given]