Thanks to my sister Michelle McIlroy for designing the logo!

Welcome!

Ever since I was a child, I have been very interested in nature and the environment. I have a B.S. degree in wildlife biology, and have worked as a zookeeper, wildlife biologist, and ecologist. I am conducting a brief survey of world leaders, government officials, religious leaders, corporate CEOs, environmental groups, wildlife experts, and others regarding nature and the environment. I am also very interested in religious views, customs, and beliefs from around the world, and the interactions between religion, culture, society, and the environment. This is something I am doing out of personal interest, and is not connected to any group or organization. I have been working on this project since the summer of 2006, and hope to eventually turn it into a book and/or documentary. I am hoping to make this into a global project, with responses from all segments of society. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or comments. If you have not already done so, I hope that you will consider taking part in my project, and please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested! Thanks for stopping by!

TAKE THE SURVEY ONLINE HERE http://tinyurl.com/nx4ng7

January 09, 2007

Cheryl Schachter

High School English Teacher and Wiccan

Today's Date: January 9, 2007

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

The interactions with animals which have had the biggest impact on me are my relationships with domesticated animals: horses, dogs and cats. Animals have always been a part of my existence. Co-existing with them has added joy to my life.

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

Definitely the beach. I lived my entire teenage years at the beach and in the ocean.

Now? Still the beach except now I am in Northern California so I hunt for agates and take long walks rather than my Southern California youth when I laid in the sun and swam in the warm water.

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

Wild horses, they are majestic, free, intelligent and beautiful.

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?

Our greatest challenge is to change our current behavior to reflect the needs for the future of the planet. In the future we will be challenged with a lack of fresh, available water.

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

One person CAN make a difference.

James Lowen

Private Citizen, Argentina (http://www.pbase.com/james_lowen)

Today's Date: January 9, 2007

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

Aged 3, seeing a Common Buzzard in SW England - prompted my interest in birds.

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

Yes: my local reservoir in Yorkshire, N England, and local migratory watchpoint on the Yorkshire coast.

Now? Probably the Galapagos, a dream destination that I finally visited a few years a go.

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

Probably the pale-winged trumpeter, an amazonian chicken-like bird. Because of a fabulous close encounter with it in Ecuador a few years ago. The bird has personality, man!

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. Water shortages.

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

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions now will save money later.