EcoHearth - Small Earth

Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil’s Cousins May Be Forecasting a Fate Worse Than a Long Winter

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Prairie dogs are the eyes of the community.
- Terry Tempest Williams

Groundhog Day is most famously celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where almost always, Phil retreats, forecasting six more weeks of winter. But it is west of the Mississippi where Phil’s cousins, the prairie dogs, may well be offering a more dire prediction—about the fate of humanity. This is why there have been efforts to establish Prairie-Dog Day to bring attention to the plight of these creatures, under attack by ranchers and developers who consider them pests. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

An Achievable New Year’s Eco Resolution: 'Not-Doing'

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I’ve never made New Year’s resolutions. They can end in feelings of guilt and drudgery. Sometimes they lead to consuming more, like buying exercise equipment—when getting outdoors for regular walks might have a more lasting effect.

I propose a different strategy for next year: Be less ambitious and, in Carlos Castaneda lingo, practice “not-doing.” This will shrink our impact on the resources and ecosystems that make it possible for us to survive. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Become an Eco-Conscious Consumer: Consume Less and Consume Smarter

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:00:00 +0000

As the film, The Story of Stuff, so elegantly illustrates, since the 1940s dark-side capitalists in cahoots with engineers have clandestinely steered our society into becoming relentlessly loyal consumers. As a result, we have neglected our civic engagement and the health of our finite planet. There are several ways to outsmart these misguided and aggravating nudniks. My tips are modeled on the maxims of biomimicry—the laws that govern healthy ecosystems. By thinking like nature, you can avoid being hoodwinked in the first place. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Our Nation’s Capital Is Overrun by Rats—Figuratively and Literally

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 05:00:00 +0000

A few winters ago I was visiting family in Bethesda, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC. As we were driving home one rainy night, I thought I saw a cat dart across the street. At second glance, I realized it was a paunchy rat. Accustomed to seeing zigzagging cottontails in the headlights in my home state of New Mexico rather than rats, the sight of this husky vermin left an impression. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Choking on Plastic: Trash in Our Oceans and Waterways

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0000

The Ocean Conservancy organizes an annual international coastal cleanup that takes place on the third Saturday of September. Based on their annual collective beachcombing, they publish an informative report called "A Rising Tide of Ocean Debris and What We Can Do About It."

The most frequent items found each year are cigarette butts, plastic bags and food wrappers or containers. This illustrates a huge problem. Cigarette butts and single-use packaging do not break down. Nor are they biodegrading in landfills. Plastic requires sunlight to break down and, if littered, it blows across the landscape, ends up in the rivers and bobs out to the ocean. Future generations could be dealing with a litter-strewn planet for centuries, if not longer. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Confessions of a Recovering Eco-Mom

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0000

In his piece, An Open Letter to the Eco-Mom, EcoHearth contributor Steven Kotler warned against the tendency of mothers—especially those whose ultimate goal is to make the planet safer—to go overboard in keeping their children safe. Well, I’m one of those eco-moms. Or at least I’m in recovery.

I have two children, born almost a decade apart. With my firstborn, I went to great lengths to guard him from un-eco evils. Initially those vices included television, toy weapons and junk food. Eventually they were expanded to video games, cigarettes, reckless friends and drugs. The more I tried to shelter my son from bodily and societal toxins, the riskier his behavior became. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Farmers Markets: Where Less Is More

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Friends think I’m crazy to shop weekly at the farmers market. Organic food is widely available at many stores in my town, often at a lower price. On my meager income, surely I could get more for less if I weren’t such a, um, food snob. But shopping the farmers market is a festive, convivial experience where getting less and paying more is actually a better deal, for the consumer and the farmer. {readmorelink}Read on...{/readmorelink}

How Do We Convince People to Care About the Planet?

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0000

When I discuss the issues I am passionate about, I get responses ranging from, “Oh, my daughter would love you,” to “Progressives have been largely responsible for the undermining of our criminal justice system and the resulting anarchy.”

It’s distressing to learn that concern for our imperiled life-support system, other species and social justice is considered marginal or even criminal behavior. Why don’t people connect the dots between the state of our ecosystems and our future survival? {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Environmental Disasters: A Conversation Between Our Leaders and Mother Nature?

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Massey Energy’s coal-mine explosion and BP’s drilling-platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico—resulting in the biggest oil spill in history—underscore why we should quit our fossil-fuel addiction and urge lawmakers to pass an effective climate and energy bill. These are the same types of corporations bidding on the drilling leases off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that were recently approved by the Obama administration. Their frenetic push to intensify efficiency while compromising worker and environmental safety is to blame for the needless deaths and devastation. But so are all of us who demand an inordinate share of fossil fuels. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Ecological Living: Is It Really More Expensive?

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Marita Prandoni | Blog Entry) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

My older siblings were products of the hippie era. Growing up, I was in awe of their rebellion against the establishment and their embrace of earthier ways. I never felt compelled myself to strongly oppose my parents; I was grateful for the opportunity to watch my brothers and sisters’ contentious transition into adulthood from the sidelines. There were a lot of us, so there was a lot for me to observe. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}