My Light Switch is My Vote

I'm getting ready for Earth Hour, when everyone can vote earth by turning off their lights for one hour. Tomorrow - that's Saturday, 28 March 2009 - at 8:30pm local time, we're hoping that a billion people will join in and help fight global warming. The results of the movement will be presented to world leaders at the upcoming Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Earth Hour started two years ago, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. This made a big splash, and by the next year the message had spread globally, with 50 million people switching off their lights.

Tomorrow night at 8:30 I'll be at a dinner party. I'm making sure our office is powered down as well as my home, and am hoping to get my friend Marian to break out the candles. Please consider taking the pledge and joining us.



I am just one person, and I can make a difference. So can you.

Save paper to save the earth

Election Results

Saving the world through software

The World Conservation Congress is happening in Barcelona this week, and two of our projects have launched. Yesterday, IUCN released the Red List, which was generated using the software we built for the Species Information Service. They also have a beautiful new website, with some great search and filtering functionality. About 1 in 4 species are threatened, and I'm glad that the press is really running with this very important story.

Today is marine protected area (MPA) day (many other things are going on, but this is our focus):

• An MPA layer was released on Google Earth
• UNF, IUCN, WCPA, and National Geographic launched WildCam, an underwater reef cam providing live feed from Glover's Reef Atoll in Belize
• Protect Planet Ocean, a marine protected areas portal, was released

Led by IUCN and the WCPA, Protect Planet Ocean is the result of an unprecedented partnership between many conservation NGOs. The Nature Conservancy, WWF, Natural England, Conservation International, PISCO, NOAA, MPA News, National Marine Sanctuaries, and the National MPA Center all worked together to envision and populate the portal. We were proud to facilitate and build the portal, and to work with all the wonderful volunteer resources and their contributions.

DC Developing Families Center

A bit North of Hampton Roads is Washington DC - a city with one of the worst infant mortality rates in the country. The DC Developing Families Center is a successful birthing clinic in NE DC trying to even the odds. My friend Anne is very passionate about their mission. I give thanks for my friendship with Anne, and hope that learning a bit more about the DCDFC inspires you the way that she does me.

The Center was featured on the CBS Evening News last night:

Watch CBS Videos Online

You can also read the news story here.

Slash and Burn

Yesterday I read about how President Bush is proposing to allow federal agencies to decide whether highway, dam, and other projects might harm endangered species and habitats - without having to seek the opinion of wildlife experts.

Fox, enjoy your hen house buffet.

Are you kidding me? It's like the Bush administration is getting revenge for being forced to admit that global warning had harmed the habitat of polar bears by giving the shaft to all the rest of the endangered species.

This is absolutely outrageous; I don't understand how the Christian right can continue to support a man that shows no indication of caring for our Earth. It is a gift from God, and we should be its caretakers.

Where have I been?

Okay, I've been avoiding my blog. I admit it.

You may recall that I was very excited to be trying out a produce subscription from a local farmer. I promised to give updates, and to let folks know how it all works.

Well, it's August now and I am sad to say that the CSA was cancelled. We received produce for a few weeks, including potatoes, fresh herbs, mung beans, eggs, and weekly newsletters & recipes. Unfortunately, the fates seemed to be conspiring against our farmer. She suffered with health problems that pretty much took her out of commission and then the pond pump went and couldn't be replaced for a couple of months.

I haven't wanted to write about this experience, because it's just been so bad. From my perspective, knowing so little of the facts, it's hard not to point a finger and wonder why there weren't better backup plans in place. I understood that subscribing equaled sharing the risk with the farmer, so it is so hard to comprehend that our subscription was just outright canceled & refunded. It seems to me that there were so many things that could have been done better - but I know that hindsight is always 20/20.

This is why I've been so silent - I didn't want to give the blow-by-blow on the situation. I don't think that would have been fair to the farmer, who was just trying her best.

I don't know that I'll be signing up with another farm any time in the near future. I am saddened at how this has set back the CSA movement in our area, as I am certain it has made the other farmers shy away from going in that direction. I stopped at a farm stand yesterday and asked the farmers if they offered or knew of anyone offering subscriptions. None of them did, and they gave the impression that being at the whims of mother nature made it difficult for them to consider this path.

On a happy note - that farm stand was a great find! It's in Toano, across from the fire department (they built it earlier this summer - thanks!!!). If you're looking for some nice fresh produce, stop by sometime.