Cute Moments Hiking

Its amazing what you see when you take a break and go for a hike.

I took these in Topanga Canyon State Park. 

I love the lil' one's face ...

Picture of the week

Don't be a litter bug!  Take part and pick it up!

Litter is common on the trail. If you don't want to carry 

something out don't carry it in.

Set an example if you see it, Pick it up.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Yes on Prop 37 California!!

Do not let the big companies fool you, they want to avoid cost on relabeling their items. My question is why wouldn't they tell you?! 

I will tell you why. These companies are afraid that if we know the truth and we have a choice we will not buy genetically modified food. 

Still, It should be our decision not the decision of some multimillion dollar company.  

Prop 37 does not stop them from using genetically modified foods, it forces
companies be honest about what we are eating it. 

What we eat goes into our bodies...We deserve a choice. 


Thanks to cornucopia.org for the poster you can download it for yourself here: http://www.cornucopia.org/wp-content/themes/Cornucopia/downloads/prop37-poster.pdf

sign the petition Here: http://www.cornucopia.org/prop37-petition/

Vote yes on 37.....please!

I would love to know your thoughts..any comments?

6 Easy Ways to Help the Earth

Imagine a world without trees or parks, birds or animals, Just concrete, buildings,  smog and billions of people.

As horrible as this is to imagine, this could be our future if we do not take steps to protect our environment and regulate the companies and people that only wish to exploit it.

Here are 6 Easy Ways We Can Help the Environment…

     1.)    CARE!

The planet is a living breathing thing. It sustains us and keeps us alive. There are ways to live in harmony with the environment.

·         Care about where your food comes from

·         Care about the quality of the air you breathe

·         Care about your impact on the planet.

·         Think about where everything comes from, it all comes from somewhere and it 

        effects everyone. 

·         Be aware of what you buy and throw away.

·         Don’t litter. If you see litter, pick it up.

2.)    Promote Biodiversity.

Biodiversity is the variety of species in our environment; it is what makes this world what it is. Biodiversity is essential to survive. We are all interdependent on each other in ways scientists have yet to discover.

You can help biodiversity by:

·         Protecting local habitat

·         Creating landscapes that encourage sustainability, and promote local species.

·         Get involved, volunteer in state and local parks.

3.)    Endorse Clean Energy.

Clean energy, renewable energy or green energy refers to energy produced from renewable resources without creating adverse effects on the environment.

Forms of renewable energy, that have a lower carbon emissions when compared to traditional energy sources include:

·         Wind Energy

·         Solar Energy

·         Hydroelectric Energy sources.

Save energy today by:

·         Opening doors and windows, if it’s warm, to reduce air conditioning use.

·       If it’s cool, close up the windows and bundle up.

·       Make sure your home has good insulation.

·       Change light bulbs to energy saver light bulbs.

·       Carpool if possible

·       Ditch the car and take the bus or train

4.)    Protect Natural Resources

Drinking Water, Fossil Fuels, Rain Forests, Coal, Petroleum, Marine Animals, Animals, Birds, Natural Gas are all is a finite resources, this means, one day we will run out. 

 What can you do?

·         Turn off running water when you are not using it

·         Water your yard early or at night

·         Cut down on car washes

·         Cut down your shower time

·         Plant a tree

·         Protect your local parks and State parks

·         Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse anything you can

·         Recycle plastic, glass, paper, cardboard

·         donate old clothes

·         Buy previously owned items

·         use a resource like freecycle.org

·         have yard sales

5.)    Buy Local whenever possible.

When you buy local food and products you are helping the environment in many ways.

You are;

·         Lowering environmental impact

·         Reducing fossil fuel consumption

·         Promoting local jobs

·         Growing your local Community

6.)  Educate Yourself, your family and friends.

Do not be fooled by tricky wording. It is so important to know what is really going on around you. Politicians and corporations have used the negative marketing against the environment in the news for years. It is a way to manipulate the information given to society. This allows them to get what they want, no matter the health or safety costs to you.  If you do not seek information from both sides, there is a good chance you are misinformed.

Right now there are companies trying desperately to (Just to mention a few):

·         Drill in environmentally protected land. (State Parks)

·         Build a pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico that will not benefit us once built.

·         Earth Fracturing or “Fracking” for natural gas is polluting soil and water all over the country, and much more.

·         Off shore drill in Alaska

The most powerful tool is knowledge. Don’t be misinformed. Understand what is going on and how you can help.

___________________________________________________________________________ 

Resources;

Natural Resources Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resource

Renewable Energy Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy

50 Ways to Help the Planet http://www.50waystohelp.com/

PHOTO Credit:brandie bell

"The person who says it cannot be done 
should not interrupt the person doing it."
Chinese Proverb.





Photo: I took this photo in 2010 Kyle Franklin in the mystery ship

The Underestimated Mushroom

 Wouldn't it be amazing if there was a natural none- invasive way of cleaning up pollution in our environment. A method that would positively impact other species, and not kill them in the process.

Bioremediation has been used for centuries throughout the world. Bioremediation  is any process that uses micro-organisms, plants, fungi or their enzymes to return a polluted environment to a less polluted state.

One form of bioremediation is called Mycoremediation.  It is a newer science started around the beginning of the 20^th century. It is the process of using fungi to remove or break down toxins in an environment.

Mycoremediation is a combination of two words,

Myco is for mycology the study of fungus (mushrooms)

Remediation is the correction of something bad. 

It was coined by Paul Stamets, who is the leader in this field. He has written several books one titled, “Mycelium Running - How mushrooms can save the world.”

 In this book he comments “Fungi are the grand recyclers of our planet, the mycomagicians, dissembling large organic molecules into simpler forms, which in turn nourish other members of the ecological community. Fungi are the interface organisms between life and death.”

There are certain types of fungi being studied such as oyster mushrooms. Oyster Mushrooms have been able to remove toxins such as oil, radiation, pesticides, petroleum products, PCB’s, and other pollutants.

So how does it work?

There is more to the mushroom than just what you see above ground. Under the soil there is a vegetative part of fungus called mycelium. Mycelium is a mass of thread like hyphae.

Hypha (plural hyphae) is a long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus. The mycelium stretches out and grows as long as it can gain nutrients. A mushroom is the fruiting body that will grow off the mycelium when the conditions are right.

The mycelium grows and form mycelial mats. These mycelial mats are the key. The mycelia are the magic.

There are three ways to apply the science of Mycoremediation on a toxic area.

1.)  Mixing mycelium into contaminated soil

2.)  Placing the mycelial mats over the toxic sites

3.)  Or a combination of these techniques, in one or

     more treatments.

Once applied the natural processes of nature take place. The mycelium will break the toxins down then digest them. When heavy metals need to be removed from the soil the mycelium will fruit.  The fruit bodies (mushrooms) absorb the toxins as nutrients.

Studies have shown that after treatment life will return to a previously toxic non inhabitable area.  More studies are currently underway to test mycelium against radiation in the soil in Japan.

There are still many questions and much to learn. Mycoremediation is still a new branch of bioremediation. The lack of information in the field has caused it to advance slowly but the research continues and grows.

It is important for our species to look for new opportunities to live a sustainable life with the environment around us. We need more options not more man-made chemicals.

Interested in Mycoremediation?

Here are some great links: 

Mycoremediation and Its Applications to Oil Spills -http://www.realitysandwich.com/mycoremediation_and_oil_spills

Fungi.com – www.fungi.com

Paul Stamets: Myco-Remediation Of The Japanese Landscape -

http://www.seismologik.com/journal/2011/4/20/paul-stamets-myco-remediation-of-the-japanese-landscape.html

Resources:

Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World [Paperback] Paul Stamets (Author) Magical Mushrooms: Mycoremediation, Published: 26 Feb 2002, By Caryn Sykes, Industry Analyst, Environmental Technologies

BioTech Articles: http://www.biotecharticles.com/Others-Article/Types-of-Bioremediation-Role-of-Biotechnology-in-Bioremediation-122.html

Mycoremediation en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycoremediation

Pictures:

two mushrooms taken by Brandie Bell Santa Monica CA

Mycelia picture =wikipedia.org/mycelium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mushroom%27s_roots_(myc%C3%A9lium).jpg)