Romantic Long Walks at the Beach...

Mama gnome muses, "What can be more romantic than walking at the beach, the waves lapping at her gnome feet and the ocean breeze fanning Mama gnome's face?"

How about walking with a giant trash bag while Mama gnome participates in "what may be the largest volunteer day in the planet."

Yes, very romantic indeed.

Coastal Cleanup Day is coming up on September 19,2009.

In Southern California, it is coordinated by
Heal the Bay and the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Coastal Cleanup Day is an international event. Ocean Conservancy reports 60 countries have participated last year.

Please check with your local government where you can participate.

Please visit Heal the Bay or Ocean Conservancy for clean up sites, their rules for what to pick up and what to leave alone as well as how to safely pick up trash especially if your children will be going with you.

Here is an example of love gone awry.


video from: AnimalPlanetTV


Reusable bags are more romantic and cooler than those thin, plastic bags that end up in the oceans or in landfills or in our streets. And in that case, they all end up in the ocean anyway.

Mama gnome will never forget the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or as Mama gnome calls it on the blog The Great Pacific Garbage Monster, a self-made monstrous island of humankind's trash including tons of plastic bags, out in the Pacific Ocean.

That Monster breaks Mama gnome's heart, not to mention kill countless marine animals and seabirds.

Please help keep our oceans clean.

Be romantic all the time and stay green.

(c) 2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mirrors, Mirrors in the Desert, Who's the Hottest of Them All? Solar Power, Mama gnome...

Once upon a time, in a land far away (Pasadena), a council (eSolar) of magi (scientists), wizards (engineers) and earth friendly humans (environmentalists and some pretty cool men and women humans) came together and project Sierra Sun Tower was born.

Their idea was majestic and lofty. Higher than the tallest mountains.

Higher than the atmosphere and the ozone layer. Yes, even higher.

Higher than the moon?

U-huh.

Higher than the stars?

Um, okay, now come back down a bit and settle on the nearest star to our planet.

Yes, that one.

The sun.

For their goal was to harness the sun's power using thousands of mirrors (24,000 mirrors or heliostats) to heat up water in two towers to convert solar energy into enough electricity that will power 4,000 houses.

What is Mama gnome talking about?

Is Mama gnome suffering from heat stroke?

No, no, no. Though sleep deprived, Mama gnome's mind is as sharp as sloth's toes.

According to eSolar:

"Sierra SunTower will supply 5 MW of clean, renewable energy to the grid. The full-scale power plant, the only one of its kind in the U.S., produces electricity for Southern California Edison (SCE) and will power up to 4,000 homes."

photo from: eSolar


In addition to creating clean, renewable energy, they've created hundreds of jobs for people at this time of economic difficulties.

Mama gnome is really impressed with this council of gifted humans.

Can they be any more brilliant?

It turns out, YES.

According to their Sierra Tower Fact Sheet:

The 5 MW output of Sierra SunTower will reduce CO2 emissions by 7,000 tons
per year. For perspective, Sierra SunTower’s annual impact is equivalent to:
• Planting 5,265 acres of trees
• Removing 1,368 automobiles from the road
• Saving 650,000 gallons of gasoline

Here's a video by another brilliant human, Hank Green of ecogeek.org explaining this project:

video from: ecogeek

Mama gnome feels hot all of a sudden.

Did the TV just turn on by itself?

Whoa...

Mama gnome will hide in her burrough for a while but will return soon after she's cooled down sipping relaxing draught.

Meanwhile, stay Cool, stay Hot, stay GREEN.

(c)2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mystery Animal of the Day

Mama gnome presents:

Mystery Animal of the Day


Mama gnome thought these creatures were mythical.

But they truly exist.

Found only in southern and western Australia,

these dragons swim in the the oceans.


If you guessed Leafy Sea Dragon,

Mama gnome offers you a strong cup of morning elixir, so vital for existence.

And Mama gnome says, "Maybe try sticking to reusable bags for a month and help keep the oceans clean?"

Leafy Sea Dragons are named after the mythical creature because of the resemblance.



photo by: EyeKarma


And they are quite beautiful with the leaflike attachments that act as camouflage allowing them to blend in with their surroundings.

Unlike the mythical fire-breathing dragons, these leafy sea dragons are very docile and do not even have the ability to hook their tails like their cousin, the sea horse.

They are vulnerable to being washed ashore when dragged by currents, especially after storms.

Their diet is mainly plankton and small crustaceans.

Like the seahorse, male leafy sea dragons carry the fertilized eggs produced by the female.
Up to 200 eggs can be attached to the underside of their tail.

The male sea dragons also help hatch the eggs.

Mama gnome is quite impressed by this.

Though the Australian government has placed the leafy sea dragon under protection they are threatened by people who use them for "alternative medicine" and by collectors.

Leafy sea dragons are also threatened by loss of habitat (coral reefs and seagrass) and pollution from runoffs and sewage dumped in the ocean.



video from: Madge1964

Mama gnome will now go into camouflage and swim amongst the sea dragons to fend off humans who illegally collect them.

You stay on land and fend off the pollution from running into the ocean.

Go green.

(c) 2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Gnomelets: Eco-warriors in the Making

Today was another hot summer day.

Daddy gnome doesn't like the heat.

Daddy gnome gets grumpy with the heat.


Mama gnome doesn't like the heat.

Mama gnome gets wilty with the heat.


But Mama gnome's spirit stands guard by the air conditioning thermostat.

To change the settings on the thermostat, two keys on opposite sides of the machine must be inserted in synchronicity to input binary codes to lower the temperature, i.e. change house from
heated savanna to cooler artic cove.

And Mama gnome guards the codes and keys with her life. Bwahahaha! Bwahahahaha!

I kid.

Seriously, um, computer savant Mama gnome doesn't know how to change thermostat temperature even if her life depended on it.

But instinctively Mama gnome knows how to push the up arrow on the thingey to make everybody in the house uncomfortable in the summer.

Some days even little gnomelets complain and say, "Mama, it's hot."

Mama gnome says, "Go stand by the fan."

Elder gnomelet says, "I'm still hot."

Younger gnomelet says, "Mama, did you know potatoes don't talk?"

And so Mama gnome turns on the air conditioner.


Fifteen minutes later after apple and yogurt snack, Mama gnome settles in her rocking chair cradling gnomelets on her lap to guess what the MYSTERY ANIMAL OF THE DAY is.

The latest Mystery Animal was the Philippine Eagle.

The nice man in the video narrated how the Philippine Eagle's forests are "rapidly disappearing."

Elder gnomelet asks, "Mama, why are the forests disappearing?"

Mama gnomes says, "Some people cut down trees when they're not supposed to or they burn

the forests down."

Elder gnomelet says, "Hummph!" in disgust.

Youngest gnomelet says, "Mama, maybe bullies cut down trees."

Mama gnomelet says, "You're right, little one. You're right."

Elder gnomelet says, "That's terrible, Mama. They shouldn't do that. You should put that on your blog."

Seriously. She did say that.


Little gnomelets are wise, thus Mama gnome blogs so.


Mama gnome urges everyone to support planting or replanting of trees in our forests.

Give the gift of trees.

Young gnomelets and humans can learn about these issues even as young as my gnomelets who

are three and five in human years.

So they'll grow up to love trees.

Tree hugger today, Eco-warrior tommorrow.



video from: Arbor Day Foundation


GO GREEN.

(c) 2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Relax in the Atlantic Ocean Jacuzzi with a Plastic Frou-frou Drink

Mama gnome relaxes in the warm water, sips her frou-frou drink and daydreams about emerald green forests.

Yuck. That drink was awful.

Then she felt seaweed wrap around her foot.

Wait a minute.

Seaweed?

In the jacuzzi?

She opens her eyes.

AHHHH!

She wasn't in a jacuzzi.

And the frou-frou drink was from a gross used plastic bottle.


Mama gnome can be dramatic sometimes.

But who knew real life would be even more dramatic.

According to this news report today:

"July was the hottest the world's oceans have been in almost 130 years of record-keeping."

The hottest in one hundred and thirty years...

Is there a gigantic water heater out there warming up the oceans?

Um...Let me guess.

Could it be...earth warming? Or as humans call it: GLOBAL WARMING?

I'm being facetious.

Mama gnome is quite familiar with earth warming, thank you very much.

'Tis a very unpleasant reality.

And to all who think the warm ocean waters will be fine by next summer, think again.

"This warm water we're seeing doesn't just disappear next year; it'll be around for a long time," said climate scientist Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in British Columbia. It takes five times more energy to warm water than land.

So what can happen with oceans warming up?

Coral reefs are bleached white and can die off from the heat.

Warmer temperatures affect weather patterns including hurricanes.

Warmer waters affect ice sheets and glaciers causing the ice to melt and therefore sea levels will rise.

And then afterwards...

It's too depressing for Mama gnome to continue.

Mama gnome needs a drink,

preferably not from a gross plastic bottle bobbing in the ocean like these:


photo from: greenpeace.org


Oh, I know.

Mama gnome will just watch a nice, relaxing, funny cartoon.

That'll get rid of these "end of the world" feelings.


video from: SenhorCroft



Mama gnome is going to hide under the covers and hope it's all a dream or nightmare.

Seriously, PLEASE, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Go GREEN.

(c) 2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

"Oh, by the way, meet my Frenemy..."

Mama gnome is back.

She's not giving up.

As long as there is one seed left or one sapling standing, Mama gnome will fight for Planet Earth.

And oh, by the way, meet my Frenemy....


What is a Frenemy?

According to dictionary.com a frenemy is:

(noun): a person who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy; a rival with which one maintains friendly relations.

Do you know a frenemy? Do you have a frenemy?

Mama gnome wants to expose a frenemy.

A big one.

It is one of Mother Nature's Frenemies.

And Mama gnome describes Mother Nature's Frenemy as:

(noun): something disguised as eco-friendly, but is actually an eco-enemy.

An eco-frenemy!

And here is one of Mother Nature's Biggest Eco-frenemy:


The Three Gorges Dam

It is a behemoth of a dam that cuts through the Yangtze River in China.

photo by: Christoph Filnkößl

"It is the world's largest electricity-generating plant of any kind."

This is the supposedly eco-friendly part.

For this, about 1.3 million people were displaced from their homes. That doesn't sound friendly to me.

They touted this dam as a step to reducing greenhouse gases.

Yet even before completion, this news report came out.



video from: NTDTV

This article also reports:

"One of the most worrying consequences of the project has been the sharp increase in landslides around the dam. Studies by geologists have shown that the water seeping out of the reservoir and the huge pressure changes are weakening the banks."

The construction of the dam also "flooded several important archaelogical sites" according to an article by Time.

What do you think? Eco-friendly or truly eco-frenemy?

I think I'll check the eco-frenemy column.

Um, did I mention the dam sits on two major faults?

As in possible earthquake major faults.

As quoted from this article by Scientific American:

One of the greatest fears is that the dam may trigger severe earthquakes, because the reservoir sits on two major faults: the Jiuwanxi and the Zigui–Badong. According to Fan, changing the water level strains them. When you alter the fault line's mechanical state," he says, "it can cause fault activity to intensify and induce earthquakes."

Now is this eco-friendly or eco-frenemy? Try eco-frenemy and eco-crazy.

And don't even get me started on its effects on wild life. Too late.

You got me started.

The baiji is/was a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze river. What happened to it?
According to this the baiji is now "functionally extinct."

Organizers declared the Baiji "functionally extinct", which would make it the first aquatic mammal species to become extinct since the demise of the Japanese Sea Lion and the Caribbean Monk Seal in the 1950s. It would also be the first recorded extinction of a well-studied cetacean species (it is unclear if some previously extinct varieties were species or subspecies) to be directly attributable to human influence.

They explain that even though there might be one or a few baiji left, it is "not enough to save a functionally extinct species from true extinction."

Another fish in trouble is the Chinese sturgeon. Found only in the Yangtze river, it is classified endangered by IUCN.


video from National Geographic


So far I've counted a gazillion eco-frenemy points. Eco-friendly points? Zilch.


Now don't take my word for it.

Please watch this.


Video from: News Revue


So Mama gnome's just going to call it as it is.

This Dam is not Eco-friendly.

It's not even Eco-Frenemy.

It's truly Eco-Scary.

Rally around Mother Earth.

Rally around her and Go GREEN!


(c) Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mama gnome gives up...

Sometimes, Mama gnome just wants to surrender to the environmental saboteurs,

put up her hands and say, "You win. I got nothing."

Mama gnome is in a sad dark place tonight.

Planet earth is in great peril.

And there's nothing Mama gnome can do to save the Chinese sturgeon, the Philippine Eagle, the elephants, polar bears, great whales or even the birds in her garden.

Because man will never change. And all is lost.

You go tell Planet Earth.

You go tell all her children.

For I haven't the heart.

I got nothing left.


video from: The Secret

(c) Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Got cigarette? Got wildfires, deaths, destruction, toxic oceans and beyond...

Mama gnome sits at her stoop tonight and looks up at the sky.

She tries to look at the stars but has difficulty because of smoky haze coming from onslaught of terrible wild fires now raging in mountains in the distance.

Mama gnome wishes humans and animals in distant mountains are able to flee to safety and stay safe.

But what of their homes? What of their trees? Gone and for what?

Mama gnome is quite upset to learn one of the fires was caused by a smoker who tossed out her cigarette "recklessly."

No, she didn't.

Yes, she did.

The sad thing is this has happened before.

And actually numerous times.

Can you tell me anything good that'll come out of smoking?

U-huh. Exactly.

And what's worse, cigarettes are worse than candy wrappers as far as littering and damaging the environment.

Here's an excellent article that lists all the terrible after affects of people lighting up a cigarette.
They report:

"According to the American Burn Association, about 900 people in the United States die each year in fires started by cigarettes, and about 2,500 are injured. About 100 of the fire deaths each year are children and nonsmokers. Nationally, annual human and property costs of fires caused by careless smoking total about $6 billion. In 1997, there were more than 130,000 cigarette related fires."

This video is short and sweet


video from: Ambassador321



My dear smoking human, I know you care for the environment.


Here's your chance to be a hero.

Seriously. This is it.

Give it up.




video from:galindadagood

Save yourself, save the children and animals. Save the world.

Be a hero and stop smoking.

Go green.


(c) Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mystery Animal of the Day

Mama gnome presents: MYSTERY ANIMAL OF THE DAY

It's the largest eagle in the world.

With a wingspan reaching over 2 meters or 7 feet.

And a height of over a meter or 3 feet ( about as tall as youngest gnomelet)

It's been described as resembling a griffin.

It's found in only one country in the world.

IUCN lists it as critically endangered with less than 200 birds left.

It is sadly the most endangered eagle in the world.

If your guess is the Philippine Eagle, Mama gnome claps her hands together and guffaws.

And she says, "Please give the gift of trees in honor of this majestic bird."



Photo by: Klaus Nigge/National Geographic


The Philippine Eagle is also called the Great Philippine Eagle, Haribon, or Monkey-eating Eagle.

Mama gnome just stares at the picture above and marvels at this magnificent bird.

With blue-gray eyes and brown feathers on its nape formed like a crest.

"These feathers give it the appearance of possessing a lion's mane, which in turn resembles the mythical griffin."

Its diet includes: reptiles, birds, monkeys, flying lemurs and Asian Palm Civets.

The Philippine Eagle mates for life and they produce a single young only every two or three years.

It's beyond Mama gnome's sadness to report how these eagles are disappearing as Mama gnome types these words... and these words... and these words...

After the stage of critically endangered, the next stage is EXTINCT.

It's not you "get one more chance" stage.

And not, "Oh, maybe one last final chance to save them" stage.

NO, the next one is,
as elder gnomelet says, "Extinct, that means they're gone. THEY'RE...NO...LONGER...ALIVE."

Yes. She said it with dramatic pauses just as I indicated.

According to this report:

"Indeed, with deforestation rates in the Philippines among the highest in the world (more than 90 percent of primary forest may have been lost to logging and development)..."

Ninety percent lost? Um, that leaves maybe 10 percent.

Are you kidding? Is that just someone's backyard?

What can we do as gnomes and humans?

• Inform yourself
  


• Volunteer
  


• Donate



• Write letters to your local and national government



• Plant trees



• Give the gift of trees



• Boycott businesses that perform or promote illegal deforestation and logging.


• Support green businesses


• Visit Haribon Foundation



• Visit Birdlife International

And here is the majestic PHILIPPINE EAGLE:




video by Wild Chronicles

Mama gnome now feels like fluffing her hair up like a lion's mane and snatching up fiendish illegal logger humans. CAWWW! CAWWW! CAWWW!

Oops...I think that's a crow. Not Eagle.

Umm, you get the picture.

Please come visit Mama gnome's little garden soon to find out about the next

MYSTERY ANIMAL OF THE DAY...

(c) 2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Person of the Day: Maria Lam

Mama gnome is proud to present the Person of the Day: Maria Lam



Mama gnome also wants to wish Maria, "Happy Special Day!"

Thanks for visiting Mama gnome's little garden, Maria. Please tell us about yourself.

I am a wife and mother of three awesome kids: Kim Mikhael, Raymond, and Eliana.
I am a Special Education Teacher working for Broward Schools.
I spend my spare time tending to my flower and vegetable garden.
Most of our fun family acivities include reading, fishing, biking and walking in the park,swimming, visiting arts and science museums, watching 3D movies,eating out, visiting parks and wildlife,and tending to our koi fish in the backyard pond.

As a teacher, what knowledge do you want to share with your students about the environment?

As a teacher, I want to impart the knowledge and understanding that our environment is our home.
Everyone must take responsibility for any action that will impact our environment.
Caring for our environment means securing their future.

Does the curriculum teach about the environment?

Yes, it is mostly incorporated in the Science subject.

Are there any books you are using now that teaches about this?

There should be an infinite number of books out there that can be useful in teaching about the environment.
A few that I can mention here are the following:

The Dragon and the Unicorn by L. Cherry-- tells of how a dragon and unicorn help a princess save the forest

Tree of Life: The World of the African Baobob-- shows how various life forms live on a tree

Johnny Appleseed---a story which is actually in most reading books used in the classroom

There are also the classics:

The Very Hungry Catterpillar, Where The Wild Things Are, Stellaluna

Is there a need for more kid-friendly books about the environment?

I think that we can always use books that will impart positive values,optimistic rather than pessimistic messages.

Children need both non-fictional and fictional stories that will satiate their curiosity.

What is your favorite vegetable dish?

Chop-suey and grilled asparagus.

(Mama gnome's tummy rumbled at hearing this.)


If you can be a vegetable, what will it be and why?

I'd be a broccolli because it looks like a tree of life to me. And don't forget that it is delicious too.

(Mama gnome nods her head)

What is your favorite animal?

My favorite animal is the peafowl(peacock for males and peahen for females).
These are magnificent animals.

If you can be any animal, what will it be and why?

I'd like to be a peacock because they are the ones with the brightest plumage and if I am one,I can definitely live in the wild.

What advice can you give people/kids about being more eco-friendly?

Before you acquire a piece of man-made stuff, ask yourself these questions:

• Is this good for me?
• Is this good for the environment?
• Do I really need it?

If the answer to all is YES, go for it.

Do you have a favorite book or story that involves the environment or nature?

The Book of Genesis

What are your inspiring quotes?

Take Nothing But Pictures

Leave Nothing But Footprints

Kill nothing But Time

---Motto of the Baltimore Grotto- A Cave Society

Take care of the Earth

And She will take care of You
-Anonymous

Any additional comments or advice, Maria?

Here is a simple guideline for parents to refer to when choosing picture books on the environment:

1. Is it fiction or non-fiction?

2. Does it offer scientific information?

3. Are issues on the environment treated explicitly?

4. Are there nuances of optimism vs. pessimism on environmental issues and human behavior?

5. Use of fantasy vs. realism

6. Needs and actions of humans vs. other inhabitants of the natural environment

7. Human views on homes and habitats
(Source :Picture Books and the Environment:Bibliography and Study Guide By Hanlon)


Thank you so much for sharing your human and teacher ways with us, Maria.


Mama gnome now feels like reading a book and eating chopsuey.

I hope you've enjoyed learning something from Maria Lam.

Please visit our little garden soon for our next Person of the Day.


(c) Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Garden