Space Ship Earth

    This page is devoted to the small steps we can all take toward helping our ecology and the preservation of our Planet Earth.  Small steps when taken in unison can become the beginnings of a parade.  Parades are fun and usually performed as a celebration of life or history.  Please join us in our parade for the celebration of life by suggesting and making the small steps to preserve our Planet,  "Space Ship Earth."

1. Grim Future Forecast for World's Coastal Areas - WASHINGTON, DC, April 17, 2001 (ENS) - Human modification and destruction of the planet's coastal zone is endangering marshes, estuaries, coral reefs and mangrove forests that provide a host of ecosystem services to humans, warns a new study released today. These services are vital - flood protection, water filtration, nursery habitat for fish and other species.

2.  The Turtles of Pompeston Creek   In the summer of 2000, I began observing the turtles that appeared in the Pompeston Creek near my home in East Riverton, and in the lake at Lakeview Memorial Park, which is a part of the creek.  Noticing very few turtles smaller than mature adults, I was curious as to why I saw no hatchlings or juveniles.  So began my journey into the world of reptiles in the Pompeston Creek. 
                                                                                                                       - The TurtleLady

3.  How modifying your coffee drinking habits can help preserve life on our planet.
    As a bird watcher it has come to my attention and the attention of many others that the migratory birds of  North America are under a serious threat from the destruction of their habitat.  Some of this destruction is far removed from our observation and is actually occurring thousands of miles away.  Although it is occurring some distance away from us, some of this destruction is a direct result of our daily action of drinking coffee.  

    A few years ago coffee beans were harvested from coffee trees that were grown in the rain forests in South America.  These trees were growing under the shade of the larger rain forest trees.  These are the same forests to which many of our summer songbirds migrate.  Recently there has been an upsurge of coffee houses and subsequent interest in gourmet coffees.  This has caused an increased pressure in consumption of coffee and has caused many of the major coffee companies to change the way their coffee is grown.  They have found that by clear cutting the rain forest and just growing coffee trees exclusively they could increase the production of their acreage and increase profits.  

    Unfortunately there is a negative effect to this action of clear cutting the rain forest.  The rain forest trees are the protection from predators and the source of insects and food for the song birds in winter residence.  Without the proper nutrition our summer songbirds cannot successfully make the migration back to North America and be successful in nesting and reproduction.

    Now, here is what can be done:

• Ask our local supermarket to carry shade grown coffee in their store.

• Ask our favorite coffee house to use shade grown coffee, it tastes better.

• Buy shade grown coffee for home use.

• Talk to your friends about the benefits of shade grown coffee.

    For a more thorough look at coffee production and what you, as an individual, can do to help our song birds click on this link for more information provided by the "Natural Resources Defense Council." (www.nrdc.org):  COFFEE, CONSERVATION, AND COMMERCE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE     

Other links and websites with links about Coffee and Birds:

• http://www.rainforestweb.org/Rainforest_Destruction/Agribusiness/Coffee/

• http://www.wri.org/ffi/internet/ngos.htm

• http://www.scaa.com/stories.cfm?st2=stories/100402.cfm

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Also, buy Shade Grown Coffee from these dealers:

• Tesoros Del Sol Certified organic coffee shipped directly from Costa Rica. They are in the process of replanting native trees in order to produce shade grown coffee. Thank you Janet Blakeley and Tesoros Del Sol: http://www.tesdelsol.com/   Note: Janet Blakeley sent me a email on 1/29/03 that by next crop, they will have the grand majority of their coffee fully shade grown.

• Café Bueno Premium Santo Domingo: http://www.cafebueno.com/

• Poverty Bay Coffee Company: http://www.povertybay.com/

• Café Canopy: http://www.shade-coffee.com/

• Thanksgiving Coffee Co.: http://www.thanksgivingcoffee.com/

• Counter Culture Coffee: http://www.counterculturecoffee.com/

• Café Oro de Ometepe - Premium Nicaragua Coffee from our sister island of Ometepe in Nicaragua: http://www.bosia.org/cafe/cafe.html

• Elan Organic Coffees: http://elanorganic.com/

• Peace Coffee: http://www.peacecoffee.com/home.htm

4.     VolunteerAmerica.net connects individuals, families and groups with volunteer opportunities and volunteer vacations all across America. http://www.VolunteerAmerica.net

5.     Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Known as "America's Serengeti," Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, with its windswept tundra and glaciered mountains, is among the world's last truly pristine wild places and one of the largest sanctuaries for Arctic animals on the planet. The coastal plain of the refuge is traversed by a dozen rivers and framed by the jagged peaks of spectacular mountains. This spectacular wilderness is a vital birthing ground for polar bears, grizzlies, Arctic wolves, the vast Porcupine herd of 130,000 caribou, and the highly endangered shaggy musk ox, a mammoth-like survivor of the last Ice Age.

6.  If you have something to add to help the ecology, e-mail me with the topic and information and I will add it to the page.   

Bart Erickson - mailto:bart@housejeanie.com