Reblogged from the doodle house:

Blast those nincompoops who told us, as children, that gardening is as simple as dropping a seed in a hole and splashing it with water. Maybe that’s the case in the Northwest, but here in Texas it’s just not that simple…especially when you’re talking about seed starting. Heath’s been itching to start gardening from seeds (rather than transplanting) for quite some time now. For one, it’s a pretty stellar way to feel somewhat God-like. Taking a tiny pebble-like object and transforming it into leafy, …

Plant a garden this spring!
Post re-blogged from Austin-based ‘the doodle house’

I didn’t always feel so strongly about environmental sustainability and conservation, but I vividly remember when I realized that these issues were something I felt strongly about and that they would shape my path in the future. In my senior year of high school I took environmental science and was fascinated by the subject. While my classmates were sleeping, I was absorbing all of this information and learning more outside of class. As my knowledge about these issues expanded, I saw that they affected every aspect of my life – now and especially in the future. At first this made me angry. How could so many people not care about things that would affect their social, political, and economic realities? Do the generations before me feel no guilt for leaving me to inherit this Earth facing so many environmental dangers? But this anger quickly melted away as I realized that although these problems are enormous and will need global cooperation to solve, the challenge wasn’t impossible, just difficult, and that I have the power to make a difference. This is when I decided that I wanted to get involved in policy making so that I would have the chance to form the laws surrounding energy use and the environment. This goal isn’t for me. It’s for my friends, it’s for my family, it’s for the billions of people on earth that I won’t ever meet, and it’s for the billions that will come after me. The young people of my generation have this ripe opportunity to get involved and demand changes. We’ve already started revolutions armed with our convictions and the power of social media; so it’s time to start a new one – A green revolution.

- Leila Choucair

In college, I truly realized my passion for the outdoors. I worked at Camp Glisson for three summers. We spent all but two of the waking hours outside climbing the Alpine Tower or the water tower or zipping over Lake Neil on the zip-line. No central air system matches the cool and refreshing flow of Cane Creek over your feet.

It saddens me to think that more and more of those fantastic creeks and mysterious trees dry up and fall down with urban growth. My corner of Cobb County used to be quiet and blank. It took 20 minutes to get to Wal-Mart or McDonalds but while anticipating the clearing in the trees where the sun’s golden yellow beams danced every morning, the drive felt like an adventure instead of a hassle. I still love to see the deer gathered in the fields near my house or watch the majestic hawks that perch on what trees still exist in Kennesaw, Ga.

Why do I love the outdoors? It gave me imagination and hours of excitement without paying a single dime. No light on earth compares to the sun, and no chill feels better than the moment you jump into a lake.

-Rachel McDaniel

#5 Relieves stress

Anytime I am hounded with schoolwork or trying to take my mind of my future, I can always count on relaxing outside to help me forget about everyone and everything else. I love running outside during the summer with nothing but the grass, the trees and sweat running down my face. For that hour I don’t have to think about a thing.

#4 It’s (mostly) free

Enjoying the sunshine does not come at a cost. I can walk out my back door and sit on my patio at anytime of the day without having to worry about putting a dent in my wallet. Sure, there are parks and other areas that require some sort of fee, but that usually isn’t very much.

#3 Can enjoy it with anyone

There’s nothing better then chilling in a hammock, listening to good music and having your best friend in the next hammock over. You can chat, gossip or guess what animals the clouds are shaped into. It doesn’t even have to be my best friend it could be a stranger and I still would be perfectly okay.

#2 It’s natural

Grand Canyon. Yellowstone. Niagara Falls. Redwood Forest.

Do I even need to say more? This goes into my #1 reason.

#1  It’s absolutely breathtaking

There are many times I will be walking home on a clear blue day and be in complete awe of my surroundings and my walk home is no Grand Canyon. There are beautiful things out there and I am so happy to be completely surrounded by it on a daily basis. Other than friends and family, I can honestly say there is nothing a person needs other than the great outdoors.

-Jade Thomas is a public relations major at the University of Georgia

#5 – If Betty White likes it, then I too like it.

I grew up on the Golden Girls. Literally, I watched it every single day. You could say that Betty is somewhat of a role model to me.

So Betty, thank you for being a friend. 

#4 – It’s the perfect place to read a book.

And no college students, I’m not talking about a Macbook or Facebook. I’m talking, a real, hardcopy book. Printed and bound.

#3 – The fresh air

No matter how much Pine Sol I use, my apartment never has that same smell and feeling as a February afternoon in Georgia.

That’s the power of pine trees baby.

#2 – It’s the best place to exercise

I have never been able to understand why people exercise in a gym. It is literally a room full of sweaty people. No, it does not smell awesome.

The outdoors has so many options—mountain biking, running on a trail, walking down a street, playing tennis and rock climbing, just to name a few. It’s totally free, full of open space and clean air.

#1 – It looks way better than any man-made structure I’ve ever seen

Architects. Don’t get me wrong. I think that people can seriously make some amazing structures. Consider just some of the Seven Wonders of the World—The Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer and the Taj Mahal. These are considered the most beautiful man-made structures of the modern world, and they truly are breathtaking. However, none of these were on the original list of the Seven Wonders of the World. In fact, the only structure of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing today is the Great Pyramid of Giza. Not gonna lie, it is in pretty good condition for its age; however, it is still wearing down and falling apart, and I’m willing to bet it’s not as beautiful as it was the first day it was built. Needless to say, even the most beautiful man-made structures in the world today are going to fall apart, break down and may not even be known 2000 years from now.

Unlike the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon is still looking pretty good, Mount Everest is still standing strong and the Northern Lights are still shining brightly. The Earth has some truly breathtaking sites that are timeless.

What are reasons that you love the great outdoors? Let us know, and always remember to keep living on the wild side!

-Emily Escoe, a public relations student at the University of Georgia

http://appvoices.org/coal-ash-call-in-day/ 

ADDITIONAL POINTS (courtesy of Appalachian Voices)

• S.1751 endangers the health and safety of thousands of communities by preventing the EPA from ever revisiting a federal coal ash rule, even if future evidence shows that coal ash poses an even greater threat.
• S.1751 would allow the construction of coal ash dumps that don’t meet current drinking water standards for arsenic, lead and other pollutants.
• S.1751 will cost American jobs: A recent study by a Tufts University senior economist found that strong coal ash regulations, such as those proposed by the EPA in 2010, would generate 28,000 jobs annually.
• Currently, the cheapest method of coal ash disposal is ponds. Coal ash cannot be recycled once it is wet. S.1751 will prevent the recycling of coal ash by permitting the construction of new containment ponds.
• S.1751 fails to address the current threats. The bill will not phase out dangerous coal ash ponds or prevent another tragedy like the 2008 coal ash spill in Tennessee.
• Living near unlined coal ash ponds increases the likelihood of developing cancer to 1 in 50 – 2,000 times greater than acceptable risk levels

Yesterday, The New York Times released an article about the controversy over fracking, “in which water and toxic chemicals are injected at high pressure into the ground to break up rocks and release the gas trapped there.” Fracking    “occurs thousands of feet below drinking-water aquifers.”

There has been one documented case of a U.S. freshwater well being contaminated by hydrolic fracking. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes there may be more cases, but these cases have usually “lacked sufficient documentation or involved a type of contamination that was outside the scope of the study.”

If you are more of a visual or audio learner, check out “My World’s On Fire (The Fracking Song),” a creative song on Youtube that helps explain the process:

“Congress doesn’t deserve to thump its chest for reaching a debt ceiling compromise on a mess it created,” said William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society.

Click here to read more about what this deal means for our wild places.

I know that many other Americans also flocked to National Monuments and National Parks to commemorate America’s birthday.

In late June, The Wilderness Society encouraged people to get outdoors, recreate, and enjoy the lands that belong to all Americans this Fourth of July. It even provided a sampling of treasured places—some with historical ties to Independence Day—to celebrate our country’s freedom. They included Colorado National Monument, Devils Tower National Monument, Gold Butte, and Mule Cannon Wilderness Study Area.

“People might not realize that there are a lot of historical events that have taken place on public lands across the country,” said Nada Culver, director of The Wilderness Society’s BLM Action Center. “These are spectacular places that belong to all of us, and we hope that many families will make their own memories on these lands and develop stories that can be told for generations to come.”

Where did you celebrate the Fourth of July? If you didn’t make it to a national scenic attraction, why wait for a holiday as an excuse to go? Take your next vacation or weekend getaway to one of America’s public landscapes and tell us about your experience!

-Margaret