Hiatus

Nearly every writer I know has a blog that looks like a yo-yo. The posts come regularly for a while and then fizzle out for weeks or months at a time. Mine is no exception, and it’s about to fizzle! 🙂

The fizzle is for the best reasons–I have a few book projects heating up. But when the deadlines start flying, it’s hard to manage regular website and social media updates.

I’ll still be popping up on social media now and then. In the meantime, if you’re looking for great science news, I suggest the following sites:

Reach out through the “Contact Me” page if you need anything. Have a wonderful summer. I’ll see you on the other side!

Earth Day is 50!

One small action–provide food for wildlife in your yard.

Happy Earth Day! Time for true confessions—even though I had the privilege of writing EARTH DAY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT, I don’t usually celebrate Earth Day. The truth is I’m bad at holidays in general. I love them; I’m just terribly inconsistent with my commemorations.

I also don’t own a hybrid, can’t afford much organic food, and occasionally throw away something I could recycle because it’s just been one of those days. And you know what—that’s okay! I am leery of anyone holding people to a “purity test” over their personal practices. Yes, we should take the environment—which includes our own homes and communities—seriously. But there is not one way to take care of the earth.

People celebrated the first Earth Day many different ways as well. Some were simple—thousands of participants picked up trash and cleaned up stream banks. Others were artistic—concerts, plays, and recycled art. A few were downright outlandish, like the “die-in” held at Boston’s Logan Airport and the “Dead Orange Parade” in Miami.

Click on image to go to the Lerner Publishing website.

At the end of EARTH DAY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT, I offered suggestions for readers on how to take action to save the planet. The first and most important action is this—vote! Voting is the single most important collective action we can take in this country. Support office-seekers who share your aspirations for a better, safer, healthier planet. Don’t assume their position based on party–find out where they stand on the issues.

What about all the other things we do in our personal lives to make a difference? I concluded the book with this line: “ . . . as one vote added to another added to another makes all the difference, so, too, does one action added to another action. Do one thing. Do it often. Share it with others. Because doing something small is always better than doing nothing.”