According to the London Daily Telegraph Italy and Switzerland have agreed to redraw their borders because the Alpine glaciers that have marked their respective boundaries since 1861 are melting.  Global warming strikes again!

In Dave Matthews Band’s continued effort to give back and support charities worldwide, they've forged a relationship with TOMS Shoes. TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. Since their beginning in May 2006, TOMS has given over 140,000 pairs of shoes to children in need .


Because of their growing support, TOMS plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009. Dave Matthews was so inspired by TOMS work that he got involved and has created his own limited-edition vegan friendly design for TOMS that is now  offered in the official DMB store.

I'm saddened by the passing of Fr. Thomas Berry  - November 1914 - June 2009, Catholic priest and Ecotheologian

“The universe, the solar system, and planet earth in themselves and in their evolutionary emergence constitute for the human community the primary revelation of that ultimate mystery whence all things emerge into being.”

His books included The Dream of the Earth and The Universe Story.

What could be better than a book and summer adventure?  You might be exploring a seaside beach or a national park, or maybe hiking in a desert canyon.   Maybe you'll turn your eyes upward  and see a meteor flash across the night sky.  Whether you want to accompany your summer adventure with a good book or explore from the comfort of your own hammock I've got a list for you!


Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau - by Jennifer Berne

Read about the curious little boy who became one of the most beloved and celebrated oceanographers of our time.







Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature's Footprints by Jim Arnosky



A great beginning field guide for summer explorations!  Readable text and beautiful pictures make this a great book.








Wave by Suzy Lee


 Sometimes you don't need words!  This gorgeous, wordless picture book tells the story of a little girl's visit to the beach with beautiful illustrations. A wonderful book to tuck into your beachbag or enjoy before a first visit.  







Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock and illustrated by Carolyn Conahan


I picked this one up at BEA in May.  A unique premise, well-researched, beautiful illustrations!  This is a very kid-friendly nonfiction book - one that I wish I had written!  Great job, Fiona!

It's June - National Rivers Month.  To celebrate organizations all over the country are sponsoring clean up days at their local rivers. 

There are hundreds of cleanups going on this month, including the one just completed on the James River.

Congratulations to the 1,000 volunteers who worked for four hours to clean a 70-mile stetch of the James River.  They collected 479 large bags of trash and 321 bags of recyclables. This was the 10th Annual James River Cleanup! 

I highlighted Riverkeeper Chuck Frederickson in River Wild.  Chuck  is the Lower James Riverkeeper and monitors the tidal portion of the James, from the fall line in Richmond to the river's mouth in the Chesapeake Bay.

Find out more about the James River at

So sad to miss the Author's Corner during the World Science Festival in NYC this weekend.  Here's the link: http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2009/authors-corner
 
It's just one event in a great lineup of activities.  If you are near the city this weekend - head on over.

Itching to write.... but find all my time this week is being spent preparing for my two presentations next week at the World Environmental Education Congress in Montreal and a booksigning there.

Hoping to find time to squeeze in some research for my WIP while I'm there and I'm definitely going to enjoy meeting people from all over the world dedicated to educating kids on the environment. 

What's left before summer can really begin for me?  One more school visit and a children's book festival....then it's just summer and writing!  Well, until I teach that photography workshop for teens in August!

Happy Earth Day!  I'm off to the MED Elementary to celebrate! 

"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out til sunset, for going out, I found I was really going in." 
                                                   ~John Muir


Check out the Sierra Club's page on John Muir! 

John Muir 1838-1914  Wilderness explorer, Sierra Club's first president , conservationist and naturalist.  Hero!

My afterschool group for 4th and 5th graders - Project Green - will be meeting for the last time today.  We've had a great time.  We spent three weeks at the local libary as our base making nature journals, hiking, and taking photographs, and the last couple of weeks at the local community center making recycled paper and doing our eco action project. The kids decided to jump on National Geographic Kids' denim drive.  They made posters and collected denim to send to Cotton. From Blue to Green.   For every 500 pairs of jeans collected 1,000 pounds of cotton can be transformed into 1,660 square feet of insulation - enough for one house!   I'm anxious to see how many pairs we have collected and will ship out today.  Kids can make a difference!




Earth Day Everyday

 Tomorrow is Earth Day.  It's a great time to celebrate our planet, but I would rather think of it as a way to kick off our year long celebration.  Earth Day Everyday!  We have so much to be in awe of on our planet.  It is a glorious place with ocean cliffs and beaches, mountains that touch the clouds, and streams that meander through flowered meadows.  There is so much to celebrate.  We can marvel at the speed of a hummingbird's wings and swoon at the sight of a whale tale in the waves. 

Earth Day tends to focus on what we need to do to keep our planet green - and you know how strongly I subscribe to these actions - but we should also remember to take pause and celebrate the beauty around us - the spring flowers, the evening sunset, and the spring peeper's symphony.  It brings purpose to our actions and meaning to our life.

So tomorrow, evaluate yourself and how you are communing with this planet.  Set some time aside to read the writings of our great naturalists, John Burroughs, Rachel Carson or Henry David Thoreau, and then admire the new bloom in the garden and the smell of spring in the air.  Of course, while you are out there, remember to carry a reusable water bottle! 



Earth Day Everyday!

Keeping Our Earth Green

Thanks, Leslie at FrugalWAHMProductReviews for the nice review of Keeping Our Earth Green! 
 

Green publishing - How terrific is this? 

According to the Associated Press, the Book Industry Environmental Council hopes to reduce the US book publishing industry's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent as of 2020 (and 80 percent by 2050). They estimate meeting the 2020 goal will save "the equivalent annual emissions of approximately 450,000 cars."

Kudos to Random House for chairing the Council.  Together with the nonprofit Green Press Initiative, the Council says its 40 members comprise over 60 percent of book publishing market share.  Let's encourage our publishers to join on to this!  Publishers can send an email to Erin Johnson to express their interest.

The organization is also working on "the development of a green publisher certification program" to "measure and certify leading publishers' environmental performance and require the elimination of "virtually all fiber coming from Endangered Forests or areas of social conflict." 

Wednesday is Earth Day!  Check out these two sites to get you started.

National Education Week   Lots of teacher resources for Earth Day activities. 

Earth Day Network   Submit your Earth Day events!  It's not too late!  Find an event near you!

 

Not to miss if you are near Oyster Bay!


Sunday, April 26, 2009 – John James Audubon’s Birthday Party!

1:00-3:00pm, All ages

Held at theTheodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center

134 Cove Road, Oyster Bay, NY 11771

For more information: (516) 922-3200 or [email protected]

Join friends and neighbors in celebrating Audubon’s 224^th birthday with a mix of interactive and educational activities certain to entertain the whole family.  This event will showcase the Sanctuary’s customizable birthday party packages which are now available to the public.  Featured activities will include storytelling, arts & craft projects, live animals on display, a birthday cake commemorating the guest of honor, and nature walks guided by John James Audubon himself.  Guests can also view prints from Audubon’s famous “Birds of America” collection on exhibit in the Sanctuary’s Nature Center and try their hand at creating their own bird sketches

Scientists have discovered a new fish in the waters off Indonesia - "Psychedelica".  The fish doesn't glide along the waters like other fish - it hops!  It also lives up to its name with tan and peach stripes curving all around its round body. 

Lots of things may get covered up or uncovered near LA's La Brea tar pits, but the find this week was definitely one for the record books.  A nearly intact skeleton of a Columbian mammoth was uncovered by paleontologists at Los Angeles' George C. Page Museum.  The mammoth has been nicknamed"Zed."

A carnivorous sea squirt resembling a Venus-fly trap was discovered in the deep waters near Australia, along with two other new species of ocean life by Caltech scientists.

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."  Andre Gide

It's the birthday of Ansel Adams - my favorite photographer, champion of Yosemite, Sierra Club Board member!  He is my hero!!!

Ansel Adams 1902-1984

For more - read Beverly Gherman's book: Ansel Adams: America's Photographer

Naturally speaking in the news this week:


The Evangelist:  Roman Catholic Bishop Erwin Krautler of Xingu serves Mass each week with two alter servers and two police officers at his side.   The Bishop, like so many other Catholic bishops, is on the front line of an environmental battle. The threats against him have escalated and yet, he continues to fight the good fight for the Amazon and its people against the farmers and loggers of Brazil.  Wishing him well and strength to continue.

Pluto's 75!!! Happy Birthday to our former 9th planet!  It was on February 18, 1930 that Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh!  The planet was named by eleven-year-old Venetia Burney from Oxford England and in 2006 knocked off our planet roster by the International Astronomical Union.  Read more in Leap Into Space.

A pet chimpanzee attacked a woman in Connecticut this week.  The 911 calls were horrific. If you haven't heard about it you must be living under a rock.  Well, if it mystifies and horrifies you as much as it did me then take a look at Scientific American for information on why such an attack would occur.   Wild creatures are meant to remain in the wild - not in our homes!

The stimulus bill will be signed by President Obama on Tuesday.   He will not sign the bill in Washington, D.C., but instead, he will fly to Denver to sign it there.   

Here are the problems I have with all this --

After just watching a plane go down in Buffalo, NY, by what is believed to be ice-buld-up, is it wise for President Obama to fly unnecessarily?  He just flew to Chicago this weekend.  That's two trips this week.

Also - is it the "green" thing to do?  The plan is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.  Does this work toward that goal? 

Does it make sense for our government to spend money like this at this time ?  

I'm thinking this is what TV is for....


 

Check out tonight's Venus light. 

Unlike moonlight or sunlight, Venus light provides a crisp, clean shadow that you can see after dusk.  Tonight is the perfect night.  Make sure to find a place with some snow cover and a dark sky.  Stand outside and take a look at your shadow.  Cool, huh?

Book Review - Ringside, 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial

How many of us remember learning about the Scopes Trail in our social studies class? It was one of the most controversial trials in American history; J.T. Scopes, a high school teacher, was arrested for teaching evolution in his classroom. I must admit, I didn’t remember much else about the trial. 

     Now enters author, Jen Bryant, who not only decided on presenting this trial in a young adult format, but also courageously set out to write it in verse.   Ringside, 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial effectively informs readers while holding its own as a great read. Bryant’s verses provide perspectives of the trial from students, townspeople and reporters. She gives us a taste of 1925 America, specifically Dayton, Tennessee.  

All year long, from Montreal to Manhattan, events are happening to celebrate the Quadricentennial. 

It commemorates Henry Hudson's voyage up the river bearing his name and Samuel Champlain's first voyage on the lake bearing his name. It's also the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton's steamship, the Clermont, which sailed on the Hudson River. 

As the author of River Wild, I will be speaking throughout the year, but I also wanted to highlight two other books that focus on the Hudson River - Hudson: The Story Of A River by Robert Baron and Thomas Locker and  River of Dreams by Hudson Talbott.   Pick up a book and take a closer look at the river.  They offer a wonderful view of this magnificent river, my river.   Yes, I know it is presumptuous of me to call it my river, but I grew up beside the river.  I'm a Hudson Valley girl, through and through! 

Join in the celebration this year.  It began at the Knickerbocker Ice Festival on a bitter cold day and will continue with activies throughout the year.  

Here's a look at the Ice Festival.



Rockland Lake - photo by N. Castaldo


Ice Sculpture of the Henry Hudson's ship - The Half Moon - photo N. Castaldo



Explore NY 400

So many students have asked me where I get ideas for my books.  I explain to them how I'm inspired by so many things in life - a visit to a new place, a news item, a photograph - but sometimes these interests start young.  They are already in us just waiting to be called up again. 

I spent today making my house ready for the holidays - putting Santas on the mantle, snowmen in the dining room and the Nativity on living room mantle.  I also decided that it was time again to clean my office.  There were too many piles on the floor - too many books, too many magazines, too much of everything.  I need to enter the new year tidy, fresh and clean.   Well, at least not chaotic....

In the midst of cleaning I opened up a box I had in here since my parents moved months ago.  It held a bunch of old schoolwork and photos from the very early days... There were reading workbooks and many early reports.  Like so many authors I loved writing school reports.  It was a chance to write about what I was interested in.  I had fun pouring over those early works and then I came across one I just had to share. 

The Sun - an early work by Nancy Fusco (I will bypass the year, but you can tell roughly by the wonderful construction paper cover)



Check out the table of contents and the teacher comments  (Perhaps I should have passed this on to my editor before I gave her the completed manuscript for Leap Into Space)

   And as you can see my talent for illustration hasn't really improved much...
 

And lastly, my wordy conclusion......


I hadn't even remembered writing this, but it all came back to me when I opened that cover page.  An early interest....a recent book..... sometimes these interests stay with us and pop out again when the time is right.

Ecological damage has the greatest impact on the world's poor.

Just take a look at Honduras. Honduran Bishop Luis Santos wants to see humane, sustainable development in his country. His parish is suffering. Like many of our clergy in developing countries, he has found himself on the frontlines of our environmental crisis. Honduras is mountainous and the water sources are in the same mountains as gold mines that incorporate cyanide in the extraction. After his city's water was contaminated, Bishop Santos took on the law himself. The priest is fighting for the literal survival of his parish and regularly receives threats against his life.


There are many stories like the one in Honduras, but they key is to remember that everyone can make a difference in keeping our Earth green and fighting for people unable to fight for themselves. We can do this easily by supporting fair trade, shopping for "green" flowers at the florist, and avoiding some of our own excesses.

This post is part of Blog Action Day


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As a photographer, sceince geek and lover of all things National Geographic, I was totally blown away by National Geographic's Best Science Images from 2008.  Of course, I feel that since 2008 isn't officially over it may be rushing it a bit, but these are definitely worth the honors!   

     The first shot is of tiny green diatoms that create a fern like appearance in their marine environment.  OK, here's the science geek speaking now -- I am particularly enthralled with this because I spent a good part of one of my college photography classes photographing diatoms under a microscope.   They are always different and very cool to me! 

     The following photos were also captivating, including a look at squid suckers, string vibrations, and an amazing look at the human bloodstream.   Scientists and art - a perfect combination!