Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Happy Poison Ivy

Have you noticed the vigorous and healthy crop of poison ivy that seems to be everywhere again this year? It’s beautiful, with glossy dark green leaves and huge clumps of berries. The ivy is looking better than most of the purchased nursery annuals and perennials that I diligently care for.

It’s all over my yard; flower beds, garden, wrapped around trees, even poking its scary little three leaved clusters into my patio.

The noxious vine has lined every walking path I’ve been on this spring and summer. I’ve seen it climb a tree and spread out so densely that it looks like a tree itself.

The walking path at Alpha Park in Bartonville has it everywhere back by the woods, if you look off the beaten trail. So does the Rock Island Trail, Forest Park, the bicycle path in East Peoria, and down by the Riverfront in Peoria. Your best defense is to be familiar with it, teach your children to recognize it, and keep away from it.

I’m lucky that I’m not very allergic to it. I get a bump or two on occasion, never a big deal. But, I still made a point to learn to identify it, and avoid it just in case.

If you think you’ve never seen poison ivy this severe before, you’re right. It’s a direct byproduct of climate change.

According to USA Today, another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy. The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise. Also, with the warmer air, and the longer growing season, it has a longer time to grow.

A CO2-driven vine also produces more of its rash-causing chemical, urushiol, according to experiments conducted in a forest at Duke University where scientists increased carbon-dioxide levels to those expected in 2050. In addition, poison ivy growth surged some 150 percent in the carbon dioxide-rich forest plots.

Researchers suspect that woody vines, [including poison ivy] are going to multiply rapidly with increased atmospheric levels of CO2.

They don’t have to convince me, but recent studies in temperate and tropical forests already report dramatic increases in these plants.

That’s not news around my house.

Not only are the poison ivy vines a health concern for humans, but the increased growth of woody vines could dramatically alter future forests; for instance, by choking new tree growth. Woody vines can grow over the tops of large trees and shade out juvenile trees.

So, if you think that poison ivy is more prevalent now than when you were a kid, you’re right. If you haven’t noticed, for your own sake, you’d better learn to recognize it.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Let's have Another Cup of Coffee

Ah, that first cup of coffee in the morning is just what my middle aged body needs to get the ‘ol brain and appendages moving. Some folks would say that I’m addicted to caffeine. I plead guilty. I inhaled; then I drank it and poured another.

As a child I said I’d never “do coffee”, but relentless pushers in college beat down my resistance and got me hooked. I continue to feed my habit as a mature adult.

An enabling factor in my addiction is my church. Yes, I’m a Lutheran, and coffee greases the machinery that runs the church. The pots are perking at every function, and on Sunday mornings, there are so many cups and travel mugs attached to hands, they look like part of people’s anatomy.

After learning some disquieting facts about the living conditions of the farmers that produce coffee, and the effect huge commercial plantations have on wildlife, particularly neotropical migrants, our church, like many others is planning to switch to Fair Trade Coffee. As a people with a mandate not to purposely cause harm, to other people or the planet, we need to make the switch.

What is Fair Trade and Shade Grown Coffee?

Even though Americans are the largest consumer of coffee in the world, few realize that coffee agriculture workers often toil in virtual "sweatshops in the fields." Many small farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt.

If the coffee we drink has the certification “Fair Trade”, it assures us that the purchase happened under fair conditions. To become certified, an importer must meet stringent international criteria; paying a minimum price per pound of $1.26, providing credit to farmers, and providing help transitioning to organic farming. For coffee farmers this means community development, health, education, and environmental stewardship.

Also, in the name of the almighty dollar, many corporate coffee farms converted to tree-free, bird barren monocultures in recent years to increase production.
The coffee plant evolved in Africa under the rainforest canopy and grows best in the shade. A traditional shade grown coffee farm can provide habitat not only to birds, but many varied forms of wildlife. As many farms turn into monotonous rows of intensely managed shrubs, they become wastelands that are devastating to wildlife.
Neotropical migrants, otherwise known as our familiar summer songbirds, depend on the rainforest to survive. They breed in the habitat and backyards of North America and then migrate south for the winter.

Some birds affected by the deforestation for coffee plantations that you may recognize are: Sharp-shinned and Broad winged Hawks, American Kestrels, Nighthawks, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, various vireos, swallows, warblers, tanagers, Indigo Buntings, Western Kingbirds, and Baltimore Orioles.

If a coffee has a “Shade Grown” designation it’s certified better for the environment.
Many outlets in Central Illinois sell both Fair Trade and Shade Grown coffee, and though it’s more expensive in some cases, you can find it at reasonable prices at many retailers, including, if you must, Sam’s Clubs. My personal opinion is that it tastes better.

So, I still plan on enjoying my coffee, but I’ll try to be a good steward of the planet and its people while sipping. It’ll go down smoother.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Happy Father's Day

Sonora Dodd, of Washington, thought of the first "Father's Day" while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

She wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran. Her mother died while giving birth to their sixth child, and left him to raise the newborn and five other children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington State.

Sonora appreciated the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

Mr. Smart’s birthday was in June, so Sonora chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Then in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Once, an educator friend of mine told me of a young male student strutting around the school and bragging that he was about to become a father, and there was “nothing to it”. He planned no involvement with the child, ‘cause he had already done the “important” part.

But, had he?

Is contributing your DNA to the procreation process the most significant part of being a father? Fatherhood, as a vocation, goes far deeper and is more complicated than just being involved in the conception.

Fathers come in many in many different packages: biological, adoptive, stepfathers, grandpas. Many non-traditional extended families have father figures that are uncles, brothers, Godfathers, or friends. Let’s face it, with fertility clinics; women don’t even need a partner to conceive any more.

So, what makes a man a real father? I know I have precious memories of my own dad that are special and help color my picture of what makes a father “real”. I’ll share just a few.

A Father Is Someone Who:

• Carries you into the house and puts you to bed when you fall asleep in the car.

• Gets dressed and goes searching for an all night grocery store at 1:00 AM because you’re throwing up and want some 7UP.

• Notices that you’re upset because everyone but you caught a fish on a camping trip. He sends you back to the camper to get him a cold drink while he watches your pole, then calls for you to hurry back because a fish bit your hook as soon as you left. It’s a small one (and sort of looks like one of the blue gills that were on his stringer) but you’re still happy.

• Firmly believes that no boy alive is good enough to date you, but is nice to your boyfriends anyway.

• Takes your training wheels off your bike because you want to ride like the big kids, then has to run beside you all afternoon until you get the hang of it.

• Drives you from the family campsite all the way to church for confirmation classes every Saturday because he doesn’t want you to miss class.

I hope my ramblings have sparked some memories of your own dad. If you’re lucky enough to have a “real” father and he’s still around, be sure to give him a big hug, and tell him why he’s special.

Happy Father’s Day!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

HUMMINGBIRD WARS


My husband and I have six bird feeders, three birdbaths, and seven hummingbird feeders on our property, but at this time of year the hummingbird feeders are the hot spots in our yard.

The feisty little flying jewels are everywhere. They buzz past our heads in raucous pursuit of one another, just missing us by inches as we’re outside enjoying our yard. They squeak as they suck down the sweet mixture in the feeders, fattening back up after their long trip north.

But, mostly they fight. They guard their food sources jealously, and face off all interlopers with all the spirit and bravery of a much larger creature. They fight with each other, bees, wasps, and other birds. Those tiny bodies seem to have no room for fear.

I once saw a hummingbird chasing an American Kestrel falcon across our backyard, all-abuzz with self-righteous indignation.

We often look at them and think that they could build up those all-important fat reserves faster if they didn’t spend so much time brawling. It seems like they expend more energy flying around like miniature demolition derby drivers than they’re getting from the syrup. There are plenty of feeders to go around and enough nectar for everyone, if they’d only learn to share. Every feeder could hold a couple hummers at a time, and they all could drink their fill.

That’s not how the petite pugilists see it. Instead of living in harmony, each bird feels the need to claim all the resources, and to burn up precious energy guarding them.

We laugh and shake our heads at how silly these little creatures are, but seriously, are humans any different?

The planet is big enough for everyone to live on in harmony, practice their religions and lifestyles, and share its vast assets. Instead, some hoard resources, guarding them jealously. Others brawl every chance they get, burning up more capital than they receive.

We squeak and squawk at each other, threaten and posture. We’re paranoid, territorial, and aggressive.

As the top of the food chain, and as an enlightened species, one would hope that maybe we had evolved beyond that kind of “law of the jungle” nonsense, and were a little more civilized than a hummingbird. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure.