Happy Thanksgiving 2019 - Thankful for the Rain and Snow in Southern California Today!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

This Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2019 was a little different in the High Desert of Southern California where I live!  I woke up to a lawn and yard covered in that white stuff - SNOW!!!

Actually, I was thrilled!  

We need precipitation in Southern California - the forecast was for rain, but I had heard on the news Tuesday night that the snow level could drop to the 2000 foot level in Southern California -- and according to the NOAA, where I live in Quartz Hill is at the Elevation of 2513 ft.! ~~~ I figure that if we are getting this much snow, that the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernadino Mountains of Southern California will have 1-2 feet of snow -- and snowpack this winter --- and also that the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, which is a major indicator for the whole state of California will have some feet of snow -- and good snowpack for this winter, which makes me shout WooHoo!!!

It is about 8 PM -- and my yard is still white - covered with snow - and can't but wonder how long it will last.  The NOAA forecast for my location tonight is for a low of 32 - with Wind Chill Factor Factors at 20 - so I expect I will wake up to some snow Friday Morning with the Wind Chill Factor below freezing until 11AM or Noon - but with a high of 44, it may all be melted by Friday afternoon.

Decided I had to take some pictures of my yard - front and back - so, here they are!

This is my Back Yard today -- Behind my building where I live is a little Urban Forest that I love!

-- And I took a closeup of the tree in the right of the above photo to clearly show the snow on the branches:

My building (not the one showing in the photo - it is the building to the right) has an Apple Tree (where I picked Apples this late Summer/Fall) - and here it is covered with Snow!!!

And here is the Pine Tree right in front of my apartment - with snow on it:

And -- it snowed on my Rosemary Plant in my little container garden in my assigned Flower bed outside my apartment!!!  Got this photo, but it is a little blurry -- I did not want to go out waking in the snow, so I took the picture through my apartment window (the grid showing over the photo I think is the window glass registering on my photo).  I think the snow is very good for it, as it is an Evergreen Leaf Plant -- and it is a Mediterranean climate plant - and that climate has wet winters - so  this snow is good for the ecosystem I live in - including for the Biodiversity here!!!  (Forests here in California are in the California Floristic Province, a Biodiversity Hotspot !)

So, I am very Happy this Thanksgiving - I'm enjoying staying home and watching the snow - and snow fall outside my apartment!!!

I Agree - No Pebble Mine in Alaska! See A Video!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
--- For RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately


I have been reading about the proposed "Pebble Mine" in Alaska for years now.  Right away I was against it, but then I heard about it from Conservation Photographer, Robert Glenn Ketchum -- and have seen a number of his stunning photographs of the area in which they are proposing to put such a Mine.

See Robert Glenn Ketchum's Blog Series about Stopping the Pebble Mine here: http://rbtglennketchum.blogspot.com/search/label/BLOG%20%27No%20Pebble%20Mine%27

I have never made it to Alaska - though I thought about it years ago, but Robert Glenn Ketchum has spent time in Alaska - I first got his book about the Tongass National Forest and his activism there years ago - see his blog series on that here:  http://rbtglennketchum.blogspot.com/search/label/BLOG%20%27Tongass%20National%20Forest%27


Here is a Video from the NRDC - National Resource Defense Council - an effective environmental group I really got familiar with during the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign (now Sierra Forest Legacy ) back in the late 1990's - early 2000's in California - as they were a major legal force in that campaign - including the Giant Sequoia National Monument Public Process, which I blogged about years ago .

But This is a Video about another major issue the NRDC is a major legal force on - the proposed "Pebble Mine" - and this Video deals with a major problem with the proposed "Pebble Mine" in Alaska - major Earthquake Problems, as the area in which they propose to put the mine has high seismic activity, which I read about somewhere years ago.  I, personally, totally agree with the NRDC and Robert Glenn Ketchum on stopping the "Pebble Mine" totally - as I think it would be total folly to create such a mine - for a whole lot of reasons at this point - and reading what the NRDC and Robert Glenn Ketchum have to say about it the best thing you can do (I am not going to try to re-say what they have said much better than I ever could). 

You also might want to follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Facebook Page, "No Pebble Mine":  https://www.facebook.com/pg/NoPebbleMine.photos/posts/

There is also a webpage on the NRDC website with all kinds of information on what has gone on with the battle to save Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine with its 50 Million+ wild fish in the runs there annually - world's greatest wild salmon fishery!!
Stop the Pebble Mine:  https://www.nrdc.org/stop-pebble-mine-save-bristol-bay

But right now, I recommend you watch this video for some accurate information about this major problem with the proposed "Pebble Mine" - get a good idea why it should not be done from this video - and If you feel like doing some Activism - there is a link at the end of the description of the video to a page at NRDC for sending a comment letter. -- I already sent a comment letter there myself.

I think the already existing, high successful Alaskan Salmon Fishery, which is where the "Pebble Mine" is proposed, is much more important than the proposed damaging open pit mine for more Gold and Copper, which I think we can live without.

Watch this Video!!!

Love Animals! See Wild Eagle Nest Live Cam from Big Bear in California

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

With my Love of Animals - Both Wildlife and Pets - if you have read anything I have written about that online, you will understand how much I LOVE this Live Cam of a Wild Bald Eagle Nest in Big Bear, California!!!

It is on You Tube:  https://youtu.be/5b2dUgK6VV4  

I have watched it several times since discovering it - with the Eagles doing different things.

You can check it at any time!

I live in the Antelope Valley - southwest of Big Bear and on the southern side / slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains - and a few times, when walking in the fields in Pearblossom - I was sure that I saw either an Eagle or Falcon or other such large bird way up in the sky - I figured that those large birds probably lived in caverns or trees in the Mountains.

But this is the first confirmation I got of Eagles living in and nesting in the Mountains of Southern California - Big Bear, California, where this Eagle Nest is - is in the San Bernadino Mountains - east of the San Gabriel Mountains, where I live.  I spent a week one December winter years and years ago in Big Bear - nice any time of year with a very nice drive up to there - but in mid-winter, like December, it is often covered in snow -- it was that week I was there.  

Apparently, if it is snowing, you can sometimes see it snowing on this Eagles Nest - since it is Live.

I tend to reflect the things I love in Life in my Arts and Crafts - here is a White Eagle I crocheted years ago in Filet Crochet (it sold, too)!

And here are a few more Filet Crochet pieces of Animals that I have made:

Thankful, But Terribly Worried this Thanksgiving - As Some Are "Blind To The Truth"

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

As this Thanksgiving was approaching - and the day finally came - I was thinking of all the things I am actually very grateful and Thankful for - But I can't help but also being Terribly Worried with some current events.

Big On Loving Nature - and Very Inspired By Nature - different things going on in Life tend to have a huge effect on me.

Going into all of them would take way too much more than one blog post - but, if you are curious you can check the "Nature" Label here on my blog for some that I have done blog posts on!

The most recent event affecting me has been the "Woolsey Fire", and the one thing I am so-o-o Thankful for today was to check that link - and find that it has finally been 100% contained.  The "Woolsey Fire" has been burning in my favorite area of the Santa Monica Mountains mostly - West of Kanan Dune Road to the Los Angeles County Line.  Boy, I have spent so many moments there since the 1980's that I cannot remember how many times - and my favorite hiking place in the Santa Monica Mountains, "Nicholas Flats" is in the "Woolsey Fire" area - and still Evacuated per today's Woolsey Fire Evacuation Map.  Also, still don't know the cause - the fire started over in Simi Valley and somehow ended up blowing all the way to the Santa Monica Mountains and some Coastal Areas.

So, Terribly Worried!!  Just Thankful that they got the "Woolsey Fire" contained - and I hope all the "hot spots" out.  With all the fires in California in forests I love - and having met Fire and Fuel Specialists and Firefighters when going to National Forest Meetings around California - I have learned much more than I ever would have thought I would about fire behavior and the forests of California.

But as a Nature Photography friend of mine said - the Santa Monica Mountains will recover - hopefully naturally regenerate where it burned - and after the Winter/Spring Rains, we may have a wildly beautiful show of wildflowers throughout the "Woolsey Fire" area!  (Got to look for something good in it all - NATURE REGENERATING!)

And speaking of Music I am Thankful for -- having been reading articles - and news about things - what really kept coming to my mind was something Singer/Songwriter Dan Fogelberg wrote a song about years ago.  Like I have mentioned in earlier blog posts - I knew him and his songwriting from our College Days at the University of Illinois - and I followed a lot of the Music he put on albums - and one of his songs on his album "The Wild Places" was something I could so, so, so identify and agree with - to the point that I borrowed his song title for this blog post:  "Blind To The Truth".

I noticed it in College -- and I found it true all throughout his albums - Dan Fogelberg had a way of reaching people with his lyrics and music.

For me, his song "Blind To The Truth" really "hit the nail on the head"!!

I am going to finish the blog post by quoting the last verse and ending Chorus of the song, "Blind To The Truth" - but you can see the full lyrics at "The Wild Places" on Dan Fogelberg's official website.

I agree with him:  

"Now there's laws that we must live by and they're not the laws of man
Can't you see the shadow that moves across this land
The future is upon us and there's so much we must do
And you know I can't ignore it and my friend neither can you"

"Unless you're...
Blind to the truth, blind to the truth
And you can't see nothin'
You're so blind to the truth, blind to the truth
But the judgment day is coming"

FOLKS!  We Really Can't Ignore It - There is So Much We Must Do! 

More Clean Energy - Solar and Wind, Leave Tar Sands in The Ground and No Tar Sands Pipelines

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber

Anyone who has read much of what I have written publicly has come across my writings about my Love of Nature and my concern about this planet, Earth, which is the foundation of writing this blog post.

I am really, really, really concerned about the development of the Tar Sands Oil in Canada and I have been reading about it on and off for years ... and with recent events I went back to reading about it - including some Science articles, all of which I will link to at the end.

Personally, after reading multiple articles from the NRDC to Scientific American to the National  Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicines - and information concerning the Ogallala Acquifer - I am firmly and irrevocably opposed to such pipelines as the Keystone XL (Tar Sands) and the Dakota Access (Fracked Oil).

I am on the email list for 350.org - and I would like to  quote from an email I got from Duncan Meisel  at 350.org on Jan. 25th, 2017 (along with a lot of other people on their email list), because of the truths in it, which I think everyone should know!

Quote:

Here's what you need to know about Trump's actions on Tuesday:

• He did *not* approve Keystone XL or Dakota Access. He briefly succeeded in confusing a lot of people on this point (including me, I will admit).

• On Dakota Access, he told the Army Corps of Engineers that the pipeline is in our "national interest" and told them to "consider" revoking the environmental review placed on it by the Obama Administration.

• On Keystone XL, he invited TransCanada to re-apply and if they do, mandated a final decision on the pipeline within 60 days and waived input from environmental agencies.

• And when TransCanada does re-apply, they no longer have permits in Nebraska, and their permits in South Dakota are being challenged.

• Trump also placed conditions on approval of the pipelines -- like limiting oil exports, and determining where the steel comes from -- that the oil companies might not accept.

I also think people should speak up, which is why I am writing this blog post.

I also, based on years of experiences, am firmly aware that there will be differences between people.

I am actually opposed not only to the "Tar Sands Pipelines" - you see, based on the facts I have read about the Extraction of Tar Sands and the Risks of doing it including, it looks like to me, huge destruction to an Ecologically Significant Boreal Forest Ecosystem in Canada - as well as disruption of critical carbon reservoirs and release of all kinds of greenhouse emissions in developing oil from the tar sands -- I think, in terms of  both short term and long term evaluation, it would be much better to just leave the Tar Sands in the forest!!!  

( Reference:  Page 5 of  https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/tarsandssafetyrisks.pdf  )

And I read several different references concerning the Risks of Tar Sands Pipeline and their leaking, which is very likely apparently as every one built and put into service to this date seems to have leaks and accidents in excess of what the company running them estimates.

I am familiar with the Kalamazoo River area in Michigan where the 2010 Tar Sands Oil Spill occurred - and was horrified about it.

How many Tar Sands Oil Spills, which are poisonous, can we endure???

Also - both the Keystone XL Pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline go through areas over the Ogallala Acquifer - a huge source of water for our USA High Plains - and even though there are differing opinions on how Oil Pipeline leaks might get into and pollute the Ogallala Acquifer and how much of it would be affected - I sincerely doubt we should take the risk.  Remember ---

"Once depleted, the aquifer will take over 6,000 years to replenish naturally through rainfall" --- Quote from:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer 

So -- lets encourage growth of Solar and Wind as Energy Sources.

Lets leave the Tar Sands in Canada in the ground and stop destruction to Canada's Boreal Forest -- and no more Tar Sands Pipelines - especially like the Keystone XL - or Fracked Oil Pipelines like the Dakota Access - running through the Heartland of the USA.

References:

NoKXL NoDAPL Pipeline Pledge - Join the Pledge of Resistance:

http://act.350.org/sign/nokxl-nodapl-pipeline-pledge

Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks:
https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/tarsandssafetyrisks.pdf

NRDC Report:  Keystone XL Pipeline more of an economic liability than benefit:

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/danielle-droitsch/report-keystone-xl-tar-sands-pipeline-more-economic-liability-benefit

Scientific American - How Much Will Tar Sands Oil Add To Global Warming:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tar-sands-and-keystone-xl-pipeline-impact-on-global-warming/

Scientific American - The Ogallala Acquifer: Saving a Vital U.S. Water Source:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ogallala-aquifer/

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicines Project Pipeline Transportation of Diluted Bitumen:

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49461

Wikipedia - The Ogallala Acquifer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer

Feeding the Little Birds - Spring 2016

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Bonanza Booth or my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

I've had this Bird Feeder for years - the one pictured above.  That picture was one taken at the place I lived at 2001-2012 in the Antelope Valley of Southern California, but I still have it where I live now in another place - also with Trees and Birds.

Something funny happened yesterday and today, so I thought I would share it.

I periodically fill the Bird Feeder with Wild Bird Seed - it takes a varying amount of time for the birds to find it - and eat it.  In the picture about there are 5 birds around it - if you notice, it is a Smaller Bird Feeder and they are all Small Birds - which is part of my point today!

Yesterday I filled the Bird Feeder up to the top - sometime mid-morning.  A few hours later I checked and low-and-behold, I could see some of the birds had gotten to it because a noticeable amount of the bird seed was gone!

Then this afternoon, I took another look - boy - the Bird Feeder looked totally empty!!  So, this evening, I filled it again!!

*************************************

You see, where I live now - there are a lot of Trees and Bushes over about 65 acres and around low, mostly ranch-style buildings.

And - there are Lots and Lots of Birds -- All Sizes and Lots of different Kinds it seems to me.  But one thing that is very noticeable - is that there are Lots and Lots of Ravens - since moving here, I have said some times that "the Ravens Rule the Skies here"!!

Someone I know who runs an environmental group and who I have mentioned on my blog before, John Buckley of Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center wrote an interesting article on their website:

http://www.cserc.org/news/like-humans-ravens-can-cause-major-impacts-ecosystem/

I was surprised to see his article - but I understand his points in it - I find the Ravens here where I live to be very bold - they sometimes whoosh by me very close to my head as I walk through the trees - and they are exceedingly vocal at times!!  I actually like the Ravens, but John Buckley's article drew my attention to the problem between them and the Smaller Birds, which I also like very much - so-o-o-o ---

---- I realized that my relatively Smaller Bird Feeder was a way I could contribute to the survival of the Smaller Birds - my Bird Feeder is way too small for Ravens - and they do not come to feed on it, but Yesterday and Today - I saw and heard a whole bunch of  the Smaller Birds around here - around my little Bird Feeder!!

I have never seen the Ravens around here attacking a Smaller Bird's nest like John Buckley describes in his article - nor eating other smaller animals either -- I just usually see them flying around - or sitting around in trees or on the ground - or even walking around in the grass (what there is of it these days LOL) - very often pecking at something on the ground.  

Most of the Ravens around here seem very fat and satisfied.  I do not feed the Ravens at all - I don't know where they grab their food -, except for the seeds and whatever they find on the ground -- they don't particularly hang around the closed garbage cans on our 65 acres - but I am sure they are getting food somewhere .... but I am now on a Mission to make it easier for the Smaller Birds where I live to get food - my Bird Feeder!!

I have always loved watching birds - ever since I was a little girl, though I am not a real "Bird Watcher" with binoculars and all - I just like to watch them when I am around ... just the other day I noticed a lot of cheeping coming from this Big Bush at the corner of the building I live in -- this bush  is really big and thick - and I strongly suspect that there is a bird's nest in there - it is a rather thick bush, but not the kind Ravens sit on - and thick enough, I think, that the Ravens may not be able to get at that nest - at least I hope they won't!

Every so often I Crochet something with a Bird in it - in fact, one of my current "works-in-progress" is a rather large Filet Crochet picture of "Birds Nesting" (little ones by the way)!!  Here are some photos of completed Handmade projects of mine with Birds:

Bird of Peace

Proud Rooster by Ruth Sandra Sperling - RSS Designs In Fiber

Red Cardinal On A Branch

Lovebird In A Heart

Filet Crochet of an Eagle - Sold mid-2000's

With My Lifelong Love of Nature - Every Day Is Earth Day

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Get My Handmade in my Bonanza Booth or my Etsy Shop -- or Privately

My "Avatar" or Identifying Icon - A Crochet Tapestry of Nature on Earth!

So-o-o .............. It's Earth Day!!

Well, I'll tell you - it sure is glad to see that there is Worldwide acknowledgement of the need for support of an "environmental movement" on our planet!

But for me - well!  It is ALWAYS ON MY MIND!!

Yes - we need to take care of our environment - to learn to take it into consideration in all our daily activities - at Home, at Work, at Play.

I LOVE the Nature on this planet - from Pets and Plants at Home - to Trees everywhere - to Mountains, Valleys, Seas, Lakes, Rivers, Fields ..... !

One of the reasons I chose the place I live right now is that I can walk outside and Be In Nature - all I have to do is walk out, walk off the porch and starting walking around under Trees and by Bushes, watch the Birds (lots of Ravens live here) - not as great as being in Wilderness - but good enough for "instant Nature"!

I try to live "Green" - Green Commute, Green Economy, Conservation of Water, Energy - Recycling, Re-using - it is a way of LIFE for me!

And I show it in my Arts and Crafts - Photography, Crochet Tapestry, Filet Crochet, Knitting Intarsia -- and here are a few examples of how I Celebrate Nature on Earth!!!

From Giant Sequoias in the Sierra Nevada .......

....To the Bird Feeder with Birds in a Tree outside an apartment I lived in .....

...... to a Scene on a back road in the Santa Monica Mountains ......

.... to fields I walked through in the Antelope Valley!!

..... to making a "Tree Tapestry" Pillow - every stitch my own .....

.... to crocheting in Fine Threads the type of Mountain Cabin scene I love ......

.... to figuring out how to crochet a Bouquet in a Vase, so it looked like the Cabbage Roses I saw on a Walk!!

To a little thing like this Key Chain with Irish Crochet Roses and Leaves!

Well, I have the Nature on Earth Every Day in my life, because I want to - and I share it with others!  Do You???

My Shamrocks Nature Crochet Art Doily in Handmade Great Finds

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs

Shamrocks 3-Leaf Clovers with Yellow Flowers Nature Art Doily

I designed and crocheted the above Doily - I wanted to do something very specific - to do the popular Shamrock or 3-Leaf Clover Theme, but as they are in Nature.  I had a bunch of "Clover" or Shamrocks in the Garden out front - they had naturally spread and were making great ground cover I thought - especially as usually during the summer months, they had little Yellow Flowers all over them!!!

Most of us think of Shamrocks as 3-Leaf Clovers along with the more rare 4-Leaf Clover.

They are a symbol - mostly Irish and for St. Patrick's Day (I'm not Irish at all - just like some Irish culture).

BUT THEY ARE A REAL PLANT -- and I really like having them in my garden!!  Apparently, there were "... flowered CLOVERED plains ..." mentioned in early Irish literature - and I am not sure if it originally had anything to do with "St. Patrick" or any Saints, but beautiful Irish plains in Nature!!!

So I took crochet patterns for 3-Leaf Clovers and little multi-petal flowers -- and a design for a round crochet mat -- and put together this Crochet Art Doily!!!!

Here are photos of flowering clover from a front-yard garden I had ....

.... and a closeup of the center of my Handmade Thread Crochet 

 And .... On Fire For Handmade decided to include my Shamrock Nature Art Doily in it's "Kiss Me I'm Irish Great Finds" this week!  You can VOTE for it there if you like it!!!

Curating an Artfire Collection Inspired By My Well-Known Love of Forests and All That Lives Within

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on ARTFIRE

Inspired By Love of Forests and Their Wildlife - An Artfire Collection by RSS Designs In Fiber

It was August 2013 -- and I and many others in the world had been watching the Rim Fire in the Central Sierra Nevada - in the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park and the adjoining areas - and frightened and even loosing sleep over it, I was worried about All the Life in that Forest and the ramifications to it from the High Intensity Fire raging there.

I knew of people living in the area - actually in Twain Harte, CA - just northwest of the Rim Fire area - the people of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (known as CSERC ), run by John Buckley, who I had met at a Sierra Nevada Framework Forest Service Science Meeting on Old Growth forests.  On their Facebook Page -- and their website, I read first-hand accounts of the Rim Fire.

For me, this was a major event that was significant to me, though I didn't live there or anywhere near the Rim Fire.  But since early 1999 - and I got involved in environmental campaigns about the Sierra Nevada forests ( such as the Sierra Forest Legacy [formerly the Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign in 1999] ) -- and I learned the Global significance of the Sierra Nevada Forests, part of the California Floristic Province, to Global Biodiversity, as discussed on the Conservation International website:  The World's 10 Most Threatened Forest Hotspots - which mentions the High Importance of the California Floristic Province Forests (which Includes the Sierra Nevada Forests, including the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park - and the Giant Sequoias) for Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Stabilization - I have been paying a lot of attention to many Events, as I can, in the Sierra Nevada Forests.

In other words, this Rim Fire affected a forest with importance to Global Biodiversity - therefore I see it as we should all be concerned in the Restoration after the fire!!!

So-o-o -- to express my Love of Forests and Their Wildlife and show how others express their such Love, I looked to my some of my friends who do Handmade and Fine Art -- and found various items they had made and were selling on Artfire on that theme -- and created the above Collection.

*******************************************

It is now March of 2014 -- and the Artfire Collection, "Inspired By The Love of Forests and Their Wildlife", has over 1,000 views and a few items have sold (replaced by others I had previously chosen).

I love to see creations based on Nature -- and I totally enjoyed curating this Collection!!!

The Rim Fire is in the past, though some of us are following the Recovery Projects in the different areas of it, such as on the Stanislaus National Forest website and the CSERC website.

In the 402 square miles of the Stanislaus National Forest that the Rim Fire ravaged, I am hoping for recovery based on true Ecological Forest Restoration, like that defined by the Sierra Forest Legacy -- for the health of this Forest -- and for its contribution to Global Biodiversity.  Quote from the Dec. 08, 2013 Sierra Forest Legacy Newsletter:  

We take seriously the Forest Service's commitment to ecological restoration and will be challenging them to demonstrate that their salvage logging proposals are consistent with their commitment.

Note:  after a certain number of the Artfire listings in an Artfire Collection sell, the Artfire Collection "expires" -- and disappears from the Internet.  So, I would like to thank the Artfire Artisans who created the Handmade and Fine Art items I put in this Collection -- showing their Love of Forests and Their Wildlife -- and where you can fine such types of Handmade and Fine Art!!!

Conscience Art Studios

4everbeads

Walk In The Woods LLC

RSS Designs In Fiber

Uniquely Jen Quilt Creations

The Art of Amy-Elyse Neer

Jewelry Art By Dawn

Christie Cottage

Honey From The Bee

Berkshire Bowls

Blue Morning Expressions

Specialtivity

Sharing more about Wildlife - from Pinterest

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on ARTFIRE

Image from Pinterest - Momma Bear with Cubs

I just love Wildlife!!!

I saw this on Pinterest and had to Pin It to my Environmental Interests Board in my Pinterest!  I was re-pinning it from NRDC BIOGEMS.

It has been re-pinned a bunch of times.

I have actually seen Bears in the Wild - including with Bear Cubs!  Just be sure not to get between Momma Bear and her Cubs -- Momma Bears are very protective!!

An additional Note:  Bears need large areas for roaming and getting food -- we need large Wildlife Corridors in areas that are Bear Habitat!  You wonder why you see News Reports about Bears in Communities around California Forests -- those Communities are part of those Bears' Wildlife Corridors!!  It is their home!!

And California has lots of Forests, which are all part of the California Floristic Province, a Globally Significant Biodiversity Hotspot -- and protecting Bear Habitat and Wildlife Corridors is part of Global Biodiversity!!!

Pinterest is great for sharing lots of Images -- but it is also great for Environmental Education, after all, a Picture is worth a 1000 words!!!

Seeing this photograph of a Momma Bear with her Cubs -- did you learn something?????

Love Those Wild Horses - A Beautiful Video of Real Wild Horses in Arizona

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on ARTFIRE


Sometimes something just shows how you feel .... Love this Video!!  Love to see these Horses running WILD and FREE!!!!!





This Video is posted by Karen McLain - a Painter of Wild Horses in the Wild.

Our Conscience - We ALL Must ACT to Achieve a Safe Level of CO2 on our Earth

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber

GLOBAL WARMING, CLIMATE CHANGE, HUMAN-CAUSED, NATURAL -- these are all words in this major discussion about this Condition we have on our Planet.

The Truth must be based on verifiable Scientific Data -- and I have read some of these facts.  It comes down to the measurable level of CO2 on the Planet -- and the level that we need of that CO2 for the environment that our Human Civilization developed in - and is adapted to -- and that has been determined as stated over 2 decades ago by a USA NASA Scientist, Jim Hansen, as quoted below from:  http://350.org/about/science .

"If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO₂ will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm."
That will be a hard task, but not impossible. We need to stop taking carbon out of the ground and putting it into the air. Above all, that means we need to stop burning so much coal—and start using solar and wind energy and other such sources of renewable energy –while ensuring the Global South a fair chance to develop. If we do, then the earth’s soils and forests will slowly cycle some of that extra carbon out of the atmosphere, and eventually CO₂ concentrations will return to a safe level. By decreasing use of other fossil fuels, and improving agricultural and forestry practices around the world, scientists believe we could get back below 350 by mid-century. But the longer we remain in the danger zone—above 350—the more likely that we will see disastrous and irreversible climate impacts."

Folks -- that is reality, and he said that over 2 decades ago -- now the current level is stated to be 392 ppm, as is stated on the 350.org website.

Today - Many, many people are marching in Washington, D.C. -- and gathering in other cities across the country -- to show the President (and hopefully Congress) the widespread support from the PEOPLE for actually changing how Life is lived from the Individual level to the highest levels of Government and Manufacturing, so that we can take responsibility for getting back to a level of CO2 on the Planet that is LIVABLE for our Civilization.

But it is a Matter of Ethics - A Matter of our Conscience - in how each one of us Lives our Lives and Works.

Now, it has gotten to the point that we must stand up to the business people who do not seem to realize that business projects they want to do are not healthy for us, the planet -- our "web of life" as we know it on Earth.  (Keystone XL Pipeline - as mentioned in the video above - and the Pebble Mine)

It will take Action - by our President and our Congressional Representatives to set and enforce standards so our life on Earth continues - and by Individuals.  It has become POLITICAL - but it is really HUMANITARIAN!

As stated on 350.org, it means "...transforming our world" (from http://350.org/en/understanding-350#2) :

"How do we actually reduce carbon emissions to get to 350?

     

"Make no mistake—getting back to 350 means transforming our world. It means building solar arrays instead of coal plants, it means planting trees instead of clear-cutting rainforests, it means increasing efficiency and decreasing our waste. Getting to 350 means developing a thousand different solutions—all of which will become much easier if we have a global treaty grounded in the latest science and built around the principles of equity and justice. To get this kind of treaty, we need a movement of people who care enough about our shared global future to get involved and make their voices heard."

So, tho I ask President Obama to take Action - to do what he needs to do as the Leader of the USA - to get the standards set to levels that will result in that transformation - I also ask every single individual to Act on Their Conscience.

We Can - I am sure - and live decent lives.  We need to Understand - Study, Ask Questions, get Educated - see what each of us can do each and every day!!

Note:  I have written about the Issue of "Global Warming" and "Climate Change" here on my blog - click on those links to see the list of my blog posts including about Managing Forests for Climate Change.

Also here are three more links to articles I found written on possibilities from "Climate Change" - including the discussion of what "Climate Change" - not Climate Variability - is.

NASA's HANSEN:  "If We Stay on With Business as Usual, the Southern U.S. Will Become Almost Uninhabitable."

Climate Variability and Climate Change: The New Climate Dice

What Climate Change Will Mean For the California Desert

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Writing Letters to Save the Tongass National [Rain] Forest -- Again!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - My Handmade Designs on ARTFIRE
 -- and in the SHOPPING MALL by PAYVMENT on FACEBOOK



It seems like it has been going on forever - the ecological riches of Alaska - those who want to "plunder" them for short-term economic gain -- and those who are forever fighting to Save them because of their Global Ecological significance!



Though I had heard about it before, it was when I acquired the book by Robert Glenn Ketchum, "THE TONGASS ALASKA'S VANISHING RAINFOREST" (copyright 1987) in 1988 that I saw the riches of that forest in his photographs and read about his on-the ground adventures there.  Though I have never been there, this book brought me closer to what is really there.

MY PHOTO OF MY COPY OF ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM'S BOOK ON THE TONGASS

Here are two Quotes From "The Refuge of the Rain Forest" in "THE TONGASS ALASKA'S VANISHING RAINFOREST" by Robert Glenn Ketchum with Carey D. Ketchum:

"As we flew over the monumental landscape in a tiny bush plane, the greenness of the world below commanded all out attention.  Green of a richness unlike any shade of this color you have ever known.  Green of more varieties and nuances than you can imagine.  Green in every crack in every wall. Green covering the floors of the valley.  Green
even in the milky waters flowing out of the glaciers.  And everywhere that it is green, life abounds."

"Old-growth temperate rainforest once dominated the West Coast from Northern California to Kodiak Island in Alaska.  Remnants of old growth, such as the Hohn Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, are scattered along the Pacific Coast.  But, beautiful as they are, they are only remnants.  The Tongass is a world
unto itself, and for centuries it has remained virtually undisturbed.  Now a forest that has achieved full maturity, it has reached a steady state, encompassing trees of all ages, dominated by old monarchs of large size.  Beneath their canopy, younger trees grow toward the light, ready to replace any of the giants that might succumb to wind, rot, insects, or disease.  In the understory, herbs, shrubs, and vines grow in profusion.  Old trees that die and fall open windows to the sky that are filled by the most vigorous younger trees.  Lichens and moss grow everywhere on the forest floor as well as in the canopy.  The decaying trunks of trees that have fallen become "nurse" logs, simultaneously decomposing into soil and serving as seedbeds for new growth.  Biologists refer to this as a forest of uneven age, and consider it to be the most productive and diverse."

I don't know how to communicate to the readers the vast Ecological Value of this National [Rain] Forest - except by sharing with you photos and what others have written and said about it.

 -- Here is a video from Audobon Alaska -- it says and shows the key points on protecting this Global Treasure!!                                                               

In a recent response to the recent attempts of a corporation, Sealaska Corporation, to acquire 65,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest for them to commercially log - including clear-cutting Old Growth trees - for their corporate short-term gain - apparently with no consideration for the Ecological Values of this land or with any 
attempt at conserving these Globally significant values - 300 scientists (listed in the document) wrote this "An Open Letter from Over 300 Scientists on Protecting the Tongass National Forest", which is embedded at the end of this post!



For me it is all pretty much covered in this statement in this Letter, which has a number of Footnotes referencing research and statements from prominent scientists in Forestry Resources and Research:

"When rainforests are logged, much of their stored carbon is released as a greenhouse gas pollutant during site preparation, manufacture, and transport of wood products, which in the case of the Tongass, involves long distances to the Pacific Rim. These losses are not made up by storing carbon temporarily in wood products or by  planting trees, as the on-site reduction in carbon storage from logging takes at least 200 years to return to about the same amount of stored carbon in the uncut old-growth forest."

The reference (5) for this statement in the letter is:
5Harmon ME, Ferrell WK, Franklin JF. 1990. Effects on carbon storage of conversion of old-growth forests to young forests. Science 247:699–702. -- 



 -- including a Forestry Scientist who I have known of for years - and who I have heard speak -- and even emailed with some:  Dr. Jerry F. Franklin -- so I personally feel I can trust this data!!



200 years at least to attempt to restore the same amount of stored carbon that would be released if this Old Growth in the Tongass National Forest is logged???? 


-- And I am afraid that I am not sure of any guarantees of that restoration happening it in that time - with current conditions and Climate Change, we may never be able to have this same Old Growth that they want to remove - again!!  I heard this being discussed by scientists at a Science Workshop in 1999 put on by the Sierra Nevada Framework of the US Forest Service.



We don't have the 200 years on Earth, anyway, I am afraid -- We simply cannot afford to allow such logging in the Tongass National Forest.


How much more do you want to read to be convinced??



I am writing my Senators and the President in this case -- it is said that even if they already agree with you, they need to receive comments to support and back their positions on these things -- so write I will!!




Do you want to?? -- You can!! -- Comments on public lands are allowed - and even welcomed by some - in the United States of America!!


For further Scientific and Agricultural reading -- you might want to check these papers online:

1. HOW MUCH WILL FEEDING MORE AND WEALTHIER PEOPLE ENCROACH ON FORESTS by Paul E. Waggoner and Jessie H. Ausubel
2. LIGHTENING THE TREAD OF POPULATION ON THE LAND by Paul E. Waggoner, Jessie H. Ausubel and Iddo K. Werrick
3. Higher density means world forests are capturing more carbon
4. Searching for Leverage to Conserve Forests:The Industrial Ecology of Wood Products in the United States

An Open Letter from Over 300 Scientists on Protecting the Tongass National Forest