The Gaia Girls Blog

BIG Thumbs Up 4 Mystery Movie Maker

Today I discovered a young fan made a movie trailer for Gaia Girls Enter the Earth! WOW! Nicely done. Now if we could get a producer in Hollywood to check it out!

Guest Blogging @ Spilling Ink

A few years ago I met author’s Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter; two amazing women with some serious kid-fiction writing chops! I was excited to see that this year they teamed up and created “Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook.” I haven’t read it yet, but I LOVE their Creativity Blog and was thrilled when they asked me to be a guest blogger. Read my Summer Solstice blog post. If you post a comment on THEIR blog, you get a chance to win a FREE COPY of Spilling Ink!

Whale Poo Fights Climate Change!

In case you needed one more reason to save the whales:
BBC reports that excrement of Southern Ocean Sperm Whales absorbs 400,000 of carbon a year! Because the whales are eating squid from deep in the ocean, and pooping closer to the surface, they are effectively bringing iron up from the bottom. The iron stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, which absorbs the carbon. What a great system!

Enjoy Jonathan Bird’s look at these amazing animals. His website is chock full of videos from our oceans.

Green Power Down the Drain

“Do you ever complain
About hair in your drain
Clogging up the shower?
Solve it with green power!”

This tip of the day from Smart2beGreen.com is how to unclog your drain naturally. I’m going to try it this afternoon. I have a VERY slow bathroom sink and company coming tomorrow!

Spin

“Spin” is what we call words that attempt to make you believe something besides what you see to be true. I give you the following, courtesy of National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Please consider donating/becoming a member.

Chicken Names & Divebombing Birds

We got the chickens! My dog is scared of them. They are fun to watch, they also eat from your hand. We have 6 I’ve named them all; Runningwind, Waterfoot, Scratchclaw, Stripedbeak, (who are all reddish brown) and, Whiteclaw and Goldenfoot (who are white with a little brown). They are stories behind their names. They are all Rode Island Reds; they are hens.

The barn swallows have made a nest in our bird house. If you come within 5 feet of the bird house one of them flies out and circles around your head until you go into a building. They are so pretty to look at.

(Editor: StarWolf is sending pics/video of the chickens soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this YouTube video of barn swallow chicks!)

Helping the Gulf Part 3

It is heartening to know that organizations like the National Wildlife Federation have been looking out for our wild places LONG before the BP oil tragedy. They have a very good webpage on ways to help. If any Gaia Girls Blog readers are doing something to help the wildlife in the gulf…let me know! I would like to help you write your own blog posts highlighting your actions!

Helping the Gulf Part 2

I have long been a member of The Sierra Club. I am pleased to see that they are going straight to the heart of the matter and calling for a drilling moratorium (which means NO drilling) and is asking the Obama Administration to come up wiht a plan to get our country “off oil” in twenty years.

Extracting fuel from the ground, be it oil or coal or natural gas, always carries risks and hazards to the public commons (air, soil, water) Do you think we can find a way to fuel or lifestyles without oil? Do you think we can do it in 20 years? What can you do differently to use less oil?

ABC Science did an excellent three-part series about oil, its history and future.

Helping the Gulf

This week I will be sharing information on how various organizations are helping the Gulf Coast Region deal with BP’s criminal neglect. First and foremost, we must wean ourselves from NEEDING oil. That is a tall order and will take time. Today, take a look at Nature Conservancy’s Three Ways to Help.

Gulf Coast Braces for Oil from OrganicNation on Vimeo.

This short film was made prior to the oil reaching the wetlands. My thanks to “EmmaFan” for emailing me this video. And thanks to Organic Nation for this “before” look at this beautiful part of Mississippi.