(Part One of Two) Summer is here, and most of us are looking forward to a respite from our hectic life--the summertime getaway.
Might I suggest a green solution? Take an eco-trip. On your adventure, you will experience the beauty of nature, while learning a lot at the same time.
My family took the eco-journey of a lifetime this year into the jungles, caves and ocean of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Many of the details of our 14-day journey appear on my blog at www.gardeningnude.com, where I use greening and eco-nature information as tools to educate readers about some of the environmental concerns in our world.
Understanding that we impact all of the earth, not just our little corner, is so important. For example, areas of coral are dying out in the Yucatan from our fertilizer run-off. If the chemicals do not go down into our water aquifer, they are whooshed out through the stormwater system. All those chemicals react with ocean life, ultimately causing death wherever they settle. This is disastrous for the coral.
I learned this from an amazing man in Akumal, Mexico. Paul Sanchez-Navarro, Director of Centro Ecological Akumal, (www.ceakumal.org), explained to me how approximately one quarter of all marine species are believed to depend on coral at some stage of their development. Many fish live their entire lives on reefs, while others use them as nurseries. If the coral dies out, it is assumed the fish will also. The economic impact of losing coral is also significant, running into billions of dollars worldwide.
What will happen if we are unable to provide fish for the world to eat? Will people starve? Without the coral and fish that inhabit it, millions of people will lose their jobs and be unable to support themselves. Without the smaller fish that live on coral reefs, will the larger fish, such as tuna and shark, perish? These fish are a food staple for a large portion of the world population.
We visited jungles, beaches, caves and protected eco-parks throughout the Yucatan, and we experienced some incredible phenomena of nature, but one of the most powerful messages that we derived from our trip is that we all have a critical impact on our planet. What we do here in the U.S. absolutely and directly touches the rest of the world.
So make a difference for our planet. Start paying attention to the chemicals, fertilizers and products you use at home that might end up halfway around the world.
You can share some of my 14-day adventure at http://bit.ly/3YKee.
Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog, www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog, http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com.
