nature | Laura Grace Weldon [PDF]

Laura Grace Weldon

nature

Blessed By Weeds APRIL 29, 2016 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 9 COMMENTS

Nature doesn’t appreciate the bare earth method (http://www.landinstitute.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2007/05/03/4648aa24498e0) we call “weeding.” The soil we count on to grow food and flowers isn’t just a blank medium for our use. It’s a fragile, complex, living system that’s home to bacteria, fungi, and other life forms busy beneath our feet. Left alone, nature brings forth plants of all kinds that improve the soil’s ability to foster life. We call them weeds. They seem to spring up without reason other than to frustrate us. But nature has her reasons. ~Many of these plants boost the presence of mycorrhiza. This beneficial fungi massively improves a plant’s ability to use the soil’s water and nutrients while providing protection from certain pathogens. Mycorrhizas are found in more than 90 percent of plant families but their presence is inhibited by too much fertilizer and can be destroyed by excessive digging, tilling, and soil compaction. ~Many of these plants help to break up heavy soil with strong root systems, aerating and improving drainage. This makes the ground a better home for the plants we prefer to grow. ~Many of these plants improve soil fertility. Two common categories of weeds are dynamic accumulators and nitrogen fixers. Nitrogen fixers (http://www.reed.edu/biology/nitrogen/nfix1.html) are able to capture atmospheric nitrogen, and due to a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, these plants “fix” critically important nitrogen in the soil. Dynamic accumulators (http://hubpages.com/living/Dynamic-Accumulators-for-Better-Soil) draw trace elements and other nutrients from deep underground and transport them closer to the surface In places where soil is poor, the right plants to correct those particular deficiencies tend to spring up. In fact, botanists know that weeds are an indicator of soil properties such as pH and mineral levels. That’s nature’s wisdom at work. Then we come in, gardeners and farmers, doing our darndest to get down to bare ground between rows of plants. Bare soil isn’t a natural state. The eroding effects of wind, water and sunlight wreak havoc on naked dirt. That’s where weeds pitch in, acting as protective ground cover by holding moisture and preventing topsoil loss. Think of weeds as self-appointed caretakers for vulnerable humus. Weeds benefit more than the soil. ~In bloom, they attract natural pollinators such as bees, moths, and butterflies. They also provide habitat for many other helpful insects which balance out the pests you don’t want in your garden. Nature likes diversity. ~Plants we call weeds have been used for eons for food, oils, herbs, seasonings, and medications. Might as well celebrate dandelion season by frying up some dandelion flowers (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/04/10/eat-yourdandelions/)or making dandelion lemonade (http://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/dandelion-recipe/). And during most of the growing season you can pluck some lambsquarters (http://www.mofga.org/Publications/MaineOrganicFarmerGardener/Summer2011/Lambsquarters/tabid/1929/Default.aspx), plantain, purslane (https://hotdogjam.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/purslane-or-spurge/), chickweed, or other edible weeds (http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/eat-dandelions-9-edible-garden-weeds.html) to incorporate in your meals. (Identify them carefully and only pick plants that are not exposed to herbicides.) These foods are highly nutritious, and free for the picking. Weeds are the ultimate way to eat locally. I want to understand the weeds that nature bestows on me. For example, I’ve learned to respect the fierce tenacity of thistles. Around here they can quickly grow taller than I am. And I can’t help but adore the beauty of those delicate flowers atop such a prickly stem. They’ve visited most fiercely in our front flower bed, one that was mounded up from subsoil left when our septic system was excavated. Nature knows the soil there isn’t very hospitable to life. That’s exactly why thistles flourished there. I’ve augmented that bed with cow manure dragged from out back, stacked it with layers of straw and mulch, and pulled out as many thistles as I can before my strength gives out. Thistles are dynamic accumulators that work to bring up deep nutrients and their long roots break up poor soil. Because they’re been actively improving the soil, fewer thistles appear in that bed every year, as if they’re completing a job started nearly 19 years ago. Other weeds are now taking their place, surely just as necessary. But respect for weeds goes only so far. It’s not possible to grow peas, lettuce, and other delicate plants in a jungle of weeds. Besides, I am a low energy lazy gardener. Once summer heat rolls in I’m more inclined to hide in the shade with a book than sweat with Puritan righteousness in the sun. So I have lots of experience with weed control methods. (Other than chemical. I don’t go there.) Here are some thoughts on the matter. (https://bitofearthfarm.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/hoe.jpg) Hoeing. I’m not good at hoeing, although that may have something to do with using an antique implement that probably hasn’t been sharpened for decades. My hoeing technique also probably leaves something to be desired. Finally, the whole hoeing experience is impaired by having dogs out with me, dogs that like to dash after each other in wild canine exuberance which puts them right in the way of my hoe. (https://bitofearthfarm.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/weeds.jpg) Weeding. I’m not good at pulling weeds either but that’s the method I use most often. As I pull weeds, I lay their still-green bodies between the rows as a natural mulch. I tend to sit on the ground as I hand weed, and I happen to like how close that puts me to the smell of growth and the sight of tiny insects and an overall greater awareness of what’s going on in the garden. The size of my various gardens makes it impossible to do this well unless I want to spend many many hours a week on my butt pulling weeds, which I do until the blazing heat hits. Then I do so fewer hours with greater grumpiness. (https://bitofearthfarm.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/landscape-fabric.jpg) Landscape fabric or carpet discards. We were given reams of landscape fabric by a friend of a friend who used to run a greenhouse. It wasn’t easy to get between the rows and batten down with clips, but I covered it with heavy layers of grass clippings and it looked great. I was thrilled. It worked well until I pulled it off at the end of the growing season. The soil looked awful, cracked and strange as if it had boiled under all that black fabric. Rather than being soft and friable it was hard. I wanted to beg the dirt’s forgiveness. I was also rather bitter, as this was easy to use. It also has to be pulled up every year or it’ll accumulate so much biomass on its surface that plants will simply grow on top of it. Years ago we tried using strips of discarded carpeting. I know, strange, but I read this back in some organic gardening magazine years ago. They claimed that carpet old enough to be torn out of a house doesn’t really have toxins to leach. Carpet kept down 100% of the weeds and, especially if it’s a bright color, gives your garden a Dr. Seuss sort of vibe. It was pretty darn amazing. But again, it has to be pulled up. And like landscape fabric, a great deal of biomass clings to the carpet and ends up being thrown out rather than becoming part of the soil. Worse, I suspect it’s not really all that non-toxic… (https://bitofearthfarm.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/aug-blog-6471.jpg) Newspapers and straw, or feed bags and straw. I read about the newspaper and straw method many years ago in Mother Earth News, and have been doing it on and off ever since. Basically you layer heavy, overlapping newspaper sections between the rows covered by straw or grass clippings. By the end of the growing season it’s largely biodegraded, becoming dirt by the next spring. I have a love/hate thing going with this method, probably because I’ve made all the mistakes possible. Too little newspaper, straw so flimsy that it doesn’t break into sections that firmly hold anything down. And the worst, trying to put down newspaper when there’s any breeze at all. One year I laid down quite a few rows and got the straw nicely set atop those papers but didn’t dampen it with rain barrel water because the sky threatened rain within minutes. Bad idea. That rain appeared only after heavy gusts of wind, meaning I was running around the yard trying to catch wind borne newspaper and stomping my feet in Rumpelstiltskin fits of frustration. The past few years I’ve used heavy paper feedbags which are even better than newspapers. We save livestock feed bags and also have our feed mill save us bags. Just cut open, spread out, cover with straw, and water. (Be careful to avoid feedbags with plastic lining! ) Unfortunately our feed mill is using mostly plastic bags, so I’ll be back to newspaper. (https://bitofearthfarm.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/aaaa.jpg) Jeans, yes jeans. This is one of my stranger innovations. I got into the pile of jeans I’ve been saving to make a quilt (the kind perfect to keep in a car trunk for impromptu picnics). I slashed them apart, laid them between rows of emerging garlic plants while my kids laughed at crazy mom, then covered them with straw. They stay put well and biodegrade in about two years, although some heavy seams can be found here and there. Probably best to use between perennials. If you run across a cheap bolt of burlap or cotton fabric that should work too. Weed whacking. I’ve been hankering after a small weed whacker for some time. I have a dreamy hope that, if I plant rows far enough apart, I can just cut weeds down to a reasonable height. I picture lawn-like strips between rows of gorgeous vegetables. I haven’t tried this yet. Let me add that I have no known weed whacking skills. Chances are I’d accidentally decapitate innocent broccoli plants on my first try. Thank you weeds. You haven’t forgotten your true value in our teeming, complex ecosystem. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, a weed is simply, “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” What do YOU do to live with and live without weeds? An earlier version of this post appeared on our farm site (https://bitofearthfarm.wordpress.com/).

34 Ways to Raise Nature-Loving Kids SEPTEMBER 4, 2015APRIL 29, 2016 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 16 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a24.jpg) “Man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard.”–– Luther Standing Bear Kids can’t help but explore when they’re in natural areas. They climb on fallen logs, leap over tiny streams, and wander through tall grasses. Their imaginations are as activated as their senses. These kinds of experiences open new worlds to them. In Sharing Nature with Children (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1883220734/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1883220734&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=Q6VPXNVE6GA3LBJK), Joseph Cornell writes, It is very helpful—almost essential—for people at first to have startling, captivating experiences in nature. This kind of first contact extinguishes for a moment the self-enclosing preoccupations and worries that keep us from feeling our identity with other expressions of life. From that release into expanded awareness and concern, love naturally follows. And memories of moments of love and expansion act as reminders of, and incentives to, a more sensitive way of living. Cornell suggests expanding on outdoor experiences. For example, he describes a unique game of hide and seek. Hiders try to blend in with natural objects to “feel that they are a natural part of the objects around them, and the searchers can try to sense a foreign presence among the rocks and leaves.” Although time spent in unspoiled areas is vitally important, children can experience nature in their own way and on their own terms every day, even in the smallest city apartment, as they pay attention to the weather, observe insects, grow plants from seed, and watch birds. Children can notice seasonal changes around them in the constellations, nearby trees, and the changing patterns of light falling on surrounding buildings. We are not separate from the ecosystems enfolding us (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2010/06/15/is-nature-somewhere-else/). Nature is essential for every child’s emotional, physical, and ethical development. (Please, read more about this in Richard Louv’s excellent book, Last Child in the Woods (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156512605X/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=156512605X&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=LS4UZHS3X2CJHBN2).) Here are some ways to let our kids experience the lessons generously available to them in every aspect of nature. ~Go hiking. Before leaving, you might decide what each of you will keep your eyes open to see. Your son might decide to look for things that fly. Your daughter might decide to look for what’s blooming. It’s interesting how much more cued all of you will be to your surroundings when really looking. You might enjoy Take a City Nature Walk (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0970975430/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0970975430&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=AUILQ5NL337P2477) or any in the series of Take A Walk books by Jane Kirkland (http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Kirkland/e/B001JRZW7Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl? _encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=biofeafa-20&linkId=W6S44BP65CNGWRZL).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a8.jpg) ~ Appoint a child as the hike navigator when setting off on a nature walk. For safety’s sake note the trail taken and the way back, but encourage your child to pay attention along the way so that he or she can guide your return. If the child is confused, assist by pointing out signs found in nature such as the position of the sun and direction of nearby water flow. Note signpost items like rock outcroppings, elevations, and unusually formed trees.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a6.jpg) ~ Build specific memories that encourage children to identify with nature. Go back to the same wilderness area year after year to check out a certain stream where you saw a beaver dam. Remember to notice the growth of a sapling in a nearby park as it matures into a young tree. Casually name places something unique to your family, such as “shoe-tying rock” or “Dad’s-go-no-further bend in the trail.” And let your children find their own special places in your backyard, in the park, and in the creek at the end of the street. This way natural areas become touchstones for your child and your family. They remain distinctly in memory even if the places themselves may eventually no longer exist.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a9.jpg) ~Allow time for solitude in nature. A child’s time alone, even when a parent is within hearing, helps them feel grounded and whole as beings in a world teeming with less meaningful distractions. Given enough time, they will see and hear the natural world with more complexity than they ever could through quick observation.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a10.jpg) ~Draw attention to the sky (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2013/07/24/look-up/). Take time to look up each time you go outdoors. Notice how the sunset and sunrise change on the horizon as the seasons turn. Whenever possible, lie on the ground and look at the sky from that perspective. Some children like to lie still, watching the sky long enough to claim they can feel the earth’s rotation. You might take photos, sending your favorite cloud photos to The Cloud Appreciation Society (http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a11.jpg) ~Play outside after dark. Make a habit of taking a walk at dusk. See who can be first to notice the first faint sliver of a new moon. Point out constellations to one another. Look for shooting stars. Play games (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2013/08/29/play-outside-after-dark/) perfect for dusk and beyond. Sing lullabies to animals you imagine settling down to sleep in nests and burrows. Or just go out, hold hands, and enjoy the darkness.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a12.jpg) ~Go on micro level explorations. Closely watch what goes on in a small area of a tide pool. Observe sand, rocks, and water. Look for invertebrates, fish, crustaceans. What actions are they taking? Why? Cover a carton with clear plastic over the bottom in order to see more easily. Or sit on the ground in an overgrown area, even a weedy part of the garden, and observe the same tiny section for fifteen minutes or so. Notice plants, rocks, and soil. Check the effect of wind. Listen to nearby sounds. Watch for insects. Use a magnifying glass. Or don’t make an effort to watch at all. Just lie on your stomach in the grass, in a forested area, or near water and just be.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a.jpg) ~Consider macro viewpoints. Go from the close-up to farther away. Step away from the tide pool to a pier or hill. Get up off the grass and climb a tree. Observe from that vantage point. What conditions might affect the soil, water, and creatures you were watching so intently? Consider a more distant perspective of the habitat you’re in.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a13.jpg) ~Bike, canoe, walk the dog, swim, sail, surf, climb, go horseback riding, skate, kayak — share with your kids whatever you love to do outside.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a25.jpg) ~Take indoor activities outside. Read books on a swing, play board games or cards on the grass, play with dolls and trucks under a tree, paint plein air, play an instrument. We can’t expect kids to do this unless we eagerly do as well. It’s becoming common for people to meditate, do tai chi, and work on laptops in parks. Simply being outside changes the experience.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a22.jpg) ~Learn wilderness survival skills. It’s entirely satisfying to know how to start a fire, follow animal tracks, forage for edible plants, and find shelter. The resonance of these ancestral skills (https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/dd93b-anscestralknowledge.pdf)haven’t diminished in our today’s world. It’s best to learn directly from others, but if that’s not an option check out these wonderful handbooks: Willy Whitefeather’s Outdoor Survival Handbook for Kids (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0943173477/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0943173477&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=B5BENERJNZUIGWQN) and Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature and Survival for Children (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425111067/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0425111067&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=LLZGYL2I4AYSJOXD).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a14.jpg) ~Leave room for silence. Make it a tradition to quiet yourselves, even for a few minutes. Really listen to the wind in the trees, chittering insects, rustling leaves, moving water, and other auditory feasts.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a5.jpg) ~Get involved in bird science. Audubon Society (http://www.audubon.org) has local chapters that host bird walks, advocacy campaigns, nature outings, and educational programs. Audubon teamed up with the Cornell Ornithology Lab for citizen science programs (http://www.audubon.org/bird/citizen) including the Great Backyard Bird Count (http://www.birdsource.org.).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a15.jpg) ~Welcome dirt. It’s not simply something to scrub off, it is integral to the nourishment we take in every day. Certain bacteria found in soil are even linked to positive mood and enhanced learning (http://www.healinglandscapes.org/blog/2011/01/its-in-the-dirt-bacteria-in-soil-makes-us-happier-smarter/). Let kids play in the mud, run outside in the rain, climb trees, play with sticks, and otherwise indulge in direct sensory experiences outdoors. Perhaps you can designate an area of the yard where kids can play right in the dirt. They might want to use it to build mountains and valleys for their toy dinosaurs, cars, or action figures. They might want to dig holes, perhaps looking for archaeological finds using Hands-On Archaeology: Real-Life Activities for Kids (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593631626/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=biofeafa20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1593631626) as a guide. For a real mess, give them enough water to make a mud pit. Your status as an epic parent will linger (so will the stains).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a3.jpg) ~Get involved as a family in pursuits upholding the importance of natural systems. Volunteer with a group to restore a wetlands area or to pull invasive plant species. In your own backyard make sure to leave wild areas so native pollinators (https://bitofearthfarm.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/helping-honeybees/), birds and other creatures have access to diverse materials for forage and nesting. You might create wildlife habitat in your backyard, schoolyard, or church property with tips from the National Wildlife Federation (http://www.nwf.org/backyard) and the Xerces Society (http://www.xerces.org). If you get really involved, check out the President’s Environmental Youth Awards (http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/peya), recognizing youth for environmental projects.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a16.jpg) Keep lists. For those who like to log their activities, lists are a great motivator. You might list species you’ve seen or paths you’ve hiked or nature areas you’ve visited. More on keeping unusual lists, check here (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/07/09/life-lists/).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a17.jpg) Eat outside. Take your dinner to the park or the beach or far in the back yard. If at all possible, cook some of it outside over a flame. Everything tastes better whether cooked on a grill, over a fire pit, or over a real campfire. Slice a few inches open on an unpeeled banana, stuff in a dollop of peanut butter and a few chocolate chips, then grill till it becomes a warm pudding in its own banana container. Bake brownies or cake inside hollowed out oranges over a fire pit. Bury baking potatoes in the coals till they’re cooked to roasty goodness. For more ideas check out Campfire Cooking (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1563831929/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1563831929&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=F5JDW3WGVAYOQR2J), Scout’s Outdoor Cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762740671/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0762740671&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=RKBHSKRG4Q4EUYNA) and Easy Campfire Cooking (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565237242/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1565237242&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=FEXLRQAEC2UHLJWK).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a18.jpg) Sleep outside. It’s great if you can get away, especially to state or national parks, but you can also say yes to sleeping on an open porch or in a hammock slung between trees or in a backyard tent. If your kids are young, sleep out there with them, maybe just one kid at a time for some special adult-child togetherness. When kids get older, let them do it on their own. My oldest liked to haul a little tent to the back of our yard and settle in. By the time he was 11 he managed to stay out all night!

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a19.jpg) Create a seasonal table. Many of us enjoy setting a space aside for a nature table. In our home it has always been a simple display of seasonal items, but you can get more elaborate. Some feature folktale scenes with felted figures and wood turnings. It’s a celebratory way of bringing inside a few things from the natural world. More on this here (http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/the-seasonal-table/).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a20.jpg) ~Garden together. Let each child plant one “crop” in the garden that’s his or hers to tend. Fast-growing plants like sugar snap peas, radishes, and green beans are ideal. Let the kid farmer in charge be the one to check regularly for weeds, watering needs, and harvest times. For more ideas check out Gardening Projects for Kids (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780190190/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=biofeafa20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1780190190) and for those of you without yards or community garden plots, try Kids’ Container Gardening (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1883052750/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=biofeafa20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1883052750). Growing their own foods has been found to inspire children to be more adventurous eaters.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a23.jpg) ~Eat local. Go to pick-your-own farms (http://www.pickyourown.org/). Your kids will happily to dig into baskets of blueberries and bags of apples for a taste, but they’re just as likely to be eager to try radishes, endive, broccoli, pecans, and other treats they pick themselves. Join a CSA (http://www.localharvest.org/csa/) that encourages members to donate time on the farm. Find nearby farms through Local Harvest (http://www.localharvest.org,); some have open houses or welcome visitors.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a7.jpg) ~Cook with the sun. Use a solar oven to cook at home or on campouts using nature’s free energy supply. Assemble your own solar cooker and make lunch using only the sun’s rays for heat, you can find all sorts of plans here (http://solarcooking.org/plans/).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a26.jpg) ~Pay attention to subtext. Look behind a promotional campaign or news story to discover more about the situation. How do efforts to control or “help” nature overlook interdependent natural systems? How do corporate and media messages shape our view of nature? There are lots of ways to help kids of all ages become media aware (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2014/07/24/raising-media-aware-current-events-savvy-kids-21-resources/).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a27.jpg) ~Explore recycling. Buying easily recyclable items aids the process of reclamation, but buying less in the first place leads to fewer items requiring disposal. Find out what happens to recyclable products. Visit an artist who relies on used materials. Call your local recycling, solid waste, or public works department for information, tours, or speakers. If there are items you cannot easily recycle (furniture, batteries, paint) locate organizations that will take them from the resources from Earth911 (http://www.earth911.com/recycling-center-search-guides/). Save worn-out sneakers to donate to a recycling program. Heck, start a Stinky Shoe Drive so your family can work toward a goal of 25 pounds of shoes or more. Here (http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/How-Recycle-Old-Running-Shoes-2989309) are organizations that recycle them. Enjoy recyclable products too. Toys from Trash (http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/toys.html) provides instructions for making a variety of playthings from repurposed items.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a28.jpg)

~Bring useful information. Along with water and snacks in your backpacks, you can bring field guides and take-along science ideas. Instructions to measure a slope using a string and jar of water, the methods of testing for rock hardness, charts of constellations are all great to have on hand when the timing is right. Sure, you can look these things up on your phone but kids running off clutching a dust-darkened field guide somehow feels right. There are plenty of guides for kids (http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Boring/e/B001K8LP1Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl? _encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=biofeafa-20&linkId=QFCI7WP5WSIZAXM7) but my family likes standards like Peterson guides (http://www.amazon.com/Roger-ToryPeterson/e/B000APMZBW/ref=as_li_ss_tl? _encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=biofeafa-20&linkId=Z245PVADRD6SDKBO) and Audubon field guides (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl? _encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&keywords=audubon%20field%20guides&linkCode=ur2&qid=1441307859&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Aaudubon%20field%20guides&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=PYZYRX3APSJPLRF4). (Smithsonian guides are appealing, but not durable.)

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a29.jpg) ~Set off on a search. Brainstorm indications of animal life or other areas of interest, then set out with your list and check off what can be found Another time, try a nature scavenger hunt (http://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com/earth-day-ison-its-way/). You might have to make tree rubbings, spot a certain bird, collect rocks, and so on. For toddlers, try a color hunt (http://carrotsareorange.com/were-going-on-color-hunt/).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a2.jpg) ~Pay close attention to weather. Notice how the air feels different before the storm and how you can “smell” snow coming. Put together a DIY weather station (http://learn.fi.edu/weather/todo/). Find out if you really predict weather using pinecones (http://www.science-sparks.com/2012/08/13/pine-cone-weather-station/). Go out and experience windy days, rainy days, snowy days, all of weather’s moods where you live.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a1.jpg) ~Ignore inclement weather. There are all sort of things to be learned (http://geekmom.com/2014/01/15-smarty-pants-waysenjoy-snow/)when you’re snowed in!

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a36.jpg) ~Allow kids the allure of hidden places. Explore to find little hideaways or even an afternoon’s hideout made from a sheet draped over a branch. This gives kids a sense of their own place outdoors (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2013/10/15/we-need-hidden-worlds/).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a21.jpg) ~Let fiction build a love of nature. When I was a kid I loved books told from the perspective of an animal, giving me a compelling glimpse of the lives of other creatures. I still remember reading dusty old library copies of An Otter’s Story (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J6VJI8/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004J6VJI8&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=I3TWOBANAKGXTYAK), Rabbit Hil (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142407968/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0142407968&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=OADHLRHF23RMNSJS)l, and White Fang (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1505313104/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1505313104&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=N6KMOUWS47UUT4ET). The most popular from-an-animal’s perspective these days is the delightful book, The Tale of Despere (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0763625299/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0763625299&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=BRDVUPYM3DOYRLJZ)aux (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0763625299/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0763625299&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=BRDVUPYM3DOYRLJZ). Here’s a list for younger children (https://thelibrary.org/kids/booklists/booklistbygenre.cfm?listid=814) and here’s one more appropriate for older kids. (https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/12395.Best_Books_Written_from_an_Animal_s_POV)

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a33.jpg) ~Keep a nature journal. This doesn’t have to be anything more than a blank book. Take it along when you go outdoors and set aside time to draw, write observations, or make up stories. Don’t expect kids to use their nature journals if you aren’t avidly using one yourself!

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a31.jpg) ~Emphasize hands-on fun. Run, climb, roll, and revel in being outdoors. Kids, especially the youngest among us, are great models for our own fun. You can find more ideas in books like Nature’s Playground: Activities, Crafts, and Games to Encourage Children to Get Outdoors (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1556527233/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1556527233&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=CPJV3KNLN25ZOWL2) and Go Wild!: 101 Things to Do Outdoors Before You Grow Up (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0711229392/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0711229392&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=X5E3HO7HT7ORJVVD).

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a34.jpg) ~Focus on one thing over time. Pick out a tree right past your window or a stream nearby. Describe it fully to yourself, perhaps writing about it or drawing it. Spend time regularly observing it. Notice changes in different seasons. Pay attention to everything that’s beautiful, distressing, and hard to understand. As questions arise, look for the answers.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a35.jpg) ~Stay positive. Simply enjoy and observe. Don’t allow yourself to make dire observations no matter how much you worry about issues affecting our lovely planet. The first step for children is love of the natural world, from that flows the desire to save it. When choosing resources, focus on those which help young people become informed and active in positive ways. Emphasize joy.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/a32.jpg) What activities and resources do you suggest? PORTIONs OF THIS POST Are EXCERPTED FROM FREE RANGE LEARNING (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193538709X/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=193538709X&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=SCWEQISTGPPR23Z2)

Modeling Education on the Natural World JULY 29, 2015 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 8 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/a3.jpg) Skeeze, pixabay.com (http://pixabay.com/en/butterflies-monarch-mating-insects-807534/) Nature operates complex systems (http://complexityblog.com/papers/aaron/Amaral-Complex%20Networks.pdf) with aweinspiring success. We see such systems in Monarch butterfly migration, spotted hyena hunting behavior, the day-to-day life of a honeybee colony, everywhere in nature. The science of complexity tells us these systems cannot be fully understood when examined in isolation because they function as part of a larger whole. Perhaps surprising to us, complex systems flourish right near the edge of chaos. That’s how nature works.

Any self-organizing system, including a human being, is exquisitely cued to maintain equilibrium. Yet that equilibrium can’t hold for long. That’s a good thing. Consider the pulse fluttering in your wrist. The heart rates of healthy young people are highly variable while, in contrast, the beat of a diseased or very elderly heart is much more regular. An overly stable system is rigid, unchanging, and eventually collapses. We are attuned to minute fluctuations in our bodies as well as in the world around us and are capable of almost infinite responses to regain balance. Some of these responses occur at a level we can’t consciously detect. Change or disturbance at any level functions as a stimulus to create new options. Each time we are destabilized, these elegant and complex processes at our disposal give us ways to regain balance. The more potential responses we have, the greater our adaptability. To me, this has everything to do with education. It tells me that we’re perfectly suited to expand our learning infinitely outward as long as we are not confined by sameness, limited variables, and inflexibility. As an example, lets compare a curriculum used in a second grade classroom to a flock of Canada geese migrating north. It seems obvious that the geese are all the same species heading in the same direction, surely far less complex than an up-todate curriculum supported by all sorts of educational resources and a well-trained teacher. But lets look more closely. Geese are self-organized into a highly adaptive system while the curriculum is not. The geese choose to migrate based on a number of factors. Unlike curricula, geese don’t operate by standardized data nor is there any flock leader telling them when it’s time to leave. Geese fly in V-shaped formations. Flying together (http://www.livescience.com/32812-why-do-bird-flocks-move-inunison.html) is far less physically stressful than flying alone. Each bird flies slightly ahead of the next bird so there’s substantially less wind resistance. Because they’re flying in formation, their wings need to flap less frequently and their heart rates stay lower, helping them conserve energy for the long flight. Flying in formation helps the birds communicate and follow the route more efficiently. They also take turns leading at the head of the V, the most difficult position. Each lead goose is smoothly replaced by another member of the flock after a short turn. That way no single goose is more essential than any other for the flock’s migration. The entire flock is able to respond and adapt to a whole range of conditions.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/a4.jpg) John Benson, wikimedia commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CanadianGeeseFlyingInVFormation.jpg) In contrast, that second grade curriculum is tightly structured and largely inflexible. It was written thousands of miles away, far removed from the day-to-day interests and concerns of the students or their teacher. Each lesson is broken down into rubrics to better measure adherence to specific standards and is mandated by lawmakers who are heavily influenced by the $81,523,904 spent by industry lobbyists in one year (https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php? showYear=2014&indexType=i). Students and their teacher are judged by tests put in place by education corporations (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/03/30/report-big-education-firms-spend-millions-lobbyingfor-pro-testing-policies/), even though improved test scores are not associated with success in adulthood (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/). Learning cued to real world use (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2014/11/19/the-benefits-of-natural-math/)s, learning that is based on readiness (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/08/07/reading-readiness-has-to-do-with-the-body/) rather than rigid timetables, is real learning. Nearly every variable is limited by the curriculum and overall school structure. The most enthusiastic and dedicated teacher is afforded no real time to let students explore subjects in greater depth or to try innovative educational approaches. The fewer potential variables, the more it adaptability is diminished. Remember, an overly stable system is rigid, unchanging, and eventually collapses.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/a5.jpg) jdurham, morguefile.com (http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/542391) Instead, a truly viable education is modeled on the natural world. After all, we are living natural systems ourselves. What principles are found in sustainable ecosystems? cross-pollination diversity self-assembly interdependence adaption balance an undeniable tendency toward beauty Such principles support and enhance life. These principles can form the core of a living system of education as well. All we need to add is joy.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/a6.jpg) pixabay.com (http://pixabay.com/en/children-hop-south-africa-water-486980/) Based on an excerpt from Free Range Learning (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193538709X/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=193538709X&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=UDL44XRA7YDIEBIE).

Most Of Us Are Ugly Ducklings MAY 12, 2015MAY 12, 2015 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 24 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a14.jpg) Our early hatching is lauded, our late hatching a reason for worry. We’re expected from our earliest years be like the other ducklings. (Well, better than others but not stuck up about it.) If we keep flying when it’s time to swim there’s medication to calm our out-of-bounds impulses. If we like to sing but can’t quack there’s a star chart to reinforce more appropriate sounds.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a31.jpg) We’re graded on the dexterity we demonstrate when curling our beaks under our wings at nap time, tested on our ability to dip our heads under water, judged by our willingness to stay in line. Poor results means doing these things over and over again until we thoroughly detest ourselves for not measuring up (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-testscores-dont-lead-to-success/). When we don’t do as well as expected we’re told we just need to try harder to be the very best duckling we can be. We’re told that we aren’t living up to our potential. We’re told we need to get our priorities straight (or a growth mindset, or grit, or an attitude adjustment). Ducklings from more affluent families might be enrolled in perfect-your-waddle coaching camps. Their preening may be assisted and their diets enhanced with imported bugs. Less fortunate ducklings may just get some quack tutoring.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a16.jpg) When we’re still not like other ducklings most of us try even harder to be normal. Remember those reindeer who wouldn’t let someone different play their reindeer games? Yeah, peer culture is harsh that way, especially when we’re segregated with our age-mates (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2014/06/26/free-range-chickens-free-range-learning/) rather than interacting with many fowl sorts in the larger community (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2011/10/26/bringing-kids-back-tothe-commons/). As adults, we measure our own success against the most attractive and capable ducks. That’s painful, but it’s what we learned from our earliest days on. This isn’t to besmirch ducks. Ducks are great, particularly at being ducks. But some of us

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a8.jpg) are swans,

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a6.jpg) or storks,

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a7.jpg) or kingfishers,

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a5.jpg) or great blue herons. Some of us aren’t birds at all.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a26.jpg) We’re frogs,

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a28.jpg) otters,

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a30.jpg) squirrels,

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a9.jpg) or dragonflies.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a13.jpg) Every creature in and around the pond is necessary. Each is integral to the larger ecosystem’s wisdom. We have to be extraordinarily stubborn day after day, year after year, in order to be ourselves. The ugly ducklings of this world, the ones who still aren’t who they’re “supposed” to be, are the ones with the vision big enough to create a future for us all.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/a29.jpg) All images in the public domain.

Sprouting Plant Advocates FEBRUARY 26, 2015APRIL 29, 2016 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 7 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/a1.jpg) Every growing season our four children choose which crop will be theirs to plant and tend in our vegetable garden. It doesn’t make my work easier. But this tradition helps them understand how intrinsically connected we all are to sunlight, soil, and the lives of growing things. Claire always insists on sugar snap peas. They grow quickly enough to gratify her restless nature and besides, they’re fun to eat fresh from the vine. Her three brothers aren’t as opinionated. They choose something different each year. Last year Benjamin had a great crop of sweet corn, buzzing with honeybees and taller than his pre-teen shoulders. Little Samuel’s green peppers struggled—perhaps too close to the shadowing tomato plants, but still they produced a gratifying harvest, heavy and large in his preschooler’s hands. Only Kirby’s chosen crop, watermelons, disappointed. He’d picked them out of the seed catalog based on claims of huge size and juicy red flesh. He took personal pride in the resulting vines stretching vigorously across the garden. Yet the flowers never fruited. Instead they turned brown and curled up. This winter, before we’ve even ordered our spring seeds, Kirby’s second-grade class begins a unit on botany. He comes home and tells us that everyone got to write his or her name on a Styrofoam cup. Then they filled the cups with potting soil and each planted one white bean. Although he’s seen this miracle happen over and over at home he’s excited about the project at school. Daily he supplies progress reports while unloading his book bag containing carefully drawn worksheets with terms like root, stem, leaves, pistol, and stamen. For nearly a week the cups show only dirt. Then one day Kirby eagerly hurries from the bus with wonderful news. A bean has sprouted! Emily’s cup is the first to show life. “It’s like a little bent green rubber band,” he exclaims. Every day he reports whose cups are bursting with growth. It has become a competition. Emily’s plant, at first the class wonder, is now no longer the tallest. For a few days Jason’s plant is the tallest, then Kerri’s, then Christoper’s plant takes the lead. Only a few cups show no visible progress. Kirby’s cup is one of those. His enthusiasm is not diminished. He’s seen what happens when a seed awakens, splits its shell, pushes through the dirt, and stands upright. He trusts in the life force of each seed. That Friday there’s a teacher study day. A three-day weekend with no one at school to water those little cups. I find myself wondering about the tender green beans lined up in the cold window, dry and struggling to live. I’m almost afraid to send my trusting son off to school on Monday. But Kirby returns home with a shy grin, as if he can hardly believe a long-awaited hope has come true. “It’s this big!” he says, stretching his thumb and forefinger apart. Apparently his little plant mustered up some courage during the long weekend alone. Not only has it burst through the soil, it’s already competing with older seedlings in height. A few days later I volunteer in the classroom and notice the progress of the seedlings. Standing up from cups – children’s names scrawled proudly across the front – they appear to have identities of their own. But they’re getting gangly, leaning on the window or neighboring plants. They need to be put into bigger pots or, if only they’d been planted at the right time, into a garden. It seems an ill-timed project. The next day, coming in from errands, I’m disconcerted by a terse phone message from Kirby’s teacher. Something about non-compliance. The teacher wants me to call back to help her determine an appropriate punishment. I can’t imagine what might have gone wrong. I start to call her back, but then I hear the school bus rounding the corner. I’ll wait to hear what Kirby has to say first. There’s a look children get that’s hard to describe. They appear so full they may burst, but they don’t know if they can let out what has them so overwhelmed. The adult world has them confounded. That’s the look Kirby wears. Misery, anger, guilt, petulance, and defiance as well. There’s so much emotion on his face that I can only give him a big hug and ask him to tell me. He can’t sit. He paces as he starts to explain. Today in class his teacher had each pupil take his or her plant, sit at their desks and…. for a minute he can’t go on. He tries again. Finally I understand. The ultimate purpose of the seedling is to serve as an example of plant anatomy. “She wanted me to kill it Mom!” he said, wide-eyed at the injustice of it. It seems Kirby took the plastic knife he was given but just sat there. He wouldn’t take his plant out of the dirt, he wouldn’t cut it apart. While the other children followed instructions on their worksheets the teacher scolded Kirby. Then took his plant and put it back on the windowsill where it sat alone, nearly tipping over without other seedlings to lean on. My son waited, knowing he’d done something wrong. It’s too soon to plant the bean plant in the garden. Repotting might not give it a strong chance either. I have to tell him the truth about his plant’s chances. But I explain that I’m proud of him for doing what he thought was right. The world needs more people who listen to their hearts. I call his teacher. I try to explain that my kindhearted son felt he was sticking up for a friend of his, that sometimes following the rules doesn’t always serve the higher good. The teacher doesn’t agree. The next day Kirby is punished. He is learning that rules, even the ones we feel are wrong, bear consequences. Although his bright green plant isn’t likely to survive, I suspect that, this year, Kirby will decide to plant green beans in our garden. He’ll grow them in memory of his friend and of the fallen green comrades who gave their lives for second-grade science.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/a-jp2.jpg)

First published in Green Prints (http://www.greenprints.com/), a loooong time ago!

The Magic of Fresh Air for Babies & Other Beings JANUARY 21, 2015MARCH 7, 2016 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 11 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/child-23.jpg) CC by 2.0 Abigail Batchelder’s (https://www.flickr.com/photos/abbybatchelder/4397499332/in/photostream/) flickr photostream For centuries it was common wisdom that a few hours of fresh air each day was an absolute necessity. Children from infancy on up were bundled in warm clothes and taken out in all seasons. The practice stemmed from a longstanding belief that time outdoors promoted strength and robust health. It was also believed that it kept various character weaknesses at bay. That is, until the practice was poo-poo’ed as nonsense. Nothing but old wives’ tales. Fortunately, my parents thought otherwise. My mother knew childish energy is best expended outdoors. It never occurred to her that we required her participation as she sent us out every day. When we were small she told us to stay in the yard, checking every now and then from the window. Soon our range expanded to a few acres of woods behind our house plus pretty much anywhere we could go on our bikes while still making it back in time for dinner. I learned even more about the importance of being outside from my father. He set a quiet example by paying attention to birds, the weather, the garden. If we went somewhere with him other than a hardware store, it was to go hiking in the Cleveland Metroparks. It wasn’t until I had my first baby that my father showed me a deeper power of nature, again simply by example. When he held babies he almost always walked outdoors with them, particularly if they were fussy. “Here’s the sky,” he’d point. “That’s a tree over there, you’ll be running on this grass in no time,” he’d gently tell an infant. Their eyes would get big and they’d look around, more calm and focused than they were indoors. I started to follow his example. If I couldn’t figure out my baby’s troubles, I’d go out to lie on the grass during the day, or wrap up warmly to look at the stars in the middle of the night. It nearly always settled a crying baby. It worked even better for toddlers. They’d get cranky in the house, far crankier in the car. They wanted out in the largest sense possible. They’d stay outdoors as long as I’d let them, on our most glorious days this lasted for hours. When she was a year old my daughter liked to pick up little stones, hold them briefly, then place them in little piles. She’d look at me, shaking her head to remind herself they couldn’t go in her mouth. My little children helped me garden and sweep and rake. They dug in the dirt, made fairy houses out of sticks and leaves, filled their little wagons with the hickory nuts that littered our yard in autumn, stomped in puddles, squatted to watch bugs, climbed on logs, and asked endless questions. All these richly sensory experiences happened simply because we were outdoors. I had no idea at the time that all of this movement helped build essential brainpower. (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/08/07/reading-readiness-has-to-do-with-the-body/) As Gill Connell and Cheryl McCarthy explain in the wonderful book, A Moving Child Is a Learning Child (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575424355/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1575424355&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=NHG4ANOWVWXO4RVL), A young child can learn only what her brain is primed and ready for. And in the early years, that’s everything the body has to teach—the tangible, physical, and sensory qualities of the world around her. It’s no wonder preschool learning rarely happens sitting down. Influential 19th century British educator, Charlotte Mason, suggested children should spend four to six hours a day outdoors. She wrote in Home Education (http://amblesideonline.org/CM/vol1complete.html#043), …every hour spent in the open is a clear gain, tending to the increase of brain power and bodily vigour, and to the lengthening of life itself. They who know what it is to have fevered skin and throbbing brain deliciously soothed by the cool touch of the air are inclined to make a new rule of life, Never be within doors when you can rightly be without. Besides, the gain of an hour or two in the open air, there is this to be considered: meals taken al fresco are usually joyous, and there is nothing like gladness for converting meat and drink into healthy blood and tissue. All the time, too, the children are storing up memories of a happy childhood. In Scandinavian countries, parents believe it’s healthier for babies and children to be outside for a few hours a day in all but the most extreme temperatures (and they mean extreme, as in 0 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s a common practice (http://www.babble.com/baby/baby-health-safety/baby-sleep-parenting-wisdom-scandinavia/) to dress babies warmly and tuck them in a stroller in the yard, balcony, or outside a shop to nap on a snowy day. In fact, the Finnish Ministry of Labour specifically recommends it (http://www.ouka.fi/c/document_library/get_file? uuid=5bf1ec7e-ecc0-406f-8aa3-5cf71ff0b4b3&groupId=1651612)(see page 24 under “naps”). Does it help babies sleep better? One study showed children took longer naps outdoors (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18767347) compared with naps taken indoors. Pediatrician Harvey Karp points out, in The Happiest Toddler on the Block (http://goo.gl/nArJJ), how staying indoors is overstimulating while at the same time boring for children. Our homes are boring because they replace the exciting sensations of nature (the feeling of the wind on their skin, the brilliant sun, the soft grass, etc.) with an immense stillness (flat walls, flat floors, no wind). Yet at the same time, he writes, being indoors is overstimulating. It bombards them with jolting experiences that kids in the past never had to deal with: crazy cartoons, slick videos, clanging computer games, noisy toys, and bright colors everywhere…which can make many little children feel stressed. There are exhaustive studies showing that time outdoors, particularly in nature, benefit us in myriad ways—from better health to peace of mind. (http://www.nwf.org/Be-Out-There/Why-Be-Out-There/Health-Benefits.aspx) I think there’s something intangible too, something to do with keeping alive the awe and wonder that is our birthright. That’s something the youngest children can help us relearn.

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/child-22.jpg) CC by 2.0 pixydust8605’s (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixydust8605/2535445640/in/photostream/)flickr photostream

Are You An Anthropocentrist? NOVEMBER 5, 2014 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 133 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/child-27.jpg) Paradise, by Gillis d’Hondecoeter circa 1575 When I was growing up we were taught humans were at the top of every chart, far superior (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocentrism) to all other living beings. Our textbooks, illustrated with stereotypical images of “cave men,” proved the assertion with a long list of what our species could do that others could not. The list was so smug that I was a bit embarrassed on behalf of my fellow homo sapiens. A skeptic even then, I thought the list was somewhat prejudicial. Worse, it didn’t acknowledge what feels obvious to young children, that we are all things and all things are us. I don’t for a moment dismiss our many human accomplishments—among them language, science, the arts, and shared rules meant to advance mutual compassion. I simply mean to point out that we’re not better, we’re different. Besides, what I was taught as a kid doesn’t really hold up. Here are some reasons why.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/child-2.jpg) Tool use was a biggie on that list. It’s true, animals haven’t developed the smart phone (thus are spared walking into traffic while texting (http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2012/07/31/texting-while-walking-think-twice/)) but they naturally incorporate tool use when it makes sense for them. 1. Crows make tools (//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15503722/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/crows-share-trickstrade/#.UDOF7KllRXs) like hooks and rakes out of twigs, leaves, even their own feathers to obtain items just out of reach and can use three tools in sequence (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Z6Mvjd9w0). They also will drop pebbles into a container in order to raise the level of water, understanding cause and effect (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140723180824.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter) as well as a seven to 10-year-old child. Other examples of tool use by crows? They’re known to drop nuts on a roadway so cars will crack the shells, then wait for a break in traffic to retrieve the nutmeat. Interestingly, they’re more proficient when they grow up watching adult crows fashion tools. (Crows might wonder why we segregate human kids (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2014/04/23/welcome-kids-into-the-workplace-more-than-one-day-a-year/) away from the interesting work-a-day world of adults.) 2. Naked mole rats (http://www.wired.com/2009/01/animaltools/) dig with their teeth, but to keep from inhaling dust and dirt they’re known to position wood shavings in their mouths as rudimentary face masks. 3. The octopus (http://www.livescience.com/9762-clever-octopus-builds-mobile-home.html) is more closely related to clams than to people, yet these invertebrates plan ahead, tool-wise. For example they’ve been seen carrying coconut shell halves they can hide under later in order to grab unsuspecting prey as it passes. 4. Orangutans fold leaves into a usable “musical instrument (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17557-orangutansfashion-only-known-animal-instrument.html#.VFlzOPnF9Cg)” that modifies their calls, making them sound lower and therefore more threatening to large predators.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/child-21.jpg) Math was another obvious difference. We were taught that numerical sense is evidence of higher order thinking. Yet the animal kingdom uses math when necessary. 1. Bears can count (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/16/bears-count-compare-cognitive_n_1602572.html? utm_hp_ref=green&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009). Although they don’t benefit from the intelligence-boosting effect of living in social groups, research shows bears can estimate quantities just as well as primates. One particular study taught bears to discriminate between dots on a touchscreen computer, a situation about as far removed from relevant bear smarts as possible. Their abilities in natural habitat are likely to be far more impressive. 2. Elephants have substantial numerical skills (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10071-008-0185-9), outperforming primates and even human children when tested for their ability to find the difference between two quantities. A study found elephants can discriminate between one and two as well as between larger numbers. 3. Baby chicks can not only count (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/04/01/we-told-you-chicks-are-goodat-math-they-count-add-and-subtract/#.U7P-WfldVCg), they can even can add up numbers based on groups of objects they can’t see at the moment. And that’s when they’re a few days old! By two weeks of age, chickens (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10129124/Chickens-cleverer-than-toddlers.html) can take into account the sun’s height and position to navigate. Plus they’re able to draw inferences and plan ahead, for example choosing to delay gratification in order to reap a greater reward. And who’d have guessed, but chickens prefer to count from left to right (http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/6/3/290). 4. Pigeons (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/science/pigeons-can-learn-higher-math-as-well-as-monkeys-studysuggests.html?_r=0) are able to learn abstract rules about numbers and order pairs. Aside from humans, only rhesus monkeys have been able to perform at this level. 5. Insects also use math. Honeybees (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0004263)can distinguish between and remember quantities up to four. They can also match patterns. Ants operate with a collective form of intelligence (http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/14986/20140527/ants-math-insect-colonies-intelligently-optimize-searchesfood.htm), able to use complex problem-solving strategies to optimize time and energy spent feeding the colony.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/child-22.jpg) People, we were told, communicate in complex ways while animals are, well, just animals. Again, not true. 1. Elephants communicate sophisticated ideas in a variety of ways including low-frequency sounds (http://ftp.swa.com/members/publications/garstang%20jcp.pdf) from 1 and 20 Hz that can travel over miles. So far, researchers have identified nearly 200 expressions and gestures, along with nearly 100 vocalizations. Elephants can recognize at least 100 other unseen elephants (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/elephants-and-their-shockingmath-abilities.html) by voice alone. Their remarkable ability to understand communication isn’t limited to their own species. African elephants can differentiate between languages, gender, and age of human speakers (http://news.discovery.com/animals/elephants-can-tell-gender-ethnicity-in-human-voices-140311.htm). 2. Dolphins remember one another, without contact, for at least 20 years (http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/280/1768/20131726.abstract%20). In fact, researchers have found that dolphins call each other by name (http://news.discovery.com/animals/whales-dolphins/dolphins-call-each-other-byname-130219.htm) (in this case, distinctive signature whistles). 3. Koko, a western lowland gorilla, has been taught American Sign Language and, according to her trainer, understands about 1,000 signs along with nearly 2,000 words of spoken English. Sometimes, when there’s not a relevant sign, Koko invents her own signs. For example (http://www.koko.org/sign-language), she “compounded the sign for scratch with the sign for comb to mean, “brush” (scratch-comb).” 4. Alex, an African gray parrot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)), learned well over 100 words that he used appropriately in unique contexts, demonstrating the intelligence of a five year old human child. He died suddenly in 2007. The last thing he said to his trainer upon going to his cage for the night was, “You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/science/10cnd-parrot.html?_r=0).”

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/child-23.jpg) Which brings us to emotion and personality. Yup, non-human types are brimming with it. 1. Chimps not only create social traditions (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120828190858.htm), they’re interested in what’s trendy. Researchers are just now catching on (academic types are not known for fashion forwardness) to the latest thing, chimps wearing grass in their ears. (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/animal-fashion-some-chimps-are-putting-grass-ears-and-nobody-knows-why-180951888/?no-ist) 2. Stressed-out honeybees show an increased expectation of bad outcomes. In other words, they become pessimists (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/honeybee-pessimism/). The bees also showed altered levels of neurochemicals associated with depression (http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/depression/symptoms). Other invertebrates, such as crayfish, can exhibit anxiety (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animalemotions/201406/the-emotional-lives-crayfish-stress-and-anxiety) and respond well to medications that relieve anxiety in humans. 3. Dogs traumatized by military service or abuse exhibit signs of canine Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/September-2012/Can-Dogs-Suffer-From-Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder/) 4. Rats feel regret after making poor choices (http://www.iflscience.com/brain/study-suggests-rats-capable-feeling-regretover-poor-choices). 5. Crows (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300122551/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0300122551&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=AN7F3DZ42UOWJUVO) will eat nearly anything, but prefer French fries from a McDonalds bag to the same fries in a plain brown sack. They not only hold grudges against specific humans who have done them wrong, but will teach other crows (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/06/30/grudge-holding-crows-pass-on-theiranger-to-family-and-friends/#.VFlu4PnF9Cg) to react badly upon seeing them as well. 6. And play? There’s plenty of it. Crows like to ski down icy rooftops (https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Gz2RsIYqLlE) and snow-covered slopes (http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtfulanimal/2012/01/16/snowboarding-crows-the-plot-thickens/) holding sticks or boards in their talons. River otters (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuqEneup4zU), elephants (http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/elephantgestures-play), and whales (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3AkGSigrA&feature=player_embedded#!) are known for playful behavior.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/child-24.jpg) Let me push it one step farther, to compassion and even spirituality. We’ve been told that only humans have evolved beyond survival-based selfishness to establish ethics and morality. We’ve been taught we’re the only species to perform rituals as we mourn the passing of our departed, the only ones to meditate in silence, the only ones to experience a sense of awe akin to reverence. Apparently not true either. 1. Altruism? There’s plenty of evidence. A dolphin saving a beached whale and its calf (http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/save-the-whales-how-moko-the-dolphin-came-to-the-rescue-of-amother-and-her-calf-795025.html). Gorillas working together to dismantle dangerous poachers’ traps (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201208/gorillas-dismantle-poachers-traps-compassionateconservation-the-gorilla). A pod of sperm whales adopting a disabled dolphin (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/130123-sperm-whale-dolphin-adopted-animal-science/). Rats gnawing through cages to help other imprisoned rats (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/10/rats-empathy-altruisticbehavior_n_1140130.html). A bear assisting an injured crow (https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=gJ_3BN0m7S8&feature=player_embedded). Lions chasing away an Ethiopian child’s kidnappers (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4116778.stm) and guarding her until human help arrived. 2. How about awe? Chimps are known to ritualistically dance (http://www.janegoodall.org/chimp-central-waterfalldisplays) at the advent of thunderstorms and dance (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animalemotions/200911/do-animals-have-spiritual-experiences-yes-they-do) at waterfalls. They’ve also been observed dancing (http://phys.org/news183101385.html) (rather than fleeing instinctively) in the face of wild grass fires. 3. Meditation? Baboons have been observed performing a sangha (http://www.scienceonreligion.org/index.php/newsresearch/research-updates/570-animals-may-have-religion), sitting in silence for over a half hour gazing at a stream of water, even the juveniles remaining quiet. 4. Love? Probably yes according to research with cats and dogs (http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/04/doesyour-dog-or-cat-actually-love-you/360784/?single_page=true) who seem to be tapping into (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307885968/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307885968&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=64OX7WCFFC77PLNM) fields beyond our conscious awareness to know when their owners are coming home. 5. Funerals, those too. Elephants weep in sorrow (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270977/Elephants-reallygrieve-like-They-shed-tears-try-bury-dead--leading-wildlife-film-maker-reveals-animals-like-us.html) and grieve their dead. They’ve also been known to sense the death of humans important to them, even from great distances, as two tribes of African elephants did when they walked for hours to mourn at the home of a conservationist who’d once rescued them (http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Home-Page-News-and-Views/Wild-Elephants-Mourn-Death-offamed-Elephant-Whisperer.aspx). Ritualized behavior to mourn death is common (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/200910/grief-in-animals-its-arrogant-think-were-the-onlyanimals-who-mourn) in animals including foxes (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/200907/foxcougar-and-funeral), magpies (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1221754/Magpies-grieve-dead-turnfunerals.html#ixzz1zE7QhnpI), wolves (http://www.livingwithwolves.org/), dolphins (http://www.globalanimal.org/2012/07/17/mother-dolphins-amazing-display-of-emotion-video/78575/#.UAZOE7R6Ew), and gorillas (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/2609440/Mother-gorillas-grief-showsemotion-is-not-only-human.html). 6. Maybe even religion. Cetologist Hal Whitehead (http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo3639407.html)‘s research indicates that sperm whales not only transmit culture to their young, they may have have evolved a form of religion (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1203346/Joy-grief-altruism--extraordinary-mammals-human-feelingsreligion.html) to make sense of their purpose.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/child-25.jpg) Even these terribly incomplete examples have probably taxed your patience although there are thousands of other fascinating proofs out there. Let’s remember, all these observations are human-centric, further evidence that we judge animals against one species—-us. We wouldn’t have particularly good scores if tested according to the abilities of our fellow creatures. It’s not as if we can age in reverse (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/can-a-jellyfish-unlock-the-secret-of-immortality.html? pagewanted=all&_r=2&) as a jellyfish named Turritopsis dohrnii does, possess a snake’s infrared vision (http://phys.org/news76249412.html) able to assess the difference in temperature between moving prey and surrounding area on the scale of milliKelvins, emit a protein that neutralizes nearly every poison (http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php? script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-79301999000100005) as an opossum does, regrow limbs (http://www.livescience.com/34513-how-salamanders-regenerate-lost-limbs.html) and organs as the salamander can, or are able to hear as well as the wax moth Galleria mellonella which is capable of detecting frequencies of up to 300kHz, (we humans at best hear to about 20kHz). According to evolutionary biologists (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news67182.html), we humans aren’t better than animals, just different. Researchers in fields like comparative psychology and language study, say there’s an “emerging consensus among scientists that animals share functional parallels with humans’ conscious metacognition (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120322131504.htm) — that is, our ability to reflect on our own mental processes and guide and optimize them.” As naturalist Henry Beston wrote in The Outermost House (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080507368X/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=080507368X&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa20&linkId=BANGVD2IEKN6RJGW), We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate for having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein do we err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/child-26.jpg) “Paradijs met dieren” by Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1620

Play Outside After Dark AUGUST 29, 2013NOVEMBER 1, 2013 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 1 COMMENT

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/child1.jpg) The word “lunar” derives from lunaticus, meaning “of the moon” or “moonstruck”. The wheel of the year is turning toward shorter days. Early darkness adds a whole new dimension to the evening. There’s something magical about being outside as the sun goes down and dusk turns to night. Tonight, go outside. It might bring on awed contemplation. It might inspire conversation. It might turn ordinary fun into something extraordinary. Try one of these eleven ideas. They aren’t just for kids. Why not invite friends over or create a “backyard merriment” meetup (http://www.meetup.com/) or use some of these ideas for an upcoming family reunion? (The game Sardines takes on a whole different vibe when you’re playing with adults.) Free fun shouldn’t stop once childhood does. “Play is the exaltation of the possible.” Martin Buber 1. Start the tradition of taking a walk when the moon is full. You’ll find inspiration in the delightful children’s books Owl Moon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399214577/ref=as_li_ss_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0399214577&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa-20) by Jane Yolen and Walk When the Moon Is Full (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0936984171/ref=as_li_ss_tl? ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0936984171&linkCode=as2&tag=biofeafa-20) by Frances Hamerstrom. Our full moon walks are simply walks around the neighborhood, sometimes just around the yard. Familiar landmarks look different and the walk takes on a sort of enchanted feeling that only happens after dark. 2. Go outside and sing. Yes, really. It’s somehow more freeing to lift up your voice in the dark. I used to get together with friends who loved to go caroling any time of year. I know it sounds strange but it made an ordinary evening entirely celebratory. We waited until after dusk, then strolled nearby streets singing. (Rounds are particularly nice for anytime caroling.) After caroling a few times near Lake Erie we decided that singing to nature felt particularly wonderful and, if we weren’t by the lake, dedicated our songs to the trees and grass and sky. 3. Sit around a fire. If you can’t build a campfire, use a fire bowl or fire pit. There’s something timeless about watching flames. Silence feels comfortable and thoughts drift. Each generation of our ancestors, stretching back to earliest humanity, sat before flames too. Perhaps the reflective mood evoked by fire has been passed down by those ancestors. 4. Eat outside. Take your dinner to the park or the beach or far in the back yard. If at all possible, cook some of it outside over a flame. Anything you cook together, outside under night skies, somehow tastes better. 5. Shine a light onto the house or fence or a sheet hanging on the clothesline, setting the stage for some shadow puppets. Try hand shadow puppetry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowgraphy_(performing_art)), called shadowgraphy or ombromanie, to cast moving images with your hands (http://www.blifaloo.com/shadow-puppets/). Or put together some shadow puppets out of black posterboard and wire (http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/definitions/shadow.html). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowgraphy_(performing_art)) 6. Sleep outside on an open porch or in a hammock slung between trees or in a backyard tent. If your kids are small, sleep out there with them, maybe just one kid at a time for some special adult-child togetherness. When kids get older, let them do it on their own. One of my kids loved to do this when he was around eleven years old. He’d haul a tent and supplies as far out back as possible, taking along a camp lantern and books to read and plenty of food. He’d set up a tiny camp stove to make a late supper. Sometimes he did this alone, sometimes with friends. It’s a not-too-threatening way for kids to challenge themselves. For grown-ups, a night outdoors can be a much-needed respite from those distracting screens that take up so much of our time. 7. Go out on the steps or the swing or the grass to make music. When it’s too dark to see sheet music you’re more likely to improvise. Your neighbors probably won’t appreciate tuba practice at night but the soft chords of an acoustic guitar or sweet notes from a flute will flavor the air with mystery. 8. Play with flashlights. Darkness fun amps up when kids have flashlights. Everything looks a little different in that not-sobright gleam. They’ll discover for themselves how creepy they look shining the light straight up from their chins or inside their mouths. For people of any age, flashlight games are fun. Here are two such games. Statues. One person is It and the other players strike a statue pose. The person who is It walks up to each player in turn, shines a light on them, and tries (without touching them) to make them laugh. First player to laugh is the next person to be It. Strange noises and silly faces will happen. Follow the firefly. One person is selected to be the firefly and hides outside in the dark, away from the other players. After counting to 20 everyone goes in search of the firefly, who is constantly moving around from hiding spot to hiding spot. Every 60 seconds, the firefly must quickly flick his or her flashlight on and off. When caught, a new firefly is appointed. This is best played with a small pocket flashlight so that the beam is not too easy to spot. For extra fun, and to reassure small children, let every player have a flashlight they can turn on and off but cover each light with different colored tissue or plastic. That way the yard will flicker with twinkling lights, but players concentrate on finding the color of that round’s firefly. 9. Play after dark games. Sardines: This is like reverse hide-and-seek. One person is the hider and finds a place to hide while the rest of the players count to 50 with their eyes shut. Then everyone splits up to search for the hider. Once the hider is found, each person must squeeze into the same hiding spot along with the hider, being careful not to make any noise. The first person to find the hider is the next person to be the new hider. But that round isn’t over until there’s only one person left searching. Ghost in the Graveyard: Designate the boundaries of the graveyard/playing field. Pick a home base where players can stand or all touch at the same time such as a large tree, front stoop, or back patio. Choose the ghost. Everyone but the ghost stays at home base while the ghost hides. Players chant, “One o’clock… two o’clock… three o’clock…” and so on, up to twelve o’clock, then shout, “Midnight! I hope I don’t see the ghost tonight!” Players leave the home base and search for the ghost. The ghost’s job is to jump out, surprise, and tag players. When anyone encounters the ghost they yell, “Ghost in the graveyard!” and try to run away. Home base is safe, where no one can be tagged. All the people who are caught also become ghosts and hide with (or close to) the original ghost. Continue the game until everyone is caught. The last person caught becomes the ghost for the next round. 10. Darkness lends itself to imagination, making it a perfect backdrop for telling tales. Try true stories, Darwin Awards (http://www.darwinawards.com/), scary stories, funny stories (http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/campactivities/funny-campfire-stories.page-1.html), and tall tales (http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/tall-tales/). Don’t forget to share memories—of your kids as babies, of your own growing up years, of long-gone loved ones. And try round-robin storytelling. Someone starts off the story, then after adding a dramatic twist turns it over to the next person, and so on. The ritual of telling tales after it becomes too dark to work is nearly as old as language. 11. Look at the stars, not only to find constellations but to widen your perspective. The best way is to lie on your back, maybe in some nice soft grass. If you look long enough you’ll get the impression that you’re not facing up, but out (http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/08/13/208647989/how-to-fall-forever-into-the-night-sky), with the cosmos surrounding you. Possible bonus: shooting stars.

Look Up JULY 24, 2013 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 5 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/child17.jpg) Summer. Perfect for lounging around doing nothing more than gazing at clouds. It’s a completely free pastime. The traditional spot to indulge in this pleasurable activity is sitting in the grass. Better yet, lying on the grass. Stay there as clouds drift into view over treetops and roofs, slowly changing form. Linger long enough, you might insist you can feel the planet moving. Looking at clouds is a perfect way to disengage from all the buzzing, ringing distractions that claw our attention to shreds (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2010/07/20/to-be-or-to-multitask/). Those puffs of air vapor seem to invite contemplation. And that’s good. Daydreaming is so rejuvenating (http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/why-does-daydreaming-getsuch-bad-rap) that it can boost creativity. It also helps us to relax, review emotion-laden situations calmly, generate new ideas, and get to know ourselves better. When we let our minds wander, we’re in what neuroscience calls the “default mode network.” An L.A. Times article titled, “An Idle Brain May Be The Self’s Workshop (http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-brain-20100830,0,479095.story)” notes, “Just as sleep appears to play an important role in learning, memory consolidation and maintaining the body’s metabolic function, some scientists wonder whether unstructured mental time — time to zone out and daydream — might also play a key role in our mental well-being. If so, that’s a cautionary tale for a society that prizes productivity and takes a dim view of mind-wandering.” Even when you don’t have time to lie in the grass, take the time to look up. You may notice there’s really no such thing as a less-than-fascinating sky. Raining, snowing, overcast, starry, it’s all lovely and always in a slightly different way. It has to do with seeing, really seeing. I learned this when I helped conduct a psychology study in college. We went to urban office buildings and asked people two questions. First, we asked each person to describe his or her mood. Second, we asked them to describe the current appearance of the sky. These people were in their offices or hallways when we talked to them and the windows in most buildings were shuttered with horizontal blinds ubiquitous during that decade, so the only way they could have described the sky is if they had paid attention on their way to work or during a break. Here’s the interesting part. The people who identified themselves as pessimistic, angry, depressed or in other negative terms were also the ones unable to describe the sky’s appearance. You guessed it. The happiest and most optimistic people either correctly described the sky or came very close. That study was never published, but research (http://www.physorg.com/news173551810.html) these days now indicates that pausing to experience nature in our daily lives is powerfully positive. Just a few minutes of regular exposure has been shown to improve our emotional and physical health. It leads us to be more generous, to enhance relationships and value community. The effect (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30192793) of nature, even looking out a window at nearby trees, seems to lead us, as one researcher noted, to be “our best selves.” Go ahead, look at some clouds right now. You may see a cloud pig sailing a cloud boat. The sailboat may morph into French fries before the whole thing breaks apart into a shape resembling a bongo-playing octopus. Good thing the images we see in clouds aren’t a meterological Rorschach test.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/child18.jpg) Resources Find out how nature-deprivation can affect your child’s eyesight (https://lauragraceweldon.com/2010/08/10/epidemic-ofnearsightedness-has-startling-cause/). Check out the Cloud Appreciation Society (http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/). You can post photos to the online gallery, chat about all things cloudy on the forum, and live by their manifesto (http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/manifesto/) which includes a pledge to fight “blue-sky thinking.” Consider becoming cloud collectors. Bird watchers keep a life list of their sightings, now cloud watchers can do the same with The Cloud Collector’s Handbook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811875423/ref=as_li_ss_tl? ie=UTF8&tag=biofeafa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0811875423) by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. Packed with beautiful photos, this is a perfect book for adults and kids to share as they “collect” different cloud types. You might want to keep a handbook near a window or in your car, ready to help with identifications. Two of the best are The Cloudspotter’s Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399533451/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=biofeafa20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0399533451) also by Gavin Pretor-Pinney and The Book of Clouds (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402728131/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=biofeafa20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1402728131) by John A. Day, who was known through his long career as Cloudman. Check out resources on Cloudman’s site (http://www.cloudman.com/) including instructions for making a cloud discovery notebook, tips for photographing clouds, and cloud history. More information available through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (http://www.noaa.gov/).

(http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2011/07/practice-cloud-appreciation/cloudchart/)

Will Fracking Affect My Family? AUGUST 22, 2012SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 / LAURA GRACE WELDON / 13 COMMENTS

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fracking-1.jpg) Equipment arrives at this dairy farm. (Image: fafaohio.org) Have you heard about fracking? It may seem like it will have no impact on your or your family. But take a look at the facts. A dairy farm not far from us is the first in our area to begin hydraulic fracturing. This process was developed to extract formerly unattainable gas and oil from rock a mile or more below the surface. Unlike old style wells bored straight down or at a slant, these go down and then proceed horizontally. Using a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals the rock is fractured (hence the name) to release fossil fuels. This is commonly called fracking. I went to look for myself. The bucolic farm is snuggled along gentle hillsides. An Amish buggy went by as I took in the dissonant sight of Holsteins grazing and huge rigs marked Halliburton parked just off the narrow rural road. Drilling hadn’t started. I wondered if fracking chemicals could possibly affect those cows and wind up in their milk. How many of us know where our yogurt once grazed (http://www.gilttaste.com/stories/327-iacp-journalism-awards-finalist-what-willfracking-do-to-your-food-supply)? I’m as energy dependent as the next person. But I wanted to know more about fracking, especially how it might affect my family and community, so I started hunting down information. Sorting through the confusion

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fracking-2.jpg) My husband and I attended a public meeting held to promote leasing by landowners. There were lots of glossy handouts and a power point presentation. The speakers said that 60 years of gas well drilling had never caused a health or safety problem. I found the same reassuring claims by the oil and gas industry in advertising campaigns and online reports (http://www.energyindepth.org/PDF/Hydraulic-Fracturing-3-E%27s.pdf). Friends who’ve already signed fracking leases repeat this too. It seems to me they’re blurring the distinction between decades of experience in vertical drilling methods and the much newer process of fracking. It’s not hard to find incidents around my hometown of older-style wells causing trouble. That includes homes with explosive levels of methane (http://thepostnewspapers.com/medina/gas-well-contaminated--medinacounty--1-28--wojciak-) as well as a house explosion (http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/11/bainbridge/report.pdf) linked to inadequate cementing of well casings. Apparently such problems have occurred in both vertically drilled wells and fracked wells (http://www.propublica.org/article/water-problems-from-drilling-are-more-frequent-than-officials-said-731). But technically, assertions that fracking is safe are largely true. That’s because industry and government regulatory agencies (http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/jul/14/kris-jordan/state-sen-kris-jordan-says-fracking-hasnt-contamin/) use the term “fracking” only as it relates to the actual process of pumping fluids into the ground to break apart rock. So when they make claims about fracking safety, they don’t include what happens while drilling, constructing the well, setting off explosions, dealing with blowouts or well fires, storing waste water in open containment basins, vapors emitted from condensate tanks, open flaring to burn off gasses, transporting waste, injecting waste water into deep disposal wells, or at any point in the future when the wells may leak. That’s convenient, because a University of Texas study found that these are the activities actually contaminating air, water, and soil (http://energy.utexas.edu/images/ei_shale_gas_regulation120215.pdf). So both sides are “right” in the fracking debate. The industry is correct when they say that fracking is largely safe because of their limited definition of the word. People concerned about the environmental and health consequences lump all activities associated with the process under the term “fracking,” making their claims of risk correct too. Maybe this is one reason why media coverage of fracking is so confusing. For example, the standard fracking-related practice of disposing of waste in deep injection wells (http://www.energyfromshale.org/hydraulic-fracturing-fluid) has been linked to earthquakes (http://www.propublica.org/article/injection-wells-the-poison-beneath-us) inColorado (http://www.realaspen.com/article/1106/USGS-Injection-of-fracking-wastewater-in-deep-disposal-wells-may-havetriggered-spate-of-earthquakes), Oklahoma (http://www.eenews.net/public/eenewspm/2011/11/02/1), Texas (http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/07/12/more-on-the-science-linking-fracking-disposal-wells-to-earthquakes/), and Arkansas (http://www.epmag.com/Production/Arkansas-Agency-Bans-Frac-Disposal-Wells_88427) according to a U.S. Geological Survey study (http://www2.seismosoc.org/FMPro?-db=Abstract_Submission_12&-sortfield=PresDay&sortorder=ascending&-sortfield=Special+Session+Name+Calc&-sortorder=ascending&-sortfield=PresTimeSort&sortorder=ascending&-op=gt&PresStatus=0&-lop=and&-token.1=ShowSession&-token.2=ShowHeading&-recid=224&format=/meetings/2012/abstracts/sessionabstractdetail.html&-lay=MtgList&-find). In my home state of Ohio earthquakes have also been linked to this disposal method (http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/03/shale_gas_drilling_caused_smal.html), although the state continues to accept fracking waste brought in from other states. Last year Ohio injected 12 million barrels (http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/04/04/pennsylvanias-link-to-ohio-earthquakes/) of waste deep below her surface. But plenty of media outlets, quoting the same studies, run reassuring headlines like “Don’t worry much about quakes and ‘fracking’ (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47835612/ns/us_news-environment/t/report-dont-worry-much-aboutquakes-fracking/#.UAinAmGe48o)” and “earthquake rise, fracking not to blame (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/18/us-earthquakes-fracking-gas)“ even if farther down in the article it’s noted that earthquakes are associated with deep injection wells used to dispose of fracking waste. I think it’s time we developed a new word or phrase to discuss the issue more clearly. For now I’ll use “fracking-related activity.” Disclosure and rights

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fracking-3.jpg) Those of us who live in areas said to be rich in shale oil are being romanced. Industry representatives hold open houses. Lawyers eager to get a share of leasing money by selling pooled rights do too. I’ve paid close attention at these meetings. The emphasis is mostly on how much money can be made. We’re told that those who get their land drilled first will have the highest yields and the most money. One speaker demonstrated with a straw and a cup of soda, showing that wherever drillers (his straw) first pierced would have access to the most gas (soda) below. He slurped loudly, then asked if anyone thought he’d leave much behind for those who leased their land later. Many participants eagerly signed up. Any concerns raised were quickly soothed. At a meeting held in a rural church we were told that landowners would be left with trees, grass, and a single wellhead providing substantial income for 30 or more years. Big money, restored land–sounds good, right? The promise of a hefty income rising from the ground well below our feet comes at a time when many Americans are reeling from unemployment, poor housing prices, and debt. And all over the country, property owners like small to medium dairy farms are losing their livestock and often their land (http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/milk-pricing-imbalance-causingmany-local-dairy-farmers-to-sell-off-herds-1.757309) because they can’t turn a profit. Fracking seems like a life line. But when I talk to people who have already signed a lease many are upset, believing they haven’t gotten as much money as they deserved. Others believe they’ve been lied to about the environmental impact. Surely there are happy lease-holders out there, I just keep running into those who feel they’ve been deceived. At an open house meeting last fall, a conversation (http://ecowatch.org/2012/as-fracking-boom-hits-ohio-deceptive-industrypractices-squeeze-landowners/) between an Ohio property owner and industry representatives was tape recorded. The property owner asked about chemicals used in fracking. He was told, “We don’t put any chemicals down in the ground. We just use regular, fresh water.” Another industry representative coming into the room later said the process uses household chemicals like dish washing detergent. These are common claims. At one meeting we were told that fracking chemicals are no more dangerous than cleaning products in the average home. Cheerful articles (http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/07/03/fracking-chemicals-aren%E2%80%99thard-to-find-in-your-home/#6120-1) online tell us that the same chemicals using in fracking can be found in hand sanitizer, fabric softener, even hot dogs. (I’ll take a brief look at why that’s not the whole story in a bit.) And leases may be misleading. A New York Times review of 111,000 documents (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/us/drilling-down-fighting-over-oil-and-gas-well-leases.html?_r=1) showed that most homeowners aren’t aware what rights the industry takes. A majority of leases do not require companies to compensate landowners for water contamination or damages to the land. Even if state regulations force industry to replace contaminated drinking water, not all costs are covered nor are needs of crops or livestock included. Many consumer protection laws do not apply. Some leases deduct costs such as hauling to or from the site. Energy companies can use the property to build roads, store chemicals, cut down trees, run equipment 24 hours a day, and build containment ponds (in some instances covering them with dirt rather than hauling away the waste). Few landowners are fully aware that their property becomes, in essence, an industrial site. Some homeowners’ insurance policies will not cover problems related to fracking (http://www.4traders.com/news/Nationwide-Mutual-Insurance-Company-07-13-2012-Nationwide-statement-regarding-concernsabout-hydra--14413538/). They also may not be aware of a potential loss in property value (http://www.wtae.com/news/local/investigations/Couple-denied-mortgage-because-of-gas-drilling//12023024/12865512/-/ohf26fz/-/index.html). But local citizens have very little control over fracking. Depending where they live, fracking may occur under cemeteries (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/us/drilling-for-natural-gas-under-cemeteries-raises-concerns.html) and in state parks (http://www.toledoblade.com/MarilouJohanek/2012/04/21/Fracking-threatens-the-natural-wonder-of-Ohio-s-parks.html). Some cities as well as colleges (http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/03/12/fracking-payoffs-luring-localofficials.html) are considering lease offers. Despite regulations that normally zone residential areas apart from industrial areas, drilling can take place near homes and schools. Residents in Colorado (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/fracking-colorado-school-vexes-residents_n_1575733.html), Texas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht1RU_7r4KI), West Virginia (http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2012/05/30/drillingfracking-near-wv-high-schools-of-significant-concern/), and elsewhere are advocating for stronger regulations to protect schoolchildren from the noise and dust generated by these sites. In some areas drilling sites are only required to be 350 feet from schools and 200 feet from homes. (In New Mexico, one school playground is 150 feet from a well (http://www.nrdc.org/land/use/down/down.pdf).) No matter how vehemently citizens object, the ability to pass local ordinances regulating gas and oil producers can be superseded by state or federal regulations. This provides the industry rights normally not allowed under the law. For example, in 38 states you can’t say no to fracking on your land (http://projects.propublica.org/tables/forced-pooling) if others in your area have already signed leases. It’s called by all sorts of names such as “mandatory pooling” or “compulsory integration.” This means a horizontal drilling line can run under your property whether you want it there or not. It’s really eminent domain by private enterprise. Such laws make it easy for gas and oil representatives to tell people they might as well sign up, because underground reserves will be extracted anyway. That’s the reason people we know are signing leases. That there’s no legal recourse (http://www.dcbureau.org/20101207775/natural-resources-news-service/marcellus-shale-thereal-price-of-compulsory-integration-in-new-york.html) shocks some homeowners when drilling begins. For many of us, fracking operations (called “plays”) seem like a distant threat. But they’re taking place not only in rural areas but cities, suburbs, and park lands with several hundred thousand new wells scheduled for drilling in the next few years.

(http://www.wired.com/geekmom/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/shale-plays-eia.jpg) Economics

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fracking-4.jpg) We also heard lots of talk about how much good this gas and oil will do to boost the local economy and help our nation to get back national energy independence. These are laudable goals. I’m not sure they’re more than optimistic projections. Any talk of jobs is likely to generate enthusiasm in our still flagging economy. Those of us living in shale oil areas have been told that an employment boom is around the corner. In Ohio we’re assured that our state will see 65,000 jobs and $3.3 billion in wages (http://www2.ohio-votes.com/news/2012/feb/29/1/fracking-jobs-in-ohio-70913-vi-38386/) within two years. But analysis (http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/fracking-nonsense-the-job-myth-of-gas-drilling) of data from states already experiencing a fracking boom finds only a modest rise in employment, even when factoring in supply chain jobs and increased spending by workers and landowners. Looking more closely at the numbers, it’s clear that the majority of the energy paychecks are going to out-of-state contract workers who handle drilling and hauling. They don’t have the most enviable jobs. Oil field workers are exempt from certain safety rules, leading to a higher rate of accidents than other industries (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/for-oil-workers-deadliest-danger-is-driving.html? pagewanted=all). In one state alone, police found (http://www.americaninjurynews.com/2012/06/26/Oil-industry-driversrisk-exhaustion-deadly-crashes_201206266807.html) that 40 percent of the 2,200 oil and gas industry trucks inspected were in such serious disrepair they were taken off the road. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that fatality rates for oil workers are seven times the national average (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5716a3.htm). Fracking-related activity actually places a heavy burden on municipalities. The industry estimates over 200,000 new wells will be fracked across the U.S. in the next decade. Each one requires 500 to 1,500 truck trips to haul equipment, water, and waste. Massively increased traffic brought by these heavy rigs is likely to hasten the deterioration of roads and bridges. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) puts out regular report cards (http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/factsheet/bridges) on the country’s infrastructure. They note that bridges are normally built to last 50 years. The average U.S. bridge is now 43 years old. Overall, the ASCE gives U.S. infrastructure (including roads, bridges, and water supply) a grade of ”D.” It costs in city services as well. Police have reported increased calls (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/26/oil-drillingboom-towns-increases-drunkenness-rowdy-behavior_n_1032326.html) in some areas due to the surge in temporary workers associated with drilling. And first responders such as fire fighters and paramedics may not have the equipment, training, or funds to handle new perils (http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/01/27/after-well-fire-in-pearsall-many-unansweredquestions-remain/) that come with drilling and disposal operations. Maybe this is the price we have to pay. After all, we’re told that fracking is a reliable means to achieve energy independence. I hear lots of these talking points repeated in meetings and in print, often along with some patriotic fervor tossed in for emphasis, but it isn’t easy to figure out energy facts in all the hubbub. As a concerned parent and citizen, I’m still trying to sort it out. Here are some things I’m mulling over. The U.S. exports more gasoline than it imports (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/02/us-exported-more-gasoline-than-imported-lastyear/1#.T-8hEhee48o), so energy independence isn’t as simple as the “drill, baby, drill” signs I see in my community. And shale oil, which can be extracted along with natural gas from the fracking process in some areas, is more expensive (http://www.energy-consumers-edge.com/energy-resources.html) to extract and refine than crude oil. But most of the energy generated by fracking comes in the form of natural gases and liquid gases such as ethane, propane, and butane. Over the last ten years this industry has spent 20.5 million dollars on donations to Congress and 726 million dollars on lobbying to continue steering subsidies (http://www.bambooki.com/blog/can-a-country-run-on-solar/) toward fossil fuel, keep regulation minimal, and boost incentives. Government policy decisions are locking in tax dollars for years to come on natural gas incentives (http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/27/the-biggest-winners-of-obamas-natural-gaspush/) based on industry and Wall Street speculation about the amount of gas that can be extracted. It will cost 700 billion (http://www.coloradomining.org/releasedetail.php?R_ID=322) to convert just some of our coal-fired plants to natural gas, a pricey venture when estimates of these reserves keep dropping (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/new-data-not-sosunny-on-us-natural-gas-supply.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all). At the same time, reports from financial and energy sectors indicate such speculation is shaky. Huge investments made in leasing and supplies are not returning profits as projected (http://theautomaticearth.com/Finance/shale-gas-reality-begins-todawn.html). The U.K.’s Financial Times (http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/75942e5c-944e-11e1-bb0d00144feab49a.html#axzz21jC0Y3A5) called it the next economic bubble, comparing it to the financial disaster caused by real estate financing. For some companies, such as Chesapeake Energy (http://seekingalpha.com/article/690281-4-reasonsto-sell-chesapeake-and-cut-losses-now), the bubble may already be bursting. It’s not just a financial bubble, there’s also a gap between the industry’s wildly optimistic estimates and the realities of extraction. Petroleum engineers note that initial production rates are high but dropping. Although President Obama’s State of the Union address repeated industry claims that we’re sitting on a 100 year supply of natural gas, a week later the Energy Information Administration revised its estimates (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/new-data-not-so-sunny-on-usnatural-gas-supply.html?pagewanted=all)of Marcellus Shale gas downward by 66 percent and overall potential U.S. reserves by 40 percent. ASlate report (http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/future_tense/2011/12/is_there_really_100_years_worth_of_natural_gas_beneath_the_united_states_.html) takes a close look at the numbers. The estimated supply actually lumps ”proved reserves” (meaning it’s known to exist and is recoverable) with those that are “probable,” “possible,” and “speculative.” In other words, most of the so-called surplus of gas may not exist or be recoverable. Only an 11 year supply falls into the “proven” category, and that’s if our usage doesn’t go up. As Slate dryly notes, “By the same logic, you can claim to be a multibillionaire, including all your ‘probable, possible, and speculative resources.’” Government and industry continue to insist (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/25/us-energy-data-eiaidUSBRE85O1AS20120625) that a boom is on although a well-by-well analysis (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/8914) notes that gas production is much flatter than hyped and “the gold rush is over.” The number (http://investor.shareholder.com/bhi/rig_counts/rc_index.cfm) of drill rigs operating in North America continues to fall and production per well (http://www.petroleumnews.com/pntruncate/947898485.shtml), on average, declines by 44 percent per year compared to 23 percent for wells in traditional gas fields. Some people we know who have leased their property worry that the companies owning their leases are simply speculating in land and will sell those leases to foreign companies. I held up my hand at one meeting and asked an industry representative if any leases might ever be sold to non-U.S. companies. “Absolutely not,” I was told. “This is about American energy independence.” I came home and looked it up. All sorts of huge foreign companies are buying up rights. For example, the Australian company BHP Billiton bought 4.75 billion worth of shale assets in Arkansas (http://miningflash.blogspot.com/2011/02/bhp-provides-475-billion-to-buy.html), the French company Total will pay 2.25 billion for shale assets in Texas (http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/48097045/total-gets-u-s-shale-chesapeakedeal)and 2.32 billion for assets in Ohio (http://en.in-en.com/article/business/html/2012010432121.html), and the Chinese firm, Sinopec, is spending billions to scoop up assets across the U.S. (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/total-buys-23-billion-stake-in-chesapeake-shale-assets/) from firms like Devon and Chesapeake. Selling these assets is, of course, the prerogative of any company owning them. Obscuring the truth about it to landowners before they sign the leases doesn’t seem to be a priority. The fracking boom (or bubble) isn’t limited to the U.S. It’s taking place or about to in Canada (http://www.propublica.org/article/oh-canadas-become-a-home-for-record-fracking), Argentina (http://blogs.ft.com/beyondbrics/2011/08/30/exxonmobil-targets-argentina-shale/), China (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php? title=China_and_fracking), Mozambique (http://oilandglory.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/28/how_mozambique_could_shake_up_putins_world), Russia (http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/tnk-bp-fracking-idINL6E8HRFG420120627), Poland (http://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Poland-Gives-Green-Light-to-Massive-Fracking-Efforts.html), Israel (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/05/israel-naturalgas-idUSL6E8F57VB20120405), Australia (http://www.economist.com/node/21556291), and elsewhere. Health and environmental considerations

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fracking-5.jpg) We also attended public meetings run by several area groups hastily formed to oppose fracking. They brought speakers in from across the state and beyond. I listened to Joe Logan, a representative of the Ohio Environmental Council (http://www.theoec.org/), explain how fracking-related activity can affect the food (http://www.oeffa.org/documents/FrackingpowerpointPDF.pdf) we eat. His charts showed that heavy metals and chemicals migrate into air, soil, and water. These contaminants can diminish crop yield, affect the health of livestock, and imperil organic certification. He noted that current laws are not sufficient (https://blackberrymeadows.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/risk-to-farmers-who-frack.pdf) to protect the food supply or food producing areas from the effects of fracking. I listened to Doug Shields (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-jkZqlkGR8), former member of the Pittsburgh City Council, explain how fracking-related activity is exempt from major environmental laws that currently protect the public (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/03/us/20110303-natural-gas-timeline.html). The oil and gas industry does not have to comply with key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Environmental Policy Act, or the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. A local man stood up with a jug of brown water from his once clear well. Since his land was fracked the water has been foul smelling and murky, although state officials told him it was okay to drink. Another woman said brine was dumped on a road by her house and when she paid to have it tested it was found to contain chemicals associated with fracking, although state officials declined to investigate. I talked to many other people at these meetings: college students, farmers, retirees, mothers with small children living near active fracking sites. The information they shared was alarming. Here’s a little of what I’ve been able to confirm. Each fracking operation takes 1.2 million gallons to 5 million gallons of water, sometimes more. Each additional time a site is fracked more water is required. Water stress (http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=25) (an imbalance between water use and water resources) is fast becoming an alarming global issue (http://www.earthpolicy.org/press_room/C68/stockholm_transcript). When water is withdrawn from natural sources for drinking, irrigation, and other typical uses it normally finds its way back into the global water supply. But a substantial portion (15 to 40 percent) of the water used in fracking operations is left (http://waytogoto.com/wiki/index.php/Flowback_water)deep in the ground. What does come back up (called “flowback” as well as “produced water” which naturally occurs in shale) is often put in deep injection wells for long-term storage. This method not only edges up the potential for earthquakes, it also takes much-needed water out of planetary circulation. Chemical components make up only about 0.5 percent of fluids used in fracking-related activity, the rest being water and sand. This sounds like a reassuringly small amount, until you multiply the millions of gallons of water used per fracking site with the number of sites being fracked. Some estimate (http://1trickpony.cachefly.net/gas/pdf/Affirming_Gasland_Sept_2010.pdf) that 20 tons of chemicals are used per million gallons of fracking fluid. (This number does not include drilling fluids (http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/drilling/drillingfluid.html#drilling_fluid_additives) and other chemicals that augment fracking-related activity.) A 2011 Congressional report (http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Hydraulic%20Fracturing%20Report%204.18.11.pdf) lists 750 known fracking chemicals in order of most common usage. Here’s a partial account of those used in highest amounts. methanol (http://www.midi-inc.com/pdf/MSDS_Methanol.pdf) isopropanol (http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924412) crystalline silica (http://www.cssand.com/MSDS.pdf) ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (http://aglayne.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Butyl-Cellosolve-MSDS.pdf) hydrotreated light petroleum distillates (http://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/89683.htm) diesel (http://www.hess.com/ehs/msds/9909dieselfuelalltypes.pdf) (containing benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) naphthalene (http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927671) hydrogen chloride (http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924285) toluene (http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927301) ethylbenzene (http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9923958) diethanolamine (https://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9923743) formaldehyde (http://www.sesric.org/imgs/news/image/671-a-3.pdf) sulfuric acid (http://www.ee.iitb.ac.in/~nanoe/msds/sulphuric%20acid.pdf) thiourea (http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/07/fracking-my-family/thiourea) benzyl chloride (http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927452) Some of these chemicals are indeed similar to chemicals used around the home. But a 2011 analysis (http://www.pasdegazdeschistes.rd-h.fr/wp-content/uploads/NaturalGasManuscriptPDF09_13_10-Th%C3%A9oColborn.pdf) found that 25 percent are carcinogens; 37 percent are endocrine disruptors (http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120321/endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-fracking-natural-gas-low-doseenvironmental-health); more than 40 percent can impair the immune system and nervous system; and three-quarters can irritate the eyes and lungs. It’s important to remember that some chemicals are toxic in concentrations much less than one part-per-million and the synergistic effect of most chemicals is largely unknown. The fluid that comes back up also contains ingredients that didn’t go in. This means naturally occurring matter such as heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (including benzene, toluene, xylene), radioactive materials (including lead, arsenic, strontium) (http://www.museumoftheearth.org/files/marcellus/Marcellus_issue8.pdf), even acidic microbes (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/05/the-microbial-complications-of-fracking/). It also means chemical compounds created by the reactions of chemicals during any stage of the process. Claims of air, ground, and water pollution due to fracking-related activity are often dismissed by industry and government officials because some contaminants are considered “naturally occurring.” And let’s not forget the water’s salinity. Fracking wastewater has two to three times more salt than sea water and more than 180 times the level considered acceptable to drink by the EPA. Although the industry insists that all chemicals used in fracking are on the record (http://www.energyindepth.org/just-thefacts/) there are still rules in place allowing them to claim chemicals are proprietary (http://www.ombwatch.org/files/info/naturalgasfrackingdisclosure_med.pdf) or to disclose what’s used only after the drilling has been completed. In several states including Pennsylvania (http://www.npr.org/2012/05/17/152268501/pennsylvania-doctors-worry-over-fracking-gag-rule) and Ohio (http://www.lcountyfracking.org/archives/626), physicians are bound by a “gag rule” which prevents doctors from sharing information about symptoms, diagnoses, and disease clusters related to fracking chemicals even with other doctors and public health officials. Some doctors say they’re not sure if the laws permit them to inform patients either. Frightening stories abound, like the one about a nurse treating a gas field worker whose clothes were drenched in chemicals. She fell ill herself. While she was in ICU with multiple organ failure the worker’s company refused to identify those chemicals. Turned out that story was true (http://archive.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp? article_type=news&article_path=/news/08/news080717_2.htm). (Her state of Colorado now has forms (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/367040-stateimpactpa-colorado-disclosure-form.htm) to get that information although doctors are still bound by non-disclosure rules.) Limited information hampers the ability ofmedical practitioners (http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/natural_gas/colburn_testimony_071025.pdf) to link health problems to environmental contaminants. How do these and other toxins linked to fracking-related activity get into the environment (http://www.networkforphl.org/_asset/w74j2w/Fracking_Environmental_Impacts.pdf)? Here are a few routes. Leaks and spills during transportation, mixing, or other fracking-related activity. The industry reports (http://www.denverpost.com/ci_15391192)millions of gallons spilled in one state alone. Liners that leak or burst, spilling fluids into the soil. Birds and other wildlife are known to be affected (http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/contaminants/documents/ReservePits.pdf). Exhaust (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-08-2746848727_x.htm) from diesel trucks and diesel generators running day and night. Flaring of gas (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-03/business/sns-rt-us-energy-gas-flaringbre8410us20120502_1_charlie-kronick-gas-export-volumes-gas-at-mineral-exploration) (burning into the air), venting of gas (directly releasing into the air), as well as air release via dehydration units and condensate tanks. Evaporating unknown quantities of chemicals into the air from open containment “ponds” of fracking waste. Misters often spray the liquid in the air to speed up the process. This is standard across much of the industry. Contamination (http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/12/how-the-epa-linked-fracking-to-contaminated-well-water/3/) of ground water at depths used for drinking water, typically caused by failures (http://www1.rollingstone.com/extras/theskyispink_annotdoc-gasl4final.pdf) of well casings but also possibly due to increased permeability (http://www.propublica.org/article/new-study-fluids-from-marcellus-shale-likely-seeping-into-padrinking-water) of rock layers. Inadequate treatment (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all) of waste water at sewage plants. Use of “treated” fracking waste from water treatment plants mixed with sludge to be spread on parks and farms. (http://commonsense2.com/2011/05/environment/marcellus-shale-sewage-sludge/) Waste water released (http://www.nrdc.org/media/2012/120509.asp) into surface bodies of water. Spraying treated fracking brine on roads (http://www.ithaca.com/news/trumansburg/article_cb12da0e-5ce5-11e1-a9200019bb2963f4.html) to control dust or melt ice, a method approved (http://ohioenvirolawcenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/erac-decision-makes-issue-of-fracking-wastewater-in-streamsmurkier/) by Ohio EPA and used in many other states although the U.S. EPA advises against (http://www.epa.gov/region02/newsevents/pdf/EPA%20R2%20Comments%20Revised%20dSGEIS%20Enclosure.pdf) this practice. Burning natural gas itself is cleaner than other forms of fossil fuel, as long as larger environmental costs of the energyintensive and toxic process of fracking aren’t added to the equation. In fact a Cornell study (http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April11/GasDrillingDirtier.html) concluded that as much as eight percent of the methane in shale oil leaks into the air due to fracking, twice the amount released by conventional gas production. Since methane is a far more damaging greenhouse gas than CO2, researcher Robert Howarth concluded that shale gas is less “clean” than conventional gas, coal, or oil. Studies (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/experts-apianga-fracking-study-isfatally-flawed-2012-06-19) released by the American Petroleum Institute and American Natural Gas Alliance show much lower methane emissions. Reports and research funded by the gas and oil industry (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/201207-23/frackers-fund-university-research-that-proves-their-case.html) tend to find results more favorable to that industry, putting the science itself into question (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/gas-fracking-science-conflict/). There are always risks in fracking, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said in a recent speech (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jun/27/exxon-ceo-blames-illiterate-public-lazy-press/?partner=RSS), but he believes the public has been alarmed by “manufactured fear.” As he sees it, the biggest problem is “taking an illiterate public and try to help them understand why we can manage these risks.” For a variety of fracking perspectives, check out YouTube. You’ll find plenty of videos presenting the industry’s viewpoint (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW_xJqPjE_I&feature=related), as well as stories (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6hB33D105ak) of people living near fracking sites, and this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXL1jpIBskI)quasihumorous skewering of what’s being called an industry-wide cover-up of fracking dangers. It’s hard to find footage simply showing what a fracking operation looks like, but here’s one filmed by a Penn State extension service.

I went back to take another look at the dairy farm near us, now being fracked. The area was covered with heavy equipment. A few employees outfitted in fire retardant suits, masks, and hard hats worked in the distance. The quiet morning was filled with noise. Gray dust rose in the air and my throat burned. When I set out to find out all I could about fracking I didn’t anticipate such disturbing information. I couldn’t have known fracking would soon intrude on our lives. I recently learned that fracking leases have been signed within sight of us to the west, north, and south. I’m concerned about our land where our cows graze and our chickens scratch. I’m concerned about my family’s health. And I’m wondering if you’re concerned too.

(https://lauragraceweldon.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fracking-6.jpg) This is what fracking looks like. (Image:fafaohio.org) First published on Wired.com (http://archive.wired.com/geekmom/author/laura/) Older posts BLOG AT WORDPRESS.COM.