Thank You, Julianne Moore

“Air pollution isn’t just dirty, it’s poison for our children!” ~ actress, Julianne Moore

It is beyond gratifying to me that an actress I admire so much has lent her celebrity and advocacy to the Moms Clean Air Force. Julianne Moore has joined the Force.

She gets it.

Julianne gets that we ALL need clean air to breathe. She gets that clean air isn't about politics or jobs, it's about our health...and she's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

Go Julianne!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY7OraM8FHo&feature=youtu.be

Read Julianne's post about why she joined Moms Clean Air Force HERE.

Photo: Dominique Browning

So You Want To Be An Artist

Life is so busy right now that posting has succumbed to "a picture is worth a thousand words." Can you tell that from my last post? There's so many posts in my head that I would like to grab a cup of tea (or wine), sit by the fire and write and write for hours. That time will come, but not now.

Both my kids are artists. My daughter is a graphic designer and my son is a musician. When I saw this poster, I could not contain my hysterics.

My dad would have gotten a kick out of this. He was an artist too.

Seasonal Gratitude: Take The Test

Did you know feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life can actually attract more of the types of things you want?

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, the virtue of giving thanks is an expression of gratitude. This means more to me than just being thankful. It's an acknowledgment that evokes empathy...and expresses kindness.

I like the word gratitude.

Maybe because being thankful is associated with those round table discussions about what we are thankful for -- my kids smirk -- so trite. In response to being grateful, I've had recent reflections about gratitude in a few articles...

This Moms Clean Air Force post about my meeting with Josh Fox, director and narrator of the landmark film about fracking, Gasland, fuels the kind of activism that inspires hope. He says, "If you don't feel hopeful, you're not doing enough." So true.

In another MCAF post, I thank the EPA on Thanksgiving...

Do you think it's off the wall to thank a government agency? READ how the EPA has my gratitude. Oh, I almost forgot to mention this post includes 3 of my favorite things: tea, chocolate and wine.

“A growing body of research suggests that maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being.” ~ Wall Street Journal

• Adults who frequently feel grateful have more energy, optimism and social connections.
• Adults who feel grateful are less likely to be: depressed, envious and greedy.
• Adults who are grateful are more likely to earn more money, sleep more soundly and have greater resistance to viral infections.
• Kids who feel and act grateful tend to be less materialistic, set higher goals and feel more satisfied with their friends and families.

Want to find out how grateful you are? Take the TEST.

I took the test right before my kids arrived last night from Boston. Here's what I learned:

I don't need a test to tell me I'm grateful for their love.

Are We Even On Your List Of Priorities?

I once had a lovely student named Annick who wrote a manual for grown-ups. It was mostly a colorful how-to book that stacked all the cards in the kids favor. Her book advocated for abolishing bedtimes, and not learning about dead presidents. I recall it was published around Election Day, and we were discussing the importance of voting for a president who would represent the needs of the people. I wrote this quote from JFK on the blackboard:

“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”

I said, “See, here’s a president who loved children.”

Another student raised his hand, “I think you need to read Annick’s book because most grown-ups don’t really listen to children.”

I was teaching second grade.

When I wrote about Severn Suzuki, the 9 year old who started the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other children about environmental issues, it dawned on me that children are our most valuable resource and they deserve input on the fate of their future. ECO raised enough money to send Severn, then 12, to the UN’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. She proceeded to tell a global group of decision-makers how their actions, or inactions would ultimately affect children. Severn silenced the Summit when she asked:

“Are We Even On Your List Of Priorities?”

Let's find a way on this upcoming Election Day, to vote with our parental hearts and figure out this mess for our children: WATCH SEVERN SUZUKI HERE.

Photo: Ted Fink

Illuminating A Waste-Free Halloween

Are pumpkins invading your nest like these grinning jack-o’-lanterns that have overtaken this Massachusetts home? Even when the pumpkin glow is at a minimum, ambulance if you celebrate Halloween with your little ones, buy cialis it may be time to pick up those heavy holiday footprints. Why?

According to the EPA, household waste increases more than 25 percent between Halloween and New Year’s Day!

On Halloween, the US spends a whopping $6.5 billion on candy, costumes and decorations. That’s a carbon footprint more like a Loch Ness monster than a dainty Halloween bat. Plumping up our local landfills for years to come is not the friendliest, or healthiest legacy to leave our little trick-or-treaters.

We talk a lot about what we can do to clean up the planet, but often it’s what we don’t do that creates the most impact.

Here’s a ghoulish goal worth bobbing for: Cut down on holiday waste, and don’t perpetuate the horrors of Halloween’s past. Here are 10 DIY Ways To A Waste-Free Halloween and here are my kids demonstrating one such DIY idea: "Ditch the cheap mass-produced non-recyclable polyvinyl chloride (PVC) costumes. Dig through your closet (or a friends), or take a spin through vintage clothing stores, resale shops and flea markets for Halloween inspiration."

Happy Halloween, and hold those red-dyed #40 bloody ladyfingers, because I think I see a green light beaconing out of one of those jack-o’-lanterns!

Photo: Richard Nowitz for National Geographic