"Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees..." Revelation 7:3

My little bit for the earth....
Look around you! Breathe in the air, marvel at the songs of the birds, feel the ground beneath your feet! We humans are incredibly lucky to exist on such a rich planet, teeming with life of every shape and form. How do we celebrate this biodiversity? How do we show our appreciation? We pollute the air, contaminate the oceans, cut down the forests, develop the prairies, and kill off the animals.



I know, everyone has heard the whole "Save the Earth" slogan, and most of us do our part. In fact, you probably have to try pretty hard to not recycle these days, what with someone, (hopefully), shooting you angry looks when you throw your soda can in the normal trash. But are we doing enough? To raise a little more awareness, and to do my part for la tierra, here are a few somewhat depressing facts. Read on, and please remember to think of the earth!



Due to the heavily increased demand for seafood, fishermen have now resorted to less-friendly ways to obtain the demanded sea animals. Such large scale fishing completely destroys the seabed, which may take centuries to restore. The delicate food chains are badly effected, and the amount of bycatch, the undesired life caught in the nets, has increased to 27 million tons annually. Bycatch is released to the ocean, but few animals survive the stress of being caught and handled.



Sea mammal parks are often favorite vacation parks. Humans dleight in watching the dolphins and whales doing their tricks for a small fish. However, these sea mammals are kept in cement encloures much too small for their bodies. Whales are used to swimming great distances daily with and against the current. The whales in captivity are forced to swim in circles. This is believed why the orca's dorsal fins are flopped over. Sea mammals are also used to live in complex social groups. Young are separated from their pods, ripping the fragile group. Do we need the sean mammal parks that much?



The gorgeous temperate forests of North America are currnetly being cut down for such seemingly trivial items such as telephone books. A tree large enough to obtain a two-by-four board from needs to grow for an incredibly long amount of time, only to be destroyed in a matter of minutes.



So, how can help? Simple. With evrything you do, think of the earth. Save scraps of paper as scratch paper. Recycle. Reuse. Don't buy things with lots of packaging. Little things can add up to a lot. :)
Okay, enough preaching. *grin*

Occasionally the set provides the inspiration for the page, as in the case with this page. I saw the set, and I immediately realized what I could use it for.