Activism

I donned Melissa's shark bathing cap, painted my face to look like the ocean, then got on the T to join the hundreds of other Boston area planet loving people to celebrate the earth's diversity with http://www.350.org We were joining in with over 4,000 groups in over 190 countries trying to raise awareness of the need for CO2 deduction to maintain a level of 350 parts per million in the atmosphere or face massive climate change and its repercussions. We met at Christopher Columbus Park near to the Aquarium on the waterfront. Folksinger turned Unitarian minister Fred Small sang his 350 Anthem and got the crowd to sing along (it reminded me of the theme to Gilligan's Island) .... here it is on YouTube with Sol Canto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjWZmLPq4TQ Someone with a megaphone got the crowd organized between a wall of sandbags and a massive sign so a photo could be taken and sent to the giant screen in Times Square to be shown with all the other photos sent in from around the world. The Boston theme was "Boston Underwater" since if the icecaps melt the oceans will rise 30-100 feet and you can imagine what that will do to the coastlines. People don't want to believe something like that could happen....but it's already happening and unless CO2 levels are not stopped from elevating life as we know it will change radically.

Here I am with my shark cap, the sign and the crowd. Then with the backdrop with Tom and Nancy Pendergast--the only folks I recognized at the gathering (they had some trouble recognizing me!). Posted some of my favorite pics from the 350.org website, too. Look at the site for many more....then call or send letters to your senators, congressional reps and Pres Obama and tell them to curb C02 emissions now and push for ways to mandate sustainable renewable energy to feed the hungry beast that is our current appetite for fossil fuels! Plus we need to personally make commitments to using our cars less: walk more, ride bikes more, take the bus, take the subway. Turn off lights when not in use, hang up laundry instead of using the dryer. All these habit adjustments can make an overall difference if we all make an effort.

Baby Box Turtles

There is no Planet B

Rock Climbers in Middlebury Vermont

and one of my favs: 4700 kids in Holland form a windmill....

24,000 trees in Worcester were cut down this year due to Asian Longhorned Beetle infestation. They'd gone unnoticed for probably 10 years.

These are before and after photographs. If this was my backyard I'd be devastated. How about you? They have spread to the town of West Boylston for a total zone of 74 sq miles.

Scroll down for YouTube clips...good closeUps of live beetles.

As you can see the spruce trees in the backyards are not desirable for these beetles. They prefer maple, willow, birch, poplar, elm, planar, horse chestnut and other deciduous trees.

If you know what to look for we can all help to catch new arrivals before they spread. Massachusetts has the biggest infestation--more than all other states combined. ALB were first found infesting trees in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York in August 1996. It is believed that ALB entered the U.S. in wood pallets holding pipe shipped from China for a sewer project in the late 1980s. In September 1996 an infestation was also found in Amityville, NY, several miles east of the Greenpoint infestation. It is thought that this infestation occurred as a result of movement of infested wood from Greenpoint. They have also been found in Chicago, several towns in NJ. And recently in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Since the beetles favor maple trees states where maple syrup is harvested must be on the lookout. Know how to I.D. these beetles if you live in Vermont, NH, or Maine.

Here is a picture of the adult beetle...their bodies are shiny black and white with powder blue feet. The Asian longhorneed beetle is 0.75" - 1.5" long with antennae that are 1 to 2 times its body length.

Spotting ALB damage in winter. Easier to see in winter. This webpage has photos of egg laying sites and exit holes which are perfectly round and 3/8" in diameter.
http://massnrc.org/pests/blog/2008/12/spotting-asian-longhorned-beetle-damage.html

Mass Dept of Agriculture Resources has a great FAQ page and lots of ways to learn more and participate in training sessions, etc.
http://massnrc.org/pests/pestFAQsheets/asianlonghorned.html

YouTube clips I have previewed and recommend to learn more:

If Plant Could Talk website Youtube clip with SciFi music track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeLkIcGZnOU

About infestation in NYC:

New York Infestation

Info and trailer: http://www.playgroundproject.com/
This film focuses on sex trafficking and sexual abuse of children in the USA.

"Playground is the best film I've seen on the abuse and exploitation of children. In the tradition of our greatest protest art, it is both aesthetically sophisticated and politically committed. Nuanced and sensitive, it avoids the usual sensationalism surrounding this topic. This is the untold story of an American underworld." -- Zoe Trodd, Harvard University

I attended a special screening of this film on Tuesday Sept 29th at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston, including VIP cocktail hour before the film and Q & A afterward. Speakers, panelists, and special invited guests included:

Karen McLaughlin from the Human Trafficking Task Force http://httf.wordpress.com/about/,

Cheri Jiminez from Kim's Project http://www.kimsproject.org a Boston based program offering respectful services for women impacted by the sex trade and street economies [their services include harm reduction, intervention, recovery, and transition and reintegration],

Alicia Foley Winn, executive director of the Boston Initiative to Advance Human Rights http://www.bithar.org,

Diane E. Levin, Ph.D. professor of education at Wheelock College [she is an internationally recognized expert on how sex and violence in media and commercial culture affect children and contribute to such societal problems as precocious sexuality and child sexual abuse. She is co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org and Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment http://www.truceteachers.org

Catherine MacKinnon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharine_MacKinnon,

Ashley Judd** (who is an articulate, dedicated warrior in the fight against sex trafficking of girls all over the world--spoke about meeting Libby Spears through a phone conversation with Gloria Steinem),

and of course filmmaker Libby Spears [video interview from Tribeca Film Festival]: http://movingpicturesmagazine.com/videoaudio/mpminterviews/libby-spears-playground-1.

Katherine Chon, president and co-founder of the Polaris Project (a nonprofit in DC combating human trafficking and modern day slavery both domestic and international) http://www.polarisproject.org/ was the panel moderator. I have not been in a room filled with so many brilliant, articulate, passionate, movers and shakers in a long time.

As I stood around in the midst of the VIP gathering before the screening I couldn't find anyone I knew. Just then a friendly woman came toward me with hand extended. "Hello, my name is Denise Kasell. What's yours?" She explained she was a new resident of Brookline...a NYC transplantee. Her new job? Executive director of the Coolidge Corner Cinema. Former job? Director of the Hampton International Film Festival for ten years. Liked her right away.

I was particularly drawn to what one woman in the film had to say. Jan Hindman http://janhindman.com/about_jan.shtml, spoke clearly and passionately about the need for prevention. She studied and researched the problem of sexual abuse for thirty-four years, working with both sexual offenders and sexual victims through mental health endeavors, the educational realm, as well as private practice. Jan Hindman recently published There Is No Sex Fairy -- To Protect Our Children From Becoming Sexual Abusers, completing her twenty-year-old goal of providing a resource that addresses the sexual abuse problem at its source -- teaching adults how to teach sexual respect to children.

Info and trailer: http://www.playgroundproject.com/

**Actresses Ashely Judd and Julia Ormond fight against sex trafficking in the US with documentary "Call and Response" made by musician turned filmmaker Justin Dillon. This film covers a wide spectrum of trafficking in the slave trade, offering many ways individuals can get involved.
http://callandresponse.com/ Called the first rockumentary to expose 27 million of the world's most terrifying secrets.