Posts Tagged ‘ecology’

I Got Married As Mentor, Ended Up As Protoge’

It’s been a little over a year. The love of my life, Lee Hiller, now my wife Lee Hiller-London was moving from Portland, Oregon to the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas where I had been settled for twelve years. She had lived virtually all over the world from Portland, Or. to New Zealand.

Lee had never smelled the sweet magnolias of the south, not to mention the myriad of wildlife in the Hot Springs National Forest which is our yard; front back and sides, where we share a neighborhood with thousands if not tens of thousands of foxes, wolves, small bears, chipmunks, squirrels, possum, raccoons, and so many exotic birds one might think they are in the Amazon Rain Forest. It is the only National Park that is actually inside of a city. Water boils up that is 2000 years old before it reaches the surface. The city has found a way to tap it and it is completely free of impurities so prevalent in today’s water.

Lee’s home, Portland, Oregon, as anyone knows who has visited, is quite a unique and beautiful city. But Lee had not been able to take advantage of all nature had to offer there as she was caring for a sick spouse who needed full time assistance, and in spite of the mountains, trails, wildlife, etc, she was unable to partake. She had to be at home at all times, unless she was at the hospital.

It became evident her husband’s only chance was to get him back to his home country of Canada as he was perishing rapidly. He lived over a year longer (than he would have lived here) where he would have gotten minimal medical care. The U.S. medical system after ten years had virtually given up.

To keep her mind occupied during this ten year ordeal, in which she also sold on Ebay, and even became a powerseller, was to learn tai chi and practice it daily. When I visited she showed me a part with a walking trail at the fork of two beautiful rivers and her sincere health regimen was on. She was already eating nothing but healthy foods, and though a cancer survivor, she had a chance for a new beginning.

It did not take long to fall in love, and it was consummated by my sister former model/now entrepreneur Kathy Ireland when she popped the question to Lee (for me) on Twitter, “Lee Angel. Would you be my darling SIL (Sister In Law). I had talked to Kathy beforehand so she knew I was going to ask, she simply didn’t think I was moving fast enough. Lee and I married on June 18, 2010 in a tiny hut in the mountains, which Lee calls our “wedding chapel” on Hot Springs Mountain. I had been a cartoonist and marketer for the cartoons and licensed gifts for 12 years. Lee had revealed that Ebay sales were way down and she could no longer find the justification to do her hunting at thrift shops, take photos and sell in her Ebay shop.

She told me her dream. She didn’t need my permission, just someone to run it by. Next thing I knew she was doing it. She had her own line of shoes, clothing, household goods, and much more. Lee Hiller Designs, within a year (or less) was a dream come true. She had now moved to the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and hiked daily 3-4 hours taking beautiful pictures which she posts to her blog and onto her products. It is a most unusual venture, and I’m very proud. She has won The People’s Choice Award for wildflower photography in Arkansas and received a congratulatory letter from the governor’s office. Her Hot Springs merchandise has been written up in our local paper. She is slowly but surely making a name for herself worldwide.

Promises are made by many people, and then often you never hear another thing about it, the promises, or anything else. You just learn their characterfast. And there are people of action. Lee is a person of action. More importantly than that, she is a person of generosity. If she learns something, and I don’t know it, she is more than not available to teach me how it is done. We do that for each other. I think it is one of the many elements that keeps us in love and respecting each other. We do not make a promise unless we know we can keep it. And we do. We try to find each others needs. We can’t fulfill them all but we do our best to help. Our love continues to be a major passion in our lives. We are also best friends.

If you love nature and outdoors photography and the most gorgeous floral photography, visit Lee’s blog. This article, I Got Married As Mentor, Ended Up As Protoge’ has free reprint rights.

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Ecological Consciousness And Making It Work

The world has been experiencing a steady increase in temperature. The rate of this increase too is steadily increasing. Ecosystems adjust to these changes. A habitat that suits a species no longer is suitable to them. They have no other choice except to search for other favorable habitats or perish. The melting of polar ice caps is going to make it difficult for them to hunt the seals. The trout and salmon will no longer find the wetlands and freshwater able to provide them with food.

The emerging scientific data on the environmental devastation has been convincing enough. With global warming and climate change, the environment has come to the forefront of global concern. Three major trends are emerging. The first is the preservation and conservation of nature. Identifying unique ecosystems across the world including marine, coastal, desert, forest, wetland, fresh water, river, glaciers, and ice caps and protecting and conserving them. This would mean that these areas are off limit from development activities. The second is the need to ensure that people begin to appreciate nature and reconnect to nature as much as possible. The third is to promote renewable resources instead of non-renewable resources, sustainable development, reforestation, and green technologies.

Mind sets and attitudes can be changed when one becomes conscious about nature, environment and ecological crisis. One way of developing this awareness is to promote visiting and having a live in experience in natural settings during vacations. Respect for local cultures and nature are fundamental to being a responsible traveler or camper. The visitor is to interact with nature with respect to understand nature all through the days the visitor lives on the site. Living in tents while camping gives the visitor the opportunity to appreciate the elements of nature. Tents come in different shapes and sizes. They have different features too regarding its ability to withstand rain, winds, cold and ventilation. Kelty Mantra 7 tent can accommodate seven persons. It is a three season waterproof tent to capable of withstanding heavy winds.

Campers bring such essential items as basic utensils, sleeping bags, maps, flashlight and many other things. These are brought in their backpack. They spend their time observing and studying nature. Watching the birds, animals, insects and the plant kingdom and their interdependency will tell them about the inter dependency relationship between species.

If you’re stressed out and have not spent time away from the city, then you better go camping. However, campers should realize that camping is fun but every one should be responsible of their actions.

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Sustaining Nature Through Ecotourism

An important leisure activity is recreation. It has a rejuvenating effect on one’s body and mind. This is important for healthy living amidst the stressful modern life. Some of the recreational activities that are popular these days are skiing, snowboarding, bungee jumping, sky diving, hang gliding, canyoning, rock climbing, adventure tourism, backpacking, ecotourism and motor sport. Traveling to the pristine, but fragile, areas is ecotourism. There are two ways ecotourism is practiced. Appreciating nature and learning from its varied life forms as well as the cultures that are embedded in nature is one kind of ecotourism. This requires a deep sensitivity and social consciousness. Reflection on the ecological impact of human activities on nature while appreciating nature is central to it. That is why this is also called responsible ecotourism. The second type of ecotourism has commercial interest at its heart where nature preserves is just another commodity for profit making. Unfortunately, ecotourism continues to be dominated by this category of enterprise.

Ecotourism that does not have ecology and local cultures as its central concern is indiscriminate in the way they conduct themselves. Ecology is nothing but a tool for them to market in order to attract tourists. The rich natural habitat becomes the location for constructing modern luxurious hotels, lodges and resorts with all the trappings of the modern wasteful lifestyle. Neither respect nor conservation for nature is in their agenda. The result is the fast deterioration of the surrounding ecology and degradation of the nature. Better infrastructure and more tourists mean more waste generation and pollution. Nature gets trampled in the process. Neither are the tourists mainly concerned about the impact of the luxury they enjoy on the surrounding ecology. And all this happens in the name of ecotourism.

In contrast to the destructive ecotourism is the responsible ecotourism. Visitors come in small groups discreetly with just a backpack containing their minimal survival needs. These include first aid kit, utensils, flashlight, map and personal care products amongst others. Two important items that they carry to provide minimal comfort and protection are the camping tent and their sleeping bags. Camping tents are manufactured by many firms such as Kelty, Sierra, Black Diamond, MSR and Eureka. Reviews of each of these tents which come with different features can be viewed in the Internet by searching, for instance, MSR Hubba Hubba Tent reviews.

Normally camping is considered to be responsible tourism. There is a minimal negative impact on nature. The campers give adequate attention to recycling, energy efficiency and water conservation. They also make sure that the economic benefits accrue to local communities.

Camping is the best form of relaxation and environment preservation. It helps you find tranquility within yourself and with the environment.

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Loving The Environment

The ecological crisis is real. These are seriously being discussed. No doubt most of this is a result of human interventions. There are massive oil spills as in Alaska by Exxon in 1989. Toxic wastes from industries are polluting the rivers and ground water. The sea levels are increasing, many islands as Maldives are expecting to go under the sea and so are many islands in the Pacific region. The depletion of ozone layer is permitting the harmful radiation from the sun to reach the earth. This is the result of the emission of green house gases. Global warming is heating up the earth. Many species are getting extinct from desertification and deforestation. Deforestation in the mountains is leading to devastating floods in the plains. Between 17,000 and 100,000 species are reportedly becoming extinct every year. The last 50 years have seen most of the forests estimated at seven million square kilometers have vanished. Just twenty percent of the original forests still remain.

The inter-relationship between species as well as the non-living physical factors of the environment is well recognized. The inter-dependency between them is considered vital for the survival of species whether plants, animals or micro-organisms. Scientists believe that it is humanly impossible to recreate such ecosystems. So the only option for species survival is to let ecosystem where they exist to survive. The stress therefore is in protecting and conserving the remaining natural eco-system. However, the excessive pressure of development and growth on nature acts as a counter.

Appreciation of nature and natural reserves in a widespread manner, it is hoped, will ultimately triumph and bear fruits. One way to promote this is by encouraging responsible eco-tourism. A living experience through camping in such sites requires the use of camping tent. You have to choose the tent from amongst a wide variety of tents. Kelty Green River 4 person tent can also be utilized as a base camp tent. It can house four persons. There are tents that easily accommodates up to ten people. The tents also have different features such as in its ability to withstand the winds, rain and the cold.

Most of all the visitors are to be sensitive and aware to leave nature alone as well as respect the local cultures. The important task is to be appreciative about nature. It is important to make sure that we realize that nature does not belong to us, but rather we belong to nature. The relationship with nature is a relationship of the children to their mother.

Activities like camping is a great avenue for you to know and recognize the value of nature. There’s only thing you need to remember if you want to go ahead with camping: responsibility.

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