Do it for the Whales

Some of this will look and sound a bit familiar if you are my friend on Facebook and already saw the pictures from my recent road trip to MT and WA... I also wrote a bit about it on my personal blog... But really, it's so important that I'll write about it again. With a Green-y spin.

Part of the reason I have blogged so little this month is because I went on a kick-butt road trip from Seattle to Montana and back again with my friend Mia (Or "Tammia", depending on when you met her...). I got to try out my Slipcover-turned-shoulder bag, my DSLR camera, and my reusable bamboo cutlery. Happy to report that all did wonderfully well.

When I got home, one of the things I wanted to run around and tell everyone is that EVERYTHING WAS SO BEAUTIFUL I COULD BARELY STAND IT. It's easy to get dulled on skyscrapers and soot when you live in Chicago, and Chicago is actually a really beautiful city. But there is really nothing like a long drive through the Cascades as they cruise along with the Columbia River. Nothing like shivering next to snow drifts along the road in August, or the gasp of breath that lodges in your throat when you turn the corner on an incredible mountain overlook.

All that beauty made me a little desperate too. Desperate to ramp up my efforts, and to get a little preachy. Paper, water, plastic, chemicals, animals, wilderness, conservation, creation care, mindfulness. I hope that if Les and I ever have kids some day, we'll be able to take them into the wilderness and still see trees and valleys, clean water, and killer whales leaping for nothing but joy out of the water in Puget Sound.

We learned on our whale watching trip that killer whales are the #1 most highly toxic mammals in the world - their blood and tissue consistently test higher for toxic chemicals than any other mammal alive. And you know why, of course. Because they are at the top of the food chain, eating contaminated fish and absorbing toxins from the ocean that store up in their fat.They didn't evolve with any mechanism to dilute or remove the toxins from their blubber, so it just builds and builds. Every single Orca tested has been considered immuno-compromised because of the chemicals in their bodies. AND we learned that the majority of female orcas' first-born babies do not survive, because they act as a sponge for so many of the mom's toxins that they don't live more than a few weeks or months. Subsequent babies do better, because that first unlucky baby sucked out some of the mom's concentrated filth. And I wanted to cry when we heard about all the whales who die from ingesting plastic bags.

The guides gave us a little pamphlet about things we can all do to help protect the killer whales. Things like not using plastic bags, not buying products with BPA or parabens (the runoff and excess of which STILL get dumped into the ocean), and never ever buying farmed salmon. Fishermen and legislators need incentive to keep wild salmon habitat healthy and strong, which is also works in the whales' favor by keeping their water and food supply healthy.

Yay for healthy oceans!

I learned all kinds of other things on this amazing Road Trip. Like, for example, that Tammia is an expert in small space gardening! Maybe I can convince her to write a guest-blogger post about container gardening INSIDE your apartment. Did you know you can grow salad greens all year round with just a bit of space and light? If I can find that bit of space, I'll be giving it a try. Not only is she an expert on just about everything garden, she also happens to run the incredible SupaFresh Youth Farm in the greenest of green cities - Portland. (Tammia is the epitome of Rock Star in my book.I don't think I know anyone with the same brilliant combination of capability and compassion. And she's a cupcake baking master.) 

So, to sum up: If you have a hankerin' for a road trip to some wide open spaces, I highly recommend MT and WA. Get out into the shake-you-by-the-lapels-astounding natural beauty of our very own U. S. of A and remember what you are helping to protect when you pack that reusable shopping bag into your purse and make thoughtful choices about what you eat, buy, and throw away. If you can't get away, go outside where ever you live and smile into the sunlight and thank God for being so creative with creation.