Swamp White Oaks are majestic trees, often standing alone near the edge of a wetland. These members of the White Oak group have leaves with distinctly different colors on their tops and bottoms, as reflected in the Latin name, Quercus bicolor.
Environment
When Should Sun Day be Celebrated?
Sun Day is a grassroots day of action celebrating solar & wind power and advocating for the transition to clean energy. It was first designated by President Jimmy Carter on May 3, 1978. The International Solar Energy Society helped transition the event into an international observance in 1994. And since […]
Impacts of Global Climate Change
Global climate change affects the planet in many ways, causing rising temperatures, melting ice & sea level rise, and more extreme weather events, resulting in longer, more intense heat waves, floods, and droughts. All of these threaten ecosystems, food supplies, and human health. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 50% higher than it was before the start of the Industrial Revolution, due to increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change may be our planet’s greatest existential threat.
In Memory of Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry was an essayist, novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. He lived and farmed with his wife, Tanya, in Henry County, Kentucky until his recent death at age 92 on August 31, 2026. To get a better idea of his accomplishments, see his obituary in the Kentucky Lantern here.
Walhalla Ravine: A Gem at Risk
The City of Columbus has released its next major proposal in the modernization of its 70-year-old zoning code. The city-wide rezoning effort has the potential to threaten the wooded nature and quiet character of Walhalla Ravine, eliminating Walhalla’s current development restrictions. And the City has not said how it will protect green space in Walhalla or elsewhere. The threat starts with Phase 2, which would allow tall apartment buildings down to the first block of the Ravine.
THIRD ACT: In Defense of Climate & Democracy
Third Act is a community of Americans over sixty determined to change the world for the better. It harnesses its generational power to defend our climate & democracy. Using life experiences, skills, & resources, it tackles the unfinished work of its generation to ensure a safe & stable planet for future generations. Older Americans are the fastest-growing part of the population; 10,000 people a day pass the 60-year mark. Members of this generation saw enormous positive changes early in their lives, but now it appears that the promise of those changes may be dying, as the planet heats and inequality grows.
But as a generation, older Americans have unprecedented skills & resources. Washington & Wall Street have to listen when they speak, because they vote and because they have a large share of the country’s assets.
Reader’s Corner: Nature’s Best Hope
Douglas W. Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home (2009, Timber Press), awakened readers to an urgent reality–wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are disappearing. Tallamy’s follow up is Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard. It serves as a practical blueprint for reversing this trend. Published in 2020 (also by Timber Press), it maintains that property owners can reverse wildlife declines by replacing their traditional grass lawns with native plants. By transforming their yards into functional conservation corridors to protect biodiversity, they can create a patchwork of viable habitats he calls the “Homegrown National Park”.
“The little things that run the world”
E.O. Wilson, eminent biologist and the father of biodiversity, called insects “the little things that run the world” because of the many essential ecological roles they play every day. Insects are the most diverse group of animals on Earth and include ants, lady bugs, bees, fireflies, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and true flies. Insects can be grouped into three broad categories: pollinators, prey, and ecological balance.
Break the Oil Addiction: Drive an EV
Electric vehicles (EVs) offer some real advantages over gasoline-powered cars. They produce zero tailpipe emissions, cost less to run & maintain, provide instant acceleration, and allow for at home charging. If you are interested in learning more about EVs, contact the folks at Drive Electric Columbus, an independent non-profit grassroots organization that brings together central Ohio EV owners & enthusiasts for meetings, ride & drives, educational events, and other activities related to electric vehicles. It advocates for fair policies for all current & future EV owners.
Our Future in Jeopardy from Fossil Fuels
Our present industrial civilization relies on the consumption of enormous amounts of energy, much of it provided by fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used not only in producing transportation fuels and for generating electricity, but are also the starting material of many other products of our daily lives, including such diverse products as plastics, pharmaceuticals, solvents, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and clothing. Our continued reliance on fossil fuels will make it impossible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to stop environmental problems such as global warming. It is clear that our present economic system will need a major shift toward effective alternatives, based on renewable energy sources and more efficient ways to use them.
Spotlight on City Folks General Store
City Folks Has a New Name & Location City Folks General Store (formerly City Folk’s Farm Shop) is a locally rooted market, garden center, and homesteading supply store built around urban farming, sustainable living, and local food. More than a shop, it’s a community hub, a place where neighbors gather […]
Tree of the Month: Bladdernut, Staphylea trifolia
The American Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) is a unique, small tree, or more often a shrub. This Ohio native, and the Sierra Bladdernut (S. bolanderi) are the only members of the genus Staphylea native to the US. Their distinctive papery fruits and trifoliate compound leaves set them apart.
Celebrate with Sustainable Delaware Ohio
Sustainable Delaware Ohio (SDO) is a local, grass roots, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmental, social, & economic sustainability for the Delaware community through awareness, advocacy, & action. Sustainable Delaware Ohio is celebrating its 15th anniversary on Saturday, August 8th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Shale Hollow Preservation Park picnic shelter.
Celebrate Community with Trash Party!
Trash Party is a grassroots volunteer organization in Columbus that transforms neighborhood cleanup efforts into community celebrations. Founded by Collin Marshall, it has grown into a group of 30-40 residents that regularly gathers most weekends from 9 am to noon to remove litter, tires, & bulk items from local parks, ravines, & vulnerable city spaces.
Spotlight on Sustainability in the Columbus Dept of Public Service
The Columbus Department of Public Service provides a variety of essential services that maintain & improve the traveling safety & quality of life for Columbus residents, and supports the growth & economic development of the City. It collects refuse from more than 340,000 households every week and, through a contract with Rumpke, collects yard waste & residential recyclable material from more than 200,000 single-family households and eligible condominium & apartment complexes. And it manages Keep Columbus Beautiful, which conducts litter cleanups and promotes recycling & community beautification.
Spotlight on Keep Columbus Beautiful
Keep Columbus Beautiful is a City of Columbus community improvement program and an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. It promotes litter prevention, environmental education, and community engagement through school programs, workshops, and volunteer opportunities. It provides free supplies, encourages data collection, and partners with educators to foster environmental stewardship. It aims to improve Columbus’s health & safety by inspiring community action and sustainable practices. Keep Columbus Beautiful is committed to educating the public on the impact that litter and pollution have on our health and the health of our planet.
Let’s Come Back from the Brink!
Ira Helfand, MD, a two-time Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will address the growing threat of nuclear war at the Free Press Second Saturday Salon on July 11th from 2-4 pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road. Dr. Helfand will outline the work of Back from the Brink, a US-based grassroots coalition of individuals, organizations, & elected officials working together to rid the world of nuclear weapons and secure a set of common-sense policies that will make the world safer, healthier, and more just.
Tree of the Month: Linden, Basswood, Lime, Whitewood, Tilia spp
Linden (genus Tilia, aka Basswood in the U.S. or Lime in the U.K.), is an attractive and useful tree with no major drawbacks. The name “Basswood” is probably derived from the word “bast”, the inner bark which was once a major source of fiber. Prized for carving and for landscaping, it has a subtle, but unmistakable appearance in summer, with its yellow-green bracts against dark green leaves.
Changes Have Come to Blue Rock Station-part 2
Blue Rock Station is a 38.2-acre sustainable living farm and education center near Philo, Ohio. It has served as a working model for eco-friendly living, offering workshops on green building, goat milking, and solar cooking. Founded by Annie & Jay Warmke, its mission has been to focus on environmental sustainability, self-sufficiency, and reducing waste through reducing, reusing, and recycling. Now, with the help of the Women’s Peacepower Foundation and The Farmer’s Land Trust, Blue Rock Station has transitioned to the Blue Rock Farmland Commons.
Changes Have Come to Blue Rock Station–Part 1
Blue Rock Station is a 38.2-acre sustainability center located at 1190 Virginia Ridge Road, Philo, Ohio, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in southeastern Ohio. It features Ohio’s first Earthship, a unique living home made from used materials like tires, cans, and strawbales, and serves as a living laboratory […]
Creating a compassionate and sustainable world through personal, community and cultural transformation.