The city of Baltimore has more than 16,000 vacant buildings. Also, the percentage of Black households who own their own homes lags white households by 29%. Put those facts together, and you have an opportunity. As a carpenter by trade, Shelley Halstead saw that opportunity. She founded, and is now executive director of, Black Women
There about a billion dogs on this planet. Over the past several thousand years, they have become our helpmates and companions. Which brings up the question — what would happen to our furry companions if we were to suddenly disappear? A new book, A Dog’s World by Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff (https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691196183/a-dogs-world), considers two
Weeds — any plants that grow where they are not wanted — are the bane of agriculture. The preferred way to kill them is with herbicides. But these chemicals are expensive and deposit tons of poison into the environment, with the attendant risk of collateral damage. Is there a better way? There just may be.
In the Disney animated feature The Lion King, there is a scene in which Mufasa tells Simba about the Circle of Life — even though lions eat antelope, there are ways these animals benefit from lions. When carnivores die, their decaying bodies fertilize the grass the antelope and other animals eat. The environmental loop is
I had signed up to substitute teach yesterday and today for an English/language arts teacher at the middle school. While I was working another job earlier in the week, he made it a point to come find me. In order to teach his eight-graders, I was going to have to prepare, so he gave me
Are you worried about Christmas? Afraid that the supply bottlenecks will leave you bereft of gifts for everyone who expects them? Then perhaps you should try the Buy Nothing Project. Founded in 2013, the project’s purpose is to build community by connecting people through local giving, with a secondary purpose of helping the environment. In
Since it is now November, I thought it would be a good time to repost my poem about winter. It’s from my book Some Poems About Life, available here and on Amazon.com. Perspective The son stood in the doorway,Behold a beautiful sight!As far as he could see,nothing but fluffy white! Today would be a timeof
It’s remarkable how selective our memories can be when it comes to history. In school, I never learned about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre (https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/). Like most of the rest of the country, I heard about it only recently. So it stands to reason that I would never have been taught about the 1844 riots
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “When you have lemons, make lemonade.” We might also consider saying “If you have a problem, just eat it.” The problem in question is invasive species. From zebra mussels* to pythons in the Everglades**, some parts of the ecosystem are virtually under siege by plants and animals that aren’t
I hope everyone had a fun Halloween, and I’m sure many of you now have piles of candy as the remembrance. Not that I eat much candy myself, but when I saw the article “The Exact Amount Of Halloween Candy You Can Eat Before It’s Lethal” by Erica Sweeney (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-much-halloween-candy-lethal_l_6172241be4b010d9330ec746?), I couldn’t help but be
