Swollen swirling streams running off the snow pack, song birds flitting and singing, insects beginning to hatch from their nests, the first crocuses poking out of the cold dark soil… The rich smells of composting oak leaves, sweet maple sap and wet tree bark! Ahhhhhh… the renewal of the Earth, and all of it’s waking creatures pregnant with possibilities!

Those of us living farther north feel like we have more reasons to appreciate the arrival of the official beginning of spring more than those closer to the equator. After all, for many of us, our lined britches, “long johns” 24/7 socks, outdoor hats and gloves have become a way of life for months! We have noticed the sun rising earlier and setting later, and we rejoice that the light LOOKS different, even if the earth tones are still patched with snow.

If this is the midpoint between winter solstice and summer solstice, why are the daily high temperatures still close to freezing? And why are night time puddles still freezing up here near the 45th parallel? It all comes down to albedo. According to NOAA, ice, snow and water, reflect the sun’s energy back out to space. This reflectivity is called albedo. Snow cover in the north keeps our air colder for longer in the spring. Those of us who live here know that once the snow finally melts, and the good earth begins to absorb heat during the longer days of spring, things will warm up quickly.

We notice more signs of spring every day. There’s a northern oriole in the back yard now! Oh, that reminds me, I have some maple sugaring to do! Later!

The Water Crisis Will Make Waves

Image: eyesore9, flickr

Drinking water availability is rapidly boiling over into a disaster that will be bigger than the energy crisis. Consider that humans need water every day, or our bodies are unable to survive. Bottled water companies spend billions of dollars marketing water at premium prices, creating a big carbon footprint at a significant cost to consumers. And the worst part is, we have no idea where bottled water is coming from. Often tap water is cleaner than what we buy in a oil-based bottle that will end up in a landfill or drifting on the ocean.

Flow, the motion picture, examines the global water crisis and presents a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply. Irena Salina interviews scientists and activists and exposes some of the culprits behind the global water grab, and poses the question: “Can anyone really own water?” At the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, Flow won the International Jury Prize at the Mumbai International Film Festival, the award for Best Human Interest Film at the 2008 Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, and the award for Best Documentary at the 2008 Vail International Film Festival. As one man says, “Water is like air, we shouldn’t be charging people for water.”

You can celebrate World Water Day with us by sending us a water photo and win a LoveEarthAlways water bottle, or get two beautiful original posters from UNWater just for the asking.

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Video Credit: oscopelabs, youtube

Evidence that Saint Patrick’s Day is a celebration of the green can be seen with green dye in the Chicago River, green beer flowing from taps everywhere, and wearing of the green originating from the emerald hues of Ireland. In that spirit William Yeats said, “The problem with some people is that when they’re not drunk, they’re sober.”

We prefer to enjoy St Patrick’s Day as a celebration of the end of a long (white) winter and the beginning of another green season in the Green Mountain State, with a green attitude. May all your green wishes come true in the coming season! Cheers!

What are your green wishes for the new season on this day?

Clean Water For a Healthy World! That is the theme for the 2010 World Water Day. Do you have an inspiring photo to show off? Enter the LoveEarthAlways World Water Day Photo Contest and be recognized and win beautiful LoveEarthAlways prizes!

The 3 winners from our entries will be awarded LoveEarthAlways Water bottles and Tote Bags and a 10% off Gift Code fior LoveEarthAlways products.

Specifications for photographs:

1. Entries must be submitted in digital file format. All files must be in JPEG and must be at least 300 dpi.

2. The entries must be original photographs taken by the contestants. By entering the contest, a participant acknowledges and warrants that the submitted photograph is an      original work.

3. Each participant can submit one entry only.

4. Each photograph submitted must have a brief description of no more than 50 words of how it relates to the theme “Clean Water For a Healthy World”. The photograph can focus on actions, activities and practices connected to the theme.

5. Please submit your entry by email to: Contact@LoveEarthAlways no later than 08:00 EST time on March 2oth, 2010.

6. Please indicate the following details in your entry submission: name, mailing address, e-mail address.

7. The picture entries will not be used for any commercial purposes by LoveEarthAlways but will be posted as winners on our website and blog.

8. The entries will be judged by a panel of LoveEarthAlways judges.. The judges’ decision will be the final. Prizes and certificate will be awarded to the winners on March 22nd 1010. The selected photographs will be displayed on our website LoveEarthAlways.com and blog LoveEarthAlways.com/community for World Water Day March 22, 2010.

Email your entry NOW!

During the past year we have written several blog posts about the world wide water crisis. World Water Day is March 22nd a week from today! LoveEarthAlways is raising awareness of the worldwide water crisis and will celebrate with our photo contest by giving away two beaurtiful original UN World Water Day Posters FREE for the asking! If you would like us to send you one or both of the posters seen here in high-resolution pdf format  just send us an email to Contact@LoveEarthAlways.com and we will make sure that you receive one immediately. Also, check out UN World Water Day to see some of the events planned worldwide and participate if you can!

Three Lenses Every Photographer Should Own

It’s a question I hear a lot from new photographers: “what lenses should I buy?”

And while there are a lot of different types of lenses appropriate for many different situations and needs, time and time again I find myself primarily relying on three lenses in my bag: a fast general purpose zoom (18-55mm), a macro lens and a telephoto zoom (70-200mm). These three lenses will give you enough versatility to shoot in almost any conditions. Also, these three lenses are available for just about every camera system and lens mount on the market, and they won’t drain your pocketbook too much.

The general purpose zoom

This is the lens that sits on my camera the most. For automatic point and shoot cameras, something in the 18-50mm range is best… for DSLR- 35mm format cameras, a 24-70mm will work. This will give you the ability to go fairly wide while also being able to zoom into objects off in the distance. This lens might be your kit lens, but it should preferably be fairly fast (a fixed f/2.8 if possible) to give you greater control over depth of field. It makes a great “walkabout” lens when you aren’t sure what you will be shooting.

The macro lens (more…)

Vermont is in the sweet spot of sugaring season with cooler nights warm sunny days. Sap buckets hanging on maples, sugarhouses billowing steam, unmistakable songs of robins and redwing blackbirds, Canadian Geese flying north, mud oozing out of the frosty ground, spring fishing and snow disappearing from south slopes tell us spring is here and arm us with anticipation of a bountiful growing season. Here are some of my faves from the past week. What is your favorite sign of spring?

Spring fishing on Lake Champlain.

notecard collection

A five pack of note cards with envelopes with beautiful Vermont landscape photos from the best of Glenn Fay’s collection. These outstanding photos show the four Vermont seasons in the Green Mountains, forests, meadows, and lakes in all of their stunning glory. The cards are suitable for thank you notes, correspondence or even special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. Package of 5 folded over cards, envelopes in protective clear archive plastic. Contact us for discounts on quantities. Buy the LoveEarthAlways notecard collection here.

Why buy from LoveEarthAlways instead of someone else? We offer the best prices and we give 10% of our profits to humanity in desperate need. Read more about our social mission by clicking the link at the top of the page.

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Did you ever think about the formation of the universe, the Earth, evolution of living things, and human history? Having taught Earth Science for many years it is something I have revisited many times. Every time I do I am overwhelmed by the richness of the past, and the mythology of our theoretical past. As we know, recorded history takes us back a few thousand years and before that? Well, let’s just say at best it’s an educated guess what went down.

Far from an A-movie, this is 3-minute flip-book animation of drawings and artwork, giving a visual history of the planet Earth. It’s pretty entertaining—it even has sound effects. The production was a project for an art course, and consists of a flipbook made entirely out of biro pens. It’s approximately 2100 pages long, and about 50 jotter books. and took about 3 weeks to complete! Why couldn’t I think of something like this? Enjoy!

Video: A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything by DispleasedEskimo