A picture is worth a thousand words. The expression may sound cliche, but in the conservation movement, it couldn’t be more true. In the day and age of quick soundbites and short attention spans, when it comes to promoting a cause, grabbing people’s attention is key. We need more than just hearing about things in order to care; we need to see them, and we need to be moved.

That’s one of the main reasons that pilot Tom Hutchings takes visitors to the Gulf of Mexico up in the air in his Cessna 182, knowing very well the visual power of seeing this environmental catastrophe from above. In the weeks following the Deepwater explosion, oil covered the diverse marsh landscape of the Mississippi Delta, turning a pristine habitat into an alien environment.

Hutchings flies for South Wings, a non-profit with a tagline of “conservation through aviation.” Founded in 1996, the organization is committed to connect conservation groups with pilots, providing flights at no cost.

“Do you get motion sick?” Hutchings ask as he works to take off a back hatch on the Cessna so our videographer can film through it as we fly.

“Not really,” I respond, not completely sure what I’m getting myself into. As I stare into the small cockpit wondering how I am going to cram my legs in, I realize I actually have no idea what I’m about to take on. This is my first aerial photography tour, something that I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the opportunity.

We load into the small plane and make our way down the runway, slowly lifting into the air and leaving the urban landscape of New Orleans behind. “All the waterways that you see that are straight are manmade,” Hutchings points out. And there are a lot of straight waterways. From above it’s pretty clear why levy failure during Hurricane Katrina had such an impact; this city is surrounded by water.

Soon we’re in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, flying over small islands and marshes. These days, there is in fact less oil visible to the human eye. Gone are the days when entire bays were covered in a reflective slick, but the oil’s presence and destruction is still ever present. Marshes are lined with a reddish color, evidence of oil soaked sand. In a couple of places, thin long lines of oil streak the blue water, almost as if painted on. In protected bays, oil collects and doesn’t move. As Hutchings points out, stormy weather blows it in, and there’s no way to get it out.

But it’s not just the destruction that gets to me; it’s the natural beauty. Blue water dotted with bright green marshes. Natural designs created from the various waterways. From the moment that we start flying over this diverse and rich natural landscape, it’s apparent how unique and sensitive it is; to storms, to oil and to people.

“Disaster tourism” is what some people deem projects that take travelers to areas that have seen some kind of catastrophe or devastation. Yet when you travel to a place and see it first hand, you quickly realize how connected you are to that place.

In the Gulf of Mexico, it’s apparent that even being from the Northwest, this is my backyard. It’s hard not to get emotional as I fly over this amazing place, thinking about how I would feel if a similar disaster were to happen to the natural spaces that I call home. Tears well up as I continue snapping photos, trying to capture the scope and colors of what passes below me.

“Did you even think about the Gulf of Mexico before this oil spill?” Hutchings asks me.

I think for a second. I’m embarrassed by my answer: “No, not really.” And it’s true. Besides having looked at it on the map, I realize that I’ve never really given a second thought to this region’s culture, environment and economy. But it’s a region that works its way into all of our lives, from goods that get transported up the Mississippi, to seafood that’s shipped all over the country to jazz music.

I realize that it’s all this that we’re trying to capture in photos and with video. That’s a big order. But it must be done, or we will never contemplate what our everyday actions have on people and regions outside of our immediate circles. And that’s why Hutchings continues to fly, and we have to continue to pay attention.

Aerial Tour from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo.

To check out a full gallery of photos, click here.

This post originally appeared on the project PDX 2 Gulf Coast’s website and has been cross-posted.

The post Seeing the Gulf From Above appeared first on EcoSalon.

Northern Europe’s air traffic is at a near-total standstill after windblown ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano spread across Scandinavia and the north of the U.K. While posing little environmental threat in the long term, this silica-rich ash could melt into liquid glass inside aircraft engines, clogging and even stopping them in mid-air.

Pity the U.K’s commercial airline services, set to lose tens of millions a day while disruptions last and if Eyjafjallajökull repeats its performance of 1821, that could be a very long time indeed.

“We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

“Don’t dance on a volcano” – French Proverb

Further reading:

“How do volcanoes affect world climate?” – Karen Harpp, Scientific American

” ‘Volcanoes emit more CO2 than humans’ – not even close…” – Grist

“Harness volcano power, energy experts say” – Daily Telegraph

“Erupting Volcanoes From Earth As Seen From Space” – Betsy Mason, Wired

Editor’s note: Join us every Friday for our environmental photo essay with Mike Sowden.

Images: rachel thecat and NASA

The post Volcanoes: The Disruption of Eruption appeared first on EcoSalon.

We hope you’re all having a great holiday weekend.

We want to see our cities overflowing with urban gardens, horizontal and vertical, until our cities are thoroughly home-grown. Over at Wired, Clive Thompson is of a similar mind – except it’s victory gardening that he wants to see as the driving force. (Here’s our Vanessa on the same topic).

"You know you’re a shopaholic if a thief steals all your credit cards and goes on a shopping spree, but when you get your monthly bill it’s the lowest one you’ve had in years." So starts Jeff Yeager’s suggestions for a short fiscal fast, over at Daily Green.

Epsom salts – straight in the bath? That would be a shame, when they’re so good in the garden, in the bathroom or even in your car battery. Reader’s Digest has the know-how.

Here’s a boat journey with a difference – the boat’s made from 15,000 plastic bottles and the remains of a Cessna light aircraft. And somehow it’s seaworthy – as it’s just sailed into Hawaii after travelling 2,000 miles in 3 months, to highlight the plastic pollution fouling our sea-lanes. Read the official blog here. (via Grist).

How well do houseplants purify our air? The people at Little Green Blog have been reading B.C. Wolverton’s book on the subject, and have a few suggestions for us. (via Hippyshopper).

However much we love innovative eco-housing, and however much straw seems a terrific idea as a building material…this strawbale cabin gets our "huh?" award for the week. (Let’s hope it’s meant to be Art as opposed to Architecture).

Sea glass pushes our buttons – especially when it’s combined with recycled silver and turned into sea glass jewelry like this, over at Cornwall’s Glasswing. (via Alternative Consumer).

However much you trim down your energy usage, there’s only so far you can go if your gadgets are thirsty for electricity. That’s the challenge for traditional desktop computers (pushed into the shade by energy-efficient laptops)…and Akhter have met it, with the LoCO2 desktop PC. Energy usage: less than a traditional 60W light bulb, they claim!

So planes get turned into rafts (see above) – but what else could they be used for? Eco footwear company Worn Again hit upon the natty idea of turning old Virgin Atlantic airline seat covers into chic bags – and as Smartplanet shows, the results are spectacular. 

Finally, over at Metaefficient the first affordable kinetic motion charger is upon us – and perhaps the start of a very personal solution to our energy problems.

Have a great holiday!

Image: J. Rosario

The post Eco Link Love appeared first on EcoSalon.

Find the space.

This week’s featured photographer: James Jordan

The post Weekly Photo: "Water, Clouds and Sky" by James Jordan appeared first on EcoSalon.

I love this photo because to me it says “Yes, this is ridiculous…and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

It reminds me of so many memorable stunts from the indomitable women I am lucky to have in my life. Stasie, a suburban church-going schoolteacher and young wife, running over the arbitrarily placed circle of cones at a concert in calm defiance of stupidity. Apparently she’d just had enough! (I’m pretty sure her husband loved it.) My mother shooing a young rattlesnake out of our Northern California mountain townhome with a broom – unforgettable to my four-year-old eyes because Mom was furious, not frightened. (I honestly believe the animal was terrified of her. The nerve of that silly snake, venturing into her kitchen!) A dear friend’s Southern-bred grandmother – I’m not naming names here, but the one who owns the word “decorous” – stealing a half-bottle of wine she liked from the Sedona country club by tucking it beneath her cashmere wrap. My own grandmother’s escapades are famous (or maybe just infamous, if you believe my grandpa).

Call it “getting in touch with your inner child”, being a little shameless, or just fooling around – kudos to the women, including ourselves, who revel in occasional moments of the ridiculous. I’ll spill mine if you spill yours.

This week’s featured photographer: Riot Jane

The post Weekly Photo: Just Fooling Around appeared first on EcoSalon.

"Sara, don’t reheat the coffee!"

Wise words from an office mate who caught me in the hopeful (all right, desperate) act of reheating my latte.  What she meant was that by "reheating the coffee", we are tempted try to recreate the memorable intensity of a satisfying experience, whether it’s that infamous trip to Palm Springs with your best girlfriend…or just a really great latte. Of course, this never works because it – whatever "it" is – is no longer fresh but forced.

The time he said "I love you" – and meant it. The hug to erase all hurts. The school-of-fish sensation when everyone in the room is sparkling with the energy of the moment.

And then, we have to clean up the petals – you can’t put the past in the microwave. It’s a bittersweet truth and a reminder to be mindful and grateful, right now. Soon enough, the present gets swept away.

This week’s featured photographer:  gadl "After the wedding"

The post Weekly Photo: After the Wedding appeared first on EcoSalon.

We live in a culture where beauty is just another commodity and our things own us instead of the other way around. Things to fix us, things to make us better, things to make us beautiful. Of course, when we focus only on external sources of improvement, we are reduced to mere things, as well. Ours may be a culture that sanctions shopping as the highest good and considers a perfect appearance of paramount importance, but despite the crush of it all, I hope you’ll stop for this moment to remember:

You’re already beautiful.

Visit YouAreBeautiful to learn more, and forward this post to all your friends who need to be reminded that they’re very beautiful, indeed. To our male readers, please make your mom’s, sister’s, daughter’s, girlfriend’s or wife’s day and do the same.

This Week’s Featured Photographer: *Zara

The post Weekly Photo: You Are Beautiful appeared first on EcoSalon.

Whatever you’ve done, he does not approve.

I’m choosing Mr. Angry as this week’s photo because every time I look at him, he makes me laugh. We all know those souls who take themselves a little too seriously, don’t we? Of course, sometimes it’s you. Combative, self-righteous, or garden-variety moral outrage, we all have those moments where we become comically defiant. (I know this because I am famous among my friends and family for what they refer to as “lectures”. I prefer passionate expression but that’s me.)

Fortunately, in the company of those who love and respect us, our tempests in teapots quickly simmer down and we can laugh at ourselves. As for Mr. Angry, I fear he’s fluffed beyond repair.

Featured photographer: law_keven

The post Weekly Photo: Mr. Angry appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sara, your editor, here. I hope you’ll take a moment with me to enjoy this cheerful slice of life pictured above. Take a moment to forget about tasks and things and lists and stuff.

It’s easy to dwell on the past and worry about the future instead of accepting the joy in the present moment. Our culture all but sanctions it. You don’t have to read Eckhart Tolle (or any of his philosophical predecessors) to know that the act of simply being is essential to fulfillment.

Personally, I’m just not a big fan of this all-American "pursuit of happiness". To me, it seems that grasping for happiness is elusive at best and impossible at worst – and the more we fight for it, the more stressful life gets.
I believe that focusing on contentment is much more realistic – and human. As my best friend says, how often do we stop to breathe, to be still, to appreciate that life is right now?

As you get to know others at EcoSalon, I hope you’ll feel both inspired and welcomed. This site is a gathering place for you to feel refreshed. By Fridays, the last thing most of us want is another task to complete or habit to instill – we’re scattered and worn out.

Every Friday, I’ll be sharing a favorite photograph with you so we can all take a moment just to be. If you want, leave a comment about those flowers, or take this as an opportunity to share with other readers what you’re grateful for. (You never know whom you might inspire.)

Take a breath: just be.

Featured photographer: Felixion

The post Being appeared first on EcoSalon.