Home again, Home again, jiggity jig

Well, I'm home. Or, in my home on this side of the world. My flight got into D.C. last night at around 8 o'clock, and after negotiating my way through English-speaking mobs, I was greeted with wonderful hugs and kisses and a few camera flashes from my parents. We put my bags in our van's trunk, where they shared the space with my parent's booty from an afternoon trip to Costco. I ate an over-sized Fuji apple from a prepackaged pack of 24. From the airport we took the overwhelmingly paved Beltway to my sister's apartment to visit her and her fiancé. We talked a lot, drank water straight from the tap, and played on their new Wii.

It's weird being home.

Even though I'm back now, I'll continue to post over the next several weeks. I still have some narratives from Ecuador that I'd like to share, and undoubtedly I'll have reflections regarding being back in this country. So, keep reporting back!

I'll leave you with a bit of the old poetry, an ode to Ecuador, something i just wrote-

Where are the beautiful stalls with ladies selling fresh cut flowers,
the children wearing wooden boxes holding gum and cigarettes for sale,
the mountains surrounding and framing my existence, reminding me of my smallness,
the melody of spanish floating across the air?
and my dog's wet besitos and wag-wag-wagging tail?

Humbly but boldly they are situated
where the sun shines strong even while it rains
where volcanos peek out on the horizon
where the ecuator gives a name to a small, love-rich country
where my heart remains.

¡Feliz Día, mom!

To my mom especially, but also to other readers with babies:

Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for all you do.

For a while now, my mom has really wanted to see a picture of my host family here. So, at long last, here you are, mom!

This is my Ecuamamá (Susana), me, my brother (Martín, 13), and my Ecuapapá (José). This was taken outside of their farmhouse, about 2 hours from Quito. Not pictured is Sebastian (19), my other brother, so below is a picture of him from when we went to a soccer game.

Dog poop has never tasted so good

...I mean, okay. There's this Ecuadorian snack here called caca de perro, which translates to "dog poop." But don't worry, it's not actually dog poop. It consists of toasted then caramelized corn kernels. But unlike American un-popped corn kernels, somehow these things are chewably crunchy and delicious. My Ecuamama just made some the other day, which was the first time I'd seen it, tried it, or even heard of it.

Anyway, its name was just too good to pass up for a blog post title. That's all.

The Tree Key: Deforestation and Global Warming

Here's a link to the follow-up NYT column about Yachana (see below post).

Columnist Nicholas Kristoff tells us why the work of Yachana -- specifically community empowerment within the Amazon, which provides locals with economic incentives to not cut down Amazonian trees -- is so important.

"Somewhere in the world, we humans cut down an area of jungle the size of a football field every second of every day, and deforestation now contributes as much to global warming as all the carbon emitted by the United States. By one calculation, four years of deforestation have the same carbon footprint as all flights in the history of aviation up until the year 2025."

We don't hear as much about deforestation contributing to climate change as CO2 emissions. Perhaps this is because on a personal level, resolving the tree-cutting problem feels more out of reach than cutting our personal greenhouse gas emissions.

We know we can and should: purchase electricity from a company offering a large share of renewable energy; walk or ride a bike instead of driving; purchase a car with high gas mileage; turn down/up our thermostats in the winter/summer; replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents; be smart shoppers when buying energy-gulping appliances like fridges and furnaces.

But we aren't told very often what we can do to prevent further global deforestation, which is an equally substantial contributor to the climate crisis.

Well, here are just three ideas of the type from the Union of Concerned Scientists' "Ten Personal Solutions" to global warming:

1.Buy good wood.
When buying wood products, check for labels that indicate the source of the timber. Supporting forests that are managed in a sustainable fashion makes sense for biodiversity, and it may make sense for the climate too. Forests that are well managed are more likely to store carbon effectively because more trees are left standing and carbon-storing soils are less disturbed."

2. Plant a tree.
You can also make a difference in your own backyard. Get a group in your neighborhood together and contact your local arborist or urban forester about planting trees on private property and public land. In addition to storing carbon, trees planted in and around urban areas and residences can provide much-needed shade in the summer, reducing energy bills and fossil fuel use.

3. Let policymakers know you are concerned about global warming. (and specifically deforestation)
Our elected officials and business leaders need to hear from concerned citizens. Sign up for the Union of Concerned Scientists Action Network to ensure that policymakers get the timely, accurate information they need to make informed decisions about global warming solutions.

Also, an organization called Rainforest Action Network is also currently campaigning against current practices in palm oil production, the majority of which takes place in rainforest regions, where "pristine rainforests are being clear-cut and burned to make way for palm oil plantations." This contributes to global warming ("Deforestation is the primary reason that Indonesia and Brazil are now the world’s third and fourth largest greenhouse gas polluters," according to RAN), and it also contributes to the destruction of vital ecosystems and displacement of indigenous people/small farmers. There is an increasing demand for palm oil, which is used in foods, soaps and cosmetics AND as an industrial-scale biofuel.

So. The bottom line is, let's not forget about the disastrous impacts of deforestation that we all contribute to every day. Be a responsible shopper question where your wood and ingredients are coming from.