Children's Climate Change Blog - Nana Greta's Walk

The list is growing

2010-04-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

14 children have joined the 10 Steps for Children Program at www.10stepcap.com/10-steps-for-children.html. Here's what they are saying:

“I’m going to help the earth by recycling more and planting trees.”

“The first thing I will do is to help my family save water.”

“I am extremely happy to be in the 10 Steps Program because I love and care for the world.”

“I will try to help you, but I can’t promise that everybody will help… I will tell my friends and family about your blog!”

“I will try to make people participate. I just LOVE this idea.”

“Our planet really needs help and I appreciate that you care about it.”

“The first thing I’ll do when I leave the school is that I’m gonna recycle more and use less energy.”

“I love this idea, I always liked the idea of helping the planet. Now I have the opportunity.”

“I eat fruits and vegetables from my farm, we have lots of trees and flowers. I really like thinking that I can do a part by helping the world.!”

“I always thurn off the television when it’s not in use.”

“And yes, I’ll use less make-up, cause it uses petroleum! It will be fun being a more ‘green’ person.”

“The first thing I did to reduce the plastic bags I use was to buy cloth bags so I can re-use them.”

“Ways I will help: 1. shorter showers; 2. share ‘going green’ with others; 3. Go blue, also help save water; 4. avoid plastic cups; 5. dance the RE-USE RE-DUCE AND RECYCLE! jingle; 6. make earth day a daily habit.”

“This weekend I talked to my parents about the 10 Step CAP!!!”

If you're not signed on yet, do it today! 10 Steps for Children I'd love to hear from you.

Nana Greta

A 10 Step Program for Children

2010-03-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hello dear children - I am getting ready to start a program for children where you will be able to promise to do some good things for the planet.
Earth Day is coming soon and that will be a wonderful time to start this program. Here are the simple steps that you will be able to pledge to do - please let me know what you think. A longer paper will give directions and suggestions about how to follow these steps.

10 Steps for Children

To help keep the Planet Earth safe for people, animals and plants, I will take these 10 Steps:

1. Talk with my parents about how we can help

2. Conserve electricity and use solar energy

3. Walk, bicycle, and use public transportation

4. Save water

5. Re-cycle

6. Re-use

7. Eat more natural and local foods

8. Plant trees, garden

9. Read, study, learn more about the climate problem

10. Tell others about the climate and 10 Steps

for Children

I hope to hear from you soon.

Love, Nana Greta

5th Graders in Houston & To do List

2010-03-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Tuesday March 2, I visited a wonderful bunch of 5th grade students at Garden Oaks Elementary School in Houston. Just like the 4th grade students in Massachusetts and the 5th graders in Brazil, these Houston children were smart, bright-eyed and full of energy and interest. You, my dear friends, are the hope of the future and I know that many of you are already starting to do the things that will help keep our environment healthy for humans, animals and plants. Thanks you for welcoming me.

Garden Oaks Elementary School in Houston, Texas

If this is your first time on this blog, please find the link in the right margin that will take you back to February 2009 when I started the blog. Then you can make your way through my Climate Walk: you can just look at the photos, or you can read the blogs, and you can even read the comments of other students.

Today I want to post the list of things you can do that I developed for yesterday's students. I wasn't able to make copies for them so I promised to put it in the blog. You already know many of these things. Maybe you will write about what you're doing (all of you, wherever you are) in the comments. You don't have to have a special name to leave a comment - simply post it as Anonymous. Be sure to put your name in the comment so I can respond to you.

What you can do …

Save Electricity - Whenever we use electricity, we help put greenhouse gases into the air. By turning off lights, the television, and the computer when you are through with them, you can help a lot.

Bike, Bus, and Walk - You can save energy by sometimes taking the bus, riding a bike, or walking.

Carpool - For example, four people can ride together in one car instead of driving two or more cars to work, to the restaurant, to church.

Save Water – More and more people are using water and in many places there is not enough to go around. You can use less water when you shower and brush your teeth, when you wash dishes and clothes, when you water the lawn.

Recycle and Re-use - Recycle or re-sue cans, bottles, plastic bags, and newspapers. When you recycle, you send less trash to the landfill and you help save natural resources, like trees, oil, and elements such as aluminum. Re-using things, such as zip -lock bags and cloth items, means that less new material is utilized to produce a new product.

Talk to Your Family and Friends - Talk with your family and friends about climate change. Let them know what you've learned.

Plant Trees - Planting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air.

Read - Learning about the environment is very important. There are many good books that will help you learn. To get started, ask a teacher or a librarian for some suggestions. You can learn about solar energy, wind energy, about how to save water, about new and more efficient kinds of transportation, and about how what we eat can help cut down on climate change.

(Adapted from EPA websites)

Love, Nana Greta

From the Pan American School of Bahia

2009-12-17T02:52:00.000-08:00

Today I am visiting the school in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where my daughter Sofia Hart teaches 5th grade. I've already met some of the really sweet and cute students here, and am looking forward to meeting others when I talk with the classes later: two of Miss Sofia's classes and one of Ms. Anne's classes.

I am so thrilled that the students read my blog and wrote messages to me. This children's blog was one of the best things about my Climate Walk. I would like to continue receiving messages from children and I will try to write more interesting things about the environment and the people and creatures that are affected by Climate Change.

Love, Nana Greta

An online article for you

2009-09-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

I invite you to look at an article that includes mention of me. I am honored to be part of this group of environmentalists. Click here.

Love, Nana Greta

How about an event on October 24?

2009-09-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

This photograph is to show you that I had fun along the way when I was walking my 1150 miles from New Orleans to the Canadian border. This fancy setup was in front of a house in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Most of you will recognize this beautiful woman who walked almost 50 miles with me in July, right before she went to Brazil to teach in the PanAmerican School in Bahia. She is my daughter, Ms. Sofia Hart, and she is the one who suggested that I have a blog especially for children. I'm so glad she did.

About your comments: thanks to all of you who wrote nice things to me. I love to hear from you. I apologize to those whose names I missed before:

Gai and Igor and someone who didn't write his or her name - thanks for your comments. Let me know if I missed anyone else.

Billy and Chris, when I was your age I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was around 14 I wanted to be a writer and called myself Inky because I always got ink on my fingers when I wrote with a fountain pen. Now that I'm grown up I keep finding new things that I want to do.

What can you do for the environment at your school? A special event on October 24 which is the International Day of Climate Action. Talk with your teachers about it. You can get lots of information on this website: www.350.org. You can register your event and it will be counted along with almost 1500 other events in over 100 countries. It doesn't have to be something complicated and difficult.

One requirement for the 350.org International Day of Climate Change is that you produce a photograph with the number 350 in a creative way. You can see examples on the website.

I hope to hear from you about your ideas.

Love, Nana Greta

PS - Robert, a late happy birthday for 9/9/99

Now that I'm home, what next?

2009-09-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

My last week on the road included many interesting sights. I thought these horses, under the trees with the flowers in the foreground, were beautiful.

I watched these girls fishing with their father - they caught three little fishes which they were going to cook up for breakfast the next day. I thought to myself: "These children are two of the grandchildren I'm waling for."

The last day was very rainy and windy, but nothing bothered me because I was so happy. Here we're all laughing because my umbrella turned inside out.

Dear Children,

I'm at home now, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It's a beautiful, sunny day in September and I just did a little work in my garden, which got neglected because I wasn't here to do my share of taking care of it through the summer.

When I came in from the garden I read all the new comments on the blog, and I went back to March to find some of your comments there. I may have missed some so if I don't mention your name please remind me. Today I will write to all of you, whether you have written a comment or not - I appreciate your reading even if you don't respond. Here are the names of children who didn't get on the list last time:

Susan, Barbara, Anya, Anabela, Guilherme, Katie, Rani, David, and Chloe - Thanks for adding your comments. I will try to answer all you said and asked but not by name.

Coins - Unfortunately I didn't keep count of all the coins I collected, including those that others found when they were walking with me and contributed to the collection. Some of the coins are very old and damaged, and I plan to take a picture of them to show you. I think only a bank will accept them. My daughter, Ms. Hart, found a lot of coins, including dimes and quarters. Sometimes other people who were walking with me found bigger coins while I kept finding pennies. My guess is that all in all we collected about $5.00, but I spent some of the coins as I went along, so we'll never know.

New York/New York City - During my walk I didn't get very close to New York City at all. I was walking in the state of New York, through the cities of Binghamton, Syracuse, Cortland, Watertown, Canton and Potsdam, and many other villages, ending up in Rouses Point on the border with Canada and the state of Vermont.

Working for the climate - Many of you are doing good things for the Planet Earth, at home and at school. I like hearing about your efforts to recycle (including recycled art and posters), to use less water and electricity, and to learn more about global warming. It's wonderful when you share what you're doing and what you've learned with other students and with your family. Good job! I hope your student council (STUCO) can do good things for the environment.

When you grow up - I was very moved by your thoughts about what you would like to do when you grow up. I will work hard for you to have a better world to grow up in. Actually, whatever your occupation is - engineer, actress, teacher, nurse or doctor, etc. - you will have many opportunities to fight pollution and global warming. And during your time off you will be able to do things like walking a long distance to call attention to climate change.

I want to thank all of you for your enthusiasm and your kind words about my courage, and your wishes for my safety. You make me want to work all the harder for the Earth.

So what shall we do next? Please tell me what you're thinking and doing. Maybe you want to plan an event for October 24 when people all around the world will be doing things to demonstrate their desire for more action on the problem of Climate Change. I hope to hear from you. (And Happy Birthday to Nani and Anabela!)

Love, Nana Greta

Today I reach my destination

2009-08-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

Today I'm going to write just a short message to you because I need to walk my last nine miles to get to the end of Route 11. Here I am at the 25 mile mark.

I wanted to show you this photograph of a wind farm in Northern New York State - there were dozens of windmills. Do you remember the video of little windmills down in Alabama? I took a video of these, up close, and I will post it early next week.

And this photo reminds me of a picture of this farm machine I took way back, also in Alabama. This time it has a windmill behind it. I think it's cool!

Please check the blog again soon. I want to answer the questions that you asked me but don't have time today.

Love, Nana Greta

NICE TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU!

2009-08-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

A sunflower and some sheep.

A northern barn, built so that the snow can slide off the roof.

A river canyon in Watertown. Remember how there were no rocks down on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. There certainly are rocks in Northern New York State.

I've seen many deer crossings but here is a cow crossing.

Dear Children -

This is a message to all the children who have been reading my blog, especially the new ones who posted so many new messages to me.

I have three dozen messages to respond to so this time I will write to everyone at once.

Luiz H., Cela, Pedro 5B, Sabrina, Lua, Luis, Felipe, Marco Silveira, Omar Abbas, Ana Maria, Bia, Marilia, Susan, Fernanda, Ivan, Juliana, Jaqueline, Maria Miguel, Julia, Larissa, Malu, Rafael, Stephanie, Melissa, Amanda, Alice, Rone, Jose Vitor, Billy and Cris, and Christina:

You all are so wonderful, you give me a great boost, new courage, and hope for the future.

Many of you said you would like to do what I'm doing - you would like to walk, to see the states in the US, to do something for the environment. Some of you thought you wouldn't have the courage or the will to walk so much. Let me tell you something: all of you will be able to something like this some day. You will have energy and courage for the things you really believe in. I hope you will have a safe and diversified world to live in, with animals for you to love and care for, and much beauty and wonder.

Here are some of the animals I've seen: deer, goats, sheep, cows, horses, rabbits, squirrels, dogs, cats, a bear, wild turkeys, many kinds of birds, a snake, frogs, turtles. Unfortunately I've also seen animals that were run over by cars: armadillos, raccoons, opossums, and some of the ones I mentioned above.

I call my motor home a gypsy wagon because I've always liked to wander and I've admired the life of gypsies. I like to pretend that I'm a gypsy. Other things I call it are: motor home, van, RV, truck, vehicle.

About public transportation in Brazil: I can understand that sometimes the buses in big cities are not safe or comfortable. But it is wonderful in Brazil that you can get almost anywhere by bus, much more so than in the US. It's not good for everyone to have to have a car for everything they do, and I hope that we can work to improve public transportation here and in Brazil.

Some of you mentioned things you do at home to help the environment. That's excellent - keep doing what you can. It's good to be aware about not wasting water, electricity, paper, food.

I wish all of you could join me for a day. I'm getting very close to the end of my walk. I will send you some more photos, and I hope to hear from you again.

Love, Nana Greta

A little message

2009-08-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

This morning I am leaving the nice place on Lake George where I've spent a short vacation with family members, including my little granddaughter from Brazil. I will walk on Route 11 for the next eight days and arrive at the end of my journey on Saturday, August 29.

I received a wonderful batch of messages from a group of children in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. They put a big smile on my face and I loved their ideas and questions. Children from Bahia, I will respond to you as soon as possible, hopefully this weekend. It's not always easy to get on the internet, but I hope to find a library tomorrow where they have WiFi.

Now I must leave for the six hour trip back to where I stopped walking last Saturday.

Love, Nana Greta

Nana Greta has walked 1000 miles

2009-08-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

This is me near Pulaski in New York State, as I complete 1ooo miles of my walk. I have about 170 to go.

Remember the long line of hay bales covered in white plastic? Not far from them I saw this strange sight peeking out from behind the corn. What do you think it is?
Well, well - someone had fun painting this huge caterpillar complete with antennae.

Here is my friend Tim, who walked almost 100 miles with me, some in PA and some in NY. He is peering into a little house, which I think is a shelter for children to wait in for the school bus when the weather is bad.

Love, Nana Greta

My final State: New York

2009-08-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

See if you can name the eight states I've walked through by now. The list is at the bottom of this posting. Now I'm walking through the last state on my journey, the state of New York. This weekend I'll walk through the city of Syracuse.

This is a busy time in the countryside. These silos are where the harvest is stored in the winter months.

Hay is one of the main crops in this area. It is long grass that is dried and bundled for the cows, horses and pigs to eat in the winter when there is no fresh grass. All those white things are bales of hay covered in plastic to keep them dry.

This machine takes the big rolled up bale of hay and wraps it tight in plastic. See the roll of plastic underneath. The hay has to be cut and dried and put away dry, so it's important to have a few days without any rain. The sunny days of August are perfect.

This cat had such shiny green eyes when I spotted it by the roadside - it was probably looking for a mouse or bird. Farmers often keep cats to hunt the mice that eat away at the corn and other grains.

And these beautiful scarecrows are supposed to scare the birds away so that they won't eat seeds and fruit from the garden.

What are you doing with your August days? Hope it's a great month for you.

Love, Nana Greta

States: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, (a tiny corner of Georgia that I'm not counting), Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania.

More photos from Pennsylvania

2009-07-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Children -

I'm sure you've seen murals in your towns - this is a mural in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, and I'm trying to climb into the mural so that I can go hiking in that magical place.

This little nest built among the reeds of grass amazed me. When I look closely at the photo I think I see the little head of a baby bird. What do you think?

Remember my husband, Guy? He joined me and walked five days with me.

We saw this sign and wondered how many rooms there are for rent in the little cart. Maybe they're renting rooms to rabbits and birds.

I love the sight of this little town across the Susquehanna River. It looks so peaceful.

I hope you're having a great vacation.

Love, Nana Greta

A long time without posting

2009-07-20T12:16:00.001-07:00

My daughter, Sofia, whom some of you know as Ms. Hart, is walking with me now, and she brought me good luck - we've been finding lots of pennies along the road, and a few nickles and dimes. We're in Northeastern Pennsylvania, in a small university town called Bloomsburg. It's on a lovely river called the Susquehanna, one of my favorite rivers in the world.

Some photos from Northern Virginia

2009-07-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

By now you should know that I love animals and flowers and little houses. This cow reminds me of the longhorns I saw in Alabama.

These white flowers line the road like sentinels keeping track of who is passing by.

Who wants to move into this little house with me? I think it didn't cost very much to make it, but I like the way it looks. And see the dog in the cage next to it? He barked loudly at me.

Did you know that you can eat the buds of day lilies, the orange flowers below? My husband taught me that. I picked some and fried them in olive oil, added tomatoes, salt and pepper, and then broke two eggs into the pan. An excellent supper with brown rice!

These flowers remind me of bells; they looked so pretty in front of a little restaurant in a village.

Happy 4th of July!

Love, Nana Greta

Hello there!

2009-06-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

I haven't been able post any photos here for quite awhile because my laptop computer is sick. Please check back now and then and hopefully I'll have something for you soon.

How is your vacation going? Are you helping to fight global warming? Sometimes it's very hard to do, but we have to keep trying.

I'm in Virginia now, almost all the way through, in a town called Stephens City. I've walked 560 miles. Next week I'll be in Pennsylvania, which is where I live. Some of my friends and family will join me to walk a day or more. It will be great to have company.

Love, Nana Greta

How to be global warming fighters

2009-06-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

Summer roses

Dear Children,

Soon you will be on vacation and I hope your days will be fun and relaxing. Last week I suggested that during your vacation you should walk more and take public transportation sometimes in order to use less gas. Today I want to talk to you about electricity in your home.

Maybe you already do this, but if not, try to turn off all the lights in your home that are not being used. Talk to your parents and other members of the household so that they know why you are doing this. Other things that can be turned off when they're not really needed are the TV, air-conditioners, fans, computers, chargers and power strips.

Sometimes we turn on lights indoors even when we don't really need them. Instead we can use natural light coming in through the window - all we have to do is get closer to the window.

Why is electricity a problem? Most of our electricity in the East of the United States (that includes Boston) is made by burning coal, which emits a lot of carbon dioxide, adding to global warming. Sometimes electricity is made by using the force of rushing water. That is a cleaner process but we need to be very careful about how we use water because we need it for so many other things and there are places in the world where there isn't enough water to go around.

Electricity made from the wind with huge wind mills, or from the sun with solar panels is clean and doesn't contribute to global warming. These technologies are fairly new and can be very expensive to get started, but hopefully in your lifetime they will become widely used. I made a little video of some old-fashioned windmills on a farm in Alabama for you. It's posted at the bottom of this page. The noise is an electric mower that the farmer is using to mow his lawn.

Saving water is one more way to fight the climate change problem: be careful to not waste water. Don't let the faucet run more than you need to, give plants only the amount they need, take shorter showers, and pay attention when you wash dishes or clothes to use water wisely.

If all the children in the world would save electricity and water it would make a huge difference.

Love,

Nana Greta

The hills and valleys of Virginia

2009-06-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

On Friday I climbed my first real mountain on this journey. Near the top I found this Black Snake right along side the road. At first I thought it was a strip of tire, but then I noticed the small head with a tiny eye watching me attentively. I walked across to the other side to let the snake have its space. Later I learned that while this snake is not poisonous it can be somewhat aggressive and it's better not to bother it.

This is what I saw at the top of the mountain. I think you will find the story interesting.

I really liked this statue in the city of Abingdon - I think it's a statue of the fairy named Ariel.

And here are cattails in a meadow beside the road.

Next time I write to you I will make another suggestion for your summer.

Love, Nana Greta

What can you do this summer about climate change?

2009-05-28T12:46:00.001-07:00

Dear children,

In just a few weeks American children will be enjoying summer vacation, while children in the Southern Hemisphere, including Brazil, usually have some vacation time in July. Let's think about some of the things you can do to help the planet while you're away from school.

I'll start today with transportation, because driving a car (or a motor home) burns more fossil fuels per person than when you take public transportaion:

Explore the public transportation system in your area. See where all you can go on the local buses or trains. Find routes that will take you to the beach or to parks where you can hike or swim.

Get around without using any fossil fuels - you can walk of ride a bike instead of riding in a car. Walking or biking can be a fun way to spend the day, and it's good for your health too.

Try to help your family use the car less by doing many errands at the same time, or walking instead of driving if it's not too far. You can make suggestions - if your parents don't accept your ideas don't get upset. Just do the best you can.

Report back to this blog in the comment section to share what you do.

Next time I'll write about other ways to enjoy the summer as a good global warming activist.

Love, Nana Greta

2009-05-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hello children,

This is the photograph that I asked a question about: Why do you think I took this picture? There a a photo of cows above and some of you thought I was asking about the animals. But here there is an important something that helps global warming. Can you tell what it is?

By the way, today I found a penny, a nickel, and dime and a quarter - lucky day!

Love,

Nana Greta

Coins and Offsets

2009-05-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

First some photographs:

Last week when my knee was injured it also rained every day, making it hard to make progress on my journey. At night it sometimes rained hard, with lightening and thunder. I like storms so that was OK. I took a picture of the drops on my windshield.

But the sun returned as I entered the hilly region of northeastern Tennessee.

I took another photograph showing the rocks pushing up through the ground in this hilly country.

Wouldn't you like to go with me to see where this path leads?

Maybe it would take us to this pretty barn.

One of the fun things I enjoy is finding coins along the road. Yesterday I found a dime, a nickel and a penny. Since the beginning of the trip, including yesterday, I've picked up four dimes, two nickels and sixteen pennies. How much does that make? Do you think I'll be rich by the end of my trip?

Did you ever hear of a carbon offset? When a company or a person burns a lot of fossil fuel (gas, oil, coal and other substances), they are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is one of the main causes of global warming. But sometimes people haven't found ways to do what they need to do without burning fossil fuels so even though they know better they keep on doing it. They can do something to help fight against global warming by sending money to organizations that are working to improve the situation. They do this by planting trees, educating the public, convincing government to make good environmental laws, and improving technology so that there are better ways to do things without burning fossil fuels. Carbon offset is what we call the money donated to these organizations by users of fossil fuels. That money helps offset, or compensate for, the negative effects of the fuels.

I am one of those people burning too much fossil fuel even though I know better. My motor home (sometimes I call it my gypsy wagon) uses a lot of gas. It has an older motor that doesn't burn fuel efficiently, and it is heavy so it takes more gas to make it run. I decided that I needed to take the motor home along with me so that I would have a place to sleep and eat. So I plan to figure out how much I need to contribute in carbon offsets to make my Climate Walk more correct. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Love, Nana Greta

PS - I responded to your comments in an older posting, the one about weather versus climate.

Limping along

2009-05-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, dear children -

If you look at the map that shows my progress, you will see that I'm not walking as much as usual. That's because I hurt my knee and I can only walk a little each day. I think it's getting better and I'll be walking more every day now.

Love, Nana Greta

Climate versus Weather

2009-05-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Children,

I'm sending you a few more photos from Alabama. But first I want to write a bit about the difference between climate and weather, since I'm walking to bring attention to Climate Change not Weather Change. Do you know the difference?

Weather is what happens at a certain time in a definite place. For example, today it might be raining and warm in Boston, while it is dry but cold in São Paulo. And tomorrow it might be very windy in the morning but calm and gorgeous in the afternoon.

Climate is about the conditions that prevail year after year in a certain area of the world, such as New England or Southern Brazil. Both Boston and São Paulo can be said to have humid sub-tropical climates, but Boston is quite a bit colder. São Paulo never gets snow, but even if it did snow on a strange weather day it would still have a subtropical climate. However, if it started getting snow every year we would say that the climate changed.

Now this is actually happening around the world: the climate is changing. But it's not getting colder as the example I made up for São Paulo. It's getting warmer, which is where the term 'global warming' comes from. From our human point of view, it's getting warmer very slowly and some people don't even believe it. It can be hard to notice because it might not seem any warmer in some places. I read that the state of Alabama has actually experienced a cooling trend the last few years. But even if both Boston and São Paulo had unusually cold summers, the average temperature around the Earth would still be warmer.

So we need to learn to pay attention to the weather where we live so that we know whether to wear a sweater or carry an umbrella, or if we should plan to go to the beach on the weekend. And we need to pay attention to the climate and try to stop the things that human beings do that are making it hotter, because the heat brings with it some changes that are harmful to people, animals and plants.

And now to the pictures. If you pay attention you will see something about the weather in Alabama this past week - no blue skies, because it was a very rainy week.

Notice the stones that make up the walls of this shed. In the beginning of my walk, in Louisiana and southern Mississippi, there were no rocks, only shells and pebbles. But northern Alabama has hills with lots of rocky ridges.

Remember my photos from Mississippi, when the road was lined with pine trees? This looks very different.

Did you ever see dovecotes like this? They are made of gourds that have been painted white. If you look closely you will see little birds that are flying to the nests they've made inside the gourds.

This farm machine and the tree branches are reaching out to each other.

A pretty farm.

Love,

Nana Greta

Children from Chapel School in São Paulo, Brazil - and all the children that usually read this blog

2009-04-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Children -

Today I am happy to respond to the second-graders at Chapel. First of all, I am so proud of you for celebrating Earth Day and paying attention to Global Warming. Thank you for using some of my photos and calling attention to my WALK. It makes me feel very special and encourages me to keep walking.

I want to answer your questions:

- "How is the temperature in the state where you are now?"

It is Spring, and in Alabama the flowers are blooming and the trees have filled out with leaves. I had some very cold nights, below freezing, in the first part of April but now it's in the 50's at night and in the 70's and 80's in the daytime. Soon it will be so hot that I will try to do most of my walking early in the morning and in the late afternoon and evening.

- "Is there much pollution where you are today?"

Actually, I haven't noticed much pollution along the way as I've walked. The air seems clear and often I smell the flowers. However usually the streams and rivers look quite dirty and full of litter, and sometimes I worry about all the fumes from the trucks and cars that rush by me.

- "Are you feeling tired?"

I haven't felt tired. Sometimes, especially the first few weeks, my body would ache after I walked several miles. I had to learn to deal with sore muscles, but now I feel invigorated and energetic. It's wonderful to get up and walk every day.

- "What's the most beautiful place that you've passed so far?"

I'm posting 5 photographs of pretty places I saw as I walked. I can't think of any spectacular place along my journey, but Spring is a beautiful time and I often stop to appreciate flowers and trees, rivers and fields.

(See below)

2009-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite sights:

Pine trees in Mississippi.

A field in Alabama.

An abandoned home in Mississippi.

A swamp, could be in Louisiana or Mississippi.

The Black Warrior River in Alabama.

A big hug to all of you,

Nana Greta

PS - You can look at other pretty photos I posted on earlier entries.

Beautiful Alabama countryside

2009-04-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Dear Children -

I've walked more than 250 miles now! Today I saw a sheep farm, and yesterday I had breakfast in my motor home where I could look at the beautiful cows below.

Can anyone guess why I took the photograph below? I was excited because I saw something really good for climate change, for the first time on my walk.
And isn't this tree just perfect? I hope it can survive for many years to come.
I'm going home to Pennsylvania tomorrow, riding the train, which is a good way to travel if you're worried about global warming. In two weeks I'll be back in Alabama ready to walk some more.

Love, Nana Greta

Responding to your comments

2009-04-13T09:50:00.001-07:00

Dear Children -

To Christina, Tiffany, Xavier, Kiara, Paul, Jenna, Bianca, Sashala, Jordan, Lucas, Alasdair, Tony, Emanuel, Zelaya, Kevin, and Dianna (corrected list):

I was very pleased to see so many comments on my last entry. You are a wonderful bunch and I want to respond to your observations and questions. This time I will group my answers together instead of trying to write to each one of you.

As of yesterday, I had walked 219 miles between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Birmingham, Alabama. You can see my path on the map I told you about a few days ago. There's a link to it at the right hand top of the page.

About the forests: I don't know how long it takes for the trees to grow and mature. Different trees grow at different rates, and I think that pines grow faster than many other trees. The pecan trees probably take longer. Whenever we damage or cut down a tree we need to think about how long it takes for a tree to grow and how important trees are for our health.

About the boat that was abandoned near the river: I agree with one of you that the most likely explanation is that the boat was lifted up during a flood and then left high and dry when the waters went down again.

I was surprised by your idea that so many people are crazy - crazy enough to put a boat in that spot. Why do you think that people are crazy? I guess I don't see many crazy people where I travel. You said that people sometimes don't know what they're doing where they are, and I agree with that. I believe that there are lots of reasons for people to feel bewildered, frustrated, and confused.

I'm not sure why some of you talk about radiation. Yes, radiation is a danger, not only to human beings but to many animals as well. And now that summer is coming it will be important for you to protect your skin with sun lotion from the harmful rays of the sun.

Finally, yes, Alabama is beautiful, especially at this time of the year when the flowers are blooming and the trees are covered with bright new leaves. I also love the rivers and creeks. I'll take some more pictures to send you later this week.

Let me know if I missed anyone's name or question. (Thanks, Christina, for sending me two names that I'd missed.)

Love, Nana Greta

Trees and Rivers

2009-04-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Children -

Do you remember the sign I posted in a blog last month that talked about planting trees? I wondered how long it would take for the trees to grow. Well here is a sign, in Alabama, saying that these trees were planted three years ago. It will be a long time before they're big trees.

Can anyone guess what kind of trees these are. This is a plantation of trees, an orchard that will provide a good income to the owner. They are pecan trees. Pecans are very healthy and nourishing if you don't eat too many of them. I love pecan pie!

How do you think this old boat ended up beside the river instead of on it? I had never heard of this wide and beautiful river, that runs through the city of Tuscaloosa in Alabama. It's called the Black Warrior River.

Trees and rivers provide human beings with many resources and we should take good care of them, never using them in ways that destroy them. Sometimes people draw so much water from rivers to irrigate their farms that the rivers run dry. Another problem occurs when farmers use fertilizers and pesticides that pollute rivers and even the ocean where the rivers disgorge.

Love, Nana Greta

Check my progress map

2009-03-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Dear children -

Now you can see how far I've walked by going to this site: www.tinyurl.com/gretasprogress. It will be updated almost every day. I'll put a link to it on the right side of the blog so that you can get to it easily anytime you open the blog.

Nana Greta

PS - If the link in this entry doesn't work, try the same link in the column to the right. ➚

Just a little blog today

2009-03-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Dear children -

I'm still in Mississippi.

Here I am in my shirt that I got made so that people would know what I'm doing as they drive by. Now they don't stop to offer me rides all the time, but sometimes they honk or slow down to tell me they like what I'm doing.

I always love it when I see animals along the way. These goats were very frisky and curious about me.

That's all for now since I have to get out and walk some today.

Nana Greta

Photos from Mississippi

2009-03-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Children -

Here are some photos that I took along the way. Hope you enjoy them. I've put comments under each photo.

What kind of school is this street named for?!

I was very glad to see this sign. Planting new forests will help fight global warming because trees absorb some of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Trees also help hold water in the ground. Even planting one tree can help so if you have a chance you should plant one.

There are a lot of pine trees in Mississippi - here they line the road. This is one of the stretches of road I walked along last week.

And look what I found under the trees!

I thought you might like to see the new signs on my gypsy wagon.

Love, Nana Greta

PS - This morning I answered all the comments on the March 5 posting.

Exercise or play

2009-03-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

Someone asked how much exercise I do. I'm not very good at doing exercise, but I like to walk and play. Here I'm kicking a ball around on the beach of the Gulf Coast in Louisiana.

This is the same beach where I made the little clay bowl and filled it with shells.

If you like to exercise that's wonderful because it's very good for you. But even if you don't, make sure you get outdoors and do very active things.

Where Route 11 begins

2009-03-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Dear children -

Here are some pictures of the beginning of Route 11, which starts just east of New Orleans, in Louisiana. I walked a few miles on this part of the highway last Saturday. My husband, Guy, took these photos.

The little castle in the last photo surprised me - a bit of whimsy in the wetlands. It looks like it's sinking, doesn't it? If we don't stop the warming of the climate, places like this will be permanently flooded. It's easy to say that people shouldn't build there in the first place, but I'm sure the people who built this castle didn't realize what the future might bring. And now they probably love it so much they don't want to give up on it.

2009-03-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Children -

The area in Louisiana along the Gulf Coast is full of birds and animals. In the last few days I've seen herons, egrets, spoonbills, pelicans, gulls, hawks, vultures, parakeets and cardinals. I've seen turtles, nutrias, snakes, rabbits, and possums. The first photo shows me at a rookery where across the water I could see thousands of birds roosting in the cypresses. Later when I was walking along the beach I found some dark grey mud that felt like clay, so I made a little bowl and filled it with shells. Do you love shells as much as I do? I can hardly walk along the beach without picking up all the beautiful shells I find, even the broken ones.

This part of the United States, all along the Gulf Coast, is where the worst hurricanes hit. Katrina, Rita, and Ike, are all hurricanes that destroyed many homes, schools, stores and restaurants, tore down fences, walls and bridges, and damaged many roads and highways. I imagine that many animals and birds also lost their homes and the places that they were used to hunting and finding their food. Global warming is making the hurricanes stronger and more frequent. So this is one more reason for us to do everything we can to stop global warming.

From Nana Greta

2009-03-05T02:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Children -

It's March - time to begin the march, as Christina says in her comment. The first thing I need to do is get to Texas, which is far south of my home in Pennsylvania. So today my husband and I are starting off in the little motor home that will be my hotel, kitchen and office during my WALK.

I want to be very careful to use as little gas as possible because, as you know, burning gas produces carbon emissions and causes global warming. Unfortunately my motor home uses a lot of gas, but I will drive slowly - around 55 miles per hour - and will avoid taking any side trips. This way I will burn less gas.

It would be better to just walk and not use a vehicle at all, but I need a safe place to sleep. And I have to tell you something: I love my little motor home - I call it my gypsy wagon. I always dreamed of going off in a home on wheels. It's just that now I'll have to walk 12 to 15 miles every day before I can relax in the gypsy wagon.

From Nana Greta

The Boston Snow Storm

2009-03-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Children -

Yesterday morning (Monday, March 2) I was in Boston and was planning to visit the classroom of Sofia Hart's students. Ms. Hart is my daughter and she teaches 3rd Grade at a public school in the Boston area. For several weeks I have been receiving wonderful comments on my blog from many of her students and I was looking forward to meeting them in person.

But along came the Boston Snow Storm and classes were cancelled. I tried to get a bus back to Pennsylvania but the buses were also cancelled. South Station was full of people trying to get a bus to New York City and other places but the buses weren't traveling due to inclement weather. Finally at 2:30 in the afternoon a company that I never heard of decided to start putting its buses back in service and I was able to get to New York and from there to Pennsylvania.

This kind of weather, cold and windy with lots of snow, makes it easy to forget that global warming is a problem. We have to remember the bigger picture of the weather all around the Earth, not just where we are.

I'm so sorry I didn't get to meet the students in Ms. Hart's class. I hope all of you will continue to follow my blog and write comments to me. In addition to my daughter, I have a son who lives in the Boston area. Today he suggested that I tell you about a website about global warming for children. Here it is - maybe you would like to check it out:

http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/kidspage.cfm

I'm leaving on Thursday to go to Texas where I'll start my trip this coming Sunday afternoon.

From Nana Greta

Making electricity

2009-02-24T17:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Children -

Did you know that electricity can be made from anything that creates constant motion? One of the most common ways to make electricity is to use the motion of water falling, like a waterfall, and change the energy of that movement into electric power that is then sent through wires to homes and businesses. A huge waterfall can provide enough energy to supply electricity to many cities.

Another way to make electricity is to use heat to provide the energy that is turned into electric power. A popular method in the United States is to burn coal for its heat, but this is a polluting method that produces lots of carbon dioxide. This is one of the reasons that anyone who wants to fight global warming needs to use less electricity every day. We need whole cities to use less electricity.

Clean ways to make electricity include the giant windmills that we can see now along mountain ridges and in the ocean near the shore. Today I read about a way that a college in California is making electricity: when hundreds of students go to the fitness center to walk on treadmills and ride stationary bikes, the college captures the energy from all that motion to make electric power. Isn't that super?

From Nana Greta

My husband, the photographer

2009-02-17T04:40:00.000-08:00

Today I want to introduce my husband to you because I want to give him credit for two of the photographs on this blog. My husband's name is Guy, and he's been taking photos since his uncle gave him a camera when he was a boy.

He took the picture of the jaguar, at the top of this page, in the zoo in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Jaguars live in Brazil, in the forests on the high plains of the central plateau and in the rainforests of the Amazon. I wonder how they're getting along and if climate change will be hard on them.

Guy also took the picture of the oil refinery in yesterday's entry. We were near Houston in Texas, where oil is one of the main industries. Do you think the refinery looks like it's good for the environment?

A bit of geography

2009-02-16T04:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Children -

Yesterday I had good conversation with a geographer out on a farm in the interior of Brazil. We talked about global warming and he agreed that it was a serious problem that will affect millions of people, especially in poor communities in Europe, Africa and Asia where they depend on water from melting ice from the mountain tops. If the climate warms up a lot there will be no more ice caps to provide water for drinking and farming.

Then my geographer friend told me something that I'd been thinking might be true: Millions of years ago, in order to keep a steady climate, our planet covered up materials like dead trees that were letting off hot gases. For a long time they remained buried under the surface of the earth where their gases were trapped, and slowly they turned into oil, gas and coal. Not too long ago, humans discovered that they could dig up those materials and burn them to heat their homes, and to make engines work in factories and in cars. We discovered more and more uses for them and kept digging them up faster and faster, burning them more and more.

Now we are realizing that all those carbon gases are causing our atmosphere to heat up in a way that is changing the climate. All the plants and animals, including human beings, that had gotten used to the planet the way it was, now have to find new ways to exist or they will become extinct. It's not too late to turn things around and keep it from getting too bad. This was the geographer's lesson.

I think that human beings are very intelligent and creative, and it was amazing that we discovered how to use coal, oil and gas. But now we have to think again about what we're doing. We can just go on using those carbon materials and heating up the atmosphere, or we can cut back on using them, and find other ways to take care of our needs.

Nana Greta

The route for my walk

2009-02-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Children -

This Google Map shows the route that I plan to follow from Galveston, Texas, ( the green A bubble at the bottom of the map) to Rouses Point, NY, (the green B bubble at the top).

When I start out in March I will post maps that will show the routes more clearly. This map just gives you a general idea of where I will walk. It measures approximately 2000 miles. I plan to walk an average of 12 miles a day. I'll let you figure out how many days it will take me.

Love, Nana Greta

This blog is for you

2009-02-11T03:21:00.000-08:00

Hello. My name is Greta and I'm 65 years old so you may call me Nana Greta.

I'm going to go on a very long walk - more or less 2000 miles. The reason I'm doing this is that I'm very worried about Global Warming and the bad things that can happen to the Planet Earth. I worry that life will be harder for all the children that are growing up now unless we grownups stop doing things that are bad for the world. Life will be harder for many animals too, and some of them are already becoming extinct.

One day in October of 2008 I realized that I wanted to do something really impressive to call attention to Global Warming. That's when I decided to take this long walk. I am dedicating this walk to all the grandchildren in the world. That includes YOU.

Tomorrow I will tell you where the walk will be, when it will start and about how long it will take.