Governance and Nature: Tulsa Eco-Politics

By Tony Boese

The environment is a vast and multifaceted concept that, in reality, can have no single definition. Yet, questions like ‘do you support protecting the environment’ are met with ready answers usually heartily given. There is a social meeting of the minds. However, there is not a united zeitgeist. Why and how is this? A massive question, but one I have tried to tackle in the smaller scale of Tulsa, and to a lesser extent Oklahoma, politics.

I interviewed three individuals who shall remain anonymous. One is a former state senator with a respectably inactive filter, who I shall call Athos. One is an up and comer in the Democratic Party of Tulsa, who I shall call Aramis. One is a knight of the right, who I shall call Porthos. Below is an exploration of the issue through their answers.

Fight with Your Dime - Lifestyle Eco-Activism: Teaching Conservative Family Values

Farmer and sons walking in the face of a dust storm.
Dust Bowl, Cimarron County, Oklahoma

By: Shannon Stark Guss

My efforts at sustainability have waxed and waned over the years.  I admit that I have even found myself at times falling ungraciously into habits of super-consumerism that have no part in the lifestyle of someone who claims to be an environmentally-minded citizen of the world.  I have had to forgive myself for these failings and do my best to return to some reasonable habits.  While my habits as a crazy liberal, wannabe hippy, eco-activist have mixed with my habits of a buy-stuff-for-emotional-comfort, drive-like-there’s-no-tomorrow, eat-as-much-as-possible-and-don’t-worry-where-it-came-from kind of American, the fact remains that I continue to value this beautiful planet we call home.  When I had children, it became important to me to consider ways to teach those values to them.  As they have grown older, it has also become increasingly apparent that my husband and I must consistently model actions that match these values.

A Walk on the Wild Side: Introduction

By Annette King Tucker

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Annette King Tucker, a wildlife rehabilitator in Rogers County Oklahoma, near the ever growing city of Claremore. I love my home town, love my home State. Green Country--a place where Mother Nature is in charge and the rest of us are either fighting to take her over or living within her bounty, appreciative of all she has to offer. I like to think of myself as a steward for Nature. What I do with my time isn't always popular, but in the scheme of things, it is no doubt the right thing to do.

I work to rescue and rehabilitate wild animals who have fallen into harm's way, typically by some manifestation or interference of mankind: dogs, cars, cats, fencing, guns, windows and of course, progress. Our pets carry and spread diseases the wild animals cannot fight, and of course there are no humans responsible for the affected animals. I feel it is unfair that the suffering of domestic animals and humans is regarded as more worthy of help than the creatures we harm in the wild, and so I have ruined my life to care for them.

ECO-CRAFT: Magazine Pinwheels

By Holly Embry

If you love crafting with earth friendly materials and finding creative ways to reuse things you might otherwise throw away, you will definitely want to keep an eye out for a new Eco-Craft project each month at The Green Country Guardian.  These tutorials are purposely designed with our planet in mind, and as an added bonus, they will usually be very inexpensive because the whole idea is to use things you already have on hand.  Expect to see step-by-step craft projects that are earth conscious, family friendly, and fun!

A Little Update: Why We're Living the Gypsy Life

Hello friends and guardians,

It was a heck of a nice summer, and now we're into a mild wet autumn with days steadily swooping towards cooler temperatures. The leaves haven't quite started changing yet, but it's still early here in Green Country, and I expect we'll see a little blush on the leaves soon enough.

With fall comes a flurry of new activity in the world. Animals everywhere collect food for winter, birds migrate to warmer climes, and humans batten down their own hatches in various ways, from beefing up their home's insulation to tending fall gardens for that last big harvest of the year.

Where's All the Stuff?

Stuff Kitty says:  You do not need more stuff!

With all the talk lately of our funding campaign, I thought I'd take a minute to discuss with you the "perks" we're offering to all you lovely backers. You may have noticed, being the smart little giving green hearts that you are, that other funding campaigns have a lot more tangible stuff to give away. And why not? After all, people like stuff. And, while at some point in the future we may offer more tangible TGCG stuff you can purchase, we thought that, right off the bat, we'd like to start off on a different foot. And here's why:

Declare your Independence

It's Independence Day, and today Americans everywhere are donning their red, white, and blue, firing up the grill, and chasing around kids with a water bucket, hoping they don't blow off their fingers. On this one day, we can all feel united as one people, one nation, and be pretty darned proud of how awesome our country is. Here are a few ways keep it that way (and make it better).

Monsoon Season and a Call for a Little Help from Our Friends

Photo taken near Tulsa, OK by woodleywonderworks

It's the equivalent of monsoon season here in Green Country. Everywhere, people are exclaiming that, even as temps soar toward the 90s, we are finally out of drought conditions for the first time in... well... a long, long time. The tradeoff is a state hit hard with tornadoes. Lives have been lost. Pets are displaced. Property damage is into the multiple millions of dollars. We've been through hell, I won't lie. And many are going through hell still. Just because the media's attention has turned to other things, doesn't mean the rebuilding stops or that people aren't still trying to piece their lives back together. There is a lot of work still to be done for those hit hardest by these chaotic storms. And we hold you all in our hearts and prayers as we make our donations and make our journeys to come to your aid in any way we can.

Eating Green in the Heartland

Cherry Street Farmers Market by OakleyOriginals

“Food is ecological as well as sociological—that the way we eat is connected to the environment and to the health of the land.” - Michael Pollan

Being an environmentally conscious eater is a strange concept for some people to grasp. Here in the land of Walmarts, Sam's Club, and Warehouse Markets, people tend to look at you funny when you mention your "alternative" shopping habits. Vegans and vegetarians they kind of get, even if they don't necessarily approve, because those diets have been around for awhile and everyone basically knows what they consist of. But you...

World Book Night Give Away: The Worst Hard Time

Just a quick check-in to tell you that the green guardian is a World Book Night giver this year, and I am giving away to one of my lovely readers a free copy of The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.  Yes, only one.  The rest are going to Iron Gate--a local soup kitchen, some homeless teens via Youth Services of Tulsa, and then to random people on the streets, as is the tradition of World Book Night.  You see, these books are intended to spark a love for reading in light or non-readers, primarily adults and older teens.  But, some of you may not be avid readers, and this book might just change your whole outlook.  In any event, this particular book is a chilling and poignant account of the Dust Bowl which effected Oklahoma and neighboring states.  It was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in our history, and contains some hard-earned lessons for humankind.

A Little Introduction

The first lines of a blank page.  This is always the hardest part, it seems--the introduction.

Many of you have been following TGCG on facebook, so we're not really strangers, are we?  No, I suppose not.  For those of you who haven't been following along, my name is Angela, but I shall henceforth be signing off on these posts with the pretentious title, "the green guardian" (no caps, so as to depretentiousize it), because I like it and it fits and I think you'll forgive me.  Call me a gambler.  I am a little.