And all that the Lorax left here in this mess
was a small pile of rocks, with one word…
UNLESS.

It’s that time of year again. The time when I tell you I don’t want any more stuff and I’m not giving you any.

And, while you’re struggling to tie that scrawny pine sapling with the big carbon footprint onto the top of your car this year, please take a moment to think about the bastard quiver tree, of which there are fewer than 200 left on earth.

I love this tree. It could almost be a Truffula Tree. (Remember The Lorax?)

Being a forward-thinking creature (and a bit of an idealist, if you ask me), the Lorax saved a single Truffula Tree seed after all the trees had been chopped down.

The Lorax spoke for the trees because “the trees have no tongues.” But if the bastard quiver tree doesn’t do it for you, there are plenty of species with cute faces, your own included, that you can help save by making a donation to Conservation International.

Do you think it was Dr. Seuss who inspired the Global Crop Diversity Trust to build a vault in an Arctic mountain into which they are currently placing the seeds of all known food crops?

Makes you nervous when life gets all sci-fi, doesn’t it? I hope it does, anyway.

I’m adding this for Claudia because of her comment on this post. Set aside your classist attitudes about fake trees and go get one. There are 30-35 million Christmas trees sold in the US every year, and 73 million more will be planted this year. What if we just let them grow? Trees suck the crap out of the air, you know? Some day, when there aren’t enough trees left to cut them down just for fun, when there’s no more petroleum to make the plastic for the fake trees, your grandkids will cherish that fake tree you bought way back in 2007.

This year, like the last several years, I won’t have a tree. Once again this year, my only gift to the adults on my list will be a donation in their names to CI. And, like last year, I’m still hoping the recipients of my gifts will choose the planet over “stuff” when doing their own shopping.

I just keep on dreaming.

Addendum December 5: From now until Dec. 31st, CI will match your donations dollar for dollar up to their limit of $5 million. Double your gift!

And all that the Lorax left here in this mess was a small pile of rocks, with one word... UNLESS. It's that time of year again. The time when I tell you I don't want any more stuff and I'm not giving you any. And, while you're struggling to tie that scrawny pine sapling with the big carbon footprint onto the top of your car this year, please take a moment to think about the bastard quiver tree, of which there are fewer than 200 left on earth. I love this tree. It could almost be a Truffula Tree. (Remember The Lorax?) Being a forward-thinking creature (and a bit of an idealist, if you ask me), the Lorax saved a single Truffula Tree seed after all the trees had been chopped down. The Lorax spoke for the trees because "the trees have no tongues." But if the bastard quiver tree doesn't do it for you, there are plenty of species with cute faces, your own included, that you can help save by making a donation to Conservation International. Do you think it was Dr. Seuss who inspired the Gl

Am I the only one who’s already tired of watching Hillary, Obama, and Edwards elbowing each other out of the spotlight? Three Stooges, anyone?

They’re the hares in this presidential race but, frankly, I’m more intrigued by the tortoise…

I’m writing this to suggest that you take a closer look at Bill Richardson, the current Governor of New Mexico. I was impressed with his CV when I first checked him out last year: former US Ambassador to the UN (he’s had actual face time with the major tyrants of the day), Bill Clinton’s Energy Secretary, 15 years in Congress before that. Nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize… I’m sorry, but I don’t think any of the other Dem candidates even come close in terms of breadth and depth of experience.

He was born in Pasadena (CA), childhood in Mexico City, education in New England. His mom is Mexican and his dad is American. I love his background. He’s bi-cultural. I’m thinking that might make him more conscious of and sensitive to issues of racism and immigration. And international relations. Might increase his appeal to immigrants and ethnic groups too. (Maybe get some of those insane Viva Bush people to come back to the light. What was up with that??) He’s bi-coastal, which is a bigger deal than you might think. If you’ve ever lived on a coast other than the one you’re from, you know the coastal cultures are quite distinct. (I tried to move from San Diego to Boston when I was offered a job there once. Whoa. I was looking at apartments and one landlord actually asked me where my husband was! Another couple came out and said they didn’t want to rent to me because I had a teenager… I went back to California, thank you very much.)

He’s apparently done a very good job as Governor of New Mexico: tax cuts, 80,000 jobs created, brought the state up to #6 in the country in job growth, spent $500 million on education, brought the state up from #46 to #29 in teacher pay, balanced budgets. Not bad, if you ask me.

I’ve seen Richardson interviewed (here he is on Bill Maher), and it’s true that he doesn’t come across as very “presidential.” I said in that post last year that he sounds (and looks) kind of like Mr. Cunningham in Happy Days (which might actually be a plus when it comes to attracting voters from the middle of the country…). His demeanor lacks the gravitas and polish that maybe some snooty Democrats want in any president of theirs. But what I do get from him is a strong sense of REAL. Genuine. No smoke and mirrors, no fancy footwork, no bullshit, basically. (I can’t say that about the Three Stooges).

I learned today on HuffPo (I get sick of their whining, but I still get good info there) that he is the only candidate from either party to come out with an aggressive, concrete energy policy that would address global warming. He wants to be America’s Energy President. I’m inclined to help him.

How about you?

Check out this humorous campaign ad video. (A job interview setup and the guy tells him he thinks he’s overqualified. Too sad.)

Go here and answer this question for Bill Richardson: “The next president must be able to…”

Read about where he stands on the issues.

Sign up to get regular Richardson campaign and program updates.

If you like what you see, contribute to his campaign.

Am I the only one who's already tired of watching Hillary, Obama, and Edwards elbowing each other out of the spotlight? Three Stooges, anyone? They're the hares in this presidential race but, frankly, I'm more intrigued by the tortoise... I'm writing this to suggest that you take a closer look at Bill Richardson, the current Governor of New Mexico. I was impressed with his CV when I first checked him out last year: former US Ambassador to the UN (he's had actual face time with the major tyrants of the day), Bill Clinton's Energy Secretary, 15 years in Congress before that. Nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize... I'm sorry, but I don't think any of the other Dem candidates even come close in terms of breadth and depth of experience. He was born in Pasadena (CA), childhood in Mexico City, education in New England. His mom is Mexican and his dad is American. I love his background. He's bi-cultural. I'm thinking that might make him more conscious of and sensitive to issues of racism and imm