On this Earth Day 2026, I feel so grateful for all the people that I’ve met (and others whom I haven’t met but do admire) who are making a positive difference in this world! Would you agree, one of the most important qualities we can have is being curious? What if we could all be even more curious and observant for how dependent we are on our Mother Earth?
Here are some recent examples of my activities and observations:
Yesterday, I took our Pomeranian dog Moka to the Jordan Pointe dog park. As he made the rounds to pee on several trees, I curiously noticed a maple tree with beautiful yellow “candleflame” lichens (shown in the photo). However, the pine trees did not have any lichens. I found on the internet that symbiotic lichens form a partnership between a fungus and green algae which prefer maples over pines due to smoother, less acidic bark. Lichens indicate excellent air quality. Maples benefit from lichens by capturing nutrients like nitrogen from air and water.
This morning I met Anthony Scott who works as a Stormwater Specialist with the Town of Apex. A orange plastic tree barrier fence got buried in watershed sediments in my neighborhood. The developer failed to remove it so I recently collected the decomposed pieces of plastic. Anthony shared his curiosity on a range of topics including nuclear power and possible waste disposal from black fungus that consumes radiation (BBC)!
Last Saturday, I took a tour of the Harris Nuclear Power Plant for an annual community day. I met about a dozen employees from the VP to several engineers and community relations specialists. I felt most impressed by the curious questions of a 6-year old boy when we got a control room simulator tour. The popular event attracted hundreds of visitors.
Many towns around the country are voting for a one-year moratorium on AI hyperscale data center proposals! Mother Jones reports that Maine is the first state to enact a statewide ban and a dozen more states are considering moratorium bills. Here in North Carolina, where the state gives tax subsidies to big tech companies, towns and counties are individually having to oppose data centers. Last week, the Town of Apex council voted unanimously to enact a one-year moratorium (see Indy Weekly). We must keep politicians curious and accountable by asking questions and demanding actions that protect us and our planet!
As we pray for peace and ending violence, I’m curious to see if the world oil crisis will make any permanent changes to people’s consumption and travel habits. I’ve heard some Asian countries and European airlines have less than a month supply of petroleum products. Decreased oil supplies are destroying demand according to Investing.com.