Lukas Cooke, our young blogger interested in nature and the environment, recently had the opportunity to read one of Patricia Newman’s books, Plastic Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and then talk to the author about her books, her writing process and being a published author. Read the interview below! Patricia Newman Plastic Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Sea Otter Heroes Zoo Scientists to the Rescue Lukas Cooke: What inspired you to become an author, specifically to write about saving the natural world? Patricia Newman: My husband’s mother first suggested I try writing. I remember the exact moment. I was reading picture books to my one-year old son and four-year old daughter on the sofa. Before that I’d never considered writing as a job. My first books had nothing to do with the natural world. I wrote about railroading slang in Jingle the Brass and fighter pilot slang in Nugget on the Flight Deck. I also wrote several books that editors asked me to write. Through all that writing and researching, I hiked, visited nature centers and zoos, recycled, composted, and saved water, and yet it never occurred to me to write about our environment. An article in my local newspaper planted the initial seed. I read about a group of young scientists who set sail for the North Pacific to study plastic. I was hooked! LC: Did you always dream of becoming a writer? If not, what did you originally plan to be your career? PN: Not at all! I knew I wanted to work with kids and I taught math for a while. Then I wrote computer code for a software company. I also worked for Cornell University, my alma mater, raising money, talking to high school students, and meeting alumni. Although my various jobs required that I communicate through writing, I’d never thought of it as a career. I think I was afraid to share. You see in fifth grade I was bullied. At the time, sharing stories seemed like painting a target on my back. Something about becoming an adult and a parent made the bullies of my childhood powerless. I’m glad I changed my mind, but I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out. LC: What is your favorite tip for new or aspiring writers? PN: Read. All writers are readers. It’s how we soak up the elements of good dialogue or a page-turning plot. It’s how we discover what annoys us about certain stories. (Have you ever read a book where you disagreed with how the character acted?) Reading improves our vocabulary so we can describe settings. It helps us understand that people are complicated so we create characters with complex emotions. Reading stimulates ideas and exercises the imagination. We uncover fascinating aspects of the world. I read because I’m curious. There’s no limit on knowing. Pack it in and let it shape who you will become. LC: It seems like a lot of research went into writing your books. Can you describe the process of how you do the research for a book you’re writing? PN: My books start with a kernel, such as the article about scientists sailing to the North Pacific to study plastic (Plastic, Ahoy!); my daughter’s job as an undergraduate with the Elephant Listening Project at Cornell University (Eavesdropping on Elephants); or a group of girls in a Kenyan village who can’t go to school (Neema’s Reason to Smile). From there I read—online, books, magazines, newspapers—anything my library or the Internet spits out on my topic of choice. I watch videos. I listen to speeches about my topic. I want to be sure the idea is book-worthy and will appeal to kids. I also look at published children’s books to see if anyone else has already written about my topic. Next, I contact the people I’d like to interview. In the case of Neema’s Reason to Smile, I interviewed two women closely involved with a school similar to the one in the book. In the case of my science nonfiction, I interview scientists. These people have jobs to do so they don’t have an unlimited amount of time to spend with me. If they don’t have the time or the interest in working with me, the idea dies. I know that sounds sad, but believe me, there are plenty more ideas to take its place! For Neema’s Reason to Smile I conducted several hours of interviews and watched video of real life kids who go to the school I was writing about. I also reread my travel diary from my long-ago trip to Kenya to remind myself of the smells and colors and light of Africa. I wrote the entire picture book before submitting to publishers. But my environmental science nonfiction is longer. Instead of writing the entire book, I write a proposal to sell my idea to an editor. The proposal includes an overview of my idea, a chapter outline with a brief explanation of what I plan to include in each chapter, and a section on the competition—what’s already out there on the subject and how my book will be different. Once I receive an editor’s go-ahead, I begin researching in earnest. Sometimes I travel, sometimes I don’t. For Sea Otter Heroes my daughter, Elise, and I went to the Elkhorn Slough near Monterey Bay in California. Brent Hughes, the scientist I interviewed, took us on an amazing boat trip down the slough. We saw a lot of marine life, including sea otters, seals, pelicans, herons, jellies, and crabs. I interviewed Brent and some of his colleagues. Elise took photos and asked her own questions. For Zoo Scientists to the Rescue photographer Annie Crawley and I visited three zoos in the US. We interviewed the scientists and took behind-the-scenes tours with them. We touched a rhino and watched an orangutan baby climb all over her mother. Traveling is a blast AND hard work. Scientists are extremely busy and can
nature
Be Aware of Global Warming
Land-ocean temperature index, 1880 to present, with base period 1951-1980. Courtesy NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies – http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/ When you hear the word “Monster,” what do you think of? You might imagine a red, slimy creature with razor-like teeth, or an enormous shadowy figure lurking around. But some monsters are not like the ones you would typically think of. Global warming is one such monster that is really threatening life as we know it today. Global warming, also called climate change, is a slow process in which the Earth is slowly getting hotter and hotter as the years go by. According to the article “Global Warming 101,” 15 of the 16 hottest years in the 134-year record kept by NASA have occurred after the year 2000. I never even knew about global warming and what was slowly happening to our planet until my dad suggested for me to research this topic. Global warming is caused by something called the greenhouse effect. In this effect, carbon dioxide and other gases such as water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide are collected in the atmosphere. These gases are called “greenhouse gases”, and they trap heat in our atmosphere. This effect has always been happening to the Earth to keep it warm. However, it is now getting faster as more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. What made me angry was that humans are causing global warming. We burn tremendous amounts of coal, oil, and natural gases every day. We drive millions of cars, trucks, trains, buses, and other vehicles that release carbon dioxide. Trees actually convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, but we cut them down, releasing more carbon dioxide. All these processes (and more) of emitting greenhouse gases add up and warm our climate faster. After finding out how global warming happened, I wanted to know how it affected our planet. Unfortunately, pretty much everything I found out was a consequence for us on Earth. These are only a fraction of the many problems global warming has caused: The drought in California, 2015 “…has been intensified from 15 to 20 percent because of global warming…” There are also stronger hurricanes, heat waves, monsoons, and blizzards. The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf was the largest sheet of ice in the Arctic, but after being around for 3000 years, it started to crack in 2002. It then split in 2002 and started breaking into smaller pieces. Many Arctic animals are now starving because of their unstable, melting habitat. The coral reef—an ecosystem home to all of these species: fish, jellyfish, crabs, octopuses, sea snakes, clams, anemones, turtles, and algae—is very sensitive to higher ocean temperatures. When the ocean temperatures rise because of global warming, the reefs will die and cause other species that rely on them to die as well. I was shocked at how our planet having higher temperatures by only about 1.8°F (1°C) could affect so many things in such a bad way! This made very sad, and to be honest a little scared. I wondered what would happen to Earth many years from now if global warming kept getting stronger and stronger. My findings about the effects of global warming encouraged me to research ways humans can help stop global warming from “devouring” our planet. What I found was that we should strive to use less energy, such as taking shorter showers, using less light and electricity, and riding bikes or walking when we can instead of driving cars. There were also many more things I learned in this article about what we can all do to stop global warming. Remember, if everyone does one small action a day, we can fight the monster known as global warming.
Earth Day Is For Everyone: How Do You Want To Make A Difference?
Photo via Pixabay by Clker-Free-Vector-Images Our earth has been alive for 4 billion years, but already it seems to be dying. Not only are plants and animals across the globe disappearing, but the earth itself approaches death. The ozone layer is getting ruined with human activities and pollution, and habitats all around the world are turning into modern cities and towns. Animals watch as their homes tear down in front of their eyes. Trees disappear, and carbon dioxide builds up in our world. All of this cannot be stood for. If we’d like a place for future generations to live, grow, and thrive, then we all need to do our part. We all need to take action, even us children! We can make a difference together! So what can you do to help save the earth? There are obviously the normal things: brushing your teeth without the water running, showering for less time, etc., but there are many creative ways to produce change as well. I’ll let you come up with some cool ideas yourself, but for now, here are three tips that you can use throughout the week to help Mother Earth out. 1. Use cloth napkins, not paper ones. My friend only uses towels and cloth napkins. Not only does this save trees, but it limits the amount of material that needs to be produced. They are especially good for wiping up spills. When we use paper napkins, they are really thin and get wet fairly quickly. One cloth napkin, however, can wipe up a lot of water. 2. Next time you go to school/work and buy lunch, bring home the plastic utensils you use. Don’t waste time and money by throwing away plastic spoons, forks, and knives. They may seem flimsy, but can end up useful for simply tasks like scooping a bit of honey for a cake and buttering bread. You’ve already used the cutlery now, so keep it going! (This also goes for brown paper bags. Don’t throw them away after one use! They can last a lot longer!) 3. Save, don’t spend (excessively). You can save up to buy what you really want over time instead of splurging it on candy and the movies every weekend. You’ll feel more accomplished and proud by saving! Since it is the month of Earth Day, I’ve also included an Earth Day Challenge below. You can do it any day you want, of course, but especially have fun trying it out on Earth Day, which is April 22nd. Happy reading! Let’s work together to save the earth! Earth Day Challenge Turn off the water when brushing your teeth and flossing. Grow your own tree/flower/other plant. Take a 3-minute shower. Don’t use a lamp to study, instead find some natural lighting. Turn off the heater and wear a sweater or fleece blanket instead. Turn off at least 5 excess lights on in your house. Walk anywhere within 2 miles of your current location. Persuade 3 people to recycle their empty soda cans, paper scraps, etc. Donate old clothing and toys. Only use shopping bags made of recycled paper or cloth. Compost!!! Go tech-free for an hour! And going to sleep does not count :). Prepare a meal without electricity. Salad, anyone? Drive around in electric cars and other earth-friendly vehicles. Carpool with 2 others. Go biking for an hour instead of surfing the web. Or just take a walk! Extra Credit: Use rechargeable batteries in devices. Phones count, as long as you don’t use them excessively.
