THE STORY BEHIND OHLF

  Water is a colorless, transparent, odorless, liquid which forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms. Water on the earth has been always the the same, we probably had been drinking the same water as did animals from mesozoic era.  Water constantly moves through a natural cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation, which cleans water and allows it to move around the earth.    Through the process of transpiration, plants also release water into the atmosphere. Heat from the sun provides the energy for water to change from a liquid, like we drink, into a vapor. There is almost always water vapor in the air around us, but we can’t see it. On a hot, sunny day water will evaporate faster than on a cold, cloudy day. This water vapor travels throughout the atmosphere and eventually cools and condenses into tiny droplets. These droplets are small enough to float in the air and eventually collect together to make a cloud. Clouds can be blown by the wind to move water to different parts of the earth. As more and more water droplets form, they will join together to form bigger water drops in the clouds. These drops become too heavy to stay in the air and will fall to earth as rain. If it is very cold, the water might freeze and fall as hail or snow. Precipitation is the primary mechanism for transporting water from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth. Some precipitation will soak into the ground or be taken up by plants but the rest will runoff into streams, rivers, lakes and make its way to the ocean....And the cycle starts again...     

1. More than 10,000 homes in the United States are powered entirely by solar energy. 

2. Enough sunlight falls on the earth's surface every hour to meet world energy demand for an entire year.

3. Silicon from just one ton of sand, used in photovoltaic cells, could produce as much electricity as burning 500,000 tons of coal.

4. In the 1830s, the British astronomer John Herschel used a solar collector box to cook food during an expedition to Africa.

5. Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his experiments with solar power and photovoltaics.

6. The largestConcentrated solar power (CSP) solar power plant is in the world located in the Mojave Desert of California.

7. The largest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in the world is located in Golmud Solar Park in China.

1. In 200 B.C., people in China and the Middle East used windmills to pump water and grind grain.

2. The first modern wind turbine was built in Vermont in the early 1940s.

3. Wind farms currently produce enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 600,000 families in the United States.

4. The largest wind turbine in the world, located in Hawaii, stands 20 stories tall and has blades the length of a football field.

5. An average wind speed of 14 miles per hour is needed to convert wind energy into electricity.

6. One wind turbine can produce enough electricity to power up to 300 homes.

1. A clean environment is essential for healthy living

2. Global warming is causing climate patterns to change.

3. Climate change is real and we (us humans) are largely responsible because our activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

4. If you know the dangers that future generations will face due to the problems we have now, why wouldn’t you make sacrifices and do something to prevent them from happening?

5. Biodiversity is important. 

6. Nature gives us so many things for free – clean air, clean water, beautiful landscapes, breathtaking views, and the list goes on… We take so much from nature, but what do we give in return? The least we can do is show our appreciation by protecting and preserving our environment.

7. Earth is our home! It’s where we live, so we better take care of it!

Being kind to all animals can be a challenge. It means not killing bugs you find in the house and using humane traps to catch mice or rodents. Doing these things might be less convenient for us but it sends a message out that’s important to respect all living creatures.

We need to kindly remind ourselves that we are only guests in this land which we call home, next to the native plants and animals and to accept this fact we utmost have to show all respect to it. 

OHLF shares property with wildlife as rattle snakes, cougars, bears, wolfs, coyote, frogs, birds, butterflies, mice, rodents, deers etc.. Out of respect for symbiotically living a life with wildlife we have to pay attention to our surroundings.