I'm not a huge environmentalist or anything, but I have a soapbox: Save the Monarch Butterfly. I love them, obviously, and it makes me sad that they're declining. The biggest issue is the efficiency of the herbicides farmers are using. They kill the milkweed that the monarchs depend on to lay their eggs and the caterpillars use as their sole source of food.I am doing my part by planting milkweed this year. I saved the seeds from my plants last summer, and my kids planted them last month. We'll be passing them along to our friends to help out the butterflies to visit us this summer.
Last year I wrote a first-time story called Milkweed and Gossamer about an eighteen year old girl who makes it her mission to plant and give away milkweed. Give it a read for Earth Day, if you like.
