by Gun Wechsler 

On April 9, 2009 Gertie Paez Pate opened the doors of her sprawling home in Cerro Verde to friends and members of BIG for our monthly coffee morning.  With all of Gertie’s marvelous oil paintings and water colours decorating her home, it was hard at times to tell where art ended and nature began.  Gertie has taken much of her artistic inspiration from her very own enchanted garden, where exotic plants, trees and birds enhance her well-manicured lawns.  Quinta Natura is a perfect oasis for those seeking respite from the hustle and bustle of big city life, even if only for a few hours.

 It was quite appropriate that the two speakers for our coffee morning, Gertie Pate herself and Paula Koundakjian, chose to address various environmental concerns.  Gertie informed us that Macaws are an endangered species that is slowly becoming extinct due to illegal trapping, smuggling, and sale.  The beautiful Macaws live in tropical forests and nest only once a year. A Macaw produces typically only two eggs, of which only one is selected for incubation.  The proud parents take turns caring for their young. --  Human mothers should only be so lucky! – A Macaw can live up to 30 years in its natural environment. Gertie urged all of her listeners never to buy a Macaw.

 Well, for most of us buying a Macaw isn’t even a remote possibility, but Gertie’s second subject was a concern that hit closer to home, namely the purchase of food products  packaged on styrofoam trays.  Ten years ago MacDonald’s, in its concern for the environment, stopped selling its fast food delicacies packaged in styrofoam boxes and opted  for more environmentally friendly cardboard containers.

 Styrofoam products clog up our garbage dumps by taking decades to decompose.   In addition this material can lead to starvation and other fatal conditions in birds and other wildlife that may feed on discarded packaging.  So whenever our butcher wants to place our meats, poultry or fish on a styrofoam dish, we should stop him dead in his tracks, whip out yesterday’s newspaper, or at least ask him only to stick to plastic wrap.  On second thought, plastic wrap is not so biodegradable either…  Yikes!  What to use?!  Perhaps in Venezuela we can use giant exotic plant leaves?!

 The morning’s environmental cries for attention continued with Paula Koundakjian’s warning about the dangers of Teflon. She explained that our Teflon coated cookware emits noxious fumes at high temperatures.  These odorless and colorless vapors kill our illegally purchased Macaws as well as our other (legally acquired) pet birds.  Paula pondered what these dangerous fumes might do to the health of the poor cook herself and her unsuspecting family members… Food for thought!

 But joking aside, both Gertie and Paula brought up serious environmental concerns and these should not be taken lightly.  We all need to alter some of our habits and individually make a concerted effort to help save Mother Earth.  With a thinning ozone layer and melting glaciers, there is no time to waste.  Every Styrofoam tray we do not use is an environmental plus!