creativity

If you care about babies, you must care about bats

Christa Avampato
Image created by Christa Avampato using Canva Magic Media

When you think about ways to improve the health of human babies, you may not immediately think of helping bats stay healthy. You should. The journal Science published a shocking paper this month linking a rise in human infant mortality to a declining bat population.

In addition to being pollinators that bring us the gifts of flowers and food, bats also consume massive amounts of insects that infest our crops and cause us endless hours of itching from bug bites. A single bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects every hour, and each bat usually eats 6,000 to 8,000 insects each night. That’s a helpful service but what does that have to do with infant mortality? It’s a direct cause and effect. 

Plagued by an outbreak of the deadly white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that kills bats, North American bat populations are dropping. This means there are fewer bats to eat insects that infest crops. That’s caused farmers to use more chemical insecticide. This insecticide leaches into crops, land, and water. This toxin has increased infant mortality. It’s also lowered crop yields, decreasing farmers’ crop revenue and the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

This is just the latest study to show how the health of ecosystems is directly linked to human health and the economy. As much as I’d love for municipalities and companies to care about the planet because we depend on nature for our survival, as climate communicators and nature advocates we often have to make the economic business case to drive change. Studies like the one in Science linking bats and infant mortality provide a solid example of how to quantify the cost and value of biodiversity and ecosystem health.

I often hear the media vilify animals like bats without recognizing the vital role they play in our lives and in nature. If we can’t get people to care about bats because they are sentient beings and a part of nature, maybe now we can get people to care about them because they affect babies, the food supply, and our economy. If that’s the argument that works, it’s the argument I’ll make, backed up with research-based science and facts. 

Protect babies. Protect bats. 

creativity

September – a Month of Meaning with ReWild Yourself

Christa Avampato
Me on the Stairway to Heaven in the Pochuck Valley

I’m a big fan of ReWild Yourself, an online community inspiring nature connection. This month, they have a campaign called the Month of Meaning, encouraging their community members to connect with nature on a deep, meaningful level. It’s one of the five pathways they use as a means to help people connection with nature: meaning, compassion, beauty, the senses, and emotion.

Their website has free resources that are both fun and beautiful. They’re all open source so you’re free to use them any way you’d like, for yourself or within your community. There’s also a nature art challenge which has my collage artist brain spinning with possibilities. I kicked off the month hiking the Stairway to Heaven in New Jersey’s Pochuck Valley, part of the Appalachian Trail, with a good friend. A difficult 7-mile climb, the views make all the effort worthwhile and then we were rewarded with a walk through the flats, a preserved and protected wetland. There, the connection to nature runs deep.

September has always been a meaningful month for me. Forever a student, I love back to school time. Fall is my favorite season, so this always feels like my new year, a fresh start, the next chapter. It’s no wonder my Alive Day is September 5th when I survived an apartment building fire 15 years ago. It’s also the Gotcha Day (birthday) of my beloved rescue dog, Phineas, on September 18th. This will be my first without him physically on this plane after his passing in January of this year. He would be 15 this month.

While the meaning of, well, everything, is always top of mind for me, this month I’m going to especially focus on what nature means to me. I’ll be sharing my art, writing, reflections, hopes for the future, and actions that preserve, protect, and propagate the natural world we all have, share, and depend on every day. ReWilding ourselves and our planet has never been more important than it is now.

Photos by Christa Avampato.

creativity

15 years of being alive

Christa Avampato
Emerson Page novel serieshttps://www.amazon.com/Emerson-Page-Where-Light-Enters/dp/1694109410/

Today marks 15 years since my NYC apartment building caught fire and I was almost trapped inside. My Alive Day started my difficult journey through one of the darkest times of mental health in my life. It also brought me Phineas as an emotional support dog and it made me a writer. I learned the difficult lesson that “someday” is today because today is all we have. On that journey, I learned how and why to really live. Emerson Page, the protagonist in my novels, was born from that pain. Her story saved me. Stories can save us all.

Forever grateful for my therapist and guide, Brian McCormack, and the many friends who showed up as angels on the path. And of course to Phinny and Emerson. Cheers to all of life’s chapters.

creativity

Campaign communications are bringing the fun and rallying voters

Christa Avampato
Image by Swifties4Kamala.com

Something fascinating and fantastic is happening with campaign communications in 2024 and it warms my story loving heart. In the past, voters have rallied around their political party, social issues, geography, and demographics such as age, race, religion, and ethnicity. This year we’re seeing people rally around their interests, passions, and affinities in support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. From comedy and food to pets and music, there is a group for all of us. These groups and their respective Zoom events are using trusted messengers — people with whom we share a common bond and who make us feel safe—to relate to voters on a personal level. 

This week I went to two online incredible online events: Swifties for Kamala organized by Taylor Swift fans and Cooking for Kamala organized by professional celebrity chefs. (They were both recorded so you can watch them at the links below.) Swifties raised over $144,000 and the chefs raised over $225,000 from event attendees. They got people registered to vote, helped people check their voter registration, talked about issues related to their interests (in these cases, corporate monopolies like Ticketmaster and food security, respectively), provided resources for people to volunteer on the campaign to knock on doors, send postcards, make phone calls, combat disinformation and misinformation, and most importantly activate their friends, family members, and communities to turn out the vote this November. 

Swifties for Kamala has a full website, social media accounts, merch for the cause, friendship bracelets (of course!) and a newsletter called Paint the Town Blue where they are continuing to activate their community after the event. What’s even more impressive about Swifties for Kamala is that it’s organized and run only by fans, not celebrities. Taylor herself is not involved, and they had Senator Elizabeth Warren and Carole King attend the event as special guests.

Collectively, all these affinity events and efforts are also doing the important work of reminding all of us that politics is about people and policies. It’s personal. It’s about who we are and who we want to be. It’s about how we live together in community, in harmony. It’s about the world we’re building for ourselves and future generations. While disagreements will inevitably happen, politics can only be effective if it’s about unity and open, clear communications. These affinity events are putting the heart back into government, and they’re giving us hope. 

Some media outlets have said joy is not a strategy. These events show joy is not only a strategy; it’s also a way of being and doing. And it’s working. 

Swifties for Kamala website, social media accounts, and event rewatch:
https://swifties4kamala.com/
https://linktr.ee/swifties4kamala
https://www.youtube.com/live/r9lQlWzQLPQ

Cooking for Kamala event rewatch:
https://pages.hovercast.live/cooking-for-kamala/live

creativity

How to get microplastics out of your body

Christa Avampato
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash

0.5% of human brain weight today is from microplastics, according to the latest scientific research. It’s also collecting in human lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow. It contributes to cardiovascular disease, infertility, memory loss, and learning impairment.

These are frightening statistics, and there we can do something about it TODAY to protect ourselves and our families. Many of the answers are in our kitchens. An article in the New York Times interviewed 3 medical doctors and a research scientist about how to reduce our exposure.

1.) Eliminate plastic bottled water (and I’d add eliminate paper to-go cups because they have a plastic lining, especially for hot coffee). Instead, use metal, silicone, or glass to store your water.

2.) Have effective water filtration at home. Brita’s elite filter is a good choice.

3.) Don’t cook with utensils such as plastic spatulas or plastic mixing spoons. Use silicone, wood, or metal.

4.) Don’t store any food or drinks in plastic (especially if they are acidic or warm). Even if they come in plastic from the grocery store, take them out of the plastic when you get home and store in glass, metal, or silicone. Never leave food or drink in plastic exposed to heat (such as in a car).

5.) Don’t reuse packaged food containers you may have like those from butter, yogurt, etc. to store food. Put those right into the recycling bin.

6.) Don’t microwave plastic, no matter what the packaging says is okay.

7.) Hand wash plastic rather than running it through the dishwasher, and use cold water to wash it, no matter what the packaging says is okay.

8.) Replace your plastic cutting boards with wood or bamboo cutting boards.

9.) I would also add don’t eat with plastic utensils, plastic bowls or plates, or paper plates that have a plastic coating on them.

10.) Filter your air at home and vacuum regularly to remove microplastics that enter our home from the air and that we track in from outside.

It’s unfortunate that completely eliminating exposure to microplastics in our modern world is nearly impossible until we have safe, alternative materials to fossil fuel-based plastic. What we can do is limit our exposure as much as possible with these tips.


creativity

New data shows Europe has more cancer incidence and mortality than the U.S.

Christa Avampato
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash. “KRAS Protein Structure. RAS genes are mutated in approximately one-third of all human cancers.”

Did you know cancer incidence and cancer mortality rates are higher in Europe than the U.S.? I was shocked to learn this since I often hear the exact opposite. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer compiled a study of 2022 data and the disparities cross the world are stark. Considering men and women, and all types of cancer, Europe had 4,471,422 cases in 2022 (22.4% of global cancer cases) and the U.S. had 1,832,550 cases (9.8%). When looking at mortality from cancer, the picture is even more disparate: Europe 1,972,982 (20.4%) and the U.S. 600,970 (6.2%). This ranking holds even when standardized for age. 

As a cancer survivor and advocate, I spend a lot of time poring through statistics. Lately I’ve been reading a lot of about cancer disparity between countries. I was prompted to investigate this after a cancer survivor in Canada told me one of the medications I took to prevent recurrence (Verzenio) is only available in Canada to those who have much more advanced cases than I had. 

Why are there global disparities between Europe and the U.S.? 3 main reasons: 

1.) U.S. Medicare covers cancer screening and treatments more generously
Once Americans hit age 65, they receive Medicare benefits. Since cancer afflicts more people over 65, they have access to benefits like cancer screening and treatments such as immunotherapy and clinical trials through Medicare. These Medicare benefits in the U.S. are more generous than those in Europe. This means cancer is caught earlier and there are many more options for treatments in the U.S. Both of these factors help detect and treat cancer more effectively.

Is Medicare perfect? No. It can and must be improved. In the case of cancer, it’s actually doing well when compared to care and coverage in Europe.

Smoking rates
We’ve heard it for decades now: smoking increases the risk of many types of cancer. In Europe, 26% of the population aged 15 and over smokes daily. In the U.S., 11.5% smoke either daily or some days. 

The U.S. market and government structure prompts cancer research and treatment development
Cancer research and treatment development requires significant financial investment because only 13.8% of medications make it through the first phase of clinical trials. To get the scale they need to conduct and fund cancer research, European countries need to collaborate. 

However, each country maintains its own regulatory policies, procedures, and data collection and analysis processes for cancer treatment. To collaborate they need to agree on these policies, procedures, and processes, and they must agree to share data, which has proven difficult. This causes delays and the scrapping of research projects. 

The U.S. regulatory system grinds slowly as well. Still, it needs only to contend with itself, not with another country’s issues. 

A global vision for cancer detection and treatment
As a cancer survivor, it’s been challenging and emotional for me to consider all of this global data. I’m privileged that I live in New York City, I had insurance through the Affordable Care Act when I went through my cancer diagnosis and active treatment, and have access to the best cancer care in the world. Had I lived anywhere else, my cancer likely would have gone undetected until a later stage. I may not have had access to the many treatments I’ve had (and will continue to have for another 7 years). 

There is a lot of hope and promise in the Biden Cancer Moonshot, started by Dr. Jill Biden and President Joe Biden. While the initial focus is domestic, there are already global efforts underway to expand access to screening and treatments to every corner of the world. 

We may never be able to completely prevent cancer from happening. We can vastly diminish its power, transforming it from the “Big C” into something that happens that we can manage and cure. That will take a global effort, and I know I want to be a part of that journey. 

creativity

Kamala Harris official Facebook pages organizing voters and volunteers

Christa Avampato
Harris for New York

As part of my communications work to help Kamala and Tim win in November, I’m so happy to be a moderator for the Facebook group Harris for New York. Every state has its own group and these are official groups run by Kamala’s and Tim’s campaign. (You’ll also see me posting on Harris for Pennsylvania and Harris for Georgia.) I was a moderator for Pantsuit Nation in 2016. I’m using everything I learned then to help Tim and Kamala win. 

These pages are places to build community, get organized with others in your state, share information, and volunteer the time, talents, and resources you have to win this election. To find your state group, go to the search bar and type in “Harris for [state]”. The logo will look like the one below — a blue background with white text that says “Harris for [state]”. 

You join a state’s page based on where you live, work, went to school, or another important tie to it. Every request to join and every post in every state Facebook group is reviewed by moderators like me. 

While we combat misinformation and disinformation, the vast majority of the posts by moderators and members are positive, uplifting, and focus on Kamala and Tim’s stance on all the issues. These groups are also where we share official posts with information directly from the campaign. Also, they are places of JOY!

We’ve got 74 days until election day. Let’s make every day count. We have no time to waste.

creativity

Falling in love with vegetables thanks to Hetty Lui McKinnon

Christa Avampato
Tenderheart: a cookbook about vegetables and unbreakable family bonds by Hetty Lui McKinnon

A number of years ago, I upgraded my diet to be plant-based. I still eat meat and animal products occasionally, but the bulk of my food comes from plants. I knew this change would be good for my health though I can’t say I was excited about it because I really didn’t know what to do with vegetables other than roast them. Enter the New York Times Cooking app, loaded with thousands of ways to turn vegetables into a feast. Some of my favorite vegetable-centric recipes are by James Beard Award winner Hetty Lui McKinnon whose inventive style and focus on easy preparation makes me feel like a gourmet cook even though I most certainly am not. Australian by birth and Chinese by heritage, she now lives in Brooklyn (as do I).

I recently read Hetty’s beautiful memoir cookbook, Tenderheart: a cookbook about vegetables and unbreakable family bonds. A love letter to both vegetables and her family’s role in stoking the fires of that love for her, Hetty gives us a glimpse into her past, present, and future, and celebrates her family history on every page. Organized by vegetable, the recipes include a snippet about why she loves each one, vegetable swaps and ingredient substitutions that can be made without compromising the flavor. I read cookbooks like they’re novels or biographies, so Hetty’s book is perfect for me. Give me a simple, healthy recipe and then tell me the story behind it. 

From cabbage carbonara(-ish) to chocolate eggplant brownies to the not your traditional Sunday roast to her Mum’s velvet potatoes, Hetty now has me dreaming about vegetables. Her recipes have also caused me to seek out vegetables I don’t normally buy because I never knew what to do with them. While vegetables can take a bit more coaxing than other foods, they can be made to be every bit as satisfying and craveable as any other food. 

Post-dissertation, I’m happy to be back in my kitchen more now than I’ve been able to be over the past two years. If you want to fall in love with vegetables, please join me in my sun filled apartment. With help from Hetty’s recipes (I’ve now ordered all of her cookbooks!), I’ll be happy to play matchmaker. 

creativity

I fell hard for Liverpool; you will, too.

Christa Avampato
The Beatles statue. Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool. Photo by Christa Avampato.

I love a gritty city – one peppered with history, music, art, and salt-of-the-earth people. I fell for Liverpool as soon as I arrived. I walked out of the train station and into the cool morning light. I immediately felt at home. The food is delicious, the people are kind, and the city is thriving with art and music everywhere. It’s also very affordable. I could easily live there and be very happy!

Some highlights:

As a port city, Liverpool has an extensive dock area. It’s been refurbished as the Royal Albert Dock, filled with restaurants, cafes, bakeries, pubs, and art. It’s a fun area to spend an afternoon. (Rough Handmade is one of the greatest bakeries I’ve ever been to anywhere!)

Bold Street is one of the main commercial areas filled with shops, food, and bookstores. Open early to late, there’s something for everyone there. I spent an event there at Mowgli, enjoying some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had. There are a few Mowgli locations in Liverpool and each of them is beautiful, buzzy, and relaxed.

Seeing the Beatles childhood homes and the Cavern Club was the main reason I went to Liverpool. I love their story and music. My old neighborhood on the Upper West Side has the Dakota, the last home of John Lennon, and Strawberry Fields in Central Park where the “Imagine” sundial honors John’s legacy. The two childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in Liverpool are very different from one another. They’re time capsules that tell their story of friendship and happenstance in the wake of WWII. No pictures are allowed inside the houses, but you can get excellent indoor tours with the National Trust. The tour picks up at Speke Hall, another great National Trust home (that’s 400 years old!) and grounds that I highly recommend seeing. Become a member of the National Trust and this tour (as well as Speke Hall), along with many other UK sites, are deeply discounted or free.

Liverpool is home to many museums, my favorite being the Maritime Museum. It pays homage to the Titanic because the White Star Line, the ship’s owner, was based there. The museum also exposes the city’s horrific role in the transatlantic slave trade. While many cities and countries attempt to sweep tragedy under the rug, Liverpool addresses directly and honestly in this museum and throughout the city.

The Resident is a fantastic boutique hotel that emphasizes sustainability and is a repurposed factory. Incredible service and great accommodations, it’s located very close to Bold Street and within walking distance of all the great sites of the city.

While Liverpool isn’t as flashy as some other European destination, it’s filled with heart and soul. It’s well worth a visit. I’m already looking forward to visiting again.

The collage below are my favorite photos from Liverpool, all taken by me.

creativity

The Joy of Small Things

Christa Avampato
The Joy of Small Things by Hannah Jane Parkinson. Photo by Christa Avampato.

I bought the book The Joy of Small Things by Hannah Jane Parkinson at Books on the Hill, a magical independent family-run bookstore in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, a perfect London suburb. My friend, Milly, took me there when I visited her because she knew I’d love it. She knows me well. 

The bookstore building was originally constructed in 1600, was once a tearoom and a furniture shop, and has a resident ghost who is a monk traveling from the cathedral in the secret tunnels running below the city where he does the flower arranging. The Books on the Hill family also has a dachshund named Fergus. I asked the bookstore team if I could move in. I think they’re considering it. (Honestly, was I switched at birth, and am I possibly their long-lost daughter?!)

Hannah’s book caught my eye because it’s about joy, my favorite topic, and it has a dachshund on the front who looks exactly like my dear Phineas, who passed away in January at the ripe old age of 14 1/2. Also, Nigella Lawson, who is an absolute queen, recommends it. Obviously, I loved every word. It’s a book of short pieces that Hannah wrote for The Guardian about everyday joys. One of the pieces is about her love for dachshunds. The topics are wonderfully varied from three-minute pop songs to local graffiti to trainers (for my American friends, these are sneakers) to cemeteries and dozens of others. (Again, is Hannah my long-lost family member, too?!) 

I read the book in tiny bits because I didn’t want it to end. Hannah is hilarious and thoughtful, and I’m sure we would be best friends if we knew each other. She’s also British, so the turn of phrase and spelling in this book are a joy for me and take me right back to St. Albans with Milly. 

I’ve long been a journal writer. On August 1st, I started a new practice: a daily spreadsheet (another one of my small joys) where I jot down what brought me joy each day. I set a calendar reminder at 9:30pm each night with the question, “What brought you joy today?” and I fill in the spreadsheet. It’s now part of my bedtime routine, and I love it. It’s become a joy in itself.