Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
BA Middle School Education; State-certified Teacher
- Boston Recycling Coalition
Charter Member, Former Treasurer, and Former Co-chair
- Mayor’s Recycling Advisory Committee
Former Steering Committee Member for the City of Boston
- MassPIRG’s Recycling Initiative Campaign
Former Steering Committee Member
- Massachusetts Environmental Education Society (MEES) – state-chapter for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
Former President and Former Treasurer
- Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Environmental Education (SAGEE)
Steering Committee Member for the Massachusetts’ Secretary of Environmental Affairs
- North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
Conference Steering Committee Member
- Round-up for the Rainforest
Former Treasurer
- Massachusetts Envirothon
Contest Judge for the last seven years

I grew up about 10 miles north of Asbury Park on the North Jersey Shore and migrated to Boston via Portland, ME nearly 20 years ago. A few years after arriving in Boston, while working as the Temporary Placement Coordinator at an Employment Agency, I “accidentally” became involved with the start-up of the Boston Recycling Coalition (BRC). That is, while volunteering roughly one Saturday a month at a suburban drop-off recycling center—only because the section of Boston that I lived in didn’t offer any type of recycling—I was asked to join a grassroots campaign to help make multi-material curbside recycling a reality in Boston. I jumped at the opportunity. It took a concerted effort to make it a reality, meeting monthly for six years with City Council Members, as well as other people from the public and private sector, but we persevered and it’s now the largest recycling program in New England.

While with the BRC, I had an opportunity to go into a local school to pitch the merits of recycling to a group of third and fourth graders. I came away feeling totally moved by the 40-minute experience, and felt as though I’d found my calling. About a year-and-a-half later the recession of the early 90s set in and I quickly found myself out of a job. I decided to follow my heart and dedicate my life to educating others about protecting the environment. I enrolled at Lesley University, a prominent teaching college adjacent to Harvard University, and focused on Environmental Education.

While at Lesley I remained active in the non-profit sector and sat on a number of boards. I also took a trip to Costa Rica that opened my eyes to the magnificence of the tropical rainforests. Not long after that I was approached by a fellow Lesley student, who also chaired his recycling committee, with an idea for integrating environmental education about the tropical rainforests into a fundraiser that promoted a healthier chocolate bar; chocolate being just one of myriad products indigenous to the tropical forests. That was the genesis of CrunchTime. We later teamed up with Newman’s Own Organics and have enjoyed great success, developing a long list of regular customers, inspired countless students of all ages to become more active in safeguarding their planet, and helped protect a sizeable tract of land. Nevertheless, problems within the environment extend well beyond the tropical rainforests. We knew that additional measures would be needed to tackle these problems.

With that, CrunchTime elected to address a number of environmental issues while offering products through a fundraiser that would help to mitigate these very issues. That’s where we find ourselves today, and we’re thrilled that you have taken an interest in helping protect the only home we will ever have, planet Earth. csb@CrunchTime.org

For a more personal account of how I got hooked on the environment, through the eyes of a child, click here

Ronald L. Ohrel, Jr.
Vice President of Educational Content

I am a Maryland native who has spent the last ten years working on a variety of environmental issues. Currently, I live in the Washington, DC area.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in marine science from Coastal Carolina University and a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University. Since finishing school, I have worked for a number of environmental organizations—both large and small. These include the Center for Watershed Protection, Water Environment Research Foundation, The Ocean Conservancy, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and National Wildlife Federation.

Never far from the water, I have worked in many exciting and wondrous natural areas. I have been to the coral reefs of Hawaii and Jamaica, the rocky coasts of Alaska and New England, the estuaries of the Pacific Northwest, and the pink sand beaches of Bermuda. At these and many other stops, I worked to save wildlife from the impacts of human pollution—and show others how they can do the same.

During one adventure, I helped patrol the Pacific Ocean in search of large abandoned fish nets that had become entangled on the coral reefs of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. These nets—some lost overboard by fishing vessels, others carelessly tossed into the ocean—batter the reefs and kill numerous wildlife species such as the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and green sea turtle. During our brief time at sea, our team removed an amazing 26 tons of garbage! This and other experiences demonstrated that humans are certainly the cause of many environmental problems, but they can also be the solution. That understanding is what inspires my work today.

I believe that everyone CAN make a difference for the environment. Many people want to help, but they just may not know where to begin. That’s where CrunchTime comes in. Not only do we introduce you to the many environmental issues of our day, but more importantly, we suggest a number of effective, useful, practical and—yes—easy steps you can take to make our planet a better place for today and the future.

I’m thrilled to be with CrunchTime because this organization shares one of my core beliefs: for a clean environment, we must turn education into action. I’ll do my best to help you understand some of today’s pressing environmental issues. I hope you’ll join me in taking that next step—action.

I welcome your feedback on what you see on our website. Please let us know what you think. How do you feel about what we’ve written and the products we offer? What else would you like us to write about? What other products should we offer? What are you doing to make your home, neighborhood, and community a better place? What recommendations do you have for others who share your concern for the environment?

Your thoughts and actions can go a long way. I look forward to hearing from you!
rohrel@CrunchTime.org

- University of Dallas, Irving, TX
BS Chemistry
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
PhD Environmental Toxicology
- Assistant Professor of Biology, Edgewood College, Madison, WI
- Sediment Toxicologist, Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute, Allendale, MI
- Adjunct Professor of Biology, Hope College, Holland, MI
- Adjunct Professor of Biology and Chemistry, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
- Science Olympiad Coach
- Girl Scout Leader

I grew up in Wisconsin and spent most of my life there, spending summers sailing on the shores of Lake Michigan. After a brief sojourn to Texas, I returned to my home for graduate studies with every intention of studying pollution in Lake Michigan and how to restore the lake to health. Well, the best laid plans … I actually ended up studying butterflies and naturally occurring toxins, but never lost my interest in environmental issues or the Great Lakes. With a PhD, either you become a research scientist (not for me!) or a teacher. I chose teaching and have been doing that in some way or another since graduate school, mainly with college age students, but increasingly with students of all ages.

Mostly right now though, I am a mom. We have several young children and my husband and I decided that one of us needed to make home and family a first priority. Currently that is me. It is the hardest, yet most satisfying job I have ever had. But still, I always had this nagging feeling that I should be using my science and education background in some capacity. Working on this project has allowed me the freedom to do both. And I get to do something to help preserve the environment for my children and yours.

When I first contacted Carey about writing for CrunchTime, I wrote several letters trying to explain why I was so interested in working on this project. I hope the excerpts below will help you see how committed all of us at CrunchTime are to protecting and preserving the Earth, the only home we will ever have, for today’s and future generations.

I do believe the Earth is a special place and that life is a unique gift, but I have to admit that I struggle with some aspects of the environmental movement - especially the more radical groups. For instance, I do not and cannot see humanity as a “cancer on the face of the earth”. With three children (which for some environmentalists automatically excludes us from being concerned about the environment even though I think our family probably consumes less than many singles or couples with extravagant lifestyles; my little rationalization about our contribution to population growth!), I simply cannot view people “as the only species that is not necessary for life on Earth”.

Certainly, humanity has caused many problems (and probably will continue to do so), but we have made improvements in many areas of life and I believe will continue on that path. Nor do I support the notion that we must return to a pre-modern way of life. Few of us (myself included) would be willing to make those kind of radical lifestyle changes even to protect the environment. More power to those who can and do, but most of us do not want to live that life. I also do not believe that capitalism is the cause of all our problems (I would argue that it might be consumerism and globalism, which is certainly a result of capitalism but need not be). What I do believe is that we can each make changes that will benefit the environment locally and globally. And that is what my family tries to do – by having a garden, buying from a CSA farm and our local farmer’s market, keeping our thermostat at 65 or lower (even on these wickedly cold winter days), not living in a McMansion, hoping to buy a hybrid vehicle to replace our old Corolla. I think that is what this project is about, getting people to look at the choices we make and how perhaps each of us can make better choices.

I view this as an opportunity to explore complex environmental issues with people eager to understand and help but not quite knowing where to start. We probably do not have all the answers to solve these problems and may not even always agree on the best way to solve problems, but we have to start somewhere … Let’s face it, not everyone can go out and buy all new Energy-Star appliances, reroof their home with photovoltaic shingles, or buy a hybrid vehicle. But everyone can make sure that they are conserving energy by turning off lights, setting back their thermostat when leaving for work, wrapping their old water heater in an insulating blanket, or a multitude of other simple things that collectively can make a difference. And no one likes to feel guilty about his or her actions or lack thereof. I think that is one of the key problems the environmental movement must face in the near future. Often it has portrayed the Earth’s future as gloom and doom (certainly justified in some instances), but without proposing any real alternatives that people can be part of. The problems we face are big, but we have made some improvements that need to be acknowledged. People need to know there is hope and that continued change on their part can make a difference.