Among the signs of a spring come early in 2012, are the arrival of ramps – a garlicky wild leek favored by chefs buying local ingredients.

In the News is a Planet Change selection of news, stories and images on topics relating to climate change, nature, our environment and the impacts of a changing planet.

From human migrations to melting ice caps, heirloom seeds and the high tech BeetleCam, Planet Change provides a diverse look at what’s in the news today.

At the end of August 2011, I packed up and headed to Ecuador for 3 months to volunteer on an organic farm.

We contribute to the Nature Conservancy carbon credits program whenever we travel, and have been purchasing wind energy from our local electric company.

Cartwheels on the beach, climbing trees and wading in creeks in the open space of the Marin hills, camping among the redwoods, biking to school along the bay, and my father’s vegetable garden made up a major part of the time I spent growing up in northern California.

Unfortunately for me and people that share my seasonal obsessions, while soup and chili are comforting traditions, winter is a downtime for fresh fruit. But I have found a way to relive the memories of fun family outings for fresh-picked fruit by having them make an encore in my holiday plans.

Creating a kitchen garden is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Not only do you avoid the carbon emissions of shipped food (or even driving to the store), you also replace lawn (that must be mowed, usually by a gas-powered mower) with food. But the real payoff is that first salad of the season or that perfectly ripe tomato, still warm from the sun.

Setting aside the controversy and politics of climate change for a moment, we can all agree it’s been a wacky year in weather. Personally, I’ve seen my 5-year-old melting on the soccer field as the mercury climbed to a record high of 93 degrees on September 25th in Washington DC.

In Papua New Guinea, FairTrade-certified cacao is playing a role in the global effort to fight climate change.

Mexico is taking the opportunity of hosting the UN climate talks from November 29 to December 10 to show how its government and people are preparing for climate change.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we wanted to reflect on what the traditional Thanksgiving meal can teach us about the right food choices for the environment, and for our health and happiness. Here are three tips: