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Month: September 2012
Fuchsia Magellanica “Georg”
Fuchsia magellanica is an upright shrub that reaches a height of 3-4 feet. The plant is a famous ornamental found in the Western Ghats of India above 1500 meters. It bears flamboyant flowers with deep red sepals and purple-red petals. Continue reading
Like It, And Then Some
Clicking the Like button helps. We all do what we can. At minimum, if we can click, we can read more and in WWF’s corner of Facebook you can see some informative graphics like this. And then some…
Bird of the Day: Spot-billed Pelican
Uda Walawe, Sri Lanka
Yasuni Model Of Conservation
Click the headline to go to the story:
In their first hour in Yasuni’s Amazonian forest, many people will see more creatures than they have seen in their entire lives, including some that have yet to be documented by science. To paddle up the Ayango creek that leads from the traffic and pollution of the Napo river into the most biodiverse region on Earth is to encounter a wall of noise, frequent bursts of colour and unimaginable combinations of life.
A tiger heron flaps lazily past our canoe, electric blue Morpho butterflies jolt the eye, spiders the size of an adult’s hand sit on branches, and kingfishers flash past. On a mud bank, a lizard suns itself, while high up in the tree canopy, we catch glimpses of flying monkeys and grunting Hoatzin “stinky turkeys” – prehistoric survivors with claws that grow into wings…
From Behind the Wheel: “Plastics Are Non-biodegradable. Reduce Pastic Usage.”
Wall Mural at Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary Community Center
A Flux Of Thought From Sri Lanka
Whenever we check in on The Smart Set we find something interesting, and today it was an essay by Stefany Anne Golberg — an artist, writer, musician, and “professional dilettante” who is also a founding member of the arts collective Flux Factory. Click the image above to go to Flux Factory, but be sure to read her interesting take on a recent New York Times article about monkeys in Delhi:
It wasn’t so long ago that monkeys and people cohabitated in Delhi like monkeys and squirrels or people and people. They competed for space and food. They shared the same sky. Their lives were fundamentally commingled. This commingling is still common in less developed countries, such as Sri Lanka, where I am presently living.
Bullock Cart Discoveries
This activity is being sponsored by the Kerala Forest Department and, similar to the Tiger Trail, is conducted by a group of men who had previously engaged in illegal forest activities. They surrendered before the forest department, receiving immunity from imprisonment in exchange for a life devoted to the protection of the forest. They are currently engaged in the Bullock Cart excursion, a “zero carbon activity” in the Cumbum Valley, an area famous for vegetable farms and wine yards. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Coppersmith Barbet
Uda Walawe, Sri Lanka
Malay Rose Apple
Malay Rose Apple tree is a tropical evergreen tree which grows up to 40-50 ft height. Native to Malaysia, these trees are cultivated and naturalized in the Western Ghats of India.The rose apple blooms throughout the year and the ripe fruit can be eaten raw. The fruits are also used for making wine, jams, jellies and stews. In medicine the tonic of the fruit is used for ailments of the brain and liver . Continue reading
Activist Art Collective
Click the image above for more information on the group’s current activities, but their founding mission and recent past actions seem promising:
…We aim to free art from the grips of the oil industry primarily focusing on Tate, the UK’s leading art museum, and its sponsorship deal with BP. Continue reading
Eine Kleine Teslacoilmusik
Thanks to the Boston Museum of Science’s Theater of Electricity for this application of Tesla genius. We should not be surprised if, by now it may have been patented and commercialized elsewhere by some outpost of the Edisonian tradition. So what. The Tesla tribe moves in mysterious ways, and eventually prevails.
Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower)
Native to Mexico and Central America, Tithonia flowers are commonly found in the High Ranges of Kerala as an ornamental flower. The range of colors of these flowers comprises a fiery orange, yellow, and strong red. The flowers are used for floral decorations and are a real magnet for butterflies and other pollinators.
Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd & The Rogue’s Gallery Of Nations After Him
A woman with a Sea Shepherd tattoo, the organisation of marine conservationist Paul Watson (not pictured). Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters
Quite a few of us contributing to this site have called Costa Rica home at one point or another and it is probably fair to say all of us admire and respect that country’s pioneering role in modern conservation schemes. For some of us, it was literally the country that inspired us to do what we do. But no country is perfect, and at least in one current affair Costa Rica seems to be playing the stooge. Shame on Germany and especially Japan for their leading roles in this farce. Costa Rica’s official abandonment of its core values should not be winked at, even by those of us who otherwise love the country and its people. Paul Watson deserves our attention and support (click the image above for his editorial in today’s Guardian, which has played its fourth estate role well in this affair):
I must serve my clients, the whales
I can do that far better commanding the Sea Shepherd fleet than I can defending myself from bogus charges by Japan
Organikos 