Author: Organikos

Tropical Peatland & Carbon Storage

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The remote Cuvette Centrale peatlands in the central Congo basin is one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. Photograph: Simon Lewis/University of Leeds

This story was also covered in the New York Times, but the Guardian had a jump on the scoop, and included a photo (above) that more effectively helps to understand peat’s role in carbon capture; so we feature their story here:

World’s largest tropical peatland found in Congo basin

Carbon-rich peatlands could store three years’ worth of world’s total fossil fuel emissions, say scientists Continue reading →

We Will Be For It

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rideshare

We have not seen one yet, apart from Uber and Lyft (which we have been grateful for as users already), but when we do see any pure form(s) of this mythical app our support will be early and often:

Carpooling apps could slash congestion, fuel use, and emissions

by Prachi Patel

Sitting in traffic gridlock can cost more than anger and frustration. Traffic jams in the US cost the economy $121 billion every year in lost productive time and 3 billion gallons of fuel burned. It also leads to 25 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. Continue reading →

Bumble Bees & Conservation

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The rusty-patched bumblebee, once common across the continental United States, has been designated an endangered species. Clay Bolt

One more gift of protection:

A Bumblebee Gets New Protection on Obama’s Way Out

By TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG and JOHN SCHWARTZ

The Obama administration, rushing to secure its environmental legacy, has increased protection for a humble bumblebee. Continue reading →

Bear Ears Monuments, Cheering & Detraction

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Photo by Josh Ewing/Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition

The Food & Environment Reporting Network updates our understanding of the added significance of Bear Ears Monument, and its detractors:

Bears Ears Monument Is A Win For Tribal Food Sovereignty. Will Trump Undo It?

By Kristina Johnson

Seven years ago, the Navajo tribal council in southeastern Utah started mapping the secret sites where medicine men and women forage for healing plants and native people source wild foods. They wanted to make a case for protecting the landscape known as Bears Ears, a place not only sacred to their tribe, but to many other tribes in the region, going back thousands of years. In one of his final acts in office, President Obama late last month created the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears Monument, in a move that proponents say will safeguard the area’s ecology and guarantee food sovereignty for the region’s Native Americans.: Continue reading →

Birding By Season

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Violet-crowned, blue-throated and magnificent hummingbirds, along with a dozen other bird species, have been recorded at the the Conservancy’s 380-acre Ramsey Canyon Preserve. © Teagan White

Violet-crowned, blue-throated and magnificent hummingbirds, along with a dozen other bird species, have been recorded at the the Conservancy’s 380-acre Ramsey Canyon Preserve. © Teagan White

Thanks once again to the Nature Conservancy’s Cool Green Science blog for simultaneously highlighting conservation history as well as inspiration to spend time outdoors. We stand with the TNC and all organizations in support of the legendary legislation that illustrates the core principles of wildlife and land stewardship.

The Audubon Society states it simply, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects birds from depredatory human activities. And the more we involve ourselves in birding activities, the more appreciation and awareness we have for the fragility of our ecosystems and the biodiversity they sustain.

 A Birding List for the New Year

JENNY ROGERS

In 2016, birders celebrated the centennial of the signing of the United States’ Migratory Bird Treaty. In 1918, the resulting legislation became one of the country’s first major pieces of environmental law. Today birders reap the benefits of the act, which barred, among other things, the hunting of migratory birds during nesting and mating seasons.

Continue reading →

Maple Was Always Good, Got Better, And Finally Runamok

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runamok

sgmkr_comp_front_345x_e71869c9-7dac-4854-9ef9-e38dde839f5e_1024x1024When we saw this the other day, it had us thinking that 2017 was already off to a crafty-bottled-flavor start. Now another non-alcoholic liquid we adore, crafted and packaged with flair.

Several among the contributors to this site have connections to maple syrup consumption going back decades, most notably Harrington’s of Vermont circa 1970s. So, combining nostalgia with artisanal and organic, Runamok had us at maple:

Sugarmaker’s Cut™ The Season’s Best Maple Syrup Continue reading →

2016 Christmas Bird Count at Chan Chich

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Cinnamon Hummingbird (Amazilia rutila) Sierra El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico 21/01/2008 © Glen Tepke

The Chan Chich team was recently host to Christmas Bird Count participants from the Belize Audubon Society. Assisted by the Chan Chich guides, the team of ten birders tallied a total of 185 species over a 2-day period.  Among the most notable species, was the addition of the Cinnamon Hummingbird, which is the furthest inland record in the country.  This tiny coastal hummingbird has been steadily expanding its range inland, but this time it reached Laguna Verde, the natural, spring-fed lake within the Chan Chich conservation area. Continue reading →

Adaptation, Climate Change, Winery Operations

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Solar panels dot the buildings at the family’s Carneros Hills Winery. Jason Henry for The New York Times

When a family does its homework on the property that represents its livelihood and our own appreciation for their craft, we take note just as we do when the professor teaches:

Falcons, Drones, Data: A Winery Battles Climate Change

Jackson Family Wines is among California
winemakers employing both high-tech and old-school
techniques to adapt to hotter, drier conditions.

By DAVID GELLES

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Harvested grapes. Jackson Family Wines is one of the largest family-owned winemakers in the country. Jason Henry for The New York Times

On a misty autumn morning in Sonoma County, Calif., Katie Jackson headed into the vineyards to assess the harvest. It was late in the season, and an army of field workers was rushing to pick the grapes before the first rains, however faint, began falling.

But on this day, Ms. Jackson, the vice president for sustainability and external affairs at Jackson Family Wines, was not just minding the usual haul of cabernet, chardonnay and merlot grapes. She also checked on the sophisticated network of systems she had put in place to help crops adapt to a changing climate.

Continue reading →

Walden Pond’s Enduring Lessons

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Kevin Hooyman

When a professor does years of research and teaching on a topic related to this particular pond, and then takes the additional effort to share his observations in cogent form as an op-ed, we believe it is worth at least 5-10 minutes of reading time:

What the Muck of Walden Pond Tells Us About Our Planet

By CURT STAGER

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau repaired to a cabin in the woods beside Walden Pond “to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach.” During the last two years, my students and I have come to that same pond to see what we could learn from the sediments beneath it. Continue reading →

Bojangles & Belize & Chan Chich Lodge

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jerryjeff

We knew Jerry Jeff Walker was one of the greats, but two things we did not know about him: he is the man who wrote the song Mr. Bojangles (no secret, we just did not know it) and he has considered Belize his second home for a very long time (again no secret, we just did not know it).  If you click the banner above you will see more details about the concert series, which sounds like a blast, coming up in a few weeks. But since it is sold out, we still suggest planning for a visit to Belize, in which case you should click the image below.

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New Rules, Fishing & Conservation

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Divers release a seal from fishing gear. Getting entangled in active or abandoned fishing gear often leads to injury or death in marine mammals. NOAA Marine Debris Program/Flickr

Thanks to the salt folks at National Public Radio (USA) for this news on a rule change that could do for all marine mammals what has already been done for dolphins:

The vaquita is a small porpoise found only in the northern Gulf of California, in Mexico. Today, the species is critically endangered, with less than 60 animals left in the wild, thanks to fishing nets to catch fish and shrimp for sale in Mexico and America. The animal is an accidental victim of the fishing industry, as are many other marine mammals. Continue reading →

2017, International Year Of Sustainable Tourism For Development

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The United Nations, and its subsidiary the World Tourism Organization, are promoting the celebration of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. We just celebrated 20 years of working in the sustainable tourism space, and UNWTO’s efforts help focus our attention now on the next decade’s worth of effort:

“With more than one billion international tourists now traveling the world each year, tourism has become a powerful and transformative force that is making a genuine difference in the lives of millions of people. The potential of tourism for sustainable development is considerable.  As one of the world’s leading employment sectors, tourism provides important livelihood opportunities, helping to alleviate poverty and drive inclusive development.”
– United Nations Secretary-General, Banki-moon
World Tourism Day Message, 2015
Continue reading →

Avocados Of The Future

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Thanks to Wired for this preview of things to come in the world of avocados:

IT’S THE WINTER avocado harvest at the University of California’s orchard in Lindcove, and the fruit jumbled in the back of Eric Focht’s SUV are a palette of earthy tones, some rough and flecked with frosted tips, others green and smooth. The horticulturist selects three miniature fruit, bright green and rotund, which together fit easily in the palm of his hand. “We were thinking of calling it the Lunch Box,” says Mary Lu Arpaia, who oversees the avocado breeding program at the orchard. But for now it’s just an experimental variety, officially known by a string of numbers. It’s too soon to tell if “Lunch Box” will ever be released to the world.: Continue reading →

Beverage Innovations, Vegan Spirit Edition

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We do not need to repeat our distaste for the word mocktail, nor are we on a dry spell; nonetheless we are happy to see attention to beverages like this (pricey!) one:

SPIRITED AWAY: SEEDLIP SPICE 94 ($39, 700 ML) Continue reading →

Fish & Coconuts & Conservation

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S.W. Reddy’s discussion of the islands where she carried out empirical research in the behavioral economics vein reminds of some fundamental similarities to Kerala, especially the fish and coconuts part. Thanks to the Nature Conservancy’s Cool Green Science for bringing this to our attention (if you do not have 15 minutes for the video now, save the text below for later reading):

Bringing Behavioral Insights into Conservation Programs and Policies

By Sheila Walsh Reddy

Behavioral science and economics have provided important insights for health, finance, and many other domains, but are largely untapped resources for conservation. A new paper in Conservation Letters helps practitioners tap into behavioral sciences. Continue reading →

Celebrating Real Accomplishment

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feeney

If you attended Cornell University 1980s or 1990s and earlier you may have heard his name if you were part of the Hotel School community, which he occasionally visited. Even then you would have heard simply that he was “a good friend” of his alma mater. It was only in the last decade or so that his visionary generosity was made public, most notably on CBS news in the USA. He had worked hard to keep his name out of the stories related to his foundation’s philanthropic giving.

billionaircover-ecad87c5e5af133a76297c2d555e210992476de9-s1400-c85It eventually became easier to find information about  where all of that money went. Journalists did their work, and after he was revealed to be a genius of anonymous giving on a grand scale he reluctantly agreed to proper documentation of it all. He even agreed to a book-length documentation, which we first learned about here. Today the New York Times is reporting that he has finally achieved his goal of giving it all away. Bravo, Mr. Feeney, and thank you for reminding us what real accomplishment looks like:

…Nearly five years ago, Charles F. Feeney sat in a cushy armchair in an apartment on the east side of Manhattan, grandchildren’s artwork taped to the walls, and said that by the end of 2016, he was going to hand out the last of a great fortune that he had made. Continue reading →

Urban Tracking And Other Soft Local Adventures

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Raccoon track in mud along stream. Sarpy County, Nebraska. October 1996. Central Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion. Photo © The Nature Conservancy (Chris Helzer)

It seems to go hand in hand with today’s other post, so thanks to The Nature Conservancy as always for this one:

A Field Guide to Tracking in Your Neighborhood

By Matt Miller

Tracking is one of the most family-friendly wildlife activities; you can enjoy it anywhere there is a patch of open ground. As I’ve written previously, kids love deciphering the mysteries of animal tracks. Even my two-year-old son loves checking out the tracks in our yard.

Continue reading →

Urban Environments & Evolution

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Header image: Street art in London by Aida. Credit: Maureen Barlin via Flickr.

Anthropocene is back, after a brief holiday break, with a good summary of findings on urban-influenced evolution:

Cities are the new laboratories of evolution

by

Cities are driving rapid evolutionary changes to plant and animal species, according to a study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Usually, we think of evolution as happening in remote, isolated, or pristine places—the Galapagos Islands, for example. But the new findings suggest that scientists can’t understand evolution as it’s currently occurring without grappling with the complex and expanding urban landscape…

Continue reading →

Altruism Is So 2011, And Even More So 2017

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Derek Parfit has few memories of his past and almost never thinks about it, a fact that he attributes to an inability to form mental images. Photograph by Steve Pyke / GETTY

Even though we had started a series of posts on the topic of altruism in 2011, our first year creating this platform, it was just after this article was published that we started paying close attention to the topic, and we had forgotten about it until just now.

Derek Parfit communicates convincingly about a logic for the common good being more important than that of the individual, and even put his own life and mortality into perfect context of the logic he was developing. So, though we resist posting obituaries of even our greatest heroes, his passing this week makes us think this profile is worthy of re-reading and sharing.

Even though our early attention to altruism led to hundreds of posts since 2011 for which altruism is at the core, this remembrance may stimulate even closer attention to altruism, a topic more worthy of attention than ever:

HOW TO BE GOOD

An Oxford philosopher thinks he can distill all morality into a formula. Is he right? Continue reading →

Sanskrit Scholarship & Mystical Journeys

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guru

Our random meeting and conversations with some scholars in southern India led to an exploration of the origins of yoga, which we linked to here.

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Next, using some of the same clues provided by those conversations, we were led to some excellent programming by Smithsonian Channel that includes one of the two scholarly co-authors mentioned in that previous post (see the second book) plus someone you may recognize from another context:

MYSTICAL JOURNEY: KUMBH MELA

West meets East when acclaimed actor Dominic West joins his childhood friend on a pilgrimage to Northern India and the biggest religious festival in the world, Kumbh Mela. Here, 100 million Hindus have gathered to wash away their sins in the holy rivers near Allahabad, on the banks of Sangam. It is also where Dominic’s friend Sir James Mallinson will be initiated into a senior role called a mahant. Follow these friends on this incredible two-week journey, and submerge yourself in the sacred waters and culture of this triennial celebration.