The fact that we’re rather “into birds” should come as no surprise to anyone giving even a quick perusal of this site. In addition to the birds themselves, we enjoy highlighting those who photograph them, those who paint them, those who study them, as well as those who craft them. Continue reading
In the spring, the valley shimmered with myriad points of color, as if Georges Seurat had touched up a Georgia O’Keeffe. PHOTOGRAPH BY JIM MANGAN
This is one of the longest articles in recent memory, but worth every word on every page. Wishing only that there were more photos or that we could have been there to see it:
DEATH VALLEY IS ALIVE
This year, a historic deluge created a Superbloom of wildflowers in one of the hottest places on Earth.
By Alex Ross
Death Valley, the majestically desolate national park on the eastern edge of California, is a rain-shadow desert, meaning that nearby mountain ranges drain moisture from incoming weather systems and stop rain from reaching the other side. Eighty miles to the west is the Sierra Nevada range, the highest in the contiguous forty-eight states, rising to fourteen thousand five hundred feet. Continue reading
By SHIMPEI ISHIYAMA and MICHAEL BRECHT on Publish DateNovember 10, 2016. Photo by Shimpei Ishiyama, Michael Brecht.
Click above to go to the video, and the title below to go to the article:
Oh, for the Joy of a Tickled Rat
There’s just something about a rat jumping for joy when it’s been tickled that can change your whole outlook on rats, and neuroscience.
For one thing, it gives me new faith in people to think that accomplished researchers spent time tickling their experimental subjects. And the similarity of rats to humans in the tickling realm is pleasantly bewildering. Continue reading
There are now more than 500 breeding pairs of golden eagles in the UK, all in Scotland. Photograph: Peter Cairns/RSPB
Scotland, a hospitable environment for one of the majestic birds, deserves credit for this comeback:
UK golden eagle population soars to new heights
Numbers pass the level deemed viable for the raptor’s long-term survival but it remains missing from a third of its traditional territories
Britain’s golden eagle population has soared to new heights, according to a new survey released on Wednesday.
There are now more than 500 breeding pairs in the UK, up 15% and passing the threshold at which bird’s long-term future is thought viable. Continue reading
Fender’s Blue (Icaricia icarioides fenderi) is an endangered subspecies of butterfly found only in the Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon. Fender’s Blue butterflies are completely dependent upon the threatened plant species, Kincaid’s lupine (Lupinus sulphureus kincaidii). Photo © Matthew Benotsch/TNC
Feed your inner biophilia with education to sharpen your senses:
Unlock a New Way of Seeing the World as a Master Naturalist
BY LISA FELDKAMP
Becoming a Master Naturalist is easier than you think. You don’t have to enroll in years of coursework or explore the world a la Darwin. In fact, there may well be a comprehensive naturalist class near you. Continue reading
World electricity production going from black to green
In a significant first, the world now has the capacity to produce more power from renewables than from coal, according to the International Energy Agency.
In a time of troubling headlines, the more promising headlines can get lost, but they are there. At least with regard to renewable energy. Click the image above to read the summary of this book at Anthropocene or the image below to go to the source:
The rapid spread of renewable energy is a bright spot in the global energy transition towards a low carbon economy. Despite lower fossil fuel prices, renewable power expanded at its fastest-ever rate in 2015, thanks to supportive government policies and sharp cost reductions. Continue reading
Jaguar, the indomitable beast. Photo © The Nature Conservancy (Matt Miller)
The photo above is one of the highlights of this story at Cool Green Science. We have been to the location where this photo was taken and agree it is an awesome spot in terms of probabilities. But not as good as the probabilities in the wilderness surrounding Chan Chich Lodge:
Where to See 10 Impossibly Elusive Mammals
BY MATT MILLER
I grew up dreaming about seeing the world’s rarest and most elusive animals. I knew that some would be extremely unlikely if not impossible. See a snow leopard? Biologists spent months, years, seeking snow leopards and never caught so much as a glimpse.
In reality, you can now see many of these cryptic creatures, if you know where to travel and search. Continue reading
National Public Radio (USA) has this news from the far reaches of cold lands:
Giant Snowballs Wash Up On Siberian Beach
REBECCA HERSHER
There were snowy, icy balls everywhere.
Videos and photos from western Siberia, on the Gulf of Ob, showed an entire beach covered in snowballs that had apparently washed ashore. In one image published online by the Siberian Times, a woman sat on the frozen balls. In another, a dog ran near the balls, which had also formed what looked like a vertical mass of balls mashed together into an icy ball-wall. Continue reading
Food production causes a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, largely from the raising of cattle and other livestock. Photograph: Mike Kemp/Getty Images
Tax meat and dairy to cut emissions and save lives, study urges
Surcharges of 40% on beef and 20% on milk would compensate for climate damage and deter people from consuming as much unhealthy food
Damian Carrington
Climate taxes on meat and milk would lead to huge and vital cuts in carbon emissions as well as saving half a million lives a year via healthier diets, according to the first global analysis of the issue. Continue reading
Thanks to EcoWatch for this one:
WATCH LIVE CAM: Annual Polar Bear Migration
Explore.org welcomes back the mystical polar bear species to Pearls of the Planet live nature cam family for another season.
The live cameras are being hosted with nonprofit Polar Bears International, which is dedicated to conserving polar bears and the sea ice they depend on. Frontiers North Adventures, a long time ecotourism partner will provide views from its Tundra Buggy Lodge. Continue reading
© SPL Lascaux international exhibition
It’s the rare few who will have the opportunity to enter the original Lascaux Cave, but thanks to the foresight of the French government and the hard work of dedicated scientists and artists, an exact replica was opened in 1983 that gave visitors a chance to experience the amazing archaeological site. Nearly 20 years later additional replicas have begun to tour the world.
A few days ago we posted about Judith Thurman’s receiving a Medal of Chevalier in part for her inspiring writings about the Chauvet cave. It was a happy coincidence that the traveling exhibit had just opened in Toyko’s National Museum of Nature and Science.
The National Museum of Nature and Science, the Mainichi Newspapers, and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. will hold a special exhibition, “Lascaux: The Cave Paintings of the Ice Age”, from Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 to Friday, Feb. 19, 2017. About 20,000 years ago, dynamic pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves found in southwestern France, the Lascaux Caves. Continue reading
Thank you Maria and National Public Radio (USA):
A Navajo Chef Gives A Glimpse Inside The Makeshift Kitchens At Standing Rock
At the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, as a Sioux tribe fights the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the months-long standoff has raised a question: How do you feed the encamped masses? Continue reading
Everyone seems to be in agreement that this year has been exceptional in terms of attention overloading from all directions–political, commercial, “friends,” and so on. Unfortunately, the forecast is for more, and increasingly effective, attention-getting from technology-aided corporations. We have two words for you: Digital. Detox. And in the New York Times review of Tim Wu’s new book, a compelling set of evidence why those two words matter more and more:
…The history of the slow, steady annexation and exploitation of our consciousness — whether by television commercials, war propaganda or tweets — is the subject of Tim Wu’s new book, “The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads.” He starts with the penny press newspapers of New York City, moves on to the heyday of radio and television, and concludes with the chaotic online bazaar of the present, surely better suited to bugs with eyes all over their heads than to ordinary human beings. En route, he covers snake oil, commercial psychology, Timothy Leary, AOL chat room Gomorrahs. His bandwidth is broad. Continue reading
This peat soil in Sumatra, Indonesia, was formerly a forest. Clearing and draining such land releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
The solutions are never easy with regard to climate change; for every bit of good news there is a dose of bad news in the form of realism:
Shoes representing protesters at the climate talks summit in Paris last year. Credit Andre Larsson/NurPhoto, via Getty Images
Thanks to Mr. Godoy and Mr. Jaffe for this strong, clear and compelling statement:
We Don’t Need a ‘War’ on Climate Change, We Need a Revolution
Eric S. Godoy and
This year is on track to become the hottest ever recorded, and a growing number of environmentalists are using a particular type of language in response. Some are calling for a huge “mobilization” to “combat” climate change. In an article in the New Republic in August, Bill McKibben, the unofficial spokesperson of the climate movement in the United States, insisted in very literal terms that, we are at war with climate change. Continue reading
Quail eggs have fewer calories than chicken eggs, and with their higher protein ratio two or three can make for a surprisingly hearty breakfast. PHOTOGRAPH BY WOLFGANG KAEHLER / LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY
This post on the New Yorker’s website is a good sample of what has changed about the writing style, among other things, in the changing food culture of North America. We have left out the first half of the post, which is not for the squeamish in general and certainly not for animal rights activists. Yet, it is realistic, honest, transparent and alot of other things that our global food systems have not been in the last century:
QUAIL, THE QUIETER BACK-YARD EGG OPTION
By Mya Frazier
…In her book, “The Coturnix Revolution,” Alexandra Douglas makes a convincing case for quail’s superiority over chickens: they are less expensive, take up less space, and convert feed into edible protein more efficiently. Not only is a quail cage quieter than a coop of squawking chickens, it can be small; a square foot is plenty of room for a single quail. Continue reading
Today’s New York Times has an article that brings Ed Norton’s Crowdrise to our attention, both article (click headline below) and website (click image above) worth a look:
Charity That Begins With Spaghetti Sauce
By
Edward Norton recognized Paul Newman the philanthropist before discovering Paul Newman the actor. As a teenager, he watched his mother buy Newman’s Own products at the grocery store and was impressed that all profits went to charity.
“I thought — why would you buy any other spaghetti sauce if you can buy one where all of the net profits go to a kid’s cancer camp?” said Mr. Norton, who starred Continue reading
“The issue is the privatization of a critical resource. How much is too much?” said Jeff Ostahowski, vice president of the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation.Steven Depolo / Flickr
If the company’s history was full of better examples of environmental stewardship and social responsibility, maybe this news would not disturb us so much:
Nestlé Plans Dramatic Expansion of Water Privatization in Michigan, Just 120 Miles From Flint
By Lauren McCauley
The state of Michigan has reportedly issued preliminary approval for bottled water behemoth Nestlé to nearly triple the amount of groundwater it will pump, to be bottled and sold at its Ice Mountain plant, which lies roughly 120 miles northwest of the beleaguered community of Flint.
“Nestlé Waters North America is asking the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for permission to increase allowed pumping from 150 to 400 gallons-per-minute at one of its production wells north of Evart,” MLive reported on Monday. Continue reading
Agriculture produces about 10% of the Netherlands’ greenhouse gas emissions. A new project will help capture methane emissions from Dutch dairy farming. Photograph: Julian Stratenschulte/EPA
Thanks to the Guardian for this:
Poo power: Dutch dairy industry launches €150m biogas project
Will a scheme to turn cow manure into biogas help the Netherlands lose its reputation as the ‘bad guy’ of Europe when it comes to agricultural emissions?
The air smells fruity, slightly alcoholic. Against the strong hum of machinery, 175 cows are eating hay. As their dung drops to the slatted floor, a machine sweeps it through and it runs underneath the barn to a futuristic dome outside. Continue reading
Neiman Marcus is selling collard greens for over $60, this holiday season. Neiman Marcus/Screenshot by NPR
As an election season in the USA, full of existential questions with no good answers, comes to a close we are presented with the puzzling offer of this retailer, which is not exactly existential but kind of akin to it:
Neiman Marcus Is Selling Frozen Collard Greens For $66 Plus Shipping
MERRIT KENNEDY
Luxury department store Neiman Marcus is well-known for its opulent holiday offerings.
For example, its “Christmas Book” holiday gift guide is offering his-and-hers “Island cars” for $65,000 each. And a trip to castles in the U.K. for eight will set you back a cool $700,000. Continue reading
