Acorns, Seeds, Understood

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Thanks to American Scientist for this book review:

From Little Acorns

Peter H. Raven

SEEDS: A Natural History. Carolyn Fry. 192 pp. University of Chicago Press, 2016. $35.

Plant conservationists, horticulturists, plant ecologists, and the like face a perplexing public relations problem when it comes to their beloved subject: For many people, plant life—even though it is essential to the existence of all living things on our planet—may seem dull, especially in comparison with animal life. In 1998 American botanists James Wandersee and Elizabeth Schussler coined the term plant blindness, defining it as “the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment,” leading to “the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs.” In the pages of Seeds, Carolyn Fry offers an almost certain cure for this malady. Continue reading →

Alternative Energy Will Boom

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hawaii-solar-570x562The title is either wishful thinking, or stating the obvious; we are not sure which. Thanks to our colleagues at Clean Technica for this:

Hawai’i Solar Power (In Depth)

by

Glorious blue skies and endless sunshine. Warm, balmy breezes. Isn’t that how you envision Hawai’i? Like the slogan, “Everything’s better in Hawaii,” right?  Oops, one thing does dampen the impression of Hawai’i, though: its high cost of living, especially for energy. Continue reading →

Santorini’s Rich History Is Getting Richer

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James Rajotte for The New York Times

Some of La Paz Group’s senior contributors have recollections of Santorini going back three decades, and the history of the place is both geological and cultural; the complexity of that history is still being revealed:

An Ancient Tsunami That Ended a Civilization Gets Another Look

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

In the 17th century B.C., Santorini was a small volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, home to Akrotiri, a Late Bronze Age outpost of Minoan civilization, which preceded ancient Greece. Then the volcano erupted, burying Akrotiri in ash and obliterating much of Santorini, turning it into a few smaller islands. Continue reading →

Thanks To Salt For The Grapefruit

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 If you are a fan of grapefruit, as we are of the salt (National Public Radio, USA) read the entire article:

Grapefruit And Salt: The Science Behind This Unlikely Power Couple

NADIA BERENSTEIN

Grapefruit’s bitterness can make it hard to love. Indeed, people often smother it in sugar just to get it down. And yet Americans were once urged to sweeten it with salt.

Ad campaigns from the first and second world wars tried to convince us that“Grapefruit Tastes Sweeter With Salt!” as one 1946 ad for Morton’s in Life magazine put it. The pairing, these ads swore, enhanced the flavor. Continue reading →

National Park of the Week: Sarek National Park, Sweden

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Image from thousandwonders.net

Described as “Europe’s last wilderness,” Sarek National Park is a dream destination for hikers, mountaineers, and adventure fanatics who are looking for untamed and challenging terrain. The park is in the province of Norrbotten in northern Sweden and located north of the Arctic Circle (burrrr!). The park has precipitous mountains that reach heights greater than 2000 meters and has almost 100 glaciers. In addition, long, deep, narrow valleys and wild, turbulent waters wind between the mountain chains, creating a sensational sight of unrestricted wilderness. Continue reading →

Ancient Ships Found In Black Sea

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An image of the well-preserved medieval ship found at the bottom of the Black Sea, one of more than 40 wrecks discovered. Photogrammetry, a process using thousands of photographs and readings, produced a rendering that appears three-dimensional. Expedition and Education Foundation/Black Sea MAP

For divers, as well as anyone fascinated by ancient maritime trade routes, this must be the best news in a long while:

‘We Couldn’t Believe Our Eyes’: A
Lost World of Shipwrecks Is Found

Archaeologists have found more than 40 vessels in the Black Sea, some more than a millennium old, shedding light on early empires and trade routes. Continue reading →

For Lunar Phenomena, Tonight’s The Night Of A Lifetime

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A supermoon seen above Cairo in October. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

Thanks to the New York Times for this reminder:

The Supermoon and Other Moons That Are Super in Their Own Ways

By NICHOLAS ST. FLEUR

Shrug off the supermoon.

Yes, it’s true that on Sunday and Monday nights the full moon will be at its closest to Earth in nearly 70 years. But to the casual observer, it probably won’t look much different from a regular full moon. Yet headlines heralding the event as some sort of don’t-miss spectacle are everywhere. Continue reading →

Metropolis in Atlanta

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Fritz Lang's 1927 film “Metropolis” ARCHIVES NEW ZEALAND

Fritz Lang’s 1927 film “Metropolis”
ARCHIVES NEW ZEALAND

In the wake of a U.S. election that left half the population bracing for a dystopian future, it seems a timely moment to present Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent classic, Metropolis. Considered the “father” of science fiction cinema, the film was meticulously restored in 2010.

But it’s the extra element of a live score composed and presented by the Alloy Orchestra that makes this screening an exceptional event. This unusual three man musical ensemble writes and performs live accompaniment to classic silent films using a combination of found percussion and state-of-the-art electronics to generate an amazingly varied array of musical styles.  Continue reading →

A Place To Reflect, To Reconnect, To Recharge

/ Crist Inman / 2 Comments

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This past week I have been at Villa del Faro with Seth and Jocelyn, reviewing plans for 2017. It was a week in which the thought came to us: people need time to reflect (among other important things). I took this photo of the Stone Beach Cottage at about 5:30 p.m. yesterday and I can visualize many friends, colleagues, and plenty of as yet unknown folks who would benefit from some reflection time there. Continue reading →

Sienna International Photo Awards

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In a village in southern Vietnam, a woman weaves a fishing net. By tradition, Vietnamese women make nets for their husbands. Danny Yen Sin Wong

Thanks to National Public Radio (USA) for this story on the SIPA collection of remarkable images from around the world:

Absolutely Gorgeous Photos Reveal The Beauty In A Hard Life

A Vietnamese woman looks as if she’s swimming in a sea of green fire — one of many striking images from the Siena International Photo Awards.

MALAKA GHARIB

Can you find beauty in a life of hardship?

If the photos from the Siena International Photo Awards are any indication, the answer is yes. Last month, the winners and runners-up in 11 categories, including travel, nature, people and portraits, were announced. Continue reading →

Birds of a Feather

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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 →

Millennial Weather Effects In A Unique Spot

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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 →

Lab Animals Sometimes Take A Tickle For Science

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By SHIMPEI ISHIYAMA and MICHAEL BRECHT on November 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

By JAMES GORMA

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 →

Golden Eagle Population On The Mend

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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 →

Master Naturalist Perspective

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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 →