Fish Or No Fish, Take Stock
When asked why they recycled, 89% of people in 2010 identified the danger of climate change as a motivator. Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex Features
As a member of the science and technology select committee I am delighted to have secured and be participating in an inquiry into public understanding of climate change.
As we have interviewed expert witnesses and considered a range of written evidence, one thing has struck me in particular. While there is an ongoing public discussion on climate change that needs more scientific input and greater participation, a clear development in recent years has been the rise in the numbers of people prepared to do something about climate change. Continue reading
Emerging Photographers , Subscribe
We have been experiencing an acceleration in the growth rate of our admiration for the New Yorker‘s embrace of its digital future. We believe this erstwhile magazine is worth a subscription. We have nothing to gain by saying so other than the theoretical possibility that more subscribers and visitors to their site makes their recent innovations and improvements more worthy of more such experimentation. Such is our social media obligation: to point out to our friends what we take note of. Earlier this month we noticed this and neglected to share, but we correct that now:
As part of our ongoing Emerging Photographers series, today we’re highlighting the work of Sara Cwynar, a Vancouver native who lives and works in Brooklyn. I have been following her work for a while, and was drawn in particular to the monochromatic “Color Studies” as well as the series “Accidental Archives”—both of which drew on a confluence of literature, kitsch, and photographic tropes, which she cites as inspirations. Most recently, Cwynar has been preparing for her solo show, opening this week, at the Cooper Cole Gallery in Toronto, where she will début a new collection of photographs called “Flat Death” (a reference to Roland Barthes). I caught up with Cwynar to find out more about the exhibition and her latest work. Continue reading
Murugan Kavadi
Photo credits: R R Ranjith
The Kavadi festival is celebrated at all the shrines of Lord Murgha, the second son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. The Kavadi is a short wooden pole supporting 2 bent pieces of steel or wood with two baskets at each end. Devotees carry this structure that can weigh up to 30 kilos across their shoulders. Continue reading
Fish Stock
A display of Sea bass for sale at Billingsgate Fish Market in London. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
Seth got us started with historical perspective on this topic a couple years back, and Phil recently created the most popular series of posts of the year, also on this topic; we have even tried sharing a sense of humor when possible. But grim tidings continue:
First it was the cod, then the haddock, the swordfish and even the anchovy – now sea bass looks likely to join the list of no-nos for eco-conscious dinner party menus.
Stocks of the palatable species have sunk to their lowest in the past 20 years, according to a new assessment by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Black-necked Stork
Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Urban Pollination Studied By Seattle’s Citizen Scientists
Thanks to this coverage commitment we came across the video above and this accompanying explanation:
…Marie Clifford and Susan Waters, graduate researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle, have found a way to get around scarce research funding: citizen scientists. The Urban Pollination Project (UPP), co-founded in 2011, takes Seattle community gardeners and trains them to collect data on local bees. Tapping into citizen scientist efforts, Clifford and Waters can gather data from 35 Seattle community gardens – a scale of research otherwise outside of their resources and funding capabilities. Continue reading
Pulikkali – Kerala
Photo credits: R R Ranjith
Pulikkali, which means “tiger play”, is a popular folk art form, also known as Kaduvakali. This iconic Onam event is mainly practiced in the Thrissur and Palaghat districts of Kerala. Participants painstakingly paint their bodies like tigers and don tiger masks. (The process can take the entire day to complete with first the removal of body hair and then the application of multiple layers of paint.) The procession also includes men representing hunters. The best performers are chosen out of the hundreds of participants. Continue reading
Really, Karnataka?
Forest near Daroji Sanctuary, Karnataka; photo credit: Seshadri K.S
We’ve stated before that our site is not dedicated to outrage, but we do make an effort to point out questionable environmental decisions by corporations and countries when we see them.
So when it came to our attention that the minister of tourism in the Indian state of Karnataka was spearheading a plan to create a zoo/wildlife safari within the buffer zone of the Daroji Bear Sanctuary we had to take notice. According to Santosh Martin, honorary wildlife warden for the region
The fragile ecosystem is home to critically endangered species of both animals and plants including pangolins, sloth bears, wolves, leopards, etc., which are classified as Schedule I by the WPA. This site is also a breeding ground for the Indian eagle owl, brown fish owl and possibly the blue tailed bee eater. More than 150 bird species have been documented in this area by naturalists which include the yellow-throated bulbul, painted spur-fowl, painted sand grouse, etc. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Squirrel Cuckoo (Gamboa, Panama)
Hermes, Circa 1981
In the avatar of a blacksmith, Hermes next caught my attention during the spring of 1981. I had never heard of a gap year, but as my freshman year of college was concluding the opportunity for passage came in the form of apprenticeship. I had started thinking, in Vourthonia two years earlier, that I was born into very good fortune, but somehow in the wrong century and the wrong language.
So the avatar’s greeting, in the form of a generous, simple man plying this old trade, was compelling. Some months later, after deciding I needed to connect that smithing experience to this old form of speaking and thinking, I found myself in the old market area of Athens, after a day with my tutor. With me were two women, both my own age, one whom I knew well, the other not at all. Continue reading
Cattle Race – Onam Celebrations
Photo credits: R R Ranjith
The cattle race is one of the many charismatic Onam celebrations enjoyed by farmers during the end of the harvest season. A special 100 meter track filled with mud and water is created. The skilled drivers balance precariously on a modified plow while the pairs of bullocks charge through the farmland at hair-raising speed. Continue reading
Historian Cross-overs
Photo: Gyan Prakash. A clapper board for the film “Bombay Velvet”.
For anyone who has been following Seth’s posts on this site over the last couple years, there has been a notably strong dose of history in many due to his decision to focus his undergraduate studies in environmental history. Summer 2013–an archival deep dive quite distinct from his previous summers in the present reality of Galapagos, Nicaragua, India, Jordan, Chile, Croatia, Costa Rica, France–was spent in Ithaca, his first summer there since the series of summers 1992-1995 (birth year through toddlerhood, when his father was engaged in history-based doctoral dissertation research). Is there a DNA tracer for history appreciation?
This comes to mind reading Gyan Prakash’s account of his experience mixing history and film. For the many readers of university age who follow Seth’s writings the reasonable question might be what he plans to do with that degree once he graduates. We expect that in the coming months as he approaches graduation this will start popping up as a theme in his posts. What good is history? Consult Mr. Prakash for inspiration:
On July 28, I flew to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, to join the filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, the actors Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, and a massive crew making the movie “Bombay Velvet.” In 2004, drawing on my research on the history of Mumbai, I had written the outline for a retro film noir aimed at capturing the momentous transformation of Mumbai’s milieu of jazz clubs and industrial society in the 1960s. Continue reading
Action Capture
Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur in Rajasthan
Each time I head into the field to photograph wildlife I watch their movements within the habitat patiently and then think about how best to tell that individual’s story. Frequently action is a dramatic part of it.
Shutter Speed is an important parameter of the “exposure triangle”. When photographing action you can freeze the image using a high shutter speed or can create motion blurr with slow shutter speed.
As a photographer you need to decide in advance how you want to capture the image, whether it’s a silky flow of water, panning shot, long exposure star trials, long exposure vehicle tail light trails etc. There is no one correct answer. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Yellow Warbler (Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin)
Bringing Biology to Life
We may not be Science Geeks per se, but we’re clearly fans of that type of thing! Not to mention that some of “our own” being deeply involved in Citizen Science projects around the world…
So we say Kudos to the National Science Teacher’s Association for creating curriculum and publishing textbooks that are both real and engaging.
“Observing the life cycle of monarch butterflies and following their remarkable migratory journeys between Canada, the United States, and Mexico …
“Tracking climate change by recording the dates of first leaf, flower, and fruit of local trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses …
“Discovering which bird species migrate, where they go, and when …
“Exploring life cycles and population dynamics of frogs, toads, and other animals in nearby ponds … Continue reading
Onam – 2013
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Once upon a time an Asura King Mahabali ruled Kerala, he was dearly loved by this country and was known to be a just and wise ruler. His story is recaptured in the popular folk song:
When Mahabali ruled the land
Everyone was equal
Happily they lived
Danger befell none
There was no falsehood or fraud
And no untruth
Hermes, Circa 1979
At Easter time, 1979, my mother and I traveled back to Vourthonia. Musical soundtrack can accompany an occasion in life, just as in film. Vangelis, in collaboration with Irene Pappas, had just released the soundtrack for that visit. Click the image to the left to read a bit about the album; better yet find the music and listen.
The lamb had been over the fire since morning, and was now on the table. Feta, salads, and the best olives in the world were there too. That music was playing from the open doors of an old VW Beetle parked near where we were sitting–my mother, many villagers, and me. That god gave safe passage. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Purple-rumped Sunbird
Bangalore, Karnataka
Common Acacia Blue Butterfly
Common Acacia Blue Butterflies are seen in and around the Periyar Tiger Reserve and are found across South India and North East India up to 1200 meters. The are active from March to November, primarily in deciduous hill forests . Continue reading
Organikos 