Photo Credit: Anukash
Bird of the Day: Brown Pelican (Srirangapatna, Mysore)
Photo Credit: Anukash
Alternative Bulbs, Designed For Aesthetes
From Clean Technica, a story about a new light:
SWITCH Lighting has now designed a light emitting diode (LED) bulb that is much more industrial looking, like the standard incandescent bulbs, and demonstrates many of the same qualities that consumers like without the wasted energy.
They’ve been widely praised for their sleek industrial design and have even been featured as a work of art in several art galleries. In addition, the SWITCH75 was a Consumer Electronics Show 2012 Innovations Honoree, was named by TIME Magazine as one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2011 and also received a silver rating in the prestigious Edison 2012 Awards.
Alternative Energy, Scaling To Feasibility
Click the image to the right to go to the story in the Monitor:
Like many green technologies, wind power’s main drawback is a matter of size: Small turbines are inefficient and expensive, and utility scale turbines require too much land and capital for some communities. Continue reading
Bachelor Button (Gomphrena globosa)
Gomphrena globosa, also known as Globe Amaranth or commonly called Bachelor Button, is an annual plant widely growing in and around the gardens of Kerala’s high ranges. The compact and colourful flowers brighten the landscape and are used for fresh-cut and dried floral arrangements.
Le Clos Montmartre: One Of Many Well-Kept Parisian Secrets
Because most of the 180 or so members of our organization are based in Kerala, we try to share information every day about the nature, culture and general awesomeness of south India. But some of us have lived elsewhere, and have fond memories of those places. So why keep secrets? Thanks to the website L’Atelier Vert, which is Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Dark-eyed Junco
Ithaca, NY
From Behind the Wheel: Heaven On Wheels
Thevara Ferry Junction, Thevara
Coal-Averse Collective Action In India
Rarest Whale, Never Seen Live, Leaves Clues Worthy Of Arthur Conan Doyle
Click the image to the left for a high resolution version of the same illustration from this month’s issue of Current Biology. The full text version of the article (academic, but accessible for the motivated) can be found here, and its summary here:
The vast expanses of the South Pacific Ocean have, until recently, concealed the identity of the world’s rarest whale, the spade-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon traversii). Based on the scarcity of records and the total absence of previous sightings Continue reading
Mysore Palace
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Located in the heart of Mysore City, Mysore Palace is one of the biggest and most spectacular palaces in the country. The original palace was built by the Wodeyar Kings during 14th century. The wooden structure was demolished and reconstructed many times over the centuries. The current palace, commissioned in 1897, is built in the Indo-Saracenic style, blended with Hindu, Muslim, Rajput and Gothic styles of architecture with stained glass, chandeliers and elaborate grill work imported from all around Europe.
Fungi In Your Life–University Outreach In 10 Minutes
Bird of the Day: Spotted Owlet
Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Bangalore
A Forest With Miranda Rights
Click above for the video made by Australian environmental activist Miranda Gibson, who has been living on a platform in a Eucalyptus tree in Tasmania’s southern forest. She has vowed to stay there until the forests receive more protection from logging. She writes about it at Observertree:
Observer Tree needs your help!
I’ve been at the top of this tree for over 300 days now. I think it’s time for the world to know I’m here. The more people who find out and add their voice to the call for forest proteciton… the sooner we can save Tasmania’s forests and I can get down! Continue reading
Indian Green Chili
Chilies are an important food ingredient for all Indian recipes, especially in South Indian curries. They are commonly cultivating throughout India, although the fruit itself originated in the Americas and only spread eastward in the Columbian Exchange. They are now an important part of cuisines across the globe.
New York Public Library Is Privileged
If you have an interest in books and especially their role in libraries, as we do here because of their educational and cultural contributions to communities, you could not have ignored the stories of this man‘s shift from leading Amherst College to his present role at the New York Public Library. Looking at NYPL’s history, from the 19th Century to more recent times it seems on occasion more like a tool for the aggrandizement of wealth and privilege than a public institution. But not so, or not entirely so. Speaking to research librarians in an hour-long gentle provocation, NYPL’s President and CEO frames its role in a manner any modern library lover must be willing to speculate on:
Research libraries have long been considered the intellectual hub of a community, whether it’s a university or a city. With the shift to digital content, network-based services, and globalization, research libraries have been challenged to adapt in unprecedented ways. Some even question their ongoing importance.
Bird of the Day: Sabine’s Gull
Monterey, CA
Nature’s Relics
Entomologist, author and photographer Piotr Naskrecki, based at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, has published a book whose photos we first saw here, and whose attention to cycads we first took note of here. His book is available here. For an ever-expanding catalogue of his amazing nature images with accompanying entomological (and other) interpretive guidance, see his blog here.
From Behind the Wheel: Standing Room Only
Near Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Orion Nature Quarterly’s Online Evolution
From a magazine we appreciate for its 30+ years of awesome long form non-fiction writing on important issues related to nature, as much as its audio-visual contributions on the same, in the item featured here:
Photographer Douglas Gayeton explains the genesis of his giant-sized, mural-like photos designed to protect from corporate marketing the meaning behind the words we use to describe sustainability. The project began as a language experiment in Tuscany, Italy.
Wild Periyar – Peninsular Rock Agama
Periyar is a reptile haven. One of its residents is the Peninsular Rock Agama, a medium-sized, predominantly rock dwelling lizard commonly seen at low elevations. Its colouration is cryptic, matching that of the rocks among which they live. In the breeding season the males turn black with brilliant crimson head and foreparts.
