An editorial from the New York Times:
August 27, 2009
Editorial
Our Plastic Legacy Afloat
Until recently, the earth had seven continents. To that number, humans have added an eighth an amorphous, floating mass of waste plastic trapped in a gyre of currents in the north Pacific, between Hawaii and Japan. Researchers have estimated that this garbage patch may contain as much as 100 million tons of plastic debris and is perhaps twice the size of Texas, if not larger.
Across the world’s oceans there are still many more millions of tons of floating plastic, most of it originating from land, not ships. All of this solid waste is bad news. It traps as many as a million seabirds every year, as well as some 100,000 marine mammals.
Now comes what could be more bad news. A new study, announced at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society, suggests that plastics in seawater break down faster than expected. As they do, they apparently release contaminants, including potentially harmful styrene compounds not normally found in nature. This was not merely a laboratory finding. The author of the study, Katsuhiko Saido, a scientist at Nihon University in Japan, found the same chemical compounds in seawater samples collected near Malaysia, the Pacific Northwest, and in the northern Pacific.
The effects of these broken-down plastics on marine organisms is as yet unknown, and they will be harder to measure than the damage that plastic refuse does to sea-life. But adding to the contaminant load of the oceans cannot be a good thing.
What we are seeing here is yet another of the large-scale, potentially tragic, uncontrolled experiments that humans have conducted on their environment without intending to. And though we cannot do much about the millions of tons that have already been sent to sea, we can at least begin to ask ourselves, when we get ready to pitch a plastic container, where is this likely to end up?
Check out my articles on this issue:
The Great Pacific or Eastern Garbage Patch
Environmental Dangers of Plastic Bags
Bottled Water Versus Tap Water, Which is Better
Wittenbergs
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
A Society of "Stuff"
Ever really thought about all the STUFF you consume, on a daily, weekly, yearly basis? This video illustrates the circle of stuff in our lives, and makes you think about your consumption habits.
A student of mine referred this site to me, and now I'm passing it along to you! Think before you buy - do you need it? Can you repair something you already have? Is what you have really obsolete, or just not the newest and latest but it works just fine? Reduce, reuse and recycle, but focus on REDUCE.
A student of mine referred this site to me, and now I'm passing it along to you! Think before you buy - do you need it? Can you repair something you already have? Is what you have really obsolete, or just not the newest and latest but it works just fine? Reduce, reuse and recycle, but focus on REDUCE.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The "There Oughta be a Law" Contest
(This info was taken from the HSUS):
Have you ever thought “there oughta be a law” to protect animals? Well, now is your chance to make your idea reality! I'd like to invite you to participate in the Humane Society Legislative Fund's "There Oughta Be a Law" contest to help protect animals. Submit your idea today for a new federal bill to help animals!
A blue-ribbon panel of experts will select the winning idea based on its merit and viability for passage into a new federal law, and the winner will then be announced at the next Party Animals -- our nationwide, house party event -- on October 25. Join the party and you will be the first to know the winner! Let us know if you're interested in hosting a party.
The winner will receive a trip to Washington, DC, to meet with me and the rest of the HSLF staff, and to lobby federal lawmakers to gain support for their winning idea.
The contest ends at midnight EDT on October 5, 2009. Submit your idea for a new federal bill today!
Thanks for all you do for animals!
Sincerely,
Mike Markarian
President
Humane Society Legislative Fund
Have an idea? Submit it!
Have you ever thought “there oughta be a law” to protect animals? Well, now is your chance to make your idea reality! I'd like to invite you to participate in the Humane Society Legislative Fund's "There Oughta Be a Law" contest to help protect animals. Submit your idea today for a new federal bill to help animals!
A blue-ribbon panel of experts will select the winning idea based on its merit and viability for passage into a new federal law, and the winner will then be announced at the next Party Animals -- our nationwide, house party event -- on October 25. Join the party and you will be the first to know the winner! Let us know if you're interested in hosting a party.
The winner will receive a trip to Washington, DC, to meet with me and the rest of the HSLF staff, and to lobby federal lawmakers to gain support for their winning idea.
The contest ends at midnight EDT on October 5, 2009. Submit your idea for a new federal bill today!
Thanks for all you do for animals!
Sincerely,
Mike Markarian
President
Humane Society Legislative Fund
Have an idea? Submit it!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Michael Vick and the Humane Society of the United States
Funny, everywhere you look lately it's "Should Michael Vick be allowed to play for the NFL again?" Seriously?!? You commit atrocious acts causing the direct suffering of numerous living beings, but we're going to make a celebrity out of you and pay you millions of dollars? Right. The obvious answer is HECK no. However, I have mixed feelings about the fact that the Humane Society of the United States is using this opportunity to use Michael Vick as a spokesman against animal cruelty and dog fighting. On the one hand, I see how young inner city boys may totally ignore a rich-looking white guy in a suit telling them dog fighting is wrong, yet listen carefully if a young football star tells them. I see how a lot of good could potentially come of the situation, if he can indeed influence a generation of young kids not to participate in this horrible act. However, how in the world can Vick be trusted? How can an organization who exists to eliminate animal cruelty put a dogfighter front and center to convey a very important message, when he himself doesn't believe it? I mean, give me a break, he's no more reformed than Jeffery Dahmer. So, what happens when he's not filming a HSUS commercial, or taping a PSA, and he's just roaming the hood, laughing histerically about his post as an HSUS spokesman and how he's fooled us all? What happens once he's past his prime and the NFL ends his contract and once again he fades into nothingness, a thing of the past, and takes up dogfighting again? I have serious doubts about this decision. What do you think? Weigh in at the poll at right.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Desert Southwest 2009
On Tuesday July 14, Rod (not feeling very well) and I headed out about 4 pm for our 3 week trip to the American southwest. We traveled about 6.5 hours to Shamrock Texas, where we camped at an RV park. Little did we know that we'd set up our tent just below a Mississippi Kite nest! What a treat we had in the morning, as we lay in our tent and watched the adults come and go above!
On Wednesday we headed to Albuquerque, 6 hours on down the road. Upon arriving, we went for a hike in the Sandia Wilderness in the Cibola National Forest. It was beautiful!
On Thursday we headed to the American International Rattlesnake Museum, where they have on display many of our country's native rattlesnakes.
Then we went to the Rio Grande Zoo - somewhat of a disappointment. We've visited lots of zoos, and this was not one of our favorite.
From here, we drove to Elephant Butte Lake SP, where we arrived late and set up camp, then went looking for night critters. We found our first Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, a Glossy Snake, and a tarantula!
In the morning we awoke to the first real view we'd had of the lake, New Mexico's largest, and it was beautiful! See the rock for which the lake is named?
We spent the rest of the day at Percha Dam SP and Caballo Lake SP, where we spent the night. After setting up camp and cooking supper, a huge storm blew in over the mountains. We waited it out in our tent, watching the rain over the peaks and getting the brunt of the wind.
After the storm blew over, we went out and found a Night Snake and Couch's Spadefoot Toad.
We typically slept with our rain fly off, as it was so much cooler. In the middle of the night we awoke to raindrops hitting our tent, and as we scrambled to climb out and get the rain fly out of the car, it started pouring. By the time we snapped it on and were securely back in the tent, we (and all of our stuff) were soaked. Was not the most comfortable night's sleep!
The next day we hiked in Dripping Springs Recreation Area, which was beautiful. Then we headed to White Sands National Monument.
We arrived at Leasburg Dam SP at about 10 pm, as we normally arrived late to our camping spots, but we were disappointed to find the gate locked up. Great - it was 30 minutes back to Las Cruces, where we'd just come from, and where we could get a hotel. About that time, headlights appeared. Lucky for us, the ranger happened to be kicking 2 cars out of the park at that moment, and after hearing our story he let us in to take 1 of the 2 campsites he had remaining.
The next day we headed towards Silver City New Mexico, the gateway to the Gila National Forest. En route, we stopped at Emory Peak (8500+ feet) and Mud Creek to hike. We got caught in a mild hail storm at Emory Peak, and made it back to our car in the nick of time. After hiking, we planned on driving to City of Rocks SP to spend the night. However, as we were driving it was pouring, and on the way we encountered a huge wash in the road that we were uncomfortable crossing. We made the decision to spend the night in a hotel in Silver City rather than get washed out into the desert trying to cross this stream!
The next morning we headed to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, one of my favorite sites.
That night we finally made it to City of Rocks SP, where we encountered unusual rock formations from a remnant volcanic explosion, and jackrabbits everywhere! On our night hike Rod found (almost stepped on!) a beautiful Prairie Rattlesnake. We also found a gnarly looking (but harmless) Whip Scorpion.
The next morning we found a gopher snake.
From here we drove into Arizona, stopping first at the Chiricahua National Monument. Rod found one of his prizes of the trip, the Lyre Snake. This was also one of my favorite places - beautiful.
We then drove to canyon country, staying in Sierra Vista and exploring Ramsey and Miller Canyons and the San Pedro River.
We drove to Patagonia, but the SP we planned to stay at was full, so we spent the night in the border town of Nogales. Then we spent our third cold, rainy day in a row hiking through the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve (but we did get a Gray Hawk there!). As we tried to leave the preserve, we ran into another wash out on the road, and headed back to the preserve to see if we could hang out there for a while. We ran into another hiker, Chris, and visited with him until the staff showed back up and told us of another route to get out. Chris lives in Tucson and offered to show us around when we made it that far in our journey. We ended up having dinner with him before heading to Madera Canyon, my favorite place of all.
Upon arriving, we encountered the Friends of the Madera Canyon doing their annual Bug Night. They had blacklights and sheets hung up, and invited us to hang out with them for a while. The next day we hiked around, and it was my best birding day of all! I got the ELEGANT TROGON, FLAME-COLORED TANAGER, Hepatic Tanager, and Hooded Oriole here.
We drove to Tucson next, and stayed at Catalina SP, where we encountered abundant desert tarantulas and huge Sonoran desert toads.
We spent the next three days in sweltering 111+ degree heat in the Sonoran Desert. The Arizona-Sonora Desert museum was awesome - can't find a better zoo anywhere. The Saguaro Cactus of Saguaro National Park are impressive and beautiful. And Mount Lemmon, high in the surrounding mountains, was a cool respite from the hot desert.
We made one final stop at Picacho's Peak SP. Here Rod found 2 baby Mojave Rattlesnakes.
We then headed to Phoenix, to spend a few days with Aunt Diana and Uncle Don. They took us to their cabin in the mountains, in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest on the Mogollon Rim. It was 114 in Phoenix, and in the high 80s in the mountains.
We spent Sunday and Monday, Aug. 2 and 3, making the long drive back to Fayetteville. We camped in Santa Rosa SP near Tucumcari NM on the way. What a trip it was! Twenty-one days, 3,820 miles, 114 species of birds (37 lifers).
See my articles about our trip! Read Birding Southeast Arizona, Habitats and Birds of Southeast Arizona, Birding Southwest New Mexico, and Habitats and Birds of Southwest New Mexico.
On Wednesday we headed to Albuquerque, 6 hours on down the road. Upon arriving, we went for a hike in the Sandia Wilderness in the Cibola National Forest. It was beautiful!
On Thursday we headed to the American International Rattlesnake Museum, where they have on display many of our country's native rattlesnakes.
Then we went to the Rio Grande Zoo - somewhat of a disappointment. We've visited lots of zoos, and this was not one of our favorite.
From here, we drove to Elephant Butte Lake SP, where we arrived late and set up camp, then went looking for night critters. We found our first Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, a Glossy Snake, and a tarantula!
In the morning we awoke to the first real view we'd had of the lake, New Mexico's largest, and it was beautiful! See the rock for which the lake is named?
We spent the rest of the day at Percha Dam SP and Caballo Lake SP, where we spent the night. After setting up camp and cooking supper, a huge storm blew in over the mountains. We waited it out in our tent, watching the rain over the peaks and getting the brunt of the wind.
After the storm blew over, we went out and found a Night Snake and Couch's Spadefoot Toad.
We typically slept with our rain fly off, as it was so much cooler. In the middle of the night we awoke to raindrops hitting our tent, and as we scrambled to climb out and get the rain fly out of the car, it started pouring. By the time we snapped it on and were securely back in the tent, we (and all of our stuff) were soaked. Was not the most comfortable night's sleep!
The next day we hiked in Dripping Springs Recreation Area, which was beautiful. Then we headed to White Sands National Monument.
We arrived at Leasburg Dam SP at about 10 pm, as we normally arrived late to our camping spots, but we were disappointed to find the gate locked up. Great - it was 30 minutes back to Las Cruces, where we'd just come from, and where we could get a hotel. About that time, headlights appeared. Lucky for us, the ranger happened to be kicking 2 cars out of the park at that moment, and after hearing our story he let us in to take 1 of the 2 campsites he had remaining.
The next day we headed towards Silver City New Mexico, the gateway to the Gila National Forest. En route, we stopped at Emory Peak (8500+ feet) and Mud Creek to hike. We got caught in a mild hail storm at Emory Peak, and made it back to our car in the nick of time. After hiking, we planned on driving to City of Rocks SP to spend the night. However, as we were driving it was pouring, and on the way we encountered a huge wash in the road that we were uncomfortable crossing. We made the decision to spend the night in a hotel in Silver City rather than get washed out into the desert trying to cross this stream!
The next morning we headed to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, one of my favorite sites.
That night we finally made it to City of Rocks SP, where we encountered unusual rock formations from a remnant volcanic explosion, and jackrabbits everywhere! On our night hike Rod found (almost stepped on!) a beautiful Prairie Rattlesnake. We also found a gnarly looking (but harmless) Whip Scorpion.
The next morning we found a gopher snake.
From here we drove into Arizona, stopping first at the Chiricahua National Monument. Rod found one of his prizes of the trip, the Lyre Snake. This was also one of my favorite places - beautiful.
We then drove to canyon country, staying in Sierra Vista and exploring Ramsey and Miller Canyons and the San Pedro River.
We drove to Patagonia, but the SP we planned to stay at was full, so we spent the night in the border town of Nogales. Then we spent our third cold, rainy day in a row hiking through the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve (but we did get a Gray Hawk there!). As we tried to leave the preserve, we ran into another wash out on the road, and headed back to the preserve to see if we could hang out there for a while. We ran into another hiker, Chris, and visited with him until the staff showed back up and told us of another route to get out. Chris lives in Tucson and offered to show us around when we made it that far in our journey. We ended up having dinner with him before heading to Madera Canyon, my favorite place of all.
Upon arriving, we encountered the Friends of the Madera Canyon doing their annual Bug Night. They had blacklights and sheets hung up, and invited us to hang out with them for a while. The next day we hiked around, and it was my best birding day of all! I got the ELEGANT TROGON, FLAME-COLORED TANAGER, Hepatic Tanager, and Hooded Oriole here.
We drove to Tucson next, and stayed at Catalina SP, where we encountered abundant desert tarantulas and huge Sonoran desert toads.
We spent the next three days in sweltering 111+ degree heat in the Sonoran Desert. The Arizona-Sonora Desert museum was awesome - can't find a better zoo anywhere. The Saguaro Cactus of Saguaro National Park are impressive and beautiful. And Mount Lemmon, high in the surrounding mountains, was a cool respite from the hot desert.
We made one final stop at Picacho's Peak SP. Here Rod found 2 baby Mojave Rattlesnakes.
We then headed to Phoenix, to spend a few days with Aunt Diana and Uncle Don. They took us to their cabin in the mountains, in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest on the Mogollon Rim. It was 114 in Phoenix, and in the high 80s in the mountains.
We spent Sunday and Monday, Aug. 2 and 3, making the long drive back to Fayetteville. We camped in Santa Rosa SP near Tucumcari NM on the way. What a trip it was! Twenty-one days, 3,820 miles, 114 species of birds (37 lifers).
See my articles about our trip! Read Birding Southeast Arizona, Habitats and Birds of Southeast Arizona, Birding Southwest New Mexico, and Habitats and Birds of Southwest New Mexico.
Gulf Shores 2009
We spent the first week of July in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Rod and I drove 12 hours from Fayetteville Arkansas on Monday June 29, arriving at The Plantation (where we were staying) late that night. Our first day, we decided to hike in Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, and as we were headed there we encountered this Cottonmouth on the road - beautiful snake!
One day we took the ferry across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island and visited the Estuarium, seagrass marshes, and Audubon bird sanctuary. While hiking we encountered 2 Carolina Wrens that were VERY upset about something. Rod immediately suspected a snake, and upon further investigation discovered this Southern Black Racer.
Late Thursday night, Mom and Dad arrived from Athens, as they were spending the weekend with us. We all went sea kayaking in the coastal marshes one day, and saw Clapper Rails, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons and nesting Osprey, among other things.
We bought some grub and grilled out at the condo for 4th of July before heading into the public beach to watch the firework show.
Our last day, July 5, was Rod's birthday. We went to his favorite restaurant, Lulu's, to celebrate!
On July 6 we made the long drive home, back to Fayetteville.
One day we took the ferry across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island and visited the Estuarium, seagrass marshes, and Audubon bird sanctuary. While hiking we encountered 2 Carolina Wrens that were VERY upset about something. Rod immediately suspected a snake, and upon further investigation discovered this Southern Black Racer.
Late Thursday night, Mom and Dad arrived from Athens, as they were spending the weekend with us. We all went sea kayaking in the coastal marshes one day, and saw Clapper Rails, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons and nesting Osprey, among other things.
We bought some grub and grilled out at the condo for 4th of July before heading into the public beach to watch the firework show.
Our last day, July 5, was Rod's birthday. We went to his favorite restaurant, Lulu's, to celebrate!
On July 6 we made the long drive home, back to Fayetteville.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)