Greg Laden's Blog

Welcome to the December edition of Oekologie.

The previous edition of Oekologie, Oekologie returns!, is at The Infinite Sphere. The present edition is a veritable potpourri of disjunct and disparate topics. We see habitat loss and bad dogs, fascinating evolutionary stories, sussing out sustainability, a touch of snark and more. I've tried to classify these diverse works into a small number of meaningful categories, but as I'm sure you'll see this is somewhat artificial. But before we even begin, I just want to point you to the most amazing video I've seen all month, in which a Penguin (a Gentoo Penguin) makes a choice between the lesser of two evils: Penguin Cheats Death. Go watch that video, and leave a comment on the post telling the Bleiman Brothers that you like their blog and that you were pointed to the video by Oekologie, then come back and read the rest of this carnival.

The environment and nature conservation:

ADDED: Massive destruction the "environmentally sound" way on 10,000 birds.

To quote Jennifer at The Infinite Sphere, "Gaaacckk!!!" The Bush Administration is almost over, but as we all know they are doing everything they can to stick it in and twist it. Check out Another last minute present from W

A DC Birding Blog reminds us that we are now in the operational period of the Christmas Bird Count Season! See Counting Day

Feral Thoughts investigates the relationship between habitat loss, Koala behavior, and dogs. It is not good for the Koalas: Koala on the menu for dogs

See the latest iteration of the bond films: Coal Finger, at Grown Ass People.

Yours Truly critiques Drew Sandlin: "We need to stop trying to 'save the planet' and start worshiping the God that created it"

Engineering a Better World talks about education and global warming: Time's Are A Changin'... Global Warming Incorporated Into Educational Curriculum

Evolutionary Biology

Grrrrrrrrrl Scientist at Living the Scientific Life covers The Evolution of Poisonous Birds in an excellent review of peer reviewed research. In a not too closely related post (but still about birds), Grrrrrrrrll also covers The Evolution of Avian Clutch Size. Both are excellent reads.

Further Thoughts thinks further about the origins and distinctions of the terms Speciose or species-rich?

Sustainability and Biodiversity

Sustainable Design Update reports on the recent story that you can get Biodiesel from Coffee Grounds. But do not put the coffee grounds directly into your tank.

The Agriculture and Biodiversity Weblog has a video about El hombre de la papa

The Canadian Personal Finance Blog discusses Hazardous Waste Charges

Literary Non Fiction about Life and Times of Interdisciplinary Research in Central Africa

Greg Laden's Blog: The Congo Memoirs.

Methods for making sustainable tiny little environments that live in your house

Air Humidifiers for a Cool and Misty Environment at Humidifier Reviews

Bonsai Trees Care: A Quick Introduction To The World Of Grow Lights

What you need to do

Now, remember, this is a web carnival. The whole point is to promote blog posts, the blogs themselves, and the bloggers, in the area of conservation, ecology, the environment, and so on. If you are a blogger mentioned here, link back to this carnvial and spend a minute visiting your fellow bloggers. Consider putting them on your blog roll so your readers know about them. If you are an interested reader, as you visit these posts, consider using a social networking/bookmarking site like Stumbleon, or Digg, or whatever .... you might thing these are sillinesses, but they are also ways that you can contribute to having the kind of blogospheric literature you like and that you think is important gain a higher level of status and visibility. If you think nature conservation, research and activism in ecology and environmental issues, and envrionmental education are important, then perhaps you should consider doig this.

At the very least, read and enjoy, and leave a note on the blogs you visit letting them know that you appreciate (or not!) their writing!