Nature conservation
Category archives for Nature conservation
Create a Wildlife Conservation Stamp for Habitat Acquisition and the Conservation of Wildlife.
Posted by Greg Laden on November 16, 2012 
The Bird Bloggers, led by Corey Finger at 10,000 birds, where I blog monthly, are asking you to sign this petition and pass it on to others: We propose a Wildlife Conservation Stamp, comparable to the well-known Duck Stamp, to support the acquisition of habitat and the conservation of all wildlife in the National Wildlife…
Why Minnesota Can’t Have Nice Things
Posted by Greg Laden on August 29, 2012 
In Minnesota’s Lakes Country, what we sometimes call “Up North,” the people have various degrees of knowledge of the land and its wildlife. Cabin people and campers visit briefly and may learn in detail the workings of a particular lake or patch of forest, but are usually poorly informed of the true nature of the…
Extinction rates have NOT been over-estimated
Posted by Greg Laden on May 23, 2011 There are several things that cause extinction, but ultimately it is always the same: The last individual (or small number of individuals) of a species die. That may sound like a trivial explanation for extinction but consider what happens when you work backwards from that tragic moment in time. Well, you have more individuals in…
The Natural Stuff
Posted by Greg Laden on September 3, 2010 Ferrel monk parakeets in Brooklyn (They’ve been living there long enough to get into some bird identification guides) are being poached by …. parakeet poachers! Here is the story. Check this out: Exelon, a nuclear giant that recently backed away from building new nuclear plants, is moving into wind. The inside story on giant sharks…
BP Oil Well Will Be Capped By Monday
Posted by Greg Laden on July 11, 2010 … Or not . And if not, and if this keeps going for, say, a total of one year, this is what we can expect:
The BP Oil Spill isn’t really that bad, is it?
Posted by Greg Laden on June 29, 2010 Oh. Hey, what do you say, the next person who says “environmentalists have always made these extreme predictions and they never come true” gets a boot. Somewhere. Somewhere deep. The dozens of dolphins and the sperm whale trapped in the oil, dead or near death, start at around 6:20. The end is a little strange.
Gulf States Continue to be Stoopid
Posted by Greg Laden on June 26, 2010 I know you don’t like when I say this, but you people living in Florida through Louisiana (and points in between) are not exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer. As it were.
Drill, Baby, Drill …
Posted by Greg Laden on June 15, 2010 Let’s not forget.
The best of the best in plant biology, conservation, photography, and evolution
Posted by Greg Laden on May 31, 2010 I have about ten favorite species of tree, and one of them is the corotú. Why? Because of one of the most interesting plant-animal interaction stories of recent times. The story, complete with extinct elephant-like creatures and a real Sherlock Holmes science theme can be read, along with some great images, at A Neotropical Savanna:…
Saving the Saba Bank with Open Access Publishing
Posted by Greg Laden on May 20, 2010 The Saba Bank is a major coral reef in the Caribbean which sports a high level of biodiversity but also attracts oil tankers, and is thus an important natural area under threat. The tankers anchor here to avoid paying fees in various ports, but the anchors themselves drag along the reef and cause havoc. There…
The Plank’s Constant
Posted by Greg Laden on April 22, 2010 … continued … In the US, political parties have what is called a “platform” which is a list of assertions … “we want this” and “we want that” sort of assertions. The “platform” is made up, quaintly, of “planks” with each plank being about one issue. Like for my local Democratic Farm Labor party unit,…
Pete Seeger joins the Nature Conservation Club (NCC)
Posted by Greg Laden on April 22, 2010 … continued The flames were so hot that we could feel it on our faces over 300 feet away as we stood near the corner of Delaware and Whitehall avenues. At first we gawked at the burning factory from about 100 feet away, but a large explosion caused us all to turn and run. But…
Earth Day has special significance this year
Posted by Greg Laden on April 22, 2010 The first Earth Day was a red letter day in the long, hard struggle to make being good to the environment … to the Earth … normal instead of a fringe idea held only by quirky college professors and stoned-out hippies. This year, the first significant health care insurance reform bill was passed and it…
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Posted by Greg Laden on March 15, 2010 I am annoyed with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Save Teh Oceanz!!!11!!
Posted by Greg Laden on October 14, 2009 Without the oceans, WE ALL DIE!!! Seriously. And we are totally screwing up the oceans. And Obama has utterly failed to fix this problem after being in office for MONTHS!!! But wait, there’s hope. Something is being done….
Global warming and the Minnesota Moose. Part I.
Posted by Greg Laden on October 1, 2009 Minnesota moose experts generally agree that global warming is forcing the southern edge of the distribution of the moose northward into Canada, threatening this important US population of this ginormous deer species. Global warming denialists insist that this is the moose’s fault, and has nothing to do with global warming. This is the first of…
Bird Life International’s Position on Climate Change
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 The scientific evidence is overwhelming and unequivocal, climate change is a stark reality. It is largely caused by human activities and it presents very serious global risks for people and biodiversity around the world and it demands an urgent global response. Human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, are releasing rapidly increasing levels of…
Global Warming, The Decline of the Moose, and “Minnesota Nice”
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 We have had a cool summer here in Minnesota, and this has brought out the miscreants who for their own reasons do not want to get on board with the simple, well demonstrated scientific fact that global temperatures have risen, that we humans are the primary cause, and that this climate change has negative consequences.
Female Monarch Butterflies on 30-year decline in eastern North America
Posted by Greg Laden on September 26, 2009 Female monarchs in the eastern part of North America have declined in number over the last three decades, according to recent research.
Nature Blogging Info
Posted by Greg Laden on August 22, 2009 Don’t forget to make use of the Nature Blog Network’s blog, which recently posted a list of new nature blogs, and a community bulletin board. Also on NBN you’ll find a list of upcoming carnivals and an interview/highlight of a featured blog (currently, Southern Fried Science).
Nature Blogging
Posted by Greg Laden on August 10, 2009 New Wildlife Blog There is a new blog that looks pretty darn good called “All About Wildlife” and focusing on threatened habitat and endangered species. It is called “All About Wildlife” and it is located here. I’d say this is one for the RSS feed. Musings on Nature Blogging … in Nature Blog Networking: The…
The End of the Skeptical Loon
Posted by Greg Laden on August 9, 2009 Continued… For this final installation of How the Loon Terns, I’d like to very briefly address four different items of “common knowledge.” Loons are driven off lakes by boaters. Loons use nursery pools. Loon are “ancient birds” “Loons winter in Mexico (or wherever).”
Distribution of Water on the Earth
Posted by Greg Laden on August 4, 2009 This has come up a couple of times recently, so I thought I’d summarize the information here. The distribution of water on Earth in cubic kilometers Salt water: 1,318,062,462 Glaciers: 28,005,430 Groundwater: 12,270,210 Lakes: 106,396 Swamps: 13,452 Rivers: 2,446 Vapor: 13,000 Biological: 1,120 (Biological means like your spit and guts and all the juicy parts…
The Lone Loon Fallacy
Posted by Greg Laden on August 3, 2009 And now, for another installment in our series: How The Loon Terns, an exercise in skeptical thinking using Loons as a waterbird touchstone. (In case you missed it, the previous installment was here.)
Lead Poisoning and Loons: A skeptical look
Posted by Greg Laden on August 2, 2009 This is the continuation of a discussion of loons, skeptically viewed. I am not skeptical about loons themselves. I know they exist. In fact, I just spent the last half hour watching Mom and Dad loon (whom I cannot tell apart, by the way) feeding Junior I and Junior II (whom I also cannot tell…
Thinking skeptically about loons
Posted by Greg Laden on August 1, 2009 I’ve been thinking about loons lately. This is not hard do do because every time I turn around there is a loon either watching me fish, yodeling off in the distance, flying overhead, or feeding its babies just off to my right as I sit here writing stuff. This year, the pair of loons that…
Blue Gold World Water Wars Movie
Posted by Greg Laden on July 28, 2009 We’re screwed. More information here at Digital Rabbit
Giant, Living Blog SIghted off Alaska Coast
Posted by Greg Laden on July 16, 2009 Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy And, a bonus shark story: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Snipers To Kill Penguin Killers in Oz
Posted by Greg Laden on July 16, 2009 Professional snipers have been brought in to guard a vulnerable colony of penguins in Australia. Potograph source
A letter to you about saving the ocean
Posted by Greg Laden on July 16, 2009 Dear Reader. The following letter was written by Randy Repass and Sally-Christine Rodgers and it concerns you and the planet earth. The publication of this letter is happening in numerous blogs at the same time, coordinated by Sheril Kirshenbaum.
, which is now available for the 
