conservation
voltagegate | May 10, 2007Not according to the Bay Journal:
The annual winter dredge survey, which is used to estimate blue crab numbers in the Bay, suggests that the crab population still shows no sign of rebounding from the low level of abundance that has marked most of the last decade.
The total number of crabs estimated to be overwintering in the Chesapeake Bay in 2007 was similar to the abundance observed in 2006, but abundance in 2007 remained below the 17-year survey average.
The abundance of young-of-the-year crabs--those less than 2 inches across the carapace--declined significantly in 2007, and is among the…
grrlscientist | May 8, 2007tags: salmon, wild Pacific salmon, commercial salmon fishing
Approximately 200 chefs from restaurants in 33 states have signed a letter that was delivered to legislators in Washington DC today, asking Congress to pass laws that will restore healthy habitats for the decimated wild salmon species along the Pacific coast. The letter was inspired by last year's federal shutdown of 88% of the commercial salmon fishing along 700 miles of coastline in California and Oregon and is led by renowned chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in San Francisco.
Marine scientists said the closure was necessary to…
voltagegate | May 7, 2007"We then try to justify what we do by trying to make it sound as if it has some "useful" application. But, really, we do it because it is fun. Nature is entertainment-the greatest show on earth. And that is not trivial, because what is life, if it isn't fun? I think that the greatest contribution we could make would be to help make life more interesting."
-Bernd Heinrich
voltagegate | May 7, 2007Oprah makes me sick. She recently had another uber-hypocritical show about environmental issues and I thought it would be appropriate to repost my reaction to her first show about "going green", which was aired last June. Hey, at least her blouse is green, right?
Has anyone noticed how Oprah collapses into a pool of plasmodium when her guests start talking science? Sure, when it's relationship issues or the inner child, she's all over it, wielding advice like a psycho-babble hammer.
I got a phone call from my mother yesterday afternoon."Turn on channel four, Oprah's talking about global…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007tags: Orange roughy, South Pacific Ocean, conservation, trawling
Last month, leading scientists warned there would be no marine fish left in 50 years if current oceanic fishing practices continued unchanged. This month, thanks to an agreement reached by more than 20 South Pacific Nations in the coastal town of Renaca, Chile, one quarter of the world's oceans will be protected from the destructive fishing practice of trawling. The agreement will go into effect on 30 September 2007.
Trawling is a method of fishing where large heavy nets are dragged across the sea floor, capturing or destroying…
voltagegate | May 2, 2007Julie MacDonald, the Bush appointee accused of suppressing the Endangered Species Act last year has resigned after proof of her corruption was brought to light:
Julie MacDonald left her position as the Department of Interior's deputy assistant secretary of fish, wildlife and parks, from which she controlled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species program.
Her resignation follows a finding March 29 by the agency's Inspector General Earl Devaney that she violated federal ethics rules by sending "nonpublic information" to industry lobbyists.
MacDonald repeatedly leaked internal…
voltagegate | May 1, 2007I caught an episode of National Geographic's Wild Chronicles discussing the Wollemi pine, a rare, ancient contemporary of the dinosaurs that was discovered alive in Australia in the '90's. The stand is the only one known in the entire world, and conservationists are trying to find ways to preserve it.
Australian officials hope to bolster the tree's numbers by encouraging gardeners around the world to each take one home and plant it. Unlike other nonnative species, the Wollemi doesn't grow or reproduce fast enough to be an invasive threat, experts say.
In the U.S., the tree is sold exclusively…
voltagegate | April 30, 2007From Ontario to Greece to Panama, what are participating bloggers finding out in the field? This thread will be constantly updated throughout the week, blog carnival style, compiling all of the bioblitzes that are being conducted. Please contact me if you have something up; I'll make sure I add it to the list.
Don't forget to check out all of the participant's photos at the Flickr group (over 300 photos now).
For info about the Blogger Bioblitz, follow the links:
Read more about the blitz
Visit the forum
See submission guidelines
Join the Flickr group
Find a field guide online
Download a…
voltagegate | April 29, 2007After the past month of planning, promoting and actually surveying, today is the last day of the Blogger Bioblitz (B3). But that doesn't mean we're quite done.
Sara, Jenn and I will be tabulating data over the next week or so, getting a final count of species and shipping the data off to Madhu and Greg for mapping. We're hoping to have everything complete in the first couple weeks.
The link list of B3 posts will be updated tomorrow morning, when I'm sure all the posts are in. If I have missed anyone, e-mail me.
I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone involved. It started with just one idea and…
grrlscientist | April 26, 2007tags: conservation, environment, plastics, oil, petroleum products
... Stop using plastics -- especially those flimsy plastic grocery bags -- unless you plan to reuse reuse reuse them.
People ask me if I could do only one thing to preserve the planet, what would it be? I tell them that the best, and easiest way to help save this planet would be to cut down on one's use of plastics, beginning with those flimsy plastic bags that are given out by supermarkets. If people would only make or purchase several strong canvas bags and reuse them for carrying groceries, they would have taken a big step…
voltagegate | April 24, 2007We have submission guidelines and a full game plan for the next couple of weeks.
As of today, there are 50 participants (including the birth of a new blog). Please send me an e-mail and register at the Google group if you are interested in joining us, and the Flickr group if you plan on photoblogging the event.
Jenn has crafted a fine array of buttons for participants and supporters of the Blogger Bioblitz. Check them out, download and help us spread the word while adding a bit of spring flare to your blog or website.
Greg has contacted a friend from Discover Life, who has graciously lent his…
grrlscientist | April 22, 2007tags: streaming video, Bill Maher, Earth Day, politics
Bill Maher quotes Albert Einstein as saying that humans and other animals have only four years left if all the bees died. Did Einstein really say that?
voltagegate | April 22, 2007This clip is from State of the Planet, another BBC gem yet to be released in the US. This is perhaps the best presentation of the story of Easter Island there is, and intimately relevant to this day, Earth Day.
grrlscientist | April 21, 2007
Just in time for Earth Day, the great leatherback seaturtle race across open ocean from Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands, where they will lay their eggs. The turtles are being tracked by satellite from Playa Grande in Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands so you can watch their progress live and root for your favorite. In addition to the turtle race, there are all sorts of fun and educational things to read on this website. For example, you can register to support an individual turtle in this race across the ocean and will receive daily email updates regarding your turtle's progress as it…
voltagegate | April 21, 2007Jenn over at Invasive Species Weblog wrote a brilliant post about corporations that are distributing seeds as a supposedly "green" gesture of peace and love straight out of 1969. Betcha they don't have answers to her questions:
...someone needs to tell Starbucks that "wildflower" is not the beautiful, perfect embodiment of do-gooding they seem to think it is (I tried, but they have yet to respond). What species are these? Where are they native to? Are they potentially invasive?
[...]
But this is an environmental campaign - isn't anyone looking at the big picture? Sowing seeds from who-knows-…
voltagegate | April 21, 2007"To promote conservation, fishers and officials need to view fish as a part of a larger ecological system, rather than simply as a commodity to extract."
-Ann Platt McGinn
voltagegate | April 21, 2007Over 40 bloggers will be stepping outside for National Wildlife Week, April 21 - 29, field guides, binoculars and seines in hand and pack to catalogue all the species they can find in a local area of their choosing.
Early tomorrow morning, I'll be heading out to our campus' arboretum, a small, manageable riparian forest. I'll probably be tackling another area in Western Pennsylvania later in the week. The first post from me should be up be tomorrow afternoon.
We have spent the past month refining the process at our forum. Use the following links to access any information you may need. Also,…
voltagegate | April 19, 2007"What right has any citizen of a free country, whatever his foresight and shrewdness, to seize on sources of life for his own behoof that are the common heritage of all; what right has legislature or court to help in the seizure; and striking still more deeply, what right has any generation to wholly consume, much less to waste, those sources of life without which the children or the children's children must starve or freeze?"
-William John McGee
voltagegate | April 18, 2007Today is my one year blogiversary and I will be celebrating by helping the Sierra Student Coalition and other conservation groups on campus celebrate Earth Day 2007 a few days early, to coincide with our new president's inauguration.
The new pres has promised to sign the Talloires Declaration, declaring his dedication to promoting a sustainable campus.
The Bottom Line will have a table at the celebration, handing out our annual Earth Day edition of the paper. I should have pics of the event up later.
This also marks the day I will begin occasionally reposting substantial, non-timely posts…
voltagegate | April 17, 2007"No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal."
-Jacques Yves Cousteau