Keeping our Rivers and Wetland Woods

Science and politics overlap. History and the future are linked to the present through the overlap. For some, this overlap is the link needed to foster interest in science. Globally, rivers and wetland woods need attention. What can you do to help keep this global resource environmentally sound and sustainable? Plenty. Each of us can find at least one task we can accomplish toward the goal of sustainability.


The Hudson 1903


Maybe your role is getting involved in zoning. Maybe you are the one to save one wetland woods, to un-tile one children's ballpark so homes don't flood (Does the park have to be dry every day? Perhaps reading on a rainy day is better than flooding homes, for example). Maybe you can help save the Hudson River, or the Potomac, or the Yellow River, or the Wallkill? Maybe you can save the river nearest you!

Maybe you'll just save habitat, water, and, food for mushrooms or plants or animals (including people).

Perhaps you'll read a Beatrix Potter book to school children, or talk to them about Silent Spring. Maybe you'll share photographs from, "before the malls." You might take a child fishing or for a walk in the woods.

Maybe you'll be the one to change environmental impact studies so they include studying the natural environment (in addition to things like traffic patterns).

You might just be the one to create a documentary that changes the environment for the better because it reaches the hearts of so many people.

Perhaps just adding a comment here will inspire someone else, or, share just the needed tidbit of information.

Everyone can do something toward a sustainable Earth. Reflecting on our rivers and wetland woods and our roles in preserving them, and on the politics involved in preserving them, benefits everyone. I'll post a few items which might start such a reflection. Please feel free to add more by e-mailing them to me or adding them in the comments (by clicking, "Comments," below the post).

RiverKeeper

The National Trust

Beatrix Potter Resources

Rachel Carson (Silent Spring) Resources

Build our future (Our Stolen Future)

(c)2009 J S Shipman

One Viewpoint on Global Health Care (Available in Several Languages)

Posting this link does not indicate support or lack of support for the ideas presented. In other words, the view of the blogger is not, or is not necessarily, presented.

The viewpoint presented is that of the company IBM and suggests a sustainable health care system from its perspective: http://www-03.ibm.com/industries/healthcare/doc/content/landing/2955767105.html?re=gihclshome

It is presented to serve as a discussion starter. Your viewpoints and comments are welcome in the comments (Click on, "Comments," below the post.) For Earth to have sustainable systems, all our voices, ideas, and effort are needed. Yours are welcome!

Dr-J

Fungi offer Unique Opportunities

The Plenary Session of Botany 2008, the international botany conference currently going on in Vancouver, BC, Canada, was filled with excitement. Dr. Paul Stamets gave the talk, science highlighted with his personal flair.

The audience continued to talk about the great ideas he presented at a social event where science ideas get exchanged rapidly in a fun way. Many discussions continued long into the night, so stimulated by Dr. Stamets' presentation.

Go to his abstract or read his works, Mycelium Running, for example. You will learn about fungi that offer unique opportunities.

A problem with ants? No problem. Too many toxic wastes? No problem. Oil spill? What do human hair and fungi have to do with cleaning that up? If you aren't excited yet, you really need to read Stamets. He is giving you ways to save the world and reduce ecological disaster. It's time to step up to the plate. (And if you'd like to contribute to the cause, contact him directly. His work is soooooooo great, you might like to donate a few pennies or a few million to the the ten million dollars needed for starters...but in the meantime, you can see what is available now and you can plant a forest destined to become an old growth forest!) Imagine all your descendants walking through the forest you planted. And, oh yes, you might just find a few tips on how to make your garden grow or how to survive the bird flu pandemic.

Mushroom Books

Mushroom Cultivation Texts, Identification Guides & More...

How do you use your science knowledge?

Applying knowledge is a higher order thinking skill.

Do you use your science knowledge to better the world?

Do you help eradicate noxious weeds? Invasive species?

Do you mentor youth?

Do you vote wisely?

Do you educate others?

Do you wash you hands frequently?

Do you eat, sleep, rest, play and in other ways live a healthy lifestyle?

Do you shop thinking about the environment?

Do you make choices that contribute to world peace?

What do you do?

How long do birds live? How many offspring do they have?

Hi! Recently I was asked questions on birds. The answer got truncated by the program handling the answer. I decided to re-create the answer here, thus, this post.

I am very excited to get your question. One reason is that my nephew is very interested in birds and we often watch them and talk about them. My mother, too, likes birds. My parents have a bird feeder and also go bird-watching. They are in their eighties. I think the birds help keep them young!

I imagine that the number of times a bird reproduces depends on the type of bird (chicken or robin, for example)and on the particular bird (Just like you like one kind of ice cream and your friend likes another, different birds might reproduce different numbers of times based on preference. Similarly, numbers of offspring and longevity vary among bird families and bird individuals just like they do among human families and individuals. The oldest woman I know is 115 years old, for example. The life span is now 160 for people. Some people die before reaching that age, because of accident or disease. The same kind of thing happens to birds: some live longer than others, some have more offspring than others. But, there are other answers...
I think I can help you find some answers.

Here is a diagram of a "typical" bird life cycle. Click here.
http://www.bird-friends.com/Life.html

There is a bird expert (scruthird@zoonewengland.com, ask for the, "bird expert.") at the Franklin Park Zoo (www.zoonewengland.org) and you can see some of "Bird World" too.

The National Zoo offers bird facts where you can find lots of information. The bald eagle, for example can live 48 years in captivity at zoos (less in the wild). It has two or three eggs a year and typically mates in the spring, but may mate more often.

Teaching printables can be found at: http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Life_Cycles/

Another part of the answer addressed the fact that women and men can both be scientists and the student (a girl) asking the question was encouraged to go on in science.

There is a bird game already posted. I'll put a link here: Click!

Well, I haven't recreated the entire answer, but I repeated the work that was lost as well as I could recall it at present.

Edited on 10-20-09:
See comments below for more information. Here is a quote from one of them showing a sample of the kind of information you can find there on many birds:

SPECIES	YR.-MO	SPECIES	YR.-MO.
Laysan Albatross	37-05	White-crowned Sparrow	13-04
Arctic Tern	34-00	House Sparrow	13-04
Great Frigatebird	30-00	Warbling Vireo	13-01

Source for the information on the albatross, tern, and frigatebird shown above: http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/How_Long.html Accessed 10-20-09. Notes: Copyright ® 1988 by Paul R. Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye,
from The Birder's Handbook (which covers birds of North America), note the date of the statistics (which are now 21 years old), the website data is limited to campus(Stanford) birds (in California) [Thanks to D. Wheye for these added clarifications in the above, "Notes."]

Action Science

Have you thought of scientists in action? Here's a link to show that action:
http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/scientists/

THE CROW AND THE SEA GULL

Dr-J'S FABLES

THE CROW AND THE SEA GULL

by Dr-J

In the nearly empty lot of a McDonald's not far from the coast one stormy summer's day a Sea Gull was trying to open his lunch sack. It had been conveniently left there by the previous guest, Mr. Litterbug. A Crow passed by, then alighted on the nearby macadem, pausing to say, "Hello," to Sea Gull and then watching him.

The Sea Gull picked up his lunch bag and flew up in the air. When he was high enough, he dropped the bag. Then, quickly flew down to look at it. Again and again Sea Gull flew up in the air, dropped his lunch sack and flew down again. Ever so patiently Sea Gull tried again and again. Finally he gave up, said Goodbye," to Crow and decided to fly farther in-land since the clouds over the sea looked ominous.

"Do you want help with your lunch," asked the Crow before the Sea Gull left?

"No, I'm going to find something else to eat," and the Sea Gull flew away.

"Why bother to look elsewhere?" said the Crow; "We have plenty of food right here." But the Sea Gull was already too far away to hear. The Crow walked over to the lunch sack and using the long toes as a hand, gently unfolded the top of the bag and then tipped the bag over and ate the lunch. Then the Crow knew:

It is better to wait patiently than to give up before reaching your goal.

THE END

This is a true story, except for the anthropomorphism at the end (And of course, the talking.) The actual incident, which the author watched, took place around 1999. Of course there are many other morals that could be drawn by the reader, such as...

• "Then the reader knew:
  • 'Littering is frustrating to wildlife and drastically alters their diet," or,
  • "Sea Gulls eat shell fish that they drop from the air, smash on the rocks and then, nibble on the pieces, while Crows use there feet and their minds to help them get their food," or,
  • "Old technologies need to be updated as situations change, or,
  • "Science education helps us preserve our environment, save our wildlife and sustain the Earth."
• Related articles
  • Smashing clams on rocks and Theseus...
  • Sea Gulls being fed our food and now...
  • Seagull plays golf...
  • Here's another story about a Crow watching a Seagull that I found after writing my story independently. My story is based on my own observations of an actual incident
  • Seagulls become flying "fatties"...
  • The Crow Society
  • One more Gull in a World of Gulls
  • More on crows and songbirds, too...
    

(c)2007 J S Shipman
used by Read-about-it.blogspot.com TIBU with the permission of the author.

Are you an inventor?

If you are an inventor, or want to become one, recordkeeping is important. Check out this website on logbooks for inventors:

http://inventors.about.com/cs/logbook/ht/Log_book.htm

Went through 80 loaves of bread brands...

To find bread without high fructose corn syrup. Please read the following article, submitted by a reader. Thanks for the post.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/341888_fructose01web.html

Potatoes get diseases? Sure they do. You've heard...

...of the Irish Potato Famine. The potato famine was caused by a fungal disease of potatoes. David Spooner is a botanist who works, among other things, on potatoes. Click on his name and read more about this botanist.

Do you eat potatoes? Do you think other plants get diseases? Special botanists, called plant pathologists and geneticists, plant breeders, and biotechnologists work on preventing plant diseases and breeding or creating improved crops, or stopping the spread of plant diseases. Botanists, like David Spooner, help to prevent famines.

Resource for Science Fair Ideas...Plant Research (Botany)

http://www.plantingscience.org/

Dr-J is involved in "planting science." She knows many of the scientists that are involved. You will have the opportunity to communicate with scientists about your research if you get involved.

Vote!

Voting and science do overlap. Want clean air and water? Safe food supply? Peace? Then, vote. Thanks. J

Colorful science: leaves

Read more: http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/fallcolr/fallcolr.html

Rolling along, rolling along....Diatom glides by

You may have heard of "diatomaceous earth." It is found in everything from toothpastes to pesticides. So wat is diatomaceous earth? It is earth that is made up of diatoms. And what is a diatom? Go here to see one moving gracefully by:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBAcksaRwy4

Bees and Pollination...

Edited 11/17/07 and 12/28/07
Honey bee research:
http://www.tamagawa.ac.jp/HSRC/stp-eng.htm

Added 8/17/2008
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/honeybeediseases/honeybeediseases.pdf

Diatoms and Ciliates: Stars of Stage (Microscope stage, that is!)

Did you see what happened when the ciliates bumped into each other? Can you write about it?

Botany: Key to Clean Air (and fun!)

There are great items for everyone at the Botanical Society Website...students, teachers, families, scientists, photographers...
Here's a 2007-2008 School Year Resource Link: http://www.botany.org/outreach/weblinks.php

Here's a web site on a talk from the Botanical Society of America meetings 2002 . People keep requesting it, so I posted it here. If it doesn't link automatically type in the address. http://www.noblenet.org/bhcc/league/BSA2002ShipmanSmith.ppt

Dragonflies on a summer afternoon...

An article on dragonflies, by Dr J, discussing reducing the global mosquito population while providing topic for art, science, literature and entertainment appeared in TIBU today. Here's the opening and you can follow the link to read more.

Dragonflies offer something for everyone. From techies to artists, children to grandparents, scientists to mosquito-haters, poets to myth-lovers. Most cultures have some stories on dragonflies. Here is a sampling of dragonfly ideas that I have personally selected to share.

For example, the digital dragonfly museum offers a wealth of information on dragonflies (... Based out of Texas A and M University, the museum lists all of these sections: Image Gallery (photos and scans sorted by species) Photos (by photographer) Life History (Ron Lyons´) Emergence Sequence Collection Records Damselflies of Texas Digital Dragonflies Nothing But Butterflies Insects & More Center Home Entomology Home Bioinformatics Page TAMU Insect Collection Other Links Awards. Truly a wealth of dragonfly information, with lots of pictures.

The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon (996 AD) lists things that are better in pictures, such as a snowstorm, and, things that no picture could do justice, such as a rose. Similarly,dragonfly pictures are beautiful, however, do not compare to the alluring beautiful colors as these insects, of the order Odonata, flit about above rivers, ponds and streams in the summer sunlight. That is something to experience first-hand, like chasing after fireflies on a summer evening. In fact one author has linked these insects in the book, Animal Stories from Bellona Island (Mungiki) by Rolf Kuschel (pg 110-111 c 1975, National Museum of Denmark). In it, the firefly and dragonfly go together to get water. Mythical qualities enter the story and the dragonfly ends up losing it’s lantern (http://casswww.ucsd.edu/personal/ron/C VNC/odonata/cultural_odonatology.html, accessed July 18, 2007).
Read more:
Dr-J, a user of thisisby.us, thought you would be interested in this content:
http://www.thisisby.us/register.php?r=2818
the_enchanting_world_of_dragonflies

The Enchanting World of Dragonflies
Reducing the global mosquito population while providing topic for art, science, literature and entertainment

Jane Colden teaches Us

Jane Colden, heroine of the botanic world, and now famous for her, "garden." I went to Jane's garden. I saw plants that you used to find everywhere around where Jane and I grew up. Well, Jane, in what became Coldenham, and me in the Town of Wallkill. Well, we grew up in different time frames, but, we shared a passion for the plants in our region, and for the study of plants in general, botany.

So, I thought, what is so special about Jane's garden? Those are the plants found everywhere here. But , Jane had foresight. Because everywhere here is now full of cement and shopping malls and macadam and houses and apartment buildings and, everything but plants. Well, there are some landscaped plants, but, it's hard to find those, "ordinary," plants of Jane's garden.

Preserving native plants saves our environment. Maybe you can plant a copy of Jane's garden...or, of the Garden Jane would have made, had she grown up in your region. Do you know the native species? How could you find them out?

(c)2007 J. S. Shipman

Summer is Homeschooling!!!

And, it's fun, too. Everyday life has much to teach us. Waves at the oceans. Kinds of plants in the woods and prairies. What lichens are on the city trees? What can I find in the zoo, botanical garden, science museum, or park? Enjoy. Reflect. Renew.

(c)2007 J. S. Shipman