Celebrate Earth Day: Be a Butterfly!

Posted on April 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Celebrate Earth Day: Be a Butterfly!

When I was growing up, the three Rs meant reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. Today they signify ways to be socially responsible: Reduce, reuse, recycle.  Environmental justice has become a new catchphrase. Just what does it mean to live justly? Is it a faith issue? A moral obligation? Is it even doable?

butterfly-rainbow

 As a Christian, I am called to love God and love others. I know people of other faiths are, too.  Living justly seems to me, a practical outgrowth of that. Is what I choose to eat or wear when I get up an ethical decision? What kind of chemicals were used on the farm where my bacon was raised? Is my coffee served in Styrofoam that doesn’t break down? Under what conditions did the seamstress who made my jeans work and was she paid slave wages? Is my car polluting, my sprinkler system sapping the aquifer, my fertilizer running into springs and ponds?

 It seems overwhelming, doesn’t it? How could I make a difference in the system? I cannot overhaul it, but I can effect small change. The Butterfly Effect, another name for the Chaos Theory, states that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can effect great change. Let’s all celebrate our beautiful Earth by committing to one small act. Let’s find a way to be butterflies!

 

 

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Posted in butterflies, Recycling, stewardship

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Should Manatees be Removed From the Endangered Species Act?

Posted on April 4, 2016 | Comments Off on Should Manatees be Removed From the Endangered Species Act?

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At what point should an animal be removed from the endangered list? In my own home state of Florida,  black bears listed as threatened were rewarded for a rebound in population numbers with a one-week hunt. The issue of 3200 hunting permits for the taking of 300 bears in a one week hunt of the estimated 2,640 statewide was overkill, pardon my pun. The hunt quota was filled in only two days. With those odds, is it any wonder? It’s hard to argue with the logic of our state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Thomas Eason, the commission’s director of habitat and species conservation recently said, “We’re having more bears born and surviving than are dying.” Wow. Perfectly reasonable criteria for granting hunting permits. The commission is considering another hunt in 2016.

Lovers of large mammals will be aggrieved to learn the gentle manatee is the conservators’ next target. The “sea cow” is now being considered for removal from the Endangered Species  List.

With encouragement from the federal government, which recently proposed dropping the sea mammal from the list, the commission is now zeroing in on the manatee, not with a hunt, but by removing its protection. If you do any boating in South Florida or the Caribbean, you will be hard pressed to find a manatee without numerous gashes in its flesh from propellers of speeding boats.

According to Savethemanatee.org, there were 6,250 Florida manatees documented in the February, 2016 aerial survey. In 2015 there were 405 deaths in the state of Florida waters, some from red tides, most from boat encounters. Tell me this gentle, slow-moving sirenian is not in danger. Better yet, tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At least they’re asking for input from the public. Go to www.regulations.gov and post a comment. Unfortunately, I learned yesterday the deadline for comments is 11:59 P. M., April 7. Please act fast. Manatees can’t.

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Posted in animal vs man, bears, endangered species, extinct animals, hunting, manatees

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Adopt an Elephant

Posted on April 2, 2016 | Comments Off on Adopt an Elephant

Seen any mammoths lately? Like modern elephants, they were contemporaries of Homo sapiens, and therein lies the problem. Threats to the largest land mammal on earth include the loss and degradation of habitat and poaching for ivory. In 1989 international trade in ivory was banned, but underground markets still thrive in some countries, with a growing demand from Asians, who consider car ownership and ivory decorations the ultimate signs of affluence.

Surprisingly, the greatest threat to the beasts is conflict with human farmers. Voracious elephant appetites conflict with humans trying to feed their own families. The World Wildlife Federation attemps to eliminate conflict between people and elephants, mobilizing and educating communities. Protecting crops requires proper land use, allowing for seasonal movement of herds. WWF educates populations in proper land management and techniques for protecting crops. Additionally, they instill an appreciation for wildlife tourism as an economic resource. Efforts include training park guards, monitoring elephant movement and developing techniques to protect crops.

You and I can participate in the effort to preserve these magnificent creatures through World Wildlife Federation’s Adopt an Elephant Program. Eighty-four percent of the program’s spending goes directly to conservation efforts. Charity Navigator gives a high rating to the 501C3 charity. Gift options range from $25 to $250. An adoption certificate is included with each gift package. Next time you’re shopping for a birthday present, consider adopting an elephant. http://www.gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/species-adoptions/African-Elephant

A second, fun way to help elephants is through The Nature Conservancy’s #elegram Project. Doodle, draw, sculpt, paint, or sew an elephant and post it on social media, matching your #elegram with a donation. Learn more about the plight of elephants at The Nature Conservancy site or make a pledge to support elephants world wide: http://www.nature.org For written elegram instructions: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/africa/elegram-steps.pdf.

Now sit back and celebrate World Elephant Day, August 16, 2016, by watching a 30-minute documentary, Return to the Forest at www.worldelephantday.org/about/return-to-the-forest.

And take pride in knowing you’ve helped conserve an amazing species.

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Posted in animal vs man, endangered species, stewardship

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The Dreaded Stinging Nettle

Posted on April 2, 2016 | Comments Off on The Dreaded Stinging Nettle

stinging nettle

‘Tis the season for the dreaded stinging nettle. My azaleas occasion a riot of color under clouds of dogwood. Pink phlox carpet roadsides, meshing blooming seasons as never before in my memory. Nettles, too, have reared their sweet heads.

“Sweet?” you ask. Back in my novice camping days, I thought so, until I naively tried to pick some for the picnic table. Ouch! Walking through the yard this morning, dodging the prickly pest, I decided to find out what purpose, other than beauty, these 500 some species serve. I theorized: a food source for some butterfly or moth (correct), or maybe a tortoise or small mammal (wrong).

How about large mammals, say, humans? I was stunned to learn that teas, soups and juices made from the fuzzy single-stemmed perennial are not only consumed by humans, but are used in healing! Apparently, the leaves contain antihistamines or hydrocortisone. Healers as far back as 2,000 years used the plant to stop internal and external bleeding.

Nettle teas cure mucus congestion, water retention and diarrhea. Gargling the tea helps mouth and throat infections and application to skin clears up acne and eczema. External application also promotes healing of burns. Teas help stimulate digestive glands and help new moms produce more milk. No surprise there, as it is used as fodder for cows, to stimulate milk production.

Juices made from the stinging nettle purportedly ease the rash caused from its own leaves! Really? Of course, some preparation is required. Soaking in hot water removes stinging chemicals, allowing the leaves to be handled and eaten without harm.

I’ll take the word of the experts. But if you’d like to know how to serve this ubiquitous little pest as a veggie, get the recipe or directions for soups, teas, and juices, check out Mother Earth News. For me, a close encounter with the little terror is best remedied with an immediate scrubbing of Lava Soap from the workshop.

Such encounters, too, remind me of the scriptural admonition that even the least of these creations have value. Please let me know if you do try any of these folk remedies so I can reevaluate my opinion of you. Of course, I’ll be upgrading you to brave.

 

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Posted in Envionment

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Devil’s Corkscrews

Posted on March 1, 2016 | Comments Off on Devil’s Corkscrews

Daemonelix_burrows,_Agate_Fossil_Beds

I stumbled onto devil’s corkscrews on my way to something else. I thought you might enjoy my  further exploration of the strange formations. In the mid-1800s early ranchers in Sioux County, Nebraska were discovering spiraled tubes, up to nine feet long, which they nicknamed “devil’s corkscrews,” more formally, Daemonelix.

What were they? Only when teaching children at the Florida Museum of Natural History did I learn about trace fossils, evidence that something had been in a place: a footprint or leaf print, a burrow, coprolite (fossilized poop). The ranchers’ fossils were remnants of spiral burrows dug by rodents found at the spiral base. They had super long front teeth like modern beavers, with stubby tails instead of paddles like the modern beaver. These clever little rodents burrowed near water, but instead of digging straight down, they dug spirals, making it harder for predators to reach them, and perhaps, slowing water.

Paleocastor, which means “ancient beaver,” died out during the Oligocene when the planet cooled down and dried out. Could he not adapt from the wet world he knew to the grasses and prairies? Then why did some aquatic beavers survive to become great dam builders? What do you think?

You can visit Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Nebraska or check out nps.gov/agfo/learn/nature/mammalfossils.htm to see more interesting (extinct) critters.

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Posted in Beavers, climate change, extinct animals

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Floating Plastic Garbage

Posted on February 24, 2016 | Comments Off on Floating Plastic Garbage

Manila Harbour

There are no floating garbage patches in the Pacific, not as we think of them, i.e., floating landfills. There are small aggregates of trash, but the gigantic gyres we’ve been told variously are the size of Texas, or twice the size of Texas, or sometimes even the size of the continent, are not composed of large objects like refrigerators, toys and wreckage from storm-battered buildings. They are, basically, microbits of plastic, the size of salt and pepper. Plastic, which breaks down, but never goes away.

The smaller rafts of plastic debris, more recent intentional or unintentional human castoffs, which haven’t had time to break down, have revealed a surprise to researchers from the University of Florida, traveling with Sea Eduation Foundation. Debris which hasn’t had time to break down, is serving as a micro habitat to several species of Asian crabs, mussels and other small sea creatures. They cannot attach to the plastic, but they can use goose-neck barnacles which are able to attach themselves to the smooth surface of plastic.

My first reaction to this news was, great! At least our garbage in the sea is serving some useful purpose. Silly me. Turns out non-native species are hitching rides on castoffs from both sides of the ocean, traveling to new destinations, becoming invasive. This unexpected consequence of allowing our garbage to reach the sea, has the potential to destroy native species’ habitat.

A recent study estimated that around eight million metric tons of our plastic waste enters the oceans from land each year. How far-reaching are the consequences of our failure to properly dispose of the plastic items we use! If you don’t have recycle bins at your house, apartment complex or business, contact your solid waste department and ask how you can best recycle. If you do recycle, good for you! Be sure to rinse the items, as failure to do so contaminates other items and lowers the value of the recyclable. The plastics that cannot go into the recycle bins should be placed in cans with secure lids, not loosly tossed, but ideally, bagged.

Picture: Manila Harbour

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Posted in climate change, Oceans, stewardship

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