Bees in Peril

Bees are in peril, bats are in peril, predators are in... well you get the picture. The question at the end of the article asks what is causing this. For bees there are multiple factors, as the article synthesizes. When you look at one problem, plummeting bee or bat or bird populations for instance, it seems like a problem that can be fixed. All problems viewed in symphony however seems a much more daunting task to surmount. Are we in peril as well? I don't normally give in to fears of doom but, DOOM!!! Just a little humor, if you don't laugh about it you can only cry.

"Interestingly, some beekeepers who normally avoid problems by protecting their bees during the hardest part of the winter in huge potato warehouses are having problems. The weather, too, was against the bees this year. Deadly cold temperatures were harder than normal on the bees that had been loaded on trucks moving west, causing significant losses for some. Down south, where bees are normally soaking up the sun and honey from Florida's balmy days, winter seeped south and kept those bees from doing much of anything except staying home and keeping warm. So instead of building nicely, they stubbornly, simply stayed warm. They didn't grow, expand into colonies the size almond groves need. So they're out of the equation.

So prices are officially crazy. Three weeks ago if you asked $150 rent for colony you'd be laughed right out of the almond orchard. Today, $200 isn't an uncommon offer, and the line goes out to the parking lot for growers wanting to pay that amount. What's causing this?"

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/almond-prices-47020601?src=rss#ixzz0emmvlz6w

Turbidity Standards Revision

Oregon DEQ has initiated a revision of its water quality standard to address turbidity. Additional information about this process is available at: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/standards/turbidity.htm. Oregon DEQ will hold a meeting to discuss the process for revising the turbidity standard on February 17 from 9-11am at the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs Building in Salem. We will post an agenda and conference call information to the website prior to the meeting if you can’t make it in person. For additional information, please contact Aron Borok at Oregon DEQ at 503-229-5050

Oregon Bats in Peril

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife News Release

February 4, 2010

Contacts:

Andrea Hanson, ODFW Strategy Species coordinator, (503) 947-6320

Meg Kenagy, ODFW Conservation Strategy Communications coordinator, (503) 947-6021

Wildlife Managers Say New Disease Could Affect NW Bat Populations

Salem, Ore.—The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife asks Oregonians, especially those who work in or enjoy exploring caves or mines, to take action to limit the spread of white-nose syndrome, a new disease that has killed over one million bats in the northeast.

White-nose syndrome is caused by a cold-environment fungus that thrives in the same temperature range as hibernating bats do. Once infected, bats demonstrate a tell-tale white fuzzy growth on their noses. The direct cause of death is still unclear, although it is believed the fungus interrupts sleep patterns and causes the hibernating bats to awaken during winter and burn calories they can’t afford to use, depleting their fat reserves and causing starvation.

Although white-nose syndrome has not yet arrived in Oregon, precautions need to be taken now to ensure the health of our native bats, which play important roles in the environment. For example, one bat can eat up to 600 insects in an hour, benefiting farmers, foresters and homeowners.

First, never disturb a bat colony. Bats are highly sensitive to disturbance when they gather together in summer to give birth and in winter to hibernate. Second, avoid going into mines or caves unless necessary. If you do enter a cave, decontaminate your clothing and equipment to avoid transmitting any potential disease. Decontamination is particularly critical if you have been in caves in the eastern United States. Third, notify your local ODFW office if you observe several dead bats in the same location. Do not pick up or handle bats, alive or dead.

“We need to monitor the health of our bat populations. A number of our native species are already vulnerable,” said Andrea Hanson, ODFW Strategy Species coordinator. “In the past, reports of unusual bat deaths have come from the public, which is why we are asking for help from Oregonians.”

There are 15 species of bats in Oregon. Many of them are identified in the Oregon Conservation Strategy as species in need of help. Learn more about them in the Conservation Summaries of Strategy Species section of the Strategy.

More information

If you have been in a cave, follow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recommended decontamination procedure which is detailed on their Northeast Region Web site, http://www.fws.gov/northeast/wnscavers.html

Report unusual bat death situations to Andrea Hanson, ODFW Strategy Species coordinator, (503) 947-6320, or Colin Gillin, State Wildlife veterinarian, (541) 757-4186.

Living with Bats, a flyer about bats in Oregon, is available on the ODFW Web site (pdf).

The Bat Conservation International Web site, has additional information on white-nose syndrome.

Photo

Fringed bat flying in the high desert of Central Oregon. Photo Michael Durham.

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bat for news release001.jpg

Books

This one is not an environmental post, but I thought it was interesting. Read the entire article on Fast Company, "Hmmm. A 'monopoly over their own titles' is the absolute key phrase here, because it's plain dumb. It's like complaining that Van Gogh has a monopoly over paintings painted by Van Gogh." Interesting point but completely incorrect. It is more like an art gallery where Van Gogh sells all his paintings through a contract (a gallery that doesn't allow him to sell them any where else and pays him $.10 on the dollar IF he's lucky). I would argue that publishing companies do often have a monopoly on titles. Most authors have no leverage and cannot gain support because they can't get exposure.

The LA district of the USFWS should be embarrased

"But the anticipated massive storm fizzled, and the agencies ended up with hundreds of threatened fish and nowhere to put them if, indeed, their native habitat is lost."

This is the silliest article I have ever read. Can anyone explain why they can't just put most of them back into the stream and keep a few dozen if the last remaining stream is destroyed in a landslide (which I believe is unlikely - 14 miles of stream completely destroyed by a little mud? I think the fish probably evolved to take a debris torrent or two)?

This is the most specious argument I have ever heard *we had to move them because we were afraid they were going to be extirpated from LA County and now we can't put them back because there is a danger of their last remaining habitat being destroyed... at some point in time.*

It sounds like the obvious solution is to restore old habitat in a few other streams (Malibu Canyons have some great habitat) and reintroduce them to their historic range in LA County so that the USFWS and the USFS don't have to cart them around town.

Read the entire ridiculous article in the LA Times here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-station-fire-fish18-2010jan18,0,5732740.story

Plant Slug - Photosynthetic Animal!

In addition to being able to steal the light harvesting compounds from its food source algae, this slug is born with the ability to photosynthesize. "Even unhatched sea slugs, which have never encountered algae, carry “algal” photosynthetic genes." Read more at http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/green-sea-slug/#ixzz0cdWpj6gh

This slug can eat algae once and sunbathe for the rest of its life. Amazing.

Jaguars in the USA - Maybe

From the NY Times,

"

In 2006, the service argued that jaguars were primarily native to South and Central America and that their range in the United States was largely incidental to its survival.

Wildlife advocates sued to protest those findings, pointing out that jaguars were thought to have once ranged from Louisiana to California, although they had rarely been seen in recent decades.

Last March, the Federal District Court in Tucson told the government that it would have to come back with a decision that was soundly based in science.

In theory, the service could have sought again to rule out habitat conservation. But this time the government said it would move to protect critical habitat and would publish a description of the land proposed for the designation.

It also agreed to develop a formal recovery plan, which will envision how the jaguar might make a recovery.

The Fish and Wildlife Service says there are no known jaguars in the United States today. The last jaguar known to exist within the nation’s borders died last March.

However, there are nearly 5,000 in Mexico, and more ranging as far south as Argentina and Paraguay.

The notion behind a critical habitat designation is to enable the jaguar to survive if it ranges north again."

Check out the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/science/earth/13jaguar.html?ref=science

Sierra Nevada Mountain Range Younger than Previous Estimates

"The Sierra Nevada reached their present height 50 million years ago -- 30 million years earlier than geologists once believed, according to a new study. "

Interesting findings as they are still trying to deduce how migration into the great basin occurred. Read the entire article in the LA Times here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-mountains9-2010jan09,0,615361.story

Homemade soy sauce

For the past six months, I have been attempting to make soy sauce at home. In contrast to the extensive info on other fermented products such as cheese, beer, or bread, there is next to nothing available in English on the production of soy sauce. Although I am still working out the kinks, I have finally succeeded in producing a passable soy sauce.

The production of soy sauce involves allowing cooked soybeans (and often wheat) to mold, drying them, and then soaking in a brine. For my first attempts I relied on natural yeasts. From a practical standpoint this meant cooking the soybeans, mixing them with wheat flour, and letting them sit. The result was disgusting. I waited about two weeks for a 'delicate white mold' to cover them. Instead they developed a disgusting smell which really cannot be described (one of the worst things you can imagine). I tried this process again quite a few different ways (no wheat, whole beans, fermented cold, fermented warm . . . ) They all turned out bad.

At this point I went back to the drawing board, and reconstructed a recipe based on my brewing practices. The most successful attempt so far used a sanitized, sealed fermenting container, whole soybeans (no flour), and a fungus starter derived from Koji, a key ingredient in the production of Sake that harbors the right mold. After three days the beans had a nice white (and some green) mold. They smelled sweet and fermented but not 'funky'. I dried them in the oven on low heat, then brined them in a 20% salt solution for ~ 2 weeks. The result was definately soy sauce. It was quite salty and light colored. The light color and mild flavor probably the result of the short brine. Soy sauce is traditionally soaked 6 months to a year, and develops a dark color after exposure to light. I am currently working on refining the process, and plan to post a final recipe when I work out the kinks.

Planets

A new mass, much hotter and denser than known dwarf stars and much too hot to be a planet, was found orbiting another star. The mass was discovered as part of a project to look at stars within our galaxy (in the region of the constellation Cygnus). Although many planets have been found outside our solar system almost all are more like Jupiter than our own (size, atmosphere, and relative distance from a star).

Read this interesting article in the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/04/AR2010010401366.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Turtles vs. energy

"One [new solar] project, scheduled to break ground in the Mojave Desert, is now being challenged after green groups objected to its site, home to several dozen endangered turtles."

See the entire article here http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/california-brightsource-tortoise.php

Interesting article from http://food.theatlantic.com/sustainability/good-food-who-can-afford-it.php about sustainable eating adventures.


"But does everyone see it this way? Can everyone see it this way? As these refreshingly candid blog entries strongly suggest, a sustainable diet will never go mainstream if costs do not compete with cheap cafeteria crap."

I have found that eating locally is expensive and I can only afford it if I eat less overall. Eating local/organic/sustainable is almost impossible (especially in the winter) but I have made great progress through canning. L's soy sauce came out wonderfully and that is almost all locally produced ingredients (everything but the salt). I think if you can make soy sauce you can make anything. Growing food is hard but worth the effort. If only our local grocer would bring in more food from the W. valley and less from Argentina.

Outdoor classrooms Waldorf school

Check out this article from the NYTimes, it is interesting.

"The children’s “classroom” is 325 acres of state parkland known as the Hemlock Trail, and a long-empty farmhouse, which the state has licensed Waldorf to use for the year. The school also has regular indoor classes at its main building."

Sea Turtle Populations Decline

Check out this article from the NY Times

Sea turtles are sensitive to numerous effects of warming. They feed on reefs, which are dying in hotter, more acidic seas. They lay eggs on beaches that are being inundated by rising seas and more violent storm surges.

More uniquely, their gender is determined not by genes but by the egg’s temperature during development. Small rises in beach temperatures can result in all-female populations, obviously problematic for survival.

Help Big Cats

About the Big Cats Initiative

From lions in Kenya to snow leopards in the Himalaya, the big cats of the world need help. Lions, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, and other top felines are quickly disappearing, all victims of habitat loss and degradation as well as conflicts with humans.

To address this critical situation, the National Geographic Society has launched the Big Cats Initiative, a comprehensive program that supports on-the-ground conservation projects, education, and economic incentive efforts and a global public-awareness campaign. “We no longer have the luxury of time when it comes to big cats,” says National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dereck Joubert. “They are in such a downward spiral that if we hesitate now, we will be responsible for extinctions across the globe. If there was ever a time to take action, it is now.” You can help us make a difference. Your donation can help save a big cat and ensure the Earth is not without these majestic creatures. Please donate today! You also can help by signing up for Big Cats Initiative updates with the Geo-Link Newsletter.

Apply for a Grant

The first goal of the Big Cats Initiative is to the halt the decline of lions. Therefore, National Geographic will be collecting all available data on lion populations, demographics, and habitat and will then fund a variety of conservation projects across the lions’ range. You can be part of this important work by donating to the Big Cats Initiative or by applying for a grant to help big cats.

Proposals Encouraged:

• Innovative projects with quick results for saving lions
• Anti-poaching programs
• Projects that test new technology
• Educational projects focused on community
• Projects that establish economic incentives for local people to ensure long-term survival of lions

Please email us at bigcatsgrants@ngs.org with project ideas or questions about the Big Cats Initiative.