Monday, July 28, 2014

Wild Salmon and a region's wild soul

This Rocky  Barker op-ed from today's Idaho Statesman is a good read. But more than that, it's a solid argument for returning "wild" to a state's creeks and rivers. Removing the four dams that shackle it all on the Snake River would be a grand way to begin the process of rewilding a system.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

An invasive species horror story

Call them whatever you want: Grass carp, Asian carp, etc. Biologists in the 1970s argued then against their very presence, saying it was only a matter of time before they escaped. And now they really are everywhere. Read about them here.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Asian fungus felling trees in Everglades ecosystem

The fungus detailed in this article is a bigtime invasive. And it's spread on the backs of invasive beetles. Another disaster unfolding and human actions are responsible.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Effort to avoid vote on fracking falters in Colo.

We keep on poking holes in Earth to (1) get natural gas and(2) make money. Meantime, wildlife habitat is irretrievably fragmented, destroyed, and otherwise kissed off. In the end, America's natural heritage continues slipping into "threatened and endangered" states. Read about what just transpired in Colorado right here.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Bees and humans

My afternoon fitness walks of the last four days have taken me through a sprawl neighborhood of town homes, where everything is managed, right down to the all-American lawns that splay along each asphalt driveway and three-car garages. Each lawn was sprayed with a commercial (toxic) pesticide. A little white sign stuck in the ground next to the sidewalk passing in front of each managed home warned of danger to humans (let it dry first, the signs suggested) and pets. No mention, naturally, of the danger to native pollinators, like bumblebees. This op-ed from the NY Times looks into this debilitating matter in a lot more detail.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Kiss off some Fla. land - to Walmart

The monarch of the Big Box culture gets a sweetheart deal, as describe in this Miami Herald piece, to destroy dozens of acres o rare Florida land -- all for the sake of yet another Big Box nirvana. And, let's remember, this Walmart, like all the others, will be serviced by the "warehouse on wheels."

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Dear Texas: Weird climate = no economy to worry about

It's the same old, tired argument of deniers: We can't stop greenhouse gas emissions because doing so would cost jobs. Well, gosh, there won't be much in the way of a state economy to worry about with the cliamte changing. Read this analysis to learn more about Texas and climate change.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Ted Cruz launches bid to sell off our public lands

That would be Sen. Ted Cruz, and no one exemplifies the polluter-friendly politician more than Mr. Cruz does.
There is nothing more sacred to all Americans than the great network of public lands we are all part owners off. But many politicians like Mr. Cruz don't give a damn and would just as soon see them all dotted with drill rigs, open-pit coal mines, and slag heaps.
Read the sordid details in this piece.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Mont. lake eyed for cutthroat restoration

Too bad that state fish agencies, like Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, even have to be in the restoration business. And the fact that they are says a hell of a lot for the impact of human activities on the world of Wild Nature. I hope this restoration works, as should all conservationists. But it says a whyole lot on the negative side that things have gotten so bad that we even have to think "restoration."