Mahogany blooming in the High Sierra,
with sailor seeds,
ready to fly to their new home.
Blooming in high altitude
they blanket hillsides
with seeds like summer snow~
Cheers to you from blooming Mahogany that grows only in the Western US & Mexico~
Photograph: Owen Humphrey’s/PA
Almost fifteen percent of the Earth’s land is enclosed in national parks or other protected areas, which accounts for approximately 20 million sq km. This figure is close to an internationally agreed goal to protect 17 percent of the land surface by 2020. Comparatively, ocean conservation only accounts for 4 percent of total surface of the ocean, covering 15 million sq km. In spite of these statistics – which reflect a positive outcome of the increased attention and importance given to land and ocean conservation – there are concerns over how well these areas are managed and whether they effectively protect endangered species, as Seth wrote a few days ago.
A progress report by the UN Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warns that some of the most biodiverse ecosystems are not being protected and that the management of many protected areas is deficient.
Less…
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A natural gas well in Hamilton, Pennsylvania. Source: triplepundit.com
Last spring the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) predicted that natural gas would generate more power in 2016 than coal, and now that natural gas has taken that lead, it is under close scrutiny as a “cleaner” alternative to coal. From the EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, natural gas also beat out coal for carbon dioxide emissions from power generation.
“Energy-associated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from natural gas are expected to surpass those from coal for the first time since 1972. Even though natural gas is less carbon-intensive than coal, increases in natural gas consumption and decreases in coal consumption in the past decade have resulted in natural gas-related CO2 emissions surpassing those from coal.”
And the agency isn’t talking in fractions of a percentage point, either. EIA puts the emissions figure for natural gas at 10 percent greater than coal for 2016.
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Compared to “juicy” pop culture news, nature-lovers and conservationists constantly have to fight for people’s attention on subjects like endangered animals or protected wildlife. However, the struggle for plant devotees to garner people’s interest on green eukaryotes is much more difficult, except maybe for some garden-popular flowers and vegetables, and perhaps a few trees, but otherwise plants go unnoticed.
Conservation efforts are devoted overwhelmingly to animals; compared to the hundreds of plant species easily found but mostly overlooked in our environs. There’s even a formal name for this: plant blindness. And in a study published in the journal Conservation Biology, biologists Kathryn Williams and Mung Balding of Australia’s University of Melbourne ask whether it’s inevitable: Are people hard-wired by evolution to ignore the vegetal world? Can something be done about it?
“We are absolutely dependent on plants for life and health, but so often they fade into the background and miss out in the direct actions we…
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Credit: © yommy / Fotolia
A new study on plant water retention from the University of California, Irvine and the University of Washington might rescind some of our assumptions of climate change impacts on agriculture, water resources, wildfire risk, and plant growth. Their findings reveal that water conserved by plants under high CO2 conditions compensates for much of the effect of warmer temperatures, which means more water is retained on land than predicted in commonly used drought assessments. ScienceDaily reports:
The study compares current drought indices with ones that take into account changes in plant water use. Reduced precipitation will increase droughts across southern North America, southern Europe and northeastern South America. But the results show that in Central Africa and temperate Asia — including China, the Middle East, East Asia and most of Russia — water conservation by plants will largely counteract the parching due to climate change.
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In this 19 August 2016 video, adult and baby wild boar cross a bicycle track.
Warden Paul Jansen made this video in National Park Veluwezoom in the Netherlands.
The Orlando Sentinel reports
The state’s wildlife agency wants to designate new sanctuaries for roseate spoonbills, reddish egrets, blue herons, brown pelicans, black skimmers and many more water birds that are synonymous with Florida’s wild side.
Read story at Florida to create new bird sanctuaries – Orlando Sentinel
Teton mountain range at sunrise, WY
Located in Wyoming, this mountain range began forming 6-9 million years ago. The Tetons are the youngest mountains in the Rocky Mountain range.
It is a unique mountain range due to its formation, and we had a mountain experience of an unusual nature.
A series of geological processes over millennium eventually led to the uplift of the region. Situated on the Teton Fault, approximately two million years ago earthquakes displaced the range.
Fault block formation of the Teton Range and Jackson Hole. Courtesy Wikipedia.
The western side moved upward while the eastern side moved downward creating the Teton Range and Jackson Hole valley, respectively.
Most mountain ranges have foothills which often obscure much of the mountain. But here the eastern side arose so quickly and sharply that there are no foothills. In addition, the older the range is, the more eroded the peaks become.
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Coyote, with mystical toes,
Silent as the footsteps of time,
Weaving through the mist-encircled forest,
Elusive she goes,
Shaman, angel, fey,
Spirit from the lands afar,
Outcaste, magic-bent,
Otherworldly guide,
You step from stone to stone,
Through the stream, moon-bright,
Where blue-singing
Fish glide
Through petals whispering in the night.
From milky way
From star to star,
Among the clouds,
The shrouds,
Of worlds, broken
You walk on,
Nose-intent,
From the darkness to the light.
The hillside
Of rock and raven-spoken
Chasms wide,
You climb,
Among the echoing songs of spring.
© Sharon St Joan, 2016
Photo: © Dhprophotog | Dreamstime.com
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – August 16, 2016
Developers of a $3.8 billion, four-state oil pipeline halted construction Tuesday while law enforcement and tribal leaders in North Dakota met to discuss a resolution to a protest of the project.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier says he met with tribal leaders to “negotiate peace” to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Dakota Access filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday against protesters. Dakota Access’ complaint alleges protesters are putting the safety of workers and law enforcement at risk.
The sheriff says 28 protesters have been arrested since last week for interfering with the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline that’s designed to carry North Dakota crude to Illinois.
Kirchmeier says the peace talks will be ongoing. He says construction is slated to resume Wednesday.
Art, animals, and the earth 