Art, animals, and the earth

By Rudra Krishna

During the recent floods in Chennai, on November 14 at about 6 am, the Blue Cross of India received a call from Mr. Velu, on the Red Hills by-pass road, with the information that a buffalo was being washed away with the heavy current of the breached Ambathur lake, that he was following her, and that we needed to rush out right away.

Our volunteers Kiran, Selvam, Kavin, Santosh, Arjun, and Shunmugam had all returned from late-night flood rescues just an hour and a half before the call came in, and were resting at the Blue Cross facility in Guindy. They were woken up and immediately left to attend to the rescue. The scene that met their eyes seemed to be out of a nightmare, for they all saw a massive buffalo (they didn’t know at the time that she was full-term pregnant) who was fighting against the…

By Nanditha Krishna

Dec 8 2015

The rainfall from Nov I to 30 was 1255.7 mm, as against a normal of 407.4 . From December 1 to 7, we received 531.8 mm of rain.  It had stopped raining yesterday but has begun again today, a lighter rain.

I don’t know if this is Climate Change, but I have never seen such extreme weather. This is Nature’s fury at its beautiful best!

The floods were caused by the unannounced and sudden opening of the sluice gates of Chembarabakkam lake . The waters were let into the Adyar and Cooum, and then burst their banks. Since the original channels connecting the lakes and rivers had been built over, the waters used the roads as channels, and came down TTK Road (where we live) from the river, entering our house and the Foundation campus. From December 1 to 6 there was no electricity, so…

Morocco is very inspiring for being photographed. The colors and lighting are unique, so it was easy to find the interesting and exciting angles to shot.

By Robert A. Vella

Here’s an update on the critically important climate talks in Paris (a.k.a. COP 21):

From The Guardian – The six key road blocks at the UN climate talks in Paris:

Negotiators at the UN climate talks in Paris are now nearing the end of a fortnight of searching for a global deal on climate change. The mood is upbeat but there are still significant disagreements over some key issues. They came out in the publication on Wednesday of the draft negotiating text.

These are the six key road blocks that negotiators will have to move or get around if a deal is to be done:

From Yahoo – Ambition of Paris climate talks rises by half a degree:

PARIS (Reuters) – It would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, but a new global deal to combat climate change may set the…

This video shows herald of the winter fungi in Finland.

Many fungi don’t survive frosty winter weather. However, there are exceptions to this. As the Dutch Mycological Society wrote (translated):

December 9, 2015 – The herald of the winter is a mushroom that appears late in the autumn. Usually the first specimens won’t come out until after the first frost. So late in the year, there are few people looking for mushrooms; and that is unfortunate, because herald of the winter fungi are beautiful to see. The best time to look for them has come. Knowledge of habitats is a requirement.

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All type of Moroccan lights are just fantastic. I created a small collection with different type of traditional lanterns, street lights, lights I had seen at the hotels and restaurants

“World leaders at the climate summit today presented a joint statement in support of new partnerships for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from deforestation while promoting forest restoration and sustainable rural development.”   wwf.panda.org

GR:  Until we achieve effective population control, deforestation will continue.

“So there are more than 300 years of massive fossil fuel burning by the so-called West to account for. And while this historical responsibility still played a significant role at Kyoto in 1997—resulting in emissions cuts that were only legally binding for industrialised countries—it has gradually been pushed into the background. Now in Paris it seems almost forgotten. But the fact that about 80% of historical carbon emissions have to be attributed to the developed countries cannot simply be wished away.” – Prof Steffen Böhm

Even if the world celebrates a Paris climate deal on December 11, the process will still have to be regarded as failure. Let me explain why.

The basic reason is that the unequal distribution of carbon emissions is not even on its agenda. The historical responsibility of the West is not on the table, nor is a method of national carbon accounting that looks at how the…

African Civet, Zambia

Found only in sub-Saharan Africa, this small mammal is about 16 inches tall (40 cm) and 30 inches long (76 cm).

Although the population of this weasel relative is not officially endangered, they are difficult to observe.  In addition to being nocturnal and solitary, they are prey to many African stalkers including leopards and lions.  The species has also suffered from habitat loss.  I have seen far more shining sets of civet eyes on nighttime safaris, than the actual animal.

An omnivorous  hunter, Civettictis civetta eat plants and animals including vertebrates, invertebrates, and carrion.  The African civet, unlike other civets, is also semiaquatic.  More info here.

Named for their musky gland secretion, both genders secrete civet, used for marking territory.  For hundreds of years this mammal has been hunted by humans for their secretion, used as a basic ingredient in perfumes (including Chanel No. 5).  Fortunately…