What Right Do Humans Have?
When we were conferred with the right to kill any species
that we felt like any time we wanted? Our approach to the slaughter of top predators is truly disgusting.
According to the
Center for Biological Diversity, which has published an interactive map of
state-by-state data, Texas was the deadliest state in 2015, with 609 bobcats
and 23 mountain lions killed. That was followed by Oregon, with 193 black
bears, 27 bobcats and 91 mountain lions; Minnesota, with 220 wolves, two
bobcats and one black bear; and California, with 121 black bears, 80 mountain
lions and 15 bobcats.
Nationwide, Wildlife
Services eradicated 731 bobcats, 480 black bears, 385 wolves and 284 mountain
lions. It also killed 68,985 coyotes—almost 17,000 in Texas alone—and 3,109
foxes.
…the taking of
predators is the most problematic part, according to Michael Robinson,
conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
"There's been
enormous advances in our understanding of the critical roles that predators
play in maintaining the health and integrity of their ecosystems," he
said. "Scientists are now finding very important connections between
predators and the vegetation that their prey species rely on."
When wolf populations
are culled, for example, elk have less fear of foraging on tree saplings that
grow along streams. But when wolves return, elk tend to avoid those areas,
"which allows the saplings to grow into fairly large trees that support
migratory birds and beavers," Robinson said. "This blanket policy of
destroying predators undermines the integrity and function of entire
ecosystems. It defies science."
Sunny California
California is working to
generate one third of the state’s power requirements from renewables by
2020. So, July 12 was a very good day in the progress towards that goal.
The same clear, sunny
weather that broiled much of California in near-triple-digit heat this week
also helped the state’s solar power plants set a record, briefly generating
enough electricity for more than 6 million homes.
Just after 1 p.m.
Tuesday, large solar plants scattered across California produced a record 8,030
megawatts of electricity, according to the California Independent System
Operator, the organization that runs most of the state’s power grid. That’s
nearly twice as much solar power as California could generate just two years
ago — and it doesn’t even count the electricity produced by hundreds of
thousands of small rooftop solar arrays statewide.
Birds, Birds, Birds
An hour of birds in 60 seconds. Awesome and a bit
creepy.
Paul Parker is a videographer who sees the world in an
unusual way … and fortunately is able to translate it for the rest of us via
the magic of his camera and post-processing skills. Case in point, his
55-second video called An Hour of Birds All At Once.
According to Beckett Mufson at The Creator’s Project, Parker
recorded an hour’s worth of birds flying and then compressed it into a
timelapse. “While this is unsettling enough, particularly with the distorted
remix of Donna Summer’s "I Feel Love" keeping up the soundtrack,”
writes Mufson, “Parker cranks the creepy up to 11 by replicating the time-lapse
with a brief delay, layering swarm upon swarm of birds until the sky is
literally black with the small-brained predators.”
Why Do Turtles Have Shells
Not for defense, but to help them dig and burrow.
Evolution is an amazing thing.
Travel back in time to
260 million years ago, just before the dawn of the dinosaur era. Journey to
what is now South Africa, and make your way to a river bank. Then, wait. If
you’re lucky, you might see a small, hand-sized creature poking its head out of
the mud. It looks like a fat lizard, with bulging flanks and stocky legs. But
if you managed to grab it and flip it over, you’d find that its flanks are
bulging because its ribs are exceptionally wide, broad, and flat, reinforcing
its undersides. It’s almost like the little creature has half a shell.
This is Eunotosaurus,
and despite its lizard-like appearance, it’s actually one of the earliest known
turtles.
It was discovered in
1892 and ignored for almost a century. But by studying the many fossils of this
enigmatic reptile, Tyler Lyson from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science has
devised a fascinating new idea about turtle origins. He thinks that their iconic
shells evolved not for defense, but for digging. They anchored the powerful arm
strokes needed to shift soil and sand. Before turtles became impregnable
walking fortresses, they were professional burrowers.
Many turtle species have been decimated, but there are some
success stories.
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