Planetsave

When you were younger, did you ever own an ant farm? I’m still begging my wife to get me a glow-in-the-dark one that we saw several years ago in a science center gift shop. Ok, begging might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but I’d still like the novelty gift.

In any case, when we saw the ant farm it made me think fondly back on the several ant farm colonies I had as a child, and how interesting and cool the ants were to watch as they built their tunnels. I never had any idea though that ants might be able to predict earthquakes.

Now a man in Turkey, Kadir Sutcu, is using several ant colonies in his home to predict when earthquakes will occur. As the article I read claims, in early July Sutcu was successful in predicting an earthquake before its occurrence by watching the behavior of his ants. Supposedly, he even sent out thousands of emails warning people before the earthquake hit (I wonder how many people took him seriously at that time, and also how many do now). Read the rest of this entry »

The following post was written by Sul’ma’ejote, aka Dr. Darryl “Babe” Wilson, PhD.  Sul’ma’ejote was born in 1939 in Qatsade (Fall River Valley) on the north bank of Sul’ma’ejote (Fall River), a stone toss from It’ajuma (Pit River) in far northern California. He has written several books, including The Morning the Sun Went Down, about the early times of his life which were not only marked by the tragedy of a native “family shadowed in and out of civilization”, but the death of his mother who was killed in a lumber truck-automobile accident. Sul’ma’ejote blogs at Hay’dutsi’la.

July 19, 2008:  Fires in Hyampom Still Crackling

Could we flip back through history to a hundred-thousand years before Columbus or ten minutes before landfall, we would find immense forests, some three-hundred feet tall and thirty-five feet around, most of the forests appearing like a manicured Federal Park, clear of underbrush, deaf falls and dry limbs and needles and leaves turning to duff just waiting for a spark.

The forests, like most life on this continent, were not an accident.  That they looked like they were manicured is because they had been forever before the penetration of Europeans.  Forests were full of life and were like a super market for the natives.  Animals, birds, eggs, nuts, excitement and adventure flourished everywhere.  It was a duty for the natives to clean the forests and encourage life to visit there, and it was an honor to “talk for” the forests in ceremony and prayer.  Loving earth with a deep respect has always been the “way” of mountain and coast indigenous. Read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow my family is planning to make a trip to the zoo. I like zoos, but there are some things about them that always get my mind racing through ethical questions about animals and the nature of people.

I find that zoos tend to reliably provoke more thoughts in my mind than other places that can also stimulate me to think, like aquariums, museums, shopping malls, movie theaters, and parks. Before I started writing this article, in my nerdy social scientist way I dug through numerous scientific papers about topics such as whether or not people learn anything when they visit zoos, what attitudes people tend to have about zoos in general, and studies about how animals living in zoos might be negatively affected by us going to see them (especially those of us with more interest in animals). After reading and seeking more knowledge, I was only left with more questions. Read the rest of this entry »

I want to thank everyone who entered the contest to win ROTHBURY Music Festival tickets. There were so many smart, thoughtful, and creative answers that choosing a winner was no easy task. I wish I could give everyone a pair of tickets, but alas I cannot not. There were several answers vying for the top spot, therefore, spelling, syntax, and grammar all ended up playing a tie-breaking role.

The winning submission was sent to us by Mary Lemmer, a student at the University of Michigan, who, like many of the entrants emphasized the gains made by the environmental movement while also pointing to the insufficiency of those gains in terms of actual substantive achievement. Mary wrote:

“Youth across the nation are energized about issues concerning global warming, alternative fuels, and other environmental topics. Young adults are driving the sustainability movement, studying related topics, encouraging people to recycle, and proclaiming the green word!

Read the rest of this entry »

Where does environmental degradation start?

It starts with our unnatural inclination to want more than we need.

And where does this want come from?

It comes from the idea of self.

It comes from the feeling of self.

It comes from the experience that we are an individual, separate from everything else.

It comes from the belief and the understanding and the experience that we are not One with everything and everyone in this Creation.

So, naturally, with this as our root, we want more: we want to load this self with all the food, acquisitions, honor, experiences, and influence that we can.

And where does it lead us?
Read the rest of this entry »

Several weeks ago, almost every major press outlet picked up the story of the photographs taken of an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon rainforest near the border between Brazil and Peru. Unfortunately, it seems that fewer members of the media have chosen to keep following the story. Read the rest of this entry »

Before I write anything else, I want to unequivocally explain that I think natural disasters are terrible. They cause countless deaths and incredible human suffering. With that being understood, I often find myself believing that things happen in nature for a reason, and so I started to ponder what some of the good aspects to natural disasters might be. I’ve come up with three ideas about what might be some positive consequences of natural disasters. Read the rest of this entry »

A long time ago, 50 years or so, I was invited to a party that promised some unusual and tasty snacks, along with the usual supply of beer and other alcoholic libations.

Never one to pass up free food and booze, I showed up at my friends apartment , said hello to everyone, grabbed a cocktail and headed for the snacks. The table was filled with the usual cheese and crackers, veggies, liverwurst and other delights.

The center piece caught my eye, chocolate, lots of it, but not in any form I could immediately recognize. Upon questioning my host, I learned they were chocolate covered ants and grasshoppers.

“Here, try some,” said my host, “they’re delicious!”

I doubt he saw the green leaching into my face as I politely declined, saying I was on a diet. Read the rest of this entry »

April 26 marks the 22nd anniversary of the 1986 nuclear accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Slavutych, Ukraine. That one incident resulted in hundreds and possibly thousands of deaths, lingering health issues, radioactive contamination of a wide swath of land, property losses and on-going clean-up costs totaling billions of dollars.The Ukranian-American Environmental Association sent out a release reminding everyon of the risks of nuclear power.

I spoke with Kenneth Bossong, co-director of UAEA, about the anniversary, and asked him to tell us more about his organization.

National Geographic Photo

Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva has introduced legislation to withdraw approximately one million acres near the Grand Canyon from mineral exploration under the 1872 Mining Act.

In a news release, the Congressman was quoted as saying:

“I was pleased to introduce this legislation which will forever protect the magnificence of the Grand Canyon and the people who live near and in the Canyon from damaging uranium mining,” said Rep. Grijalva. “The federal government and mining companies still have not adequately dealt with the clean up of old uranium mine sites on the Navajo Nation and other areas that are causing ongoing health problems. Until these issues are resolved, we should not move forward with new mines, especially next to the crown jewel of our National Park System.”

The legislation came on the heels of a news story regarding exploratory drilling for uranium within a few miles of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, a popular tourist destination.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has requested the Bush administration to use it’s executive powers to withdraw areas in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon from mining.

The bill calls for protection of 628,000 acres in the Kanab Creek area, 112,655 in House Rock Valley and 327,886 acres in the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National forest south of the canyon.

A Congressional field hearing will be held on March 28th in the Flagstaff, AZ City Hall. Local elected officials, Tribal representatives, Grand Canyon area business and environmental representatives and uranium experts are expected to attend the hearing.

The legislation, The Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2008 (H.R. 5583) has been referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. Congressman Grijalva serves on that committee.